The Void Behind The Lies.

by Unfathomabletoeknuckle

Summary:

"Some people think that life is all good, not until that thought gets forcefully stripped away and makes you see that the same topic they thought was so good—was something empty and cold."

You're a drained college student who's bouncing between two jobs to pay your tuition off and staying afloat, others party and have fun while you work yourself to the bone trying to help people at the shitty store you work at and during the day you work at a coffee shop—both jobs decent pay but really exhausting. One night, something strange happens inside your friends shoe box apartment that causes you to become what you are now.

Notes:

These will take me a bit to post, so my apologies for that because I get busy sometimes and I can't usually control that. But HIIII thank you for looking at this story, it's kind of OOC but I'm trying my best to keep them all written in character! Please be patient with me about that part though.

– unfathomabletoeknuckle

Chapter 1: An introduction ofc

HIIIII, so- this is just some information real quick! It won't be long I promise. 

Reader is a female, no I will not be changing that since it's my personal preference as a female myself. (It's a lot easier for me to write female perspectives but I will experiment with other perspectives in future works.) 

Just an FYI, I'm slightly an amateur writer since I've never really written stuff in A03 and I'm still attempting to get used to it after making bots on J.AI. (spoilers: smut scenes will be kind of mediocre in my honest opinion.) 

Moving on to basic info. 

Y/n: your name 

H/c: hair color (wont really be mentioned much but brainstorm on that part.) 

since it isn't stated on which college Tim and Brian went to, I'll just conjoin music and film because idk.

Also, it may say "you" but in further chapters and lines would be examples of: "Y/n's got this, shes strong." And stuff like that. Just needing to say that because it's gonna be confusing. 

That's all, happy reading!

Chapter 2: Late bus.

It was cold outside at midnight of November, the scent of fall transition heady in the air as the breeze prickled at your cheeks and nose to a rosey pink while you waited for the bus at a bus stop. The air finding ways to go through all the thick layers of your winter clothes, the cold air not stopping you from freezing outside despite the fact your coat being fur lined on the inside. you look at the sign nearest to the bus stop and see the time schedule for the bus to arrive— 8:00 AM to 11:10 pm on weekdays and 7:00 to 9:12 pm. you checked your watch, seeing that it was 10:20 PM before letting a soft sigh leave your lips and looking around to see any signs of the large vehicle that usually takes you home.

Time ticked by, what was 10:20 PM now was 11:00 pm— the bus could be slow but to be this slow was concerning to say the least, missing papers lined the walls of the metal overheads walls with different names that all overlapped which only unnerved you slightly— that thought in mind, you pulled out your phone and quickly dialed up a friend of yours that you've known since your first year doing music.

you didn't feel like walking home at this hour anyways and prayed to god that you didn't have to either way.. especially with whats been going on recently.

On the 5th ring a voice answered. "hello?" a gruff voice crackled through your speaker that was against your ear, his voice raspy from sleep and cigarettes .

"Tim? hey, I was wondering if you could swing by and come get me. bus was late again and I don't really wanna walk home—especially because of the missing cases that are on the rise as of recently." you explained, your voice slightly getting quieter on the last parts.

there was a pause, it was quiet enough to make you think he hung up on you for most likely waking him up.

As you tried to explain more reasonings, Tim was practically counting out how many hours of sleep would he lose if he came to go get you.

"Yeah, I guess I'll see if I can." Tim interjected mid-sentance, the sounds of sheets being moved and his bed creaking filled your ears followed by a groan from him as he continued to move around. "What street are you on?" He asked. 

"I'm on the one nearby the forest that's behind the convince store I work at, you remember where that is right?" 

"Mmm, I think I do." 

Silence fell over the phone again, like neither of them didn't know what to say anymore but already knew what needed to happen.

"I'll see you when you get here." you suddenly stumbled out, trying to break the some-what awkward silence that hung over the call. he only grunted in response before you hung up on him, letting out a sigh of relief that you hadn't noticed you've been holding.

