Dangerously Close (Aris x Reader)

Prologue

She had never trusted this place. After all, what people did the Scorch have to trust?

No one. That's who.

Whales are the very definition of sleeping with one eye open. They can only go completely unconscious in one part of their brain or else they’ll drown. Except, now there aren't any left to do so.

The point is that that was her. She never fully slept. Not when there were so many dangers out here. While her brain has adapted to it, it sometimes made her jittery and extremely paranoid. Any sound or sign of movement had her ready to run, shoot, or fight. Or worst of all, all three.

Half sleeping under a rock, she kept her gun in her bag just a few feet away. Just a few miles away from said rock, the Gladers and Aris were laying on the hard ground, forcing themselves to be used to it so they could sleep.

For some reason, Aris found that night to be worse than others. So accepting defeat, he stood up to stretch his legs. Starting to walk around, as he got further out his quiet footsteps made Y/N sit up and pull out her gun. Crouching in her spot, she was ready to do whatever he had to.

Unaware of the different kind of fear he should have, the fear of people desperate to survive, Aris kept going for what felt like hours, passing right by the girl's spot. Grabbing her stuff, she got ready to run when he heard the items hitting each other inside her bag when she stood up.

“Hello?”He asked, turning around to face her. Not giving him time to react and kill her, she had her gun pointed at his head, quietly commanding that he get on the ground. Doing as she said, he kneeled on his knees, taking a breath as he silently prayed this random girl wouldn't be what got rid of him.

“What are you doing here?”She asked, her voice low and hoarse from a lack of water and speaking.

“Nothing,”He said quietly.

“I’m not asking again. What are you doing here? Who are you?”She demanded to know.

“Nob-”
“Bullshit. You don't belong out here so tell me who you are.”

“No,”He said firmly yet quietly.

“Excuse me?”She scowled.

“No,”He repeated, keeping his eyes on her. Losing her already short temper, she shoved him to the ground before lightly stepping on his chest. Not enough to crack his ribs but enough for it to hurt like hell and keep him on the ground.

“Who are you?!”She said louder, firing right next to his head as her fear that he was sent to kill her got worse. After all, she wasn't exactly admired out here. Just ask the death threat notes that had been stuck to things in her path.

Refusing to go down like this, he kicked her legs out from under her, resulting in her falling on top of him. With both of them fueled by adrenaline, as she tried to punch him in the neck he flipped them over and grabbed her gun, placing it at her temple as he thought about his options. On one hand, she was clearly dangerous, maybe even insane.

On the other hand, she had her eyes closed, completely still as she waited for him to pull the trigger. Holding her breath, she didn't even shed a tear as she accepted it. Deep down, she had always felt that someone would get to her someday.

She just didn't expect it to be tonight.

Aris was a lot of things. He was observant. He was cautious. He was brave. He was strong in the most unique ways.

He wasn't a killer. Even if she had the capability to take him down, he didn't feel like she deserved death. Especially now that he was looking at her. With her Y/H/C, Y/H/L hair tangled and knotted, her face covered in dirt and her clothes in dried blood, her cracked lips showing just how dehydrated she was, and the burns on her skin from the sun, she looked like hell. She looked like the teenage girl she was, someone around his age with nobody on her side.

Pulling the gun away, he mumbled an apology as he stood up and held his hand out. Looking at him with wide eyes, she didn't think as she sprinted off.

“Wait!”He called, grabbing her sleeve just for her to take her jacket off and run faster. Watching the way she went into an abandoned building in the darkness, he wondered just what happened. Who was that girl and why had she shot a gun near his head? Why did she look so afraid? What was she doing out here by herself?

Looking at the tag in the jacket, he was sure that he found the answer to one of those as he read the name Y/N scribbled in black marker.

Y/N.

The girl that tried to kill him was named Y/N.

The girl whose head he held a gun to was named Y/N.

The girl who ran before he could learn anything about her, who he was sure that she would never see again, was named Y/N.