Love is Painful (Ticci Toby)

Chapter 23

Hoodie stood near Gia, his arms crossed as he tapped his foot, being as patient as he could.

She opened her eyes and groaned in pain, looking up at him. "What happened?" She croaked and he sighed. "You were attacked" he rolled his eyes and she seemed surprised by his calm expression and he wasn't stuttering.

"By?" She asked after a moment. "Kia" he looked away, biting his lip.

"I thought she was dead?" Her eyes widen and Hoodie glanced at her. "So did I" he sighed walking closer to the edge of her bed.

"Where is she now?" Gia asked, getting slightly nervous. "Don't concern yourself with her being" Hoodie seemed annoyed.

"Well she did attack me!" She pointed out and his eyes narrowed. He was losing his patience with her. "What did she say to you?" He growled, his hands pulled into fists.

"I... What?" She asked staring at him in confusion. "What did Kia say to you?!" He rose his voice and she flinched.

"Nothing! I have no clue what you're hinting at!" She exclaimed and he pulls out his gun, pointing it at her.

"Bullshit, Toby's not here to save you Gia!" He gritted his teeth. "I swear I don't know anything!" She cried and he huffed looking away and lowering his weapon.

"You want good news or bad news?" He suddenly asked and she seemed taken aback. "What?" She asked and his stare was hard. "Good news or bad news?" He repeated through his teeth.

"B-bad?" She seemed unsure. "Ryan is dead" he leans forward, his hands on a table to support his weight. "W-What?" Her heart stopped. "Ryan is dead" he repeated in monotone.

She felt her heart shatter and she began shaking vigorously, choking sobs leaving her lips. "The good news is" he started and she slowly looked up at him.

"He's not completely dead, so basically, he's becoming a proxy" her eyes widen. "Why?!" She screamed and Hoodie somewhat flinched at her sudden outburst.

"He was going to die anyway" Hoodie looked away. "Who's proxy?" She asked, her eyes narrowed. "That's the thing" Hoodie chuckled.

"He's depending on you to decide his fate" Hoodie chuckled again and she sneered at his apparent humour in the situation.

"What choice do I have?" She asked. "Either he becomes Slenders proxy, or he dies or we can force him into living through it, continuing his full life" Hoodie remarked and the answer seemed obvious to Gia.

"The last" she quickly said and Hoodie tsked her. "There's a catch to it" he clasped his hands together and cracked his knuckles, making her cringe.

"What's the catch?" She asked and Hoodie sighed looking at her.

"You stay away from the creepypastas" he declared and her jaw drops, her eyes watering. She hated it, the decision was going to kill her, she did not want Ryan to live his life as a proxy, he deserves to live his life, but she didn't want to stay away from her friends and boyfriend.

"Who was the cause of this?" She asked and he looked down. "Slenderman"

"Just do it, I'll stay away if that's what it takes to keep my friend alive"

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{2 Months later}

"What would you say?" Ryan hummed as he played with Gia's hair. "No" she smirked and he gasped dramatically. "And I call you my friend?!" He looked away and she sighed, leaning her head back on his chest, listening to his heart beat.

"How you feeling?" He asked and she sighed looking down at her hands, not wanting to answer.

"Gia" Ryan firmly exclaimed looking down at her. "I just miss them" she mumbled looking up at him. He pursed his lips, taking her hand in his and intertwined their fingers.

"I do too, thanks for that again" he chuckled and she rolled her eyes. "You have got to stop thanking me" she groaned and her smiled.

"What you did was so, I didn't expect you to do that" he shrugged, and she frowned, before leaning up and pecking his lips gently.

"Let's not talk about it" she patted his leg and he nodded.

"I still fear Toby attacking me in my sleep for taking his place" Ryan mumbled and she giggled. "I sleep in the same bed as you, he won't touch you" she rolled her eyes.

"You never know" he stated and she laughed. "I love you" she mumbled playing with his fingers. "I love you too" he kissed the top of her head.

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~Imagine you were Gia, what would you choose?~