You leaned back against the bench, the harsh lighting from the florescent light above you casting an ethereal halo on your hair while the strands swayed in the sudden wind that passed by—you shivered though, teeth chattering while you hugged yourself to keep warm. God it's been ages since you've last seen Tim, last time you did you saw him a few days before you lost touch with Brian.

The thought of Brian made your heart twist and ache, that night he suddenly disappeared without a trace and became one of the many faces on missing posters that people given up on.. you missed him, so much to the point you just dreamed that he'd come back and give you a warm hug and that sweet smile he'd always give when he was genuinely happy. Tears pricked your eyes but you blinked them back, not wanting to start crying currently because one of your best friends were missing and the stupid town you were in didn't give a shit about it and just gave up after 2 days.

 

 

40 minutes passed by in a blur, But Tim arrived in his old red and beaten up pick up truck that always coughed like Tim does when he inhales a little too much smoke. you slid in and sat down on the passenger side, closing the ancient yet squeaky door that definitely needs WD-40 and settling in. his car smelled like smoke and cheap sandalwood cologne that always found its way to soothe your nerves because of its familiarity and association with Tim. 

He pulled away from the curb, driving along the road as some old country songs that sounded just inches away from being mistaken for rock played in the background. Moments passed, you turned your head from looking out the window to look at him.

"thanks again, Tim. I seriously thought I wouldn't make it home tonight.." You chuckled nervously, trying to lighten the mood only for him to grunt out a 'dont mention it'. As the night wore on, the subtle fog got thicker and more pissed off while he drove through the dense forest.

Tim's free hand ran through his greasy side part, he subconsciously flicked open the squished pack of cigarettes and pulled one out to place on his lips to ease the mild stress he felt. "Shit." Tim cursed under his breath, the hand on the steering wheel tightening. You huffed, scratching the back of your neck nervously while you started to get sucked into thought. 

A tense silence fell over you two, one party nervous while the other one looked like he wanted to take a sharp right into a ditch and kill himself.

"I'm taking you to my house, ts' closer by since the fogs' starting to set in." Tim interrupted, pulling you out of your mind's constant thinking. "Okay." you murmured, nodding your head before turning to look up at the sky—or what you can faintly make out at least.

Your body swayed with the truck slightly as it turned in the direction to his house, the desired destination up in the distance before they finally arrived. "I'll drop you off at your job tomorrow morning." Tim called, his voice taking on that 'Dont argue with me about this decision' time before he turned and walked into his house—leaving you by yourself without hesitating. 

You stood there for a few moments, staring at the door he just walked into like he might come back out but he didn't. You sighed, grabbing your stuff from the bed of his truck.

There was a sudden weight of a heavy gaze fell into your shoulders causing you to tense and quickly turn around to see what was staring at you, you couldn't see shit with the fog around you like this but you know somethings there. A shiver rolled up your spine as you quickly grabbed your bag and practically sped walked inside to avoid that feeling any longer. 

Plopping down on Tim's worn out couch that definitely seen better days you started to settle in, taking your shoes off and wincing from she pain that shot through your feet from being on them for so long. You stretch your arms over your head, feeling the bones in your back pop audibly before you relaxed. You started to feel heavy as exhaustion soon started to take over but you thought about Tim, you yawned and got up to go check on Tim— seeing what he was doing even though he was probably asleep or something. that man valued sleep over everything at this rate.

you walked down the familiar halls of his house, walking towards his bedroom only to pause in your tracks at the sight of his door agape. Pushing it open slowly like the door might bite you, you slowly walk inside and flicked on the light before your eyes fell onto Tim's bed with his sheets askew and his window open.

Nervously, you looked around the area for him but he wasn't there. Your face scrunched up in confusion, trekking further in and seeing his closet partially open and a camera perched ontop of a box with the tape still rolling.

You walked over to it and standing on your toes to reach up and grab it, you accidentally stumbled and lost your footing. "Jesus!—" you yelped, falling over and face-planting into the floor and the camera falling to smack you in the back of the head. You winced, your hand shooting up to clasp the back of your head in pain. stupid ass camera. you thought mentally, sitting up and grabbing it to stop the recording and watch it. 

