Just Another Creepypasya Fanfiction

8. Preparations

        I stare at my bed in annoyance. All of my clothes, yet nothing that would be appropriate for a job interview. How does that even happen? I might not have a lot, but I feel like I should have something better than bad jeans, stained shirts, and workout clothes. Especially after living with Slenderman for five years. How did he let me get away with looking so gross all of the time? It should be a crime in his house to not have at least one, nice outfit.
A knock on the front door forces me to think about other things and I run down the hallway. I'm happy when I see Alisper climbing into her closet, just as I've instructed her to do. Unforeseen visitors can be dangerous ones. I feel better once I get to the living room and I can see that it's just Zalgo. I relax for a moment before realising the importance of him being here. I race to the door immediately to open it for him.
"Hello, Zalgo! How are you? Would you like to come in?" I ask cheerfully.
"GrEeTiNgS, jEfFrEy. I'm HeRe To CoMpLeTe OuR dEaL. iF yOu DoN't MiNd, I'd LiKe To TaKe A lOoK aRoUnD bY mYsElF fOr A wHiLe."
"Yeah, of course! Take a look around, tell me what you think, let me know if you have any questions or issues. That's not a problem."
He doesn't respond as he starts to move around the kitchen area. I awkwardly watch him at first, then remember that Alisper is hiding for safety. I go down the hall to her bedroom. When I open the door to her closet, I can't find her. I smile. She knew exactly how to find the secret hatch to the safe room. I call out to let her know that it's safe to come out. Soon after, she climbs out of the small door.
"It's okay. It's just the man who's letting us live here."
"The landlord?" She asks.
"Uh, sort of, yeah," I answer. Technically, we own the house and the land it's on. We're just paying so we can live in his territory. I'm not sure how to explain that in a way that she would understand, so I don't bother with trying. "He's going to let me know how much the bills are going to be and when we have to start paying."
Alisper nods in an understanding manner and follows me out of the room. Still feeling awkward not doing anything, I decide to put something on the TV. We quietly discuss what would be good to watch. I notice a few times that she's giving Zalgo a strange look, although it's not like I can blame her. His shape has already changed four times since she's come out of her room. I need to explain some of these unique traits to her at some point. I don't want her to think she's the crazy one when it's actually us.
I should also tell her that she can't talk about our unique qualities when she's at school. No one would believe her, and that could get her bullied. Or, they would believe her, and we'd all get arrested.
After an hour of mindless, hilarious cartoons, Zalgo returns to the main space. The first words out of his mouths are, "Is ThIs YoUr DaUgHtEr?"
I stand up. "Yes, sir. This is Alisper."
At the sound of her name, she gets off the couch. She turns to Zalgo, surprisingly unafraid as he transforms from a floating, demonic collection of multiple faces into a one-face, one-mouth human. He crotches down to her level and sticks his hand out. She doesn't hesitate to shake it.
"It'S nIcE tO mEeT yOu, AlIsPeR. i Am ZaLgO."
"Hello, Zalgo. It's nice to meet you too."
He asks her a couple of small-talk questions, then tells her that she can go back to her show. She thanks him before climbing back onto the couch. Zalgo's form changes again and he goes to the kitchen. I follow him.
"ShE's A cUtE kId. VeRy PoLiTe," He says. I agree. "VeRy CaLm ApPeArAnCe DeSpItE tHe PaNiC wItHiN. bE sUrE sHe KnOwS sHe'S sAfE hErE oR sHe MaY rUiN tHiNgS."
"Yes, sir," I respond.
"AnYwAy, I dEcIdEd ThAt YoUr MoNtHlY cOsT wIlL bE a ThOuSaNd. EvErY fIrSt Of ThE mOnTh, I wIlL sEnD sOmEbOdY oUt To CoLleCt UnLeSs YoU hAvE oNe Of mY aSsIsTaNtS sEt YoU uP fOr WiReLeSs PaYmEnTs. EiThEr WaY, iT wIlL bE eVeRy FiRsT sTaRtInG nExT mOnTh. AgReEd?"
"Agreed," I answer.
We talk for a little longer and he explains that I'm going to be paying him for everything – the house, the bills, a fee for living in his realm when I have no interest in being a killer. It makes a lot more sense to me by the end of it. I'm even able to find out how the system works and that he runs his own power company that keeps everything going in this realm. The details behind it start to become confusing for me after a while, but it's still really interesting to hear about it. I didn't know that he was actually in charge of everything. I assumed that he was using a human for things to function normally here.
