A Beautiful Distraction(Aris Jones x Reader)

13) Dreams Of The Past

We ended up stopping when sundown was approaching. I volunteered to help find some wood for a fire. Unfortunately, we weren't able to go on our own. The group simultaneously decided Aris was the one to go with me. I didn't have the energy to argue against it.

"So how are you holding up?"He asked.

"Fine,"I shrugged.

"Are you still mad at me?"

You should be. It's only right for you to be.

"I don't know,"I admitted.

"Why?"He asked.

"I don't think you'd believe me,"I sighed.

"I think you're wrong. Tell me."

"Aren't we supposed to be looking for wood?"I reminded him.

"There's two other groups doing the same thing. It can wait,"He shrugged.

I weighed the pros and cons. Honestly, there wasn't a lot of either. He could think I'm a liar or absolutely insane. He could tell me it's all in my head. He could be weirded out by everything.

"If you're worried I think you're crazy then don't be. I may not have known you long, but I can tell you're logical. You just seem smart."

He's known you for years. If you tell him he might hate you.

"Take a seat. It's a long story,"I sighed, patting the ground next to me. He sat close to me. I remember when we first sat like this. I was teaching him card tricks. It was the moment I fell for him.

"The thing is at WICKED you were one of them. Not at first, but at some point he started helping them build Mazes. You kept it a secret the entire time we um,"I trailed off.

"We what?"He asked.

"I crawled through the vents and found you. For a long time I was the only person your age you knew. At some point we fell for each other. Then, I found out you were working with them. I didn't speak to you again. You came to my room, and I wouldn't say anything. Eventually, you figured it out and pleaded for me to listen to you. When it was my time to go you begged for me to follow you, and I didn't. Just the sight of you made me sick. It was the most painful thing I had ever felt."

"So I did this?"He asked.

"Yeah. You took my friends. You took my memories. I don't know why they took yours. They never found out you pleaded for me to go, and you didn't come back after I screamed that I hated you."

"I don't know how I could do that. How could I ever hurt anyone?"He asked, more to himself than to me.

"I don't know, but you did."

"So I never came back for you after that? I gave up?"He asked quietly.

"Yeah. The last thing I did was destroy the stopwatch you gave me. I said I was glad I didn't have to see you, and you couldn't hurt me again. You just told me goodbye and that you were sorry."

There was an awkward silence.

You were stupid again. You said too much.

"I don't remember, and I know it doesn't matter now, but I still am."

"There's nothing you can do now. What's done is done,"I shrugged, acting like I didn't care.

As much as it pained me to admit it I did. I cared because I knew it wasn't just dumb puppy love. He was someone I wanted to see forever. I lost sleep over him. When we were apart I felt like part of me was lost. My heart was ripped out of my chest. I'm over it now though.