After a few moments of struggling to get it to work you finally were able to watch it, the footage showing a mysterious figure that was in a faded yellow hoodie that was similar to the one Brian used to wear a bunch and a ski mask with a dark red frown dyed into the fabric and blue jeans. you took notice though on the hoodie, how the sleeves had the same rips on the cuffs and how it had a small familiar paint stain near the shoulder because of the art class he took you to and you playfully flicking paint on him. 

Whoever this was, whoever was wearing that fucking hoodie—pissed you off, thoughts started racing through her mind that caused her hate for this figure to rise more and more despite not even having one encounter with this... thing. But it didn't matter, the figure walked out of frame after putting the camera on the box in Tim's closet and stole Tim's pills that didn't have a label on them before they hid off in his closet because Tim went straight to his room assumably after he picked you up and drove you here. 

Tim started to cough in the footage, it started out as a singular one before turning into a fit of coughs and gags while he looked for the medicine that the hooded figure took only to come up empty handed. You watched as he fell to the floor while having a seizure, his body aggressively twitching and seizing before it abruptly stopped and he was still.

It stayed like that for a few more moments before he suddenly stood up and walked out of his room like nothing happened.

The tape ended which left you confused about what the hell just happened, like you just watched the most confusing puzzle get solved almost instantly like it was magic. 

Your phone buzzed in your pocket, an unknown number calling you which made you gulp nervously. You reluctantly answered the phone only to hear calm rhythmic breathing. "Hello? Who is this?" You quaked, your stomach churning in fear as you listened.

You were about to hang up until you heard someone getting punched followed by a grunt, then what sounded like two people tussling and fighting judging by the sounds of punches and strangled growls while one was shouting.

"What the fuck is going on?" You caught yourself saying, your voice shaking as you tried to wrap your head around everything that's happening. 

Another voice joined in, what sounded to be female at least. "Get off of him!" The woman shouted, a thud was heard before the sound of a gunshot rang out through her phones speaker.

It was silent, then the line was cut— your phone started to glitch rapidly and flashed static along the screen, a pair of creepy red bleeding eyes appearing in your phone screen before the phone completely gave out and killed itself.

"Fucking Christ." You cursed, tossing your phone on Tim's bed and rubbing your temples while you struggled to understand everything. 

You decided to go take a walk to clear your mind, your brain hurting as you thought about the call and the video. You turned into an alleyway, the walk soon turning into taking a shortcut to find your way to your favorite diner.

Walking in the nearly deserted building other than 3 workers, two teenagers and one middle aged chef in the back and taking a seat in a booth. You ordered something simple to eat and a water, looking down at your broken phone to maybe confirm that this was all a dream and none of it was real but your phone didn't turn on anymore and you're still mentally feeling like a confused puppy. 

The little bell rung, sounding another customer. You look over and see someone—three people actually, one had a dark brown shag that was pushed up by orange goggles and a metal muzzle that hung around his neck. His army green and latte brown hoodie a stark contrast of his brown faux fur trimmed secondary jacket, his hoodie had a muted blue hood on it. His jeans flared around his calves, overlapping on his dirty sneakers. Another one had bandages wrapped around his eyes and an unnatural grey skin color, wearing a black hoodie with he hood pulled up and distressed jeans as well as a pair of boots that looked too large on the tall figure. The last one looked like he was burned all over, a smile carved in his mouth that curved ear to ear but his stained white hoodie was pulled up like he was trying to hide from the world. A stubbed belt hung around his waistline that hold up impossibly tight black ripped jeans, his shoes a pair of sneakers that definitely needed to be washed. 

One key difference between the three men was height and the fact that two of them had bandages that covered what might be wounds while the other one just casually wore the grotesque grin like it wasn't both absolutely skin crawling and fascinating to look at, you quickly ripped your gaze away feeling like a creep for staring and cursing yourself out for even noticing them.