Before he leaves, Zalgo says goodbye to Alisper. She politely wishes him a good day. Again, she doesn't seem even remotely bothered by his shifting. I can't wait for E.J. to be available so I can have her evaluated. I've met killers who are uncomfortable around him; meanwhile, she's completely unfazed. There's no way this response could be considered normal or appropriate for a child.
I force myself to stop worrying. Maybe she's just a little unusual. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm unusual. Liu and Ben are unusual. Clockwork has a clock in place of an eyeball, so she could definitely be called unusual. Maybe Alisper is unusual too and that's why she doesn't care about any of this.
I turn toward Alisper. "Hey, I have to get some clothes for a job interview. Do you want to go shopping with me or do you want me to call Ben over?"
She doesn't hesitate before jumping off of the couch. I hold the door open for her and walk behind her to the car. Just like last time, I let her pick out the music on the drive. The playlist starts with Disney songs again, but after a while, it becomes more obscure. My own music starts to mix in with it. I assume that she must have clicked on a computer-generated playlist that combined hard rock and Disney pop together. She seems to enjoy the drive even though some of the songs are loud and not age-appropriate for her.
I pull into the parking lot of a men's clothing store. Alisper follows close behind me while we walk up to the front doors. We don't talk to each other while we walk around. I'm realising that she's not much of a talker, or she's just really shy. Either way, it's becoming normal for us to not speak to each other. It made me nervous at first, but I'm realising that's just because of how crowded Slender's mansion is. Now, there's only two of us. We don't need to be constantly talking. There is no reason for constant noise. It's eerie sometimes, but mostly it's pleasant.
"What job are you getting?" Alisper asks while I try to decide between a suit or some normal day clothes.
"If it goes well, I'm going to be a security guard at a college."
She looks at me curiously. "What's a college?"
I take a moment to think before answering her. "It's a school for smart adults."
"Aren't all adults smart?"
"Only some."
"Did you go to college?"
"No."
"Why not? You're smart."
I sigh quietly. I'm not doing a very good job of explaining this. "Well, not everyone decides to go. It's not for everyone, and sometimes you aren't interested in it. Sometimes, you don't get to go because of the cost or because there were other things you wanted to do. I had other plans."
"What were your plans?"
I press my lips together. At the time that my friends went off to college, I was living with my brother and spending most of my time goofing off; watching TV or playing video games. I didn't really have plans either. Liu took care of pretty much everything for me, so I never did anything before. Meanwhile, he was spending all of his time working. I was just... there. And then after, I was doing a lot of drugs and began killing people. It's really not a good story to tell a child. I don't want her to think that the options are 'adult school' or 'drug addiction'.
"I was... figuring things out. I didn't know what I wanted to do, so I was taking some time off to figure it out."
Shortly after, Alisper stops talking and starts to wander around the store aimlessly. I look at shirt after shirt and began feeling annoyed with myself. It shouldn't be this difficult to pick something. I really only need a simple button-up and a pair of good pants. Maybe some shoes that aren't specifically made for running. That should be good enough. It's professional, but not overdone.
I grab two random shirts and hold them up. "Hey, kid," I say. Alisper stops walking to look at me. "Which one should I get? The white or the blue?"
She looks at both shirts and points at the white one. I place the blue one back onto the rack. Pants and shoes are a lot easier to get. I just need simple, good-looking ones. But then I have a new challenge: Should I get a jacket or not? I ponder it silently to myself, then decide to ask Alisper. She tells me to get the jacket too.
As we're leaving the store, we agree that we need some ice cream in order for the day to really be successful. We walk over to a small dessert shop next door. They have a little bit of everything - pie, cookies, cake, brownies, fudge, and, obviously, ice cream. We walk through the store twice to look at all of our options. It's easy for me to pick the treat I want, but Alisper struggles. I try to avoid making her feel rushed, but it becomes unavoidable after the worker tells us that the store will be closing soon.
"What do you want?" I ask Alisper. "Does anything in particular sound good?"
"I don't know," She says quietly. "I... I just won't get anything."
I look at her and see that her face is red, like she's trying to stop herself from crying. I kneel down. "Hey, it's okay. You saw me at the clothing store. Sometimes, we're really bad at picking things out. That's no problem. Do you want me to help you pick something?" She nods. "Okay, no problem. Do you like vanilla?"
I gently run her through all of the options until she says that she knows what she wants. We order two ice cream cups - one vanilla with strawberries and chocolate pieces and another mint with chocolate chips. Since they're closing, Alisper and I agree that we should leave. I let her hold onto both of our cups while I drive us to the park.
