A Beautiful Distraction(Aris Jones x Reader)

5) Our Official Meeting

"Come on Luna. I'm bored,"I droned as my friend rolled her eyes.

"Go to bed Y/N,"She groaned. I tugged on her arm.

"Come one Luna. They're human sized,"I exclaimed, gesturing to the vent under my bed. She turned over and glared at me. I gave up all dignity and started making puppy eyes.

"No,"She grumbled, covering her eyes with her long platinum hair.

"So rude. Okay stay, but when I find the love of my life and you don't I don't wanna hear it,"I huffed dramatically. She gave me a thumbs up in her half dead state.

I looked around before going to move the vent. "Wait,"Luna mumbled. I looked up excited. "I'm just telling you to put pillows under your sheets. I don't wanna get up."

"You're a genius. This is why we're best friends."

"Because you do stupid reckless things and I cover them up?"She asked.

"Exactly,"I replied.

After being sure it looked like I was nice and cozy in bed I went back to the vent and crawled inside. A little bit of rebellion against WICKED never killed anybody(as far as I know). Would I definitely be bruised up? 100%. Would they kill me? Nope. I'm too 'useful' or something like that. I'm not bragging either. I just hear things from others.

I crawled deeper until there was a fork in the road. Something told me I should go right so I followed it. My elbows were starting to hurt from the pressure, but I kept moving. I'd rather not see what they could do to me if they had the opportunity.

I was coming close to my first opening and finally felt the nerves catch up to me. There was no chance I could turn back at this point. I'd come to far, and Luna would give me judgemental stares across the room.

I looked below the opening to see it was a room kind of like the one I shared with others. The difference was this room was for one person. The lights in the room weren't awfully bright, but nevertheless they were enough to see.

I frowned at the empty bedroom below until I heard the sounds of pages turning. I squinted and finally made out a person. It was a boy sitting in the corner reading. What's he doing on his own though?

Against the very little good judgment I have I slowly swung the vent open and dangled my feet below. The boy didn't look up, too immersed in whatever he was reading.

"Hey,"I greeted. The boy looked up wide eyed.

"Hi,"He replied awkwardly.

"Can I come down?"I asked. He craned his neck towards the door before nodding.

"I'm Y/N. What are you doing isolated?"I asked, looking at the mostly blank room. The only thing in it was the bookshelf behind him.

"This is my room,"He told me, with furrowed eyebrows.

"Where's everyone else? Why are you alone?"I questioned.

"I just am,"He said quietly. I felt bad for him. I don't want to know what I'd do if I was alone all the time.

"What's your name?"I asked him.

"I'm Aris."

"Nice to officially meet you Aris. Can I sit?"I asked, pointing next to him. He made room for me and I plopped down next to him.

"What are you reading?"I asked.

"I'm studying,"He answered. I looked at him. He seemed odd with the room, the bookshelf, and now studying. "For the test,"He added.

"We don't study though. WICKED kind of just takes our blood, runs some mystery tests, and we chill in our rooms. Sometimes my best friend Luna will play cards with me or we all play Would You Rather. Don't you do stuff like that with your friends?"I wondered.

"I don't have any,"He admitted.

"I'll be your friend,"I said, holding out my hand. He looked at it before shaking it.

"Okay. Now what?"He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What do friends usually do? I haven't really spoken to anyone except for the WICKED workers,"He confessed. I felt bad for him. I don't know why he's treated differently, but he doesn't deserve it. He seems like a good person, and like I said earlier I trust my instincts.

"We just hang out together. We could play games and talk about random things. Other times you just do your own thing and enjoy each other's company,"I explained.

"Could you help me study?"He asked, avoiding eye contact.

"Sure. I've never done it before though,"I warned.

"Not now. I want to know more about you."
I eagerly nodded.

"I want to know more about you to Aris. You're good company."

"What about the guards though? Aren't you going to get in trouble?"

"You'll help keep look out. That's how a lot of my friendships were. I'm the action packed one, and they're usually the smart ones,"I remarked proudly.

"You are smart. You found your way to my room on your own. I've never thought about what's in the vent before,"He complimented. I leaned back to think about it.

"It just made sense. If there's a human sized vent why not explore? It's not like there's much to do here,"I pointed out.

"There are different kinds of smart though. Like book smart vs street smart. At the same time intelligence and knowledge are different. Being knowledgeable means you have learned through experience while being intelligent means you know how to apply it."

My mouth seemed to be gaping open in awe. I'd never heard anything like that before. It was one of the coolest things I'd ever got to hear.

"Sorry. I don't get to talk much so I just rambled,"He said embarrassed. I thought it was kind of cute to see him talk when he's excited. Then again I've never been around a boy before so it could just be that.

"That was impressive. I think you're a lot of both. You just give off that vibe,"I assured him.

"You sure? If I'm being annoying you can just tell me."

"Take the compliment Aris. If you were getting on my nerves I'd tell you. After all, you need all the trust you can get in this place. If you lie about little things how are people supposed to know you're not lying about big things?"

His face went dark red making me laugh. He really needs to have a friend to talk to if he gets this embarrassed when complimented. I do understand why though. He's been surrounded by adults his whole life who don't care about him, and some random girl shows up through a vent. It's a strange way to meet someone.

A beep came from somewhere in the room. He looked down at a watch on his wrist and his face contourted to panic. "You have an hour to get back. Can you reach it?"He asked. I looked up at the vent.

"I just have to jump,"I exclaimed confidently. He anxiously bounced his leg as I stood up. With one swift movement my feet left the floor and my hands gripped the cold metal. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Wait. I'll see you again, won't I?"He asked.

"Yep. I'll come every other night. So long new friend."

I gave him a salute and watched his face light up. I like Aris. I may have just met him, but I knew he was trustworthy. My adventure was better than I could have hoped for. I think we can both agree it was a remarkable night.

"How's day one Janson?"
"Very well. She's about to remember the real reason she's the way she is."
"And the boy?"
"He's got 4 more days before he remembers with her."