Before they got to Slade's apartment, they went to Richard's dorm to grab some clothes, his laptop, his books, and his camera.

"Wow. Someone is a daddy's boy." Slade said.

"Shut up!" Richard said as he grabbed his Batman plushy and Zitka. 

"Stuffed animals? How old are you?" Slade asked.

"Unless you want me to stay up tossing and turning and kicking, then I won't bring them." Richard threatened. 

"You are allowed to bring everything else, but I refuse to have a little boy sleeping in my bed with STUFFED ANIMALS!" Slade screamed the last part.

"I'm not a little boy!" Richard screamed and put the plushy and Zitka back on his bed gently.

"Got everything else?" Slade asked.

"Yes." Richard asked.

"Good let's go." Slade said and started to walk out.

Richard quickly picked up his bags and followed.

As he shut the door, he knew he made a terrible mistake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Slade and Richard started walking on a path that wasn't paved.

"Where are we going?" Richard asked.

"The apartments." Slade answered.

"But all the dorms and stuff are back there." Richard said.

"I said we're going to the apartments. Everyone knows the staff lives in apartments but they never look close enough at the campus to realize that there is an extra building over here." Slade explained.

Sure enough after a few minutes of walking, Slade and Richard ended up at a big building, it might of been bigger than the dorm buildings!

And it was heavily wooded, so no one would notice unless they actually walked back there.

"My apartment is on the third floor." Slade said as the two of them got into an elevator inside the building.

The first floor was just a lobby. It had vending machines, a snack bar, a coffee shop, and stairs.

When Slade and Richard's elevator dinged, signaling that they were at the third floor, they got off.

The third floor had doors marking what room number they were.

The walls of the third floor were creme color with white trim and a dark blue carpet flooring.

The doors were all white with white trim.

Slade suddenly stopped in front of the last door on their right. 

Room number 321.

Slade pulled out a black and orange lanyard with keys on it and a ID badge.  

Slade unlocked the door with one of the keys.

They both stepped into the apartment.

Slade took off his shoes and ordered Richard to do the same.

"You can do your homework while I cook something." Slade said.

Richard followed Slade into the kitchen.

The kitchen had a modern look to it.

It was steel, black, and white mostly.

There was an occasional pop of color, like from a spoon or a measuring spoon.  

The cabinets were black and the counters were white marble.

The microwave was black and stainless steel.

The stove was also black and stainless steel.

The refrigerator was a two-door refrigerator with the bottom part as a freezer. It was all stainless steel.

The light fixtures were stainless steel and hanging from the ceiling. 

There was an island in the middle with black bar stools. 

"Nice kitchen." Richard complimented. 

"Didn't know you cared about kitchens." Slade said.

"I can always enjoy a nice kitchen." Richard said.

Slade barked a laugh, "Wait till you see the bathroom."

That made Richard want to explore.

And it was like Slade could read his mind.

"No. I'm making food." Slade said.

"Finish your work so you can make some yourself." Slade said.

"Wait, you were serious?" Richard asked.

"Yes. I don't joke." Slade said.

"But there's NO WAY I can get this done in time for dinner!" Richard said.

"Well that's your problem." Slade said.

Richard groaned as he hit his head on his textbook.

"I'd start working." Slade said as he got a pan out and several ingredients. 

"It's no use. I'm not even allowed to use the kitchen!" Richard said.

"And why not?" Slade asked.

"I burnt the last kitchen I tried to cook in down." Richard said.

"What do you normally eat then?" Slade asked.

"I get a burger or something from one of the restaurants." Richard said. 

"No wonder you have all this angry and you're crying all the time! You need proper food!" Slade said.

"Well I can't make any. So, I'm out of luck with that." Richard said.

Slade rolled his eyes.

"Get back to work." Slade said.

Richard did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Come on." Slade said to Richard about an hour later.

Slade, carrying two plates, lead Richard into a different room, the living room.

There was a black leather couch, a glass coffee table, Walnut side tables on each end of the couch, a black TV stand, and a large flat screen TV.

Slade sat down and motioned for Richard to sit beside him.

Richard did.

Slade handed him a plate full of food. 

"Eat." was all Slade said.

The plate had two tacos, a pile of refried beans, a pile of rice, and a pile of corn on it.  