You couldn't help but perk your ears up when you heard the booth next to you creak, probably them sitting down and chatting lowly amongst themselves— But then you got your food delivered and all of a sudden their gazes fell on you, you couldn't see it though. Didn't want to. But you felt it, felt the weight of it bore into the side of your skull. 

You quietly ate what you could, your appetite fading from the scent of cigarette smoke and a faint copper tang that you didn't want to think too hard on. Placing down a few bills and a generous tip you got up and walked off, a quick pace in your step when you walked out with an objective clear in your head. 

Lose your mind find Tim. 

The sudden feeling of being followed creeped up your spine but when you turned no one was there, like it was your brain tricking you to thinking you heard a different pair of footsteps behind you. 

Your mind spiraled, you felt like you were going insane but you don't know what's keeping you from shattering completely. 

What's definitely gonna make you break though is how whoever or whatever is behind you is quite literally fucking with you, like they want you to get upset and walk over to even see if your mind is just being confused. you did exactly that.

You took slow careful steps over to where you last heard them stop at, holding up a rusty metal pipe up high and ready to defend yourself with while your eyes scanned over the area. You checked everywhere, high and low—far and wide—nothing. Nothing was there. 

With an annoyed scowl you turned on your heel only to bump into someone causing you to fall, you looked up to see who's dumbass stood in your way only to see a figure standing an staring at you like he was trying to place where you're from. 

"Can you move?" You suddenly blurted out, standing up and dusting off your pants but the figure stood silent. Watching. You just decided to push past the figure only to be grabbed by your shirt and yanked back to them and tossed back into the floor. 

You yelped, wincing as you fell on your ass. Standing up again, you clearly got defensive and slightly aggravated. "What was that for?" You exasperated, your voice louder than intended. "Why the hell would you do that?" You pryed, trying to gouge the reason why this random man would push you like that but he still stayed silent. Which only made you more frustrated. 

"I'm talking to you." You huffed, still no answer from this man.

You rolled your eyes, suddenly a damp cloth came up from behind you. It covered over your nose and mouth before a sickly-sweet scent filled your lungs, Your vision blurred and all you could smell was that scent. You squirmed and fought when your back was pressed firmly against someones chest, trying to pull away but your attempts got weaker until everything went black and you felt like you're floating. 

Notes:

Yo, so this whole chapter made my brain hurt real bad because I feel like I thought too much 💔 Finished at 1:13 AM but decided to continue editing it after accidentally posting. Also, toby's outfit was slightly inspired off of antlergraves art with Kate the chaser in it because I liked the idea of it! So be nice about his outfit choice.

3:14 AM, gonna continuously edit this though because I'm taking breaks during my thought process so maybe later today don't be surprised when you see it's edited.

Few hours later now, 1:44 pm as of currently. I've edited this, I'm still editing actually but just wanted to make sure it was easier to read because someone mentioned it was kinda hard to so I just wanted to fix that and add more before writing another chapter.

Chapter 3: The Case Of A Dirty Panty Thief.

Summary:

I don't know, but your panties got stolen. Do with that what you will and maybe guess who could've done it...

Notes:

Sorry this was late, I completely forgot I wrote this unfortunately 😞 (tossed in a little comedy that might not really hit right but it's wtv.)

This is shorter than the actual 1st chapter, I'll try to make up for it next chapter so please be patient with that 🙏

Tim, diner, darkness.

That was you could remember while waking up from consciousness, the lingering scent of chloroform lingered in your nose as you squinted to looked around. 

The place looked familiar and not at the same time, like a memory that was warm but felt distant. All you could make out was faint items and furniture but it was mostly pitch black that made it hard to realize if your surroundings were something you know or you've just been kidnapped, your hand smacked against the wall before feeling for something that felt like a night stand and then moving up slightly to feel for a light source and settling into a lamp. 

You flicked it on, the sudden light blinding you for a few seconds before you flicked your eyes back to the room. the fuck? this was your house, you don't remember coming home—then again, technically you were drugged and likely put in your bed like nothing happened... That's what you could put together at least. 

