One-Shots of My O.C.'s Lives

Trapped

Aurora looked forward nervously, keeping still as she waited for the human to leave the room. She had secretly been reading one of his books that he usually left on his desk, and she was eager to know what happened next. To others, being small (about 2 inches tall) was all about survival. To Aurora Darwington, it meant being so bored. It was so much work to be a small person, a Borrower if you must call her something, and it required being in excellent physical shape. Not only that, but she had to get food and water with out being spotted by any humans.
Then there was her curiosity. Her parched thirst for knowledge, for learning new things, mainly why there was such a significant boundary between her kind and her hosts' kind. The most contact her kind ever received from humans was discretely living in their large dwellings. But then again, her kind was a dying breed. Because they could barely take care of themselves, Aurora knew that there had to be another way. Thus began her lust for books. For the stories told in words printed on paper with that special musky scent to them.
Aurora snapped out of her thoughts when the human finally got up from his recording area, probably to give himself a lunch break. She had chosen specifically to live secretly in this human's room because he seemed so... Lonely, almost. He had this... Aura about him, that made him seem like the independent kind of guy. She was drawn to him.
Aurora waited impatiently for the male to leave the room, his footsteps sounding as he jogged down the stairs, signaling his absence. She eagerly shot out of the shadows of the door and ran across the carpet. She couldn't wait to read more of the plot of that book. Food could wait later.
She made it to the chair that rested before the computer desk, and she started climbing up the smooth groves of the wooden chair leg.
Again, this took a lot of physical fitness.
She made it onto the cushion of the chair before she let herself splay over the edge, panting in exhaustion. She knew she didn't have all day, but she was exhausted. She let her breathing slow down a little before she picked herself up and grabbed the wire of a pair of green and grey headphones, climbing up the thick rubber tendril before hauling herself onto the desk, breathing heavily. She laid down on her stomach and rested her chin against the cold surface, letting herself catch her breath again. Then when she sat up, she realized that the book wasn't even on the desk.
"Aww!" She whined quietly, sitting down with disappointment clear on her expression. She had been looking so forward to reading the last chapter...
She was so focused on her own disconsolation that she didn't hear the footsteps rise in volume behind her and then stop, until she realized how quiet it almost was. Aurora became aware of a slightly louder breathing, and her first thought was, 'is that my breathing?'. Then the gears in her mind clicked, and she froze with fright, guilt and slight embarrassment. Even though she was so curious about human culture, she had heard so many stories of how her kind had been killed, intentionally or not, by humans. She couldn't help but shudder as she slowly turned around, her eyes widening as her sight confirmed her terror.
The male was back, staring at her with confusion in his huge iridescent blue eyes. Aurora's breathing picked up significantly, and she backpedaled away from the edge of the desk as the human took a step closer, peering at her with fascination. She whimpered as she shrank back behind the headphones, shivering and cowering away from the human's curious gaze.
Her mother was right, she should never have been so curious.
Her nerves snapped when the headphones were slowly lifted up into the air by one of the giant's hands, and she bolted, reason becoming a thing of the past. She was fast, for sure, being long legged and having adrenaline pumping in her veins.
But when she approached the speakers of the computer, she felt a slight stir of wind and heard a faint clink before she suddenly rammed into an invisible wall, her breath getting knocked out of her with a wheezy gasp as she fell back, hitting her head hard against the desk and blacking out.
When Aurora woke up again, she was still on the desk, laying down on the hard white surface. Her head was throbbing, so she squeezed her eyes shut for a few moments before she opened her eyes again, glancing about nervously. She wasn't exactly in the same spot as she had passed out, but she wasn't dead... 'The human... spared me?' She wondered. Why?
She slowly sat up and spotted the male human, with his forehead resting on his hand, his arm propped against his thigh, and his eyes closed as he was hunched over and sitting on the bed. He looked like he was asleep?
She backed away from him as far as possible when she bumped into something with a tap. Confused, she turned around and focused her eyes sharply before she finally noticed the difference. Her surroundings now had a gleam to them, reflecting and refracting light from outside. The headphones were set down around her small circle of imprisonment, probably to keep her from moving it?
She heard a shuffle behind her, and she turned to see that the male was getting up and going over to her, seeing that she was awake. She widened her eyes in fear and pressed against the shiny wall of her prison, her breaths coming short and shallow as he sat down in his chair and leaned down a little to her eye level.
