The Slender Man (a Hetalia fanfiction - Book 2)

Chapter 3 - Delusion

I woke up to the sound snickering. Oh no, not again.
I'm no longer in Romano's arms, so I must have rolled away as I slept. And I am very warm and comfortable. It's morning, obvious to the fact that sunlight is shining onto my eyelids.
I made a long, irritated sigh and slowly sat up to glare sleepily at the Bad Touch Trio with America by their side, each of them snickering.
"Guten Morgen!" Prussia greeted with a sly smirk.
"Guten Morgen my ass," I growled as I slowly slid out of the bed and stood, giving them an expression of warning
"U-Uh, mi amiga, please calm down." Spain gave me a worried look, although he kept his cheerful smile. "You know we're just teasing you! You and Roma are just so cute!"
I crossed my arms and shifted my weight onto one foot, raising an eyebrow. "I'll calm down when you four leave the room."
"Just one more picture, okay?" America laughed as he raised his phone.
"That's it." I strode towards them, grabbing my pillow along the way, but then they ran. I quickly reached out to grab France's arm, but he was too quick.
They dashed out of the room, but I stopped at the doorway and sighed heavily.
Once I was sure that they aren't going to come back, I closed the door and, with a grumpy expression, I shuffled back to my room and towards the bed. I flopped back onto it, hoping to get a few more minutes of sleep.
The movement must've woken Romano, because I heard him mumble something and I felt the movement of his weight shifting in the bed.
"Ugh," I heard him mutter and I turned my head to see him sitting up, pressing his hand to his forehead.
"Hey, Roma." I mumbled with a small smile. He looked over at me in confusion, then his face blushed a deep red and he quickly stood up, stumbling away from the bed.
I sat up and looked at him questioningly with my eyebrows furrowed together. "What's wrong?"
"Wh-When..." Romano shook his head, then he sighed as realization crept over his expression. "Oh, that's right. I didn't leave."
I raised an eyebrow. "You forgot you were here?"
"Sí," he muttered, his blush not dying down.
I smirked, raising my eyebrows suggestively at him. "What? What did you think you were here for last night?"
As I expected, his eyes widened and his cheeks flushed deeper. I snickered, feeling amused.
"You shouldn't tease about that." He crossed his arms.
I laughed and stood up from the bed also, walking over to him. I pressed one hand softly to his chest and leaned forward to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. I smiled at him as he pouted.
"Oh, you cute little red tomato, you," I teased as I poked his red cheek, and he blushed even harder. If that wasn't possible before, it is now.
He scowled, facing away from me now. "Don't go acting like Spain on me, now!"
I grinned as I shook my head, and I hugged him from behind, setting my cheek on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. Forgive me?"
Then Romano sighed, drooping his head a bit. "Idiota."
I smiled into his shoulder. I know him too well to know that he forgives me, although he called me an idiot. But he always does that. I know I shouldn't tease him so much, being that he trusts me with his feelings. I poke at him, but I would never take it too far. I care about him far too much to intentionally hurt him.
"I love you," I found myself muttering into his shoulder, so it sounded muffled. But then I felt my face heat up. There's only been a few precious moments that we've spent together when I've said those words, and it still makes me feel shy and flustered.
It took a moment, but he turned around in my arms and met my gaze. Then he pressed his forehead to mine, holding me to him.
"Ti amo, Rosalie." He told me. Once again, my heart fluttered in ecstasy as he said that. My heart only pounded harder as he pressed his lips to mine in a small, but passionate, kiss.

--

After that delightful morning, we all had went to a nearby restaurant for breakfast, which was delicious, but I couldn't seem to eat it. I feel sick, and my head is hurting a little.
The worst part is that I keep seeing that same man, that same figure, or whatever it is. Usually it's just in the corner of my eye, or standing in the distance. But it's always there, always watching, and I don't like it at all. Whenever I look over to see it, it's not there. It's always just within the line of sight, but when I look straight at it, it's just gone.
I want to believe that it's just a normal man, with a psychotic pleasure to stalk young girls. I want to believe that more than I actually believe what it truly is.
He doesn't feel human, and I know he's not. He can't be. I don't know how I'm so sure of it, but I am. He isn't human, and he's after me. He's after everyone here, but they just don't seem to notice yet.
I need to talk to someone, anyone about this, but I can't say anything. Nothing can come from my mouth as I stared down at the table where we all sat at, laughing and talking. I'm the only one being silent.
But then I finally met eye contact with my brother. He studied me. I didn't say anything, but he knew I wanted to talk to him. He gave me a nod and stood, so I stood along with him. No one asked why we walked into another room, but that's perfectly fine. No one else needs to hear about this, just in case I'm wrong about this fear.
"What's up? Why do you look so stressed out?" America turned to me and raised an eyebrow.
Suddenly, everything began crumbling down. Words blurted from my mouth before my brain could form them.
"I-I don't know what's going on. I may just be going crazy, but lately I'm not sure," I rambled, shaking my head.
He waited for me to go on, so I took a deep breath and did just that.
"I-I think I'm being followed by...something. A man," I managed to tell him, meeting his gaze.
His eyebrows furrowed, then he became very serious. "Who? Who's following you around?"
"I don't know who he is, or-or what it is," I continued, crossing my arms. "I've been seeing this person ever since we got here. Or...well, since we got on the plane, at least. I keep having nightmares about him. And I can't be sure he's really there because I always see him just in the corner of my eye, but when I look, he's not there, and as far as I know, I'm the only one experiencing this."
"Describe him to me," America said, setting a hand on my shoulder. "I can call the police or something."
I hesitated. "There...isn't much to describe. He's tall, like really tall. Maybe...nine feet?"
His eyebrows raised. "Uh, nine feet? You sure about that?"
I nodded. "He's taller than anyone I've ever seen. He's really thin, too. He always wears a tuxedo, and-"
I wasn't sure what to say next. How else can I describe it? It has no face, and I don't think America will believe that part.
"And what?" America asked.
"I-I don't know how to describe it," I admitted. "I've...never been able to see his face well. It's always just this pale...blob. I can't see the eyes or mouth, it's like he has no face at all."
He didn't say anything for a bit, so I continued to blurt more, although doubt is filling me now. "I mean, I could just be sick and seeing stuff. I can't ever see him directly so, I don't know, I could be hallucinating."
America stared at me with a confused expression, and even a bit of his own fear and worry revealed in his blue eyes, but that was soon blocked by a questioning expression. "Rosalie, if you're trying to pull a prank on me-"
"America," I whispered. "I'm not playing around. Something's happening and I don't understand what it is. I don't think he's human. Something's wrong here."
He stared at me for another moment. I don't know if it was the fear in my eyes, or my shaky voice, but he seems to believe me, obvious to the fact that his eyes now filled with serious determination.
"I need to talk to Germany," he murmured, then he looked back at me again. "Rosalie, I want you to stay near us and don't go wandering by yourself, okay? Just to be sure. If you see that guy again, let me know, okay?"
At that moment, he sounded so mature and protective. I had a rush of hope, that maybe we could figure this out. I could only nod, and then we went back into the room to see the others.