Your room was familiar to you obviously, but it felt... wrong... Stripped.. 

You placed a hand on your bed before immediately pulling it back once you felt a cool film yield under the force of your hand, you turned to look down at it wearily— your gaze meeting down to a Polaroid that clearly showed you knocked out in the backseat of some car that must've seen better days. 

"Is that what I look like?–" you muttered, your attention was stuck in the fact that whoever took this photo made sure to get the way your mouth hung open while you laid unconscious in a pose that made a gymnastics coach applaud. "That is- what the fuck is that?" You gasped, fixating on how your legs folded one way while the other was literally on top of the head rest. 

It only got worse the more you viewed it so you tossed it aside and put your face in your hands In embarrassment, completely forgetting about the fact that there was a photo that was taken of you while you sprawled out like family guy and a somersault tried to do ballet with the grace of a shit faced drunkard. 

You stood up, stumbling slightly and holding onto the nearby nightstand that groaned in protest from the sudden pressure before making your way around your house to double check and see if anything was off. 

You grabbed a random fly swatter for defence— closest weapon that was close to you— and held onto it tightly as you walked through your house and checked every closet and room so you at least get reassurance that you're alone. 

Checking the last closet, a sigh of relief left your lips but was interrupted by a loud thud at a window upstairs. I can't get a break can I? You pondered with a dreaded look crossing your features, you made your way to the staircase in your house before pausing at the bottom of it. 

please God, don't turn me into a dumb horror movie character. 

you treaded up the stairs, trying to be quiet the best you can but your stairs creaked awkwardly under your weight—your while face scrunched up while you squeezed your eyes shut, considering ripping out these old ancient ass stairs for exposing you like this but you continued forth. Even while your stairs were against you in this civilian investigation. 

You came up in front of the window upstairs, only for your blood to freeze when you saw the old windowsill slightly broken like someone took a crowbar to the other side of it to try and pry it open... That didn't explain that loud thud against the glass though. 

You saw a figure in the corner of your eye, you quickly swatted your fly swatter in that direction while you whirled to look in the same direction but nothing was there and you just swung at air. 

You paused for a moment, standing stiffly like your whole body locked up on its own. "Yeah I'm gonna have to call my therapist and psychiatrist." You blurted out, rubbing your temples before turning on your heel to walk to the bathroom to shower. 

The warm water splashed against your skin, the water dripping down your body as you immediately relaxed under the temperature. 

........ 🧟‍♀️

 

You stepped out of the shower, your hair soaking your towel while you wrapped it around your body. You out your dirty clothes into the hamper before walking to your room to get dressed, feeling refreshed and relaxed. 

You dried off, making sure to get every body part so you won't get stuck on having your clothes stick to you. You soon got dressed in comfortable pajamas, patting yourself down only to realize you forgot you left your phone in the bathroom. 

Walking back over to the bathroom, you opened the door and quickly glanced over the bathrooms to land on your phone on the towel rack— snatching it up, you did one more quick glance over the bathrooms interior and then turning to walk out but stopped once you saw how your laundry hamper was crooked and the clothes have been scattered like something was being searched for. 

your dirty panties were.. gone? 

You could've sworn you put them there, you literally tossed them in there so you could wash them somewhere down the week.. 

why were they gone?

You huffed, not wanting to think too much on the topic anyways. 

You power walked out of the bathroom and straight into your room, locking your door and flopping yourself into your bed. You grabbed your laptop, opening it up to maybe watch something to ease your mind. 

You pulled up YouTube, scrolling through channels before you settled on something slightly interesting. 

EverymanHYBRID. or at least what you could see since you're screens slightly busted. 

You clicked on the channel, trying to see what it was about but the about me section was just a whole lot of nothing with a sprinkle of "fuck around and I'll haunt your dreams you loser." vibe. 

