We Met By Chance(Aris Jones x Reader)

7) Our Morning Alone

I woke up to something on my chest. Looking up I realized it was a bird. It was a pretty crow with shiny feathers.

"Hey dude. Are you going to keep my company?"I asked. It only blinked at me in response. "If you stay I'm going to name you Miles. After all, we have miles to go,"I informed it. It just cocked its head like it was a confused human.

"Blink twice if you want to be my friend,"I said.

"Uh, what are you doing?"Aris asked. I hadn't even realized he was up.

"I'm talking to Miles,"I shrugged.

"Do you mean the bird? Did you name some random bird?"He asked.

"Yep. Come on Miles. You can be like a carrier crow. Maybe we'll find some flight pals."

Miles didn't like this idea because he flew away. Sighing in defeat I went to sit up only to feel a pain in my stomach. I forget I nearly got torn in half.

"How bad is it?"He asked, keeping his voice down since everyone else was asleep.

"It feels like I got nails dug into my skin,"I answered, leaning against the cement wall behind me. I lifted my shirt just enough to see my stomach. Sure enough a bunch of deep scratches and cuts were littering my skin. They weren't as bad as they could be, but they still hurt like hell.

"Jesus. That looks like-I don't even know. We should probably wrap that in something,"He suggested.

"Nah. Someone night break a leg or something,"I said, taking a look at the bite mark. It left a good bruise, but it already seemed to be fading.

"No. Seriously. There has to be something we can use,"He said, digging through his bag. I just picked up mine and found a granola bar.

"I've got it. I picked up some alcohol wipes and bandages. That should work."

"You want a bite of my granola bar?"I offered.

"What? No. Aren't you in serious pain? How are you eating?"He asked.

"I'm hungry,"I shrugged, standing up to stretch my legs. I couldn't help but lift my arms as I stood up. This must have  reopened them because drops of blood were going down my stomach.

"Damnit. I have to try to get another shirt,"I mumbled.

"Are you just going to go back in the mall by yourself with the things that caused this?"He asked.

"Good point. You wanna come?"I offered.

"What? No."

"Cool. Tell the others I'll be back in an hour if they wake up."

"You're still going?"

"Yep,"I responded, already on my way back there. To my surprise he followed me.

"I wasn't peer pressuring you. You can stay."

"I know. I just don't want you to go alone."

"That's sweet. Come on then. They'll be up soon."

ᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗ

"How are you so calm right now?"He asked, as we walked into why used to be a clothing store.

"I dunno,"I shrugged, pulling some random shirt off the rack. It was a plain red one.

"Hey. If I bleed do you think you could tell?"I asked, holding it up.

"If it's not to bad then probably not."

"Sweet. Turn around."

He did so as I tossed my old and bloodied one off. I slipped the new one over my head. It fit like a charm.

"You can turn around now,"I let him know. He dug through the bag as he did.

"You hungry? Because I did offer my granola bar."

"No. You still have to clean those so they don't get infected. Besides, if you don't wrap it this might have been for nothing."

"Good point. Can you just toss them?"I asked. He still walked over an handed me them.

"That works too,"I shrugged, sitting on the ground. I only lifted my shirt enough to show the wounds. I opened the alcohol wipes and quickly tried to apply it. It just felt weird to do. I had been a Track-hoe. Clint told me I was one of the worst Med-jacks he'd ever seen.

"Stop. You're being way too harsh. You're going to make it worse."

"As long as I've got the blood off it'll be fine. I don't particularly care. That's probably why I got kicked out of the Med-hut in twenty minutes,"I said, somewhat directing that last part at myself.

"I'm guessing that's a Nurse, and that was my job at the Spring. Do you want me to do it?"He offered.

"Knock yourself out,"I shrugged, handing him the supplies.

He had a look of determination on his face as he slowly disinfected the wounds. It hurt so much worse than when I did it.

"It's supposed to sting a little bit. It means it's actually getting cleaned,"He explained.

"If you say so."

He went over one on my back that seemed to be deeper than the others because it stung a hell of a lot more. I cursed under my breath at the pain.

"It's the last one,"He assured me. After going over it one more time he held his hand out for the bandages.

"I think you might be one of the kindest people I've ever met,"I complimented.

"Me? You just risked your neck for some strangers."

"Yeah. Rachel looked like she meant a lot to you so I figured I'd get her out. Plus, my friends were rude to David, and I couldn't not take his friend."

"You don't hear anything you say, do you?"

"I do. Those are just basic facts though. There's nothing very special about them."

"I think otherwise. You seem to discredit a lot of what you do. You rescued one of my best friends. Do you genuinely not see anything incredible about that?"He asked.

"No. I made a promise to myself, and I kept it. It seemed simple enough,"I admitted.

"Ah yes. I forget how simple threatening someone, impersonating them, and saving three people's lives is."

I rolled my eyes at his sarcasm but still laughed. I saw him smile to.

"Done. That should be good,"He announced. I looked down to see my torso perfectly wrapped. It was nothing short of impressive.

"Thank you. Even if it did hurt worse than when I did it."

"That pain is a lot better than what you'd feel if you didn't clean it,"He promised, helping me up. Like always I kept my hand in his a second longer than I needed. I don't know what it was that made me do this, but he never pulled back.

"We should get going."

"I guess,"I replied, kind of disappointed my time with him was over. What was it about him that pulled me in like this? I just don't get it. I've never felt like this around anyone. What was it about Aris that was different?

It's probably nothing to worry about. I'll figure it out.