We sit on a park bench and eat together. It's colder today than it has been in the past week, but it's not too bad yet. I make a mental note to start keeping track of the weather. If we're going to avoid getting colds, we need to know when to start wearing our jackets. In the meantime, I let her wear a jacket that I found in the trunk of the car.
While we eat, we talk more about education. I tell her what school is like and what she can expect when she starts going. She listens intently to every word I say. She responds every once in a while to let me know that she's paying attention, but mostly she just listens. When I think that I'm done telling her everything I can think of, we move on to lighter conversation. She asks me about my childhood and I tell her as many memories as I can recall. I ask her if she has any nice memories of her own. It's depressing watching her try to think of any, but she's finally able to share one. It's about a time when her parents were in a good mood and they all played a board game together. It's a really simple memory, but she smiles while sharing it with me.
Alisper finishes her ice cream before me and leaves the bench to run around and play. I watch her closely for a while, then get on my phone. I respond to an email confirming my interview for tomorrow afternoon, then waste a little time by scrolling various social media apps. When it becomes boring, I message Ben. I let him know about my job interview tomorrow and ask him to babysit for me while I'm out. His response back is a long one describing all of the fun they're going to have. We start messaging each other back and forth to pass the time. Mostly, we share stupid jokes with one another. I'm careful to glance up occasionally while we talk.
After some time, I notice that it's become eerily quiet. I put my phone in my pocket and look for Alisper. When I can't see her, I stand and start searching. I check every part of the playground for her, then the car, then the playground again. I'm on the verge of panicking when I finally catch sight of her. She's sitting in a sandbox, silently playing with the sand and some leaves. I consider leaving her alone for a little while longer. But then I see him.
He doesn't do anything except let me stare at him. I take solace in the fact that he isn't trying to attack me or that he hasn't attacked her. But it's hard to feel comforted and secure when you're facing something like this. I consider going to him and asking why he's watching us, but I already know it would be a bad idea. He would be very displeased with anything hinting at accusatory; though, it's not like it's unfair for me to be. I stare at him for a while longer, then decide it's best to just leave. Quickly, immediately.
Alisper is quick to stand and go to the car when I tell her to. I follow behind her closely, keeping my head turned ever so slightly. He doesn't move. He just watches. And he continues to watch as we drive away. I need to call Clockwork and Ben. Not now, that would be too risky, but soon. Tonight.
"Did you have fun?" I ask, directing my attention back to the child.
"Yeah," She answers nonchalantly. "Thank you."
I smile at her through the mirror. She really is a nice kid. I hope that these issues with Slender aren't real and are rather imaginary issues caused by my own paranoia. I think that her and Sally would be great friends if they could be. But Clockwork is right - it's unlikely that he'd allow that unless Alisper dies or becomes one of us. I'm not sure which of those scenarios would be worse, but I don't like either of them. She deserves a fair chance at life. I'm just trying to do what I think is the right thing. For both of us.
Still, being in a dispute, or whatever this is, with one of the most powerful people here isn't ideal. Despite his attitude and how infuriating he can be, I do like him. I'm going to miss our conversations.
I feel a twinge of pain in my chest and change my focus. "Hey, what do you want for dinner tonight?"
"I don't know."
"Does anything special sound good to you?"
"No."
Okay, so she doesn't have any kind of opinion tonight. That makes things a little more difficult for me, but that's fine. She doesn't seem too picky, so it can't be too challenging to think of something we'd both enjoy. If I want to play it safe, I just need to pick out something that most people like. That should be really easy.
When we get home, I grab my bag from the store and walk up to open the front door for her. As always, she thanks me while walking through. I decide to take a break from thinking and go to my room. I change out of my clothes into my new outfit and check myself out. I look good. I look very clean, intelligent, respectful. I'm almost impressed with myself. There's just something about the new look that's off. And it's not the fact that for the past fifteen years, all I've worn is jeans.
I exit my room and call for Alisper's attention. She exits her bedroom and looks at me. I do a little spin so she can see me outfit, then freeze. "I look like a penguin!"
She starts giggling. "Yeah."
"Did you know that I would look like a penguin with this shirt?"
"Yeah." Her giggling turns into real laughter.
I laugh with her. "You're a little stinker," I say. "Do I at least look like a fancy penguin?"
She stops cackling and straightens herself up. "Yes. Very fancy."
"Very fancy, okay. Thank you." I turn to go back into my chamber and change again, then stop. "Hey, what do you think about pizza tonight?"
She smiles so big I worry for a moment that she's going to hurt herself. "Very fancy." She runs back into her room. I think that's a yes.