UNDER EDITING 𝐺𝑅𝐴𝑉𝐸 𝐷𝐴𝑁𝐺𝐸𝑅 | 𝐴𝑃𝑂𝐶𝐴𝐿𝑌𝑃𝑆𝐸 ✔︎

Home Alone and Familiar Faces

(Jasper's POV)

As Cooper drives away from the cabin, I lock the door and contemplate a few things. Should I barricade the doors and windows just to be safe? After all, they could be gone for awhile if they can't find the medicine right away. And should I tell Noah they left? Or should I-

Loud hacks are heard from the upstairs bedroom. Ah, right. I run up the stairs and make my way into Noah and I's room. Noah is curled up into a ball on the bed while holding his stomach tightly. I furrow my brows. Noah turns over a bit and his eyes squint open weakly. "Jasper?" He exhales.

Noah sits up slightly while I take a seat text to him. "How ya feelin', Ashwell?" Noah just rubs his neck a bit. "Not good." His voice is cracky. "Where are um... the others?"

Should I tell him? He might freak out... "They are just in their rooms sleeping." I confirm. Noah gives me a confused look. He glances out the window slightly. "The sun is only just setting though."

My eyes shoot to the window and realize that he's right. "Haha well uh... they just wanted to crash early because there was nothing to do." Noah drops his confused expression into a mellow one. "Oh..."

I examine his face a bit. "Something uh... wrong?" Noah shakes his head and sighs a bit. "Well no... not really anyway. I guess I just thought that I would've been given medicine or something. If they really think sleeping is more important though, then I guess it's okay." He rubs his neck.

I can't take this torture anymore. "Noah no. They don't think it's more important than you. I uh... damnit I'm lying to you, Ashwell."

His eyes widen a bit. "Lying? About what?"

I lean back on the bed and stare at the ceiling. "They aren't actually sleeping in their rooms. They left." I hear Noah let out a weak gasp. Sitting up, I try to reassure him. "Don't worry, they left to get you medicine. I'm here to keep watch. It's all okay."

Somehow, I can tell that his breathing is shallow as he frantically looks around the small room. "I— fuck. How could they leave? We're just kids." He messes with his hands. "If someone were to come here then—"

He continues to ramble on as I remember what Denise said. Try and distract him from what he's feeling.

Hesitantly, I put my hands over his and steady my grip. "Noah, it's fine. Just calm down."

"Calm down?" He huffs. "This is insane. This is insane."

"I'm right here." I set a hand now on his back, trying to stop his shaking. "It's not a big deal. There's no reason to overreact. Here... how bout' we tell stories about before the apocalypse. Maybe it will calm you down."

For a moment, Noah goes silent and just stares at me. And honestly, I can't really tell what he's thinking. After a second, he shakily stands up. "A-Are you serious?" He almost shouts, grasping his stomach.

"Uh—" I blink. "Hey, please sit back down—"

"No. It's not a big deal." He mocks. "Of course it is! I wouldn't be physically ill if this weren't a big deal!"

"Noah—"

"I don't want to talk about before the apocalypse! I want to talk about how we can protect ourselves now." He gasps, catching his breath. I shake my head, standing up. "Noah, I was just trying to get your mind off of everything."

"Well maybe I don't want that." He snaps.

"You want to feel anxious?" I question, simply not understanding.

Noah just stares at me coldly before making his way downstairs to the bathroom. "Forget it."

I hear the door shut and my mind starts to whirl. "I... huh?" I mumble to myself. He knows I'm just trying to help him, right? Why would he want to be stressed? To be sick?