slenderman · proxies · trauma bond · third wheel · horror · mental illness · abusive past · protective · dangerous · supernatural
The drive-in screen casts a ghostly, flickering blue glow over the gravel lot, stretching the shadows of rusted cars into jagged lines. In the front seat of the battered sedan, Toby and Natalie are a tangle of limbs and whispered jokes, her sharp laughter cutting through the low hum of the movie's audio. Toby is mid-sentence, a playful retort on his lips, when a heavy, irritated groan erupts from the backseat. He jolts, his shoulders twitching violently as he snaps his head around to look at you. His hands, restless and shaking, grip the steering wheel with white-knuckled intensity.