It was just after The 11th grade Snowball Extravaganza dance when I first saw him. Ashley and I decided to leave early. Going together was a great idea, in theory. Free to play the field, no pressure from the parents, and absolute good company. But things didn't go as glamorous as planned.
Turns out dancing solo is lamer than a one legged pogo stick champion and most of the Senior class brought dates (except for stinky Steven, and nobody wanted to go there!!). Add in the fact that the music consisted of 1 good song to every 10 club re-mix or slow dance (apparently the dj was born circa 1970!), then top the disaster with my screaming feet, and it's easy to see why we bailed.
We walked over to The Tepid Tearoom for a mocha cappuccino (skim no whip no foam latte) and sat in front of the window. I always pick the window seat, especially at night because seeing myself in the reflection makes me happy. Ashley can sit wherever, because she has no interest in her reflection at all. That's pretty obvious by her appearance, but she's still pretty awesome. Currently, she's suffering an acne flare up because of anxiety about the dance but she has the ability to pretend it's not there and just keep adding foundation. It's a gift.
As we drink our coffee and gossip about the dance (well, mostly about lusty Lana, but she was at the dance so that counts) I feel like someone or something is staring me down. You know when you get that creepy but awesome feeling because someone is checking you out? Like, even if it's a perv, or a killer and you're like: 'Props for the good taste, but I'm gonna pass on being your victim'.
It feels just like that. Usually I'll add a bit of a sway to the hips at that point, just to let them know I noticed and appreciated the moment. But that's hard to do when your sitting in a seat and you don't see anything but blackness. (I did make sure to flip my hair and lick my lips just in case!).
After the cupa and an order of cheesecake we decided to call it a night. It was only 10 but I gotta tell ya, when you get up at at 5am you don't complain when you get to go to bed before midnight. (This hair and makeup isn't a 2 minute YouTube job, this is professional application at its finest requiring at least 40 mins of mirror time)!
Ashley hugged me goodbye and made me promise to text her in the am for our daily dream journal updates. We do it every morning. It's where we compare our dreams to the star charts and plot out our lives. Sooner or later I'm gonna be a rich, wise woman, chased by the perfect man and super rich. It was actually supposed to happen last Tuesday, but you can't rush the stars!!
I decided to walk home through the alley like normal. Trash cans and old milk crates lining the walls didn't make it glamorous but it did shave ten minutes off the other route. I started humming the tune to Adele's 'Hello' (because let's face it, nobody can sing that shit like Adele). Humming is the only way to go.
As I hit mid alley I felt it again. That creepy crawly wiggly feeling all over my skin. I stopped and saw a shadow to my left. In my frozen state I watched it grow and expand. Longer and longer it reached until it was nearly touching my space. Long waving appendages seemed to fan outward reaching over and around my thin shadow.
Suddenly my heart was racing and I started jumping up and down! My freaking shadow was thin! I mean, I had been cutting back on carbs and salt, but I hadn't thought it made a difference. Seeing my shadow was proof that it was!
"Hot damn! You are looking fine!" I yelled to my thin dark reflection. (Did I mention it was thin?) I got busy pushing out my butt and sucking in my gut and turning sideways while making kissing noises (I told you I love my reflection). When suddenly the long appendages flapping and reaching toward me froze. Slowly they crept back into the darkened shadows of the trash lined walls.
I continued giving myself a mini model pose show and when I finally run out of moves I start walking again towards home. I take off my shoes despite the fear of broken glass and hepatitis. Sometimes you gotta take risks and these platforms shoes, although smoking hot, are killing my feet. Besides, I am almost to the park and crossing that barefoot is about the best feeling on earth .
As I crept slowly toward the end of the alley watching my step (because let's face it, it would suck to get a sex disease from a piece of jagged glass in your foot) I hear the tapping of footsteps behind me. Each silent step of mine is followed by a double tap. It sounded like the steps of the principle coming down the school hallway during a tardy sweep.
All I can think about is how lame it would be to be seen coming out of an alley with a hobo wearing dress shoes. I mean, rumors like that can ruin a good reputation!!! So I forget looking for glass and the pain of my sore feet and head to the park at breakneck speed. No way am I going into my senior year as that girl in the alley with Chester the garbage truck chaser!!!
When I finally reach the park it's a good feeling. I'm pretty sure between the moonlight jog and the dancing I did to every tenth song I've burned away the cheesecake (and the fries I snuck off Jen's plate at lunch). It's turning out to be a pretty good night after all!
I place my bare feet into the soft grass and think about my life goals. So far, my YouTube channel has 20 subscribers. (And I'm not boasting). I've been broadcasting for three months and only started wearing a tube top with a push up wonder bra two broadcasts ago! With my brilliant makeup application, amazing gossip, and the wonderbra I should be able to reach a million viewers by the end of this year. Then, I'll be able to quit school and be a viral sensation. Everyone will know me as "Charm" and I'll have loads of cash to make my dreams come true.
In all the excitement of my pending greatness and wealth I feel a bit winded and sit down on one of the barren swings. It's quiet and still and the trees are waving slightly in the wind. The streetlight casts the perfect yellow glow for my complexion and I feel incredibly happy. One little tree in the distance seems to understand my feeling and its branches wave more than most.
Somehow the more I stare at it, the faster the branches seem to sway and the longer they get. I'm delirious that this tree is dancing to its own beat until the branches start to freak me out. Somehow I see them as long arms and they seem to be stretching in the shadows and reaching towards me.
In the light of the moon I swear the trunk looks like a man in a tux. His long slender body is still and just hidden enough in the shadows that I can't make out a face.
"Man, that's how you know you're desperate" I say to myself out loud. "Seeing hot guys in tuxes hiding in the trees".
I click on my iPhone to check out my reflection (just in case a hot guy really is standing in the tree line) and I see the time. It's currently three minutes until curfew! I grab my shoes and turn into the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, running like the wind. I'm already on strike two with my parents and a third means no iPhone for a week. I'd never make it without my tweets and snapchats so I continue to book it towards home like nobody's business.
Standing on my porch at last with 69 seconds to spare I stop to catch my breath and put on my shoes. There's no sense letting my mom know she was right about the platforms being painful and insensible. Next thing I know she'll be using it as ammunition for a decade and I can't afford to give her an upper hand like that!!
I take a moment to give one last look across the dark sleepy neighborhood and I'm almost sure I see the tuxedo tree creeping towards my house. I shudder when a cold breeze dances across my sweaty skin and head to the shower.
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Next up: Ch. 2 - The Shadow Stalker
YOU ARE READING
My Boyfiend Slenderman
HumorHe's tall, dark and kind of handsome. Well, he is tall. And dark. I'm actually not sure about the handsome. But he's mine. And he certainly gives me enough attention! I mean, anyone willing to chase me that hard has to at least be given a shot...
