Dear Diary | Proxies

xxvi. TV static

Dear Diary,
I'm throwing the fucking TV out.

The next few hours passed by in a breeze, the rush of being with my boys again lowering my guard just enough to finally calm down for a moment, and at the end, being wrapped in their hold in the bed was welcome to both fall asleep and wake up in.

I wasn't sure what time it was when I woke up, but I knew it was the middle of the night, and the others were still deep asleep. I groaned, twisting a bit and smacking my lips together. I desperately needed water. I gently pulled myself up and out of the arms all around me. Brian was beside me, laying on his back with his arm tucked snuggly against my shoulders. Toby had practically latched his entire body to me when we had gone to bed, but now, he was only curled into a ball on my bed, face pressed into my stomach, once again turned just enough so he could breathe. Finally, Tim was on his stomach and had somehow pressed himself right in between me and Brian, arms curled around one of my legs and one of Brian's.

Getting out was a feat in itself, but once I was able to stumble out, I did a little victory dance. The boys - in their still asleep state - seemed to unintentionally gravitate towards each other - searching for the now missing heat of my body. I watched for a moment as Toby groaned, rolling over and pushing himself into Brian's hold while Tim's hand clenched and unclenched a few times before he found Toby's leg and held that instead. I smiled, shaking my head. Cute.

I padded my way down the hallway and to the kitchen, yawning lowly as I reached to grab a cup and filled it with water. I took a few big gulps before pausing, turning in confusion as I heard static. My instinct was to look in the forest, but once I realized it wasn't an all-consuming feeling like Slender's, I turned to the living room. I thought we had turned off the TV on our way to bed, but I guess not, since the white and black static shrouded the living room in a soft light.

I didn't move for a second as I thought back. I could have sworn Brian turned it off before he dragged us to bed. Tim had been smoking outside, and I was half-asleep, clinging to Toby, but I swore-

Either way, I thought to myself before finally stepping over to the TV. I fumbled for the button on the side before stopping again - confusion turned to annoyance turning to confusion once again. The screen flickered, the smallest bit of color flashing in the middle. I back up a bit as it flashed again - neon green covering the black and white for a split second before it went back to normal.

Weird.

I reached for the button again before I stopped completely. What was that? Off to one side of the screen, it looked like someone was pressing their hand against it from the inside, full palm flattened by glass showing. Did we leave in a movie by accident? If so, it wasn't one I was aware of.

The palm pulled back a bit before it slammed into the screen, a dull thunk sounding from the speakers. It was followed by the other hand slamming into it as well, two flat palms pressed against the screen.

"What the fuck?" I mumbled to myself. I pressed my finger against the area where the right hand was pressed. Both of the hands were gone in a split second before the right one pressed exactly where I was pressing - mirroring me. "What the fuck-"

It disappeared and then a tap, tap, against the glass. I frowned, taking a few steps back, but whatever the fuck was in the TV didn't seem to enjoy that much. The hand slammed on the glass a few more times - the muffled smack sounding again and again before it went quiet for just a few moments.

I had almost thought it was done, but I was naive because only a few moments later, a small, high-pitched laugh sounded from the speakers, slowly growing in volume until it was almost deafening. I was surprised none of the boys had woken up, but I was too focused on whatever was happening with the TV to pay attention.