Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder // Masky x OC

2

Absinthe sat on the couch, legs crossed and hands shaking slightly as people stood around her. "So, Absinthe. Tell us about yourself."

The woman stared at the tall entity, hesitating. "I... I guess I like art and music. I'm 20 years old- well... not really now, but you get it. Um... I like to sleep. I always have a lot of energy but I'm always tired. Even after sleeping for almost 200 years, I'm tired." As if on queue, Absinthe yawned and stretched, covering her mouth with one hand. "I see... well, Jeff will help you set up a room as you'll be staying with us. I will warn you though, this is a violent place. Most of us here are killers, stalkers, demons, and the likes. If you would like to leave at any time, tell me, but know that if you leave, I will have to erase every bit of memory you have of this place."

Absinthe nodded and a pale man with a cut out smile and shaggy black hair pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning on, the woman standing up and following him up the stairs. They didn't talk until they got to the last door of the hall, Jeff saying, "So you didn't have technology, did you?" Absinthe shook her head and walked into the room after Jeff, eyes widening when she saw a huge black rectangle on the wall. "The fuck is that?!"

"Wow, culture shock. That, my dear, is a television. You can watch things on it. Here, look." Jeff picked up a remote from the dresser under the TV, flicking on the screen. Absinthe yelped and jumped back, tripping over the bed and Jeff rushing to catch her. "Hey, hey, don't go falling for me!"

Absinthe was confused and stood up, watching as the pale man shook his head and turned back to the screen. "Okay, so, the way this works is that each button does a different thing. For now, let's get you connected to the house's Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll..." Jeff listed off other services but stopped suddenly, eyes widening. "Oh right! You need a phone!"

"A phone?"

"Yeah, I'll show you that later. Better to take things step by step. Alright, get comfy, this is gonna take a while." Jeff and Absinthe sat on the black bed for two hours as Jeff explained technology, TV shows, social media, and video games, setting up a list of shows for Absinthe to watch so she could get a feel of the different show genres. "So what are you most excited about?"

"Hmm... I'd say JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, American Horror Story, and YouTube."

"Sure, nerd. So I guess I gotta teach you slang and stuff. People talk differently now- oh my god you don't know what memes or vines or tiktoks are... you've never been to Hot Topic! Holy fuck, we gotta go out this weekend!" Jeff got excited and took out his phone, Absinthe watching as he messaged a group chat with Toby and whoever EJ was.

Smiley: GUYS WE GOTTA TAKE ABSINTHE TO THE MALL THIS WEEKEND

EJ: Whomst the fuck?

Tic: oh yeah! She's gonna love hot topic

Smiley: My thoughts exactly
Smiley: oh EJ Absinthe is the girl Tim found in that abandoned school yesterday

EJ: oh ok. Sure, I'll go. But we'd better get boba tea, if she hasn't been awake for 200 years, she's gotta try it

Tic: oh yeah, we could take her to go eat too. Probably doesn't know what a food court is

Smiley: cool we'll meet there tomorrow at 10?

EJ: PM?

Smiley: naturally

Jeff put his phone back in his pocket and turned to Absinthe, saying, "You're gonna have a packed day tomorrow, but you need something to wear. I'll be right back." Jeff left the room and cane back minutes later with a stack of things. "Okay, we got one of my old hoodies with no blood on it, a jacket from Tim with no dirt on it, a leather skirt from LuLu she never wore, a crop top from Jane, a pair of jeans from Nina that she won't be needing anymore, and these!" Jeff put down the clothes and took out a pair of black crocs, putting them in the closet and saying, "Trenderman, trenderman, help me with my style, man." Suddenly, a hand wrapped around the doorframe and Absinthe watched in awe as Jeff took a step back and another tall entity almost identical to Slender stepped out of the closet. "What is it this time, Jeff?"

"We got a new one." The tall entity turned to Absinthe and... smiled? "Ah, I see! So, what kind of style were you thinking of, darling?"

"Oh, um, well Jeff showed me a lot of styles and I think I like clowncore and dark academia."

"A strange combination, but I'm sure we can get something together! Come with me, dear." Absinthe stood up and followed the entity into the closet, watching as he swept his hand across the wall and suddenly there were an assortment of fun, yet dark clothing. "Whoa..."

"Tell me what you think!" Absinthe flipped through the clothes and smiled at the color block sweaters, bright plaid skirts, suit jackets, and button up shirts. "I love them!"

"Well then we're on to shoes! What kind did you think were interesting?"

"I liked Doc Martens or whatever they're called and buckle up platforms."

"You've only been here a short time and you already know your stuff! Alrighty then!" The tall entity kicked the wall and out of nowhere, a lineup of platforms and boots popped up and landed on the ground. "WHAT THE FUCK HOW THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THAT?! CAN I GET POWERS LIKE THAT?!"

The entity snickered and said, "Darling, your powers are FAR superior to mine." Absinthe tilted her head in confusion, Jeff equally confused. "What powers?" They asked at the same time.

"You're telling me you can't feel it? The power is radiating off of her - she feels similar to Zalgo, but..."

"Zalgo?! You think she's related to that fuck?"

"No, no, I'm saying that her powers feel like his. Multiple people can have the same kinds of powers without being related. I think Miss Absinthe's powers are demonic, but I can pretty much tell that just from her eyes." Absinthe looked up at Trender in confusion. "What about my eyes?"

"Have you not looked in a mirror yet?"

"Well... no, not exactly..." Jeff grabbed Absinthe's hand and dragged her to the hallway bathroom, the girl's eyes widening when she saw her reflection. Her eyes were inverted, the pupils white instead of black and the sclera black instead of white. Her bright green eyes were now yellow, a fiery tint of orange hidden in there somewhere.

"Oh..."

~~~~~
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