Survive him, Thrive with him.

Chapter five

I open the door to Jacob's house and walk inside casually. Jacob said his parents went out with some friends and wouldn't be back until it was very late, so we had until at least midnight to 'search' the woods in between his house and mine.

I leave my tennis shoes by the door and climb the stairs, seeing four guys chatting excitedly, decked out in black t-shirts with different sayings.

"He's watching you."

"Everyday I'm slendering."

"Watches with no eyes."

Jacob was the only one with something stupid like that. I roll my eyes and their attention falls on me.

"What is she doing here?" A blonde boy asks, probably a younger brother of the other blonde one.

"I'm coming with, to prove to you suckers that he isn't real." I reply, sitting on the couch next to Jacob.

"For a minute I didn't think you were coming." Jacob breathes.

"We should probably give her our names." A brown haired boy states.

"I'm Will." The older blonde announces.

"Bryan." The younger blonde replies.

"My name's Derek." The brown haired boy says, holding out a hand politely. I shake it with a smile and he smiles back.

"Okay, so we are going to walk-" Jacob starts to explain.

"Walk?! No way in hell am I walking to find the Slender Man!" Will objects loudly.

"Okay, okay. Fine, we'll ride our bikes." Jacob states.

"Dude, he can teleport. Walking, biking, driving, nothing will make us faster than him." Derek explains. I slowly raise my eyebrows with each word of their false facts and belief.

"That's why we should have taken a possible sacrifice." Bryan whines. Suddenly, they all look at me.

"Oh! Thanks, guys. That makes me feel special." I grumble, picking up my bag and pulling out my mini sketch pad and a pencil.

"We were kidding. Guys, she is a nonbeliever, and we need her to believe. She can't die." Jacob explains.

"But if we show her him, she will believe then." Will replies.

"Yeah, for all of two seconds! Right before he bags her organs and impales her on a tree!" Derek scolds, punching Will's arm. I flip the sketch pad to a blank page and start doodling, trying to ignore their paranoia and fangirl attitudes.

"Are we going to go or what?" Will asks, sounding annoyed. Jacob looks over my shoulder and I look up at him, his face paling.

"What?" I ask, looking down at my drawings. It was just a circle with an x through it, it didn't seem so bad.

"Guys, he knows we're looking for him." Jacob croaks, picking up my sketch pad and showing it to them. They all make the same scared reactions.

"Maybe we shouldn't go tonight." Bryan whispers.

"It's only happening to her, we should leave her behind." Derek demands.

"No, I'm coming with. I don't understand why your freaking out over the drawing, it means nothing." I scold.

"Then why did you draw it?" Jacob asks.

"I don't know. I was bored, I looked at your shirts. It's on there too." I shrug my shoulders, pointing at Bryan's shirt, two of my doodles over a blank, white face.

"She wants to go, fine. We'll let her go." Will exclaims, standing to his feet.

"Okay, guys. Do we have everything?" Jacob asks.