Experiment 101 (Aris x Reader)

17) More Disbelief

Aris tried not to glare at Maverick for something so simple. While there were plenty of acceptable reasons to, he didn't know those yet. Just like how deep down he knew that it wasn't his fault he was here now.

That didn't make it any easier. Seeing him in the spot he had been with her. He already felt like he was grieving when she would randomly be in the cafeteria and not have any clue of who he was. She knew his name, but no amount or explaining reminded her of who he was to her. It wasn't uncommon for them to sit in silence some days.

Y/N had grown used to his presence, but a lot of the time his words just seemed like gibberish. She never said that aloud, but that didn't make it any less true for her.

That wasn't Maverick’s fault.

And still Aris’s gaze towards him was always sharp, more impatient and cold than he knew he could be. It most likely never wouldn't be. Even if he wasn't the way he was forced to be, Maverick was still an imposter. He came in so carelessly and laid on the bed that was silently reserved for someone else.

That won't be the worst of it though. Not one bit.

Aris's P.O.V

All night. I had been watching over her for the entire night just in case anything changed. It wasn't on purpose at first, but the worry has gotten the better of me. There were several times I thought I was going to pass out, but I would just pinch myself into consciousness. I don't even want to know how bruised my arm is. Seeing as I’m comfortable in my hoodie, I don't have to.

It's worth it though. If there's even the slightest chance that something looks off I have to be awake to fix it. She was the only reason I was safe. She had protected me. It was my fault she had even gotten shot, because I was the one who had a gun to my head. She had just ran at him with some seemingly random needle to help and had taken a bullet for me in the process. I owed her so much, and I don't even know what I could repay her with.

I mean she had said she wanted me, which was really weird at the time. I knew what that meant now though. She wanted to feel things which is a feeling in itself. She already can in a way.

I'll still help her get there though. If that was the only thing she wanted I would give it to her.

The only downside is that there are really strangely worded sentences. I also had a feeling she would say a lot more things that would leave me wondering what she was talking about.

It would be worth it though, if it meant helping her.

Your P.O.V

All around me I heard muffled voices. They seemed distant, as though they were miles away while I was underwater. They seemed more like a dream than anything, something that made me sure I was going to wake up to find the boy and my dance with want was never real.

When I opened my eyes to find out, everything was as blurry as my hearing. There was a figure above me that was almost a bunch of colored dots, pixels that had made their way off of a screen. I blinked as if to plug and unplug whatever electronic device they belonged to only for it to still be there. Not only that, it was definitely real as my first real sight of the morning Aris looking directly at me. Why the hell he was staring into the soul I'm not supposed to have is unclear.

“You're awake,”He sighed.

“Yes. It appears so,”I nodded.

“Do you remember anything?”He asked after a minute of silence. I thought back to what was happening, just a few hours earlier. As I glanced around to get an idea of what he was talking I heard a slight rustling. Looking down, I saw the red spot on my shirt. That's when it all came back to me.

“Oh yeah. I got shot,”I shrugged.

“Yeah. You took a bullet for me. Why would you do that?”

“Why not? Better me than you,”I pointed out.

“Y/N, that is an extremely concerning sentence.”

“It's the truth. I’m sure you have more ambitions than I do. Things like seeing your friends. People would miss you,”I reminded him.

“People would miss you,”He argued. Or joked?

“You don't know much about the world, do you? People like what they can relate to,”I replied, stretching my limbs. Before I could raise my arms, he stopped me.

“You'll hurt yourself,”He tried to explain.

“If only.”

“Y/N, there's something that you need to know. About what happened after you got shot.”

I kept my gaze on him as he took a breath. Just as he was about to say something a person next to us woke up and joined what was once a half circle. I recognized him as Minho.

“What are you shanks talking about?”He asked.

“I'm not sure. Aris was about to explain something,”I answered, glancing at him for a second before looking back at him. He took another breath as he closed his eyes.

“Never mind. I’ll tell you later,”He mumbled, going through his bag.

“So what's your deal? I’ve just heard some weird things about you. It’s just stupid lies like that you can't feel anything.”

“I can’t. WCKD took away my ability to feel things.”

“People can’t just take away feelings,”He argued. That was reasonable. After all, Aris had quite a similar reaction.

“I”ve been there since I was little. I don’t remember a lot for some reason, but I do know that they did some experiments. That's why they called me Experiment 101.”

“There’s no way. Prove it.”

“No!”Aris exclaimed. We both looked at him to figure out his reaction. “Do not tell her that. She stabbed her hand with a fork when I didn’t believe her.”

“You did what?”He asked.

Oh yeah. I stabbed myself. I even made myself bleed a little bit. It’s alright though. I couldn't feel it.”

“That’s not-are you two shucking with me?”

“No. Here. Watch,”I explained, grabbing some random glass and getting ready to cut my hand again. Before I could Aris knocked it away, making it shatter into small pieces.

“Just believe her before she does something that actually kills her. And Y/N, please stop hurting yourself. It isn’t doing you any good.”

“So you were just going to stab yourself?”Minho clarified.

“Yes.”

“Oh. I guess you really can’t feel things. That's kind of cool.”

“Cool?”I repeated.

“Yeah. Cool,”He shrugged. For some reason though, my eyes went back to Aris. He rubbed his temple before opening his eyes to meet mine. As usual, he had no reaction. He just looked at me as if I was normal.

If I could, I know that I would like that. I know that it would actually make me . . . happy.