The two stared at each other, neither making a move or noise for a while, their eyes searching each other for perhaps answers. Then the male human suddenly reached over to Aurora, and she ducked in terror with a whimper, expecting him to hurt her or something. Instead, the shiny hue disappeared, and her vision was finally normal. Confused, she glanced sharply back up as the human leaned back against the chair, still gazing at her. She snapped out out of her stare and scrambled to her feet, taking a nervous step back.
"... You-You alright?" He murmured. She froze, and her pulse quickened. He talked. He spoke to her, as if she were an equal. Shocked, she failed to reply, staring wordlessly at the human. The human inhaled slowly, shifting a little.
"Can you uh... Talk?" Still terrified, she stared at him, not moving. The human sighed, raising his hand to his forehead in what seemed like an aggressive gesture to the two inch tall girl, and Aurora flinched and took another step back. Noticing the reaction, the male stopped and slowly lowered his hand. "Sorry." He quietly apologized. She still stared at him mutely before shivering a little at the cold atmosphere.
"Are you cold?" He frowned a little, seeing her action. She whimpered quietly when he reached forward again, and she cowered away from his outstretched hand, expecting him to hurt her or yank her off the desk like a lifeless doll. Instead, she felt a gentle force rest on her head, petting the top of her head in a soothing motion. She perked up a little, looking up and seeing that the human was stroking her, and she noticed his hand was shaking a little with apprehension. He's scared... Of hurting me? She couldn't believe it, a human caring for her kind. Yet here she was, interacting with a human.
Her tense muscles relaxed, and she sighed inwardly, feeling reassured. Surely not all humans were bad... Right?
The male seemed to notice her change in posture, because he gave her a small disarming smile before he lowered his hand to curl his fingers around her small figure. Fear came back a little, and she flinched slightly.
"It's ok... I'm not gonna hurt you." He said softly, gazing at her. She looked up and, to her surprise, finally saw the kindness in his eyes. They were so warm and welcoming, and they made her relax, wanting to trust him. He didn't pick her up, but he instead continued to gently stroke her. Then his slight grip slackened, and he was about to pull away when she suddenly unfroze and grabbed the tip of his index, making him stop and stare down at her with genuine surprise.
Aurora didn't know what came over her. She liked being pet like some animal? And she was willingly contacting a human?
She blushed in embarrassment and let go, when the human let his hand go back to her, curling his hand slightly behind her. She relaxed again, leaning back against his warm skin and closing her eyes. Then she opened her eyes again and let out a small squeak of surprise when the older boy suddenly tilted his hand and lifted it, gently scooping her up off the desk. She flinched and leaned away from the edge as he carefully brought her over to him, sitting back and cradling her. She relaxed as she leaned against his chest, feeling his warmth seep into her small fragile body.
Aurora felt a little awkward at this moment, being held by someone much larger than her, holding her as if she were still a small child. But she grew too calm to care, and curiosity fully overtook her. She yawned and snuggled up against the human, interested in how he'd react. He didn't react negatively, fortunately, just sat there and gently hugged her to his thorax. She was no longer scared of the human. If he wanted to hurt her, he surely would have done it earlier.
She sank into the embrace, nestling herself comfortably in the human's arms and feeling his breathing when he suddenly murmured, "... Can you even understand me?" She stilled, wondering whether to trust the human or not. Slowly, she nodded, glancing up at him. He blinked rapidly a few times, staring down at her.
"So you can uh... Talk?" Again, she nodded, letting out a small yawn and shifting in the human's arms. She felt him take a deep breath before asking, "So then... Uh, what's-what's your name?" Mildly curious, she lifted her head from against his shirt and looked back up while blinking owlishly at him.
"......" Then she closed her eyes for a second before replying. "... A-Aur-Aurora." She squeaked timidly. She saw the corners of his mouth quirk up in a smile.
"I'm Jason." He replied. She made a small "Mm" in reply, nuzzling him again. He noticed and grinned. "You tired?" He asked softly. Aurora nodded, brushing her cheek against his collar bone. She felt Jason gently let the top of her head again, which made her feel even more drowsy.
"You can sleep if you want. I'm not gonna hurt you." He assured her. She shifted a little in response, lying back against him in a fetal position in his palm before slipping in a restful sleep.
She hadn't slept so well in 13 years.