What Is Love?

Chapter Twenty-Four

The Slender man

So I had finally broken - I'd finally given in. After all that struggle and denial of what I was feeling, I gave up anyway... and I'd kissed her.

Kissing her hadn't been bad by any means as far as I was concerned - the human tasted even better than I imagined she would have - and it had been enjoyable, albeit swift. It was also something I wouldn't mind doing again.... But there were consequences for my actions. I was putting Danny in danger with my interest in her in more ways than one. I, of course, was the biggest enemy of myself - it would be entirely too easy to forget myself and rip out her throat in an act of carelessness. I could let myself get too absorbed in the taste of her kiss, and end up diving into her for an even greater feast, splattering her blood as I tore into her.

Then there was also Habit's threat. I had no doubt I could defend the little human from the deranged entity if it came to that, but if he ever came at Danny directly... in order for me to protect her, my true identity would be revealed. Would the female still stand by me if she knew who I really was? The odds, understandably, were less than likely of that happening.

I had yet to shift back to my monstrous form as I slowly ambled through the empty halls of my current base, and I caught sight of my reflection in the glass window of an office door. I stopped and turned towards my double, looking at the disguise I hid behind. The human man staring back looked troubled and confused - emotions I wasn't used to hosting. My hair was ruffled from running my hands through it repeatedly, and a small smudge of lipstick still lingered at the corner of my mouth...

No.

Glass shattered with the image of the false man as I drove my fist through the window pane. Yanking a handkerchief out of my pocket, I swiftly removed the lingering evidence of my intimacy with the little creature. I strode down the hall briskly now, my thoughts running in every direction. What the hell was I doing? Who was I to play human? I wasn't human after all...

My strides lengthened as my legs did, my torso stretching and my arms becoming long and spindly. I felt my face melt away to blankness and I smiled bitterly to myself inwardly. No, I definitely wasn't human. Even if I wasn't sure of who I was inside at the moment, at least I knew my outward identity.

I was still a monster.

As absorbed as I was in my thoughts, I neglected to take notice of the fact my door was ajar already when I entered my office, and instantly froze at the realization I wasn't alone anymore. Two bright purple eyes gazed evenly back at me.

"It's been a while, cousin," my visitor greeted me softly.

My smooth face split into a grin, showing my only visible facial feature for an instant. "Almost a century isn't it, Ender?"

"Something along those lines," he said rising from my desk chair. The Enderman came forward and briskly we shook hands - that was as intimate as either of us prefers to get, baring my earlier excursion with Danny.

"Where have you been all these years? Generally, as is the nature of my business, I'm more than adequate at keeping track of people - you managed to vanish quite effectively though, I must admit," I commented as I sat down behind my desk and gestured for my admittedly favorite relative to sit opposite of me.

A ghost of a smile passed over the Enderman's somber face. "But if I tell you that cousin, you'll be able to find me when I decide to disappear again."

"So it's a 'when,' not 'if,' is it?" I inquired.

He shrugged. "You know how I am Slender. Not much of a people person."

I nodded at that. It was probably the reason why we had gotten along so well as we were growing up - we both hated everyone. "Well, if you're not going to tell me where you vanished to, at least tell me why you decided to resurface again," I pressed him, curious.