Richard took a bite of one of the tacos on his plate.

His eyes widened.

"This is AMAZING!" Richard said after he swallowed his mouth full of food.

"Thanks." Slade said and turned on the TV.

"What do you want to watch?" Slade asked.

Richard shrugged, "Don't watch TV a lot."

"Really now?" Slade asked, surprised. 

"Yeah, I normally am reading, studying, or training." Richard said.

Slade nodded.

He clicked through the channels until he found a show he liked.

Richard ate the rest of his meal. 

When they were both done, Slade got up and took their dishes to the kitchen while Richard stood next to him finishing his homework.

"Thank you. That was a good meal." Richard said.

"You're welcome." Slade said as he put the now clean dishes up.

"Now I'll show you the rest of the apartment." Slade said.

Slade showed Richard the rest of the apartment which consisted of a study room, a bathroom, and a bedroom.

The study room had a wall of bookshelves, a cherry wood desk, and a few chairs.

The bathroom was a stainless steel and white theme. The sink had a marble counter and black cabinets with a white sink with stainless steel faucets, handles, over-flow hole, and drain.

The bath and shower were combined into one. It was white also with stainless steel faucets, handles, and drain. 

The mirror opened up to reveal a medicine cabinet. 

The toilet was white with a stainless steel handle.

However, the walls were white and the curtain that covered the bath/shower was white with different shades of blue diamonds all over it.  

The last room they went into was the bedroom.

The bedroom was a creme color with white trim, a king bed, a medium bookcase,  a door to the bathroom, a nightstand, a dresser, and a small closet.

The king sized bed had black sheets on it, a black and orange comforter, and a few pillows.

The dresser was white with black handles.

The bookcase was black and covered only a portion of the wall.

The nightstand was chestnut wood.

And the small closet held towels, bed sheets, pillows, and blankets.

"Put you bags down." Slade said.

Richard put them at the end of the bed.

"We'll get changed and then it's bed time." Slade said.

Richard nodded and got out his pj's, hair brush, and toothbrush.

After they got changed and brushed their teeth and hair, they both went to the bed. (DON'T ask me how they changed, just go with it, for the sake of the story!)   

"I'm not sleeping by you." Richard said.

"Fine that's your side of the bed and this is mine. Now sleep." Slade said.

Richard turned his back to him and decided to stare at the wall.

It was then that Richard realized that he needed Zitka and Batman plushie. 

All Richard could focus on was that he didn't have Zitka and Batsy to protect him. 

And he started to see the monsters that creeped up to kill him. 

A sob caught in Richard's throat as he tried to hide himself further into the bed sheet.

But the monsters still saw him, and they were still after him.

This time, the sob came out.

And it immediately caught the attention of Slade.

"Richard?" Slade asked.

Richard didn't answer.

Slade turned Richard over and yanked the comforter from his trembling hands.

Slade's eyes widened as he saw Richard.

Richard was shaking , his eyes tightly shut, tears falling down his face.

"RICHARD!" Slade almost screamed.

Richard gasped and he opened his eyes.

They were glossed over with fear.

Then he saw Slade.

And he burst out crying.

"Shhhhh Richard, I've got you." Slade said, hugging Richard to his chest.

Richard tightly gripped Slade's night shirt, pushing his face into Slade's neck and sobbing.

"Shhhhhhh It's okay. Shhhhhhhhh. I'm here." Slade rocked Richard. 

"Z-Z-Zitka...a-a-and...B-B-B-Batsy!" Richard cried out.

"Your stuffed animals?" Slade pieced together. 

"Y-Y-Yes...I-I-I w-w-want them-m!" Richard cried.

"Hey, okay, we'll get them. Just calm down a bit." Slade said in a soft voice.

Richard nodded and tried to calm down.

"Good. Take a few deep breaths. In...and out. In...and out. Good boy." Slade said.

Richard calmed down a bit.

"Now lets go get them." Slade said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Slade and Richard got back to Slade's apartment, Richard had Zitka and Batsy in his arms.

Slade shut the door and locked it again.

He lead Richard into the bedroom and to the bed.

"You try to sleep now." Slade said as they both got under the covers.

Richard nodded and held his stuffed animals close to him.

He sighed and feel asleep.