You clicked on the first video though, an intro playing out in your screen as it flashed 3 names—Vinny, Evan, and Jeff. Vinny looked like he gave great hugs and looked like the type of guy who hugs a tree, Evan looked like a guy who owns a whole bunch of distressed jeans and never washes them, and Jeff looked like a nervous child that got told no. It's kinda funny though. 

You watched through the videos they had up, not really being enough there but soon the videos got slightly darker from there—to the point even she was questioning on if any of that was real. 

If it was then... maybe you could at least have people to talk to since they're in the same situation as you.

The video finished and then skipped to another one that showed ways to contact them for any information or help, quickly typing the phone number into your phone before you texted out a message. 

 

(Random ass number, I guess you gotta pretend its them.) 

———————————————————————————————

Hey, I hope this reaches the right number but I saw a video you guys made and wanted to get in contact with you guys because I'm kind of in the same predicament.

delivered. 3:49 AM. 

—😼..........

You put your phone down, a yawn soon leaving you as you blinked away the exhaustion that was ebbing away at your mind. 

You stretched your body, soon relaxing and closing your laptop as you got ready for bed. You pulled up the blankets on your bed and pulled them over you, your hand reached over to turn out the light but you paused once you felt a presence weigh heavy in your room. Your eyes narrowed before you snapped for head towards the other side of your room, nothing was there. what the fuck. 

It's bullshit, just as you were trying to catch whatever or whoever was trying to make it seem like you were losing your mind. you heard a static in your mind, faint but quickly getting louder to the point you covered your ears firmly but it didn't stop and only got worse. 

"Y/N..." a growl sounded out in the static, it sounded slightly impatient but calculated. "Come to me, child." 

You let out a strained groan, your eyes screwing shut as you continued to feel like your brain was getting crushed while flashes of a forest crossed your brain.

"I've waited long enough for you, girl. It's time to come home." It claimed, but you didn't know what it meant by that. The static slowly faded, leaving you slightly shaken but then a hard migraine hit you and made you wince. 

You got a new objective now that's weighing heavily on you. 

Get in contact with EverymanHYBRID, and find out that the fuck that was that just happened.

but fear was etching it's way into your chest and settling uncomfortably, you didn't know how you're gonna do it. 

But you'll wing it. 

You always do. 

You. 

Will.

Find. 

Slenderman

Notes:

So, to explain why I was late on posting this— all I'm gonna say is that I had a rough week, but I got a kudo email from A03 about this work and remembered that I was supposed to post the second chapter but then realized I forgot to write it..

so thank you to whoever sent a kudo to this work, you reminded me that I became a damn writer for a random work I started and clearly neglect from time to time.

And don't come for me, I forgot the whole order when everymanHYRBID gave out information to contact them so out down the pitch forks and report buttons💔

Chapter 4: The reason I’ve been gone.

Summary:

Mentions of suicide, and just me trying to reason that I haven’t been too good recently.

Notes:

First off, I wanna say thank you to the people who are supporting this work and say that you all are amazing people. I hope you all stick around for future works because I do have plans since I keep trying to make side quests instead of focusing on this. Secondly—I’d like to state my reason why I’ve been gone with an apology.

I’m sorry for disappearing like that, I’m just going through things as of currently and I haven’t been working on the 3rd chapter much since my best friend just committed suicide. I’m trying to push through and write this chapter while I’m grieving since it’s the one way I could take my mind of things, so I’m sorry that I haven’t posted or did anything and I’ll promise to make it up to you all that follow this work. I’m gonna take some time to myself to try and get over this moment, But right now I’m under the weather, I’m tired and I feel stuck though because I can’t figure out what to do or how to even cope with this all. I’ve known by best friend for 3 to 4 years now and this just really brought me down to rock bottom, I’m having panic attacks left and right and it’s just stressing me out. so please be patient with me, I love you all my little unfathomables and I hope you all understand what I’m going through right now.

— Sincerely, Unfathomabletoeknuckle.

Notes:

I'll try to adapt to posting on Sundays and Wednesdays to test it out, if it doesn't work then I'll attempt to post whenever I get the chance to! I love you guys!!

MWAH MWAH