Chains: Eyeless Jack X Reader

Chapter 11

  {Jack's POV}

            Jack stood in front of his dresser, staring at his reflection in the mirror. Zipping up his hoodie over his navy blue t-shirt, he quickly pulled up his hood. Carefully he tucked a few stray strands of ash brown hair into his hood before tugging on his gloves, giving them a couple test flexes to make sure they were on properly. Finished, he studied his reflection in the mirror and nodded approvingly. At this point the only visible skin was around his neck, hidden in the shadows of his hood, but no one would notice it. They'd be too distracted by his navy blue mask, the only splash of color in his otherwise black appearance.

            Satisfied with his intimidating appearance, Jack headed to the kitchen to grab the plate with a pre-prepared sandwich and headed to [Name]'s room.

{Reader's POV}

            After a few days of living under Jack's roof, I was disturbed to notice that I was starting to adjust to my new life as the "pet" of the eyeless organ-eating monster. I still wasn't entirely sure what being his "pet" meant, but so far it mostly included hiding in my room waiting for meals and him scaring me for his own amusement. After a certain point he started removing the chain during the daytime, much to my relief. However, he'd always replace it before leaving at dusk. Sometimes he'd be gone for only one or two hours, and others he'd return just before dawn. During that time I'd stay awake in my room, his little warning about his "friends" still fresh in my mind.

            We didn't really talk too much; I noticed that he was at his most talkative when trying to scare or intimidate me. After the third time, I'd realized that those little "sessions" were usually spawned by me asking a question, which just made me less apt to speak to him. Otherwise, though, his behavior was largely unpredictable. One day he'd be scaring me, the next he was petting me and giving me a bunch of books. Not that I was complaining about the kindness, but it was so unexpected that it scared me a bit.

            Two days after receiving the books, I sat in my bedroom reading a thrilling mystery when the door opened. Usually he only knocked right after I took a shower, so I tried not to lounge around in my underwear too much. When he entered I immediately noticed Jack's hood was up, something he only did when he was going out, and a glance at the window revealed the daylight to be fading. Guess it's time for the chain to come on, I thought nonchalantly. ...Wait, was I really getting that used to it?

            I sat upright and extended my ankle so Jack could slide the shackle around it. As he moved to do so he paused, tilting his head at my feet. While my left foot was bare, my right had a sock that covered about a quarter of my lower leg. He raised his head to look at me, a silent question hanging in the air.

            "...Metal chafes," I explained with a shrug. "It rubs against my leg every night. See?" I pulled down the sock to reveal bandages wrapped around my ankle. All those novels where the damsel in distress or hero is kidnapped and chained in a dungeon tend to miss this pretty important detail. Jack leaned forward to examine it, raising his mask slightly as he did so. From this angle I couldn't see what lay under it, but I could hear him sniffing.

            "..."

            After a few moments he fixed his mask and tugged the hem of the sock back into its original position, covering the injury. He then quietly wrapped the shackle around my ankle, checking that the fabric wouldn't be in the way before locking it and slipping the key into his pocket. The usual worries ran through my mind: what if he lost the key while out? What if he died? Not that I worried about him and his health, but I WAS worried about me. How would I get out? Would I have to cut off my foot? Would I die? I just had to trust that wouldn't happen.

            Pushing the worries away for now, I pulled my foot onto the bed as I picked up my book. Flipping to the last page, as I looked for where I'd left off I became aware that Jack was still in the room. He just stood next to the bed, staring down at me. I shifted uncomfortably under his concealed gaze. "...What?"

            "...Nothing," he muttered, turning away. I frowned, slightly perplexed, but he silently changed the topic by presenting me with a sandwich. My eyes lit up as I saw it was [f/sandwich], my favorite, and I took it eagerly. As I swallowed the first bite, I suddenly remembered something and cast him a curious look.

            "Oh yeah, what was that smell earlier? It smelled like something was burning..." While I tried to avoid asking questions since they were what prompted him to scare me, this one seemed harmless. I'd smelled it the day he gave me the books, too. At the very least, it didn't smell like burnt flesh.

            "...Cereal."

            "...Wha...?"

            "I had it in the microwave for too long." I blinked at him slowly. Microwave...?

            "...Why..." I trailed off, realization slowly dawning on me. No way, it couldn't be. But... I couldn't resist. "...You do know how to make cereal, right?" Jack didn't respond right away.

            "...Yes." Pausing, he then asked, "...Do you?" Apparently it could be, and it was.

            "...Yeah, you just pour it into a bowl, maybe add some milk."

            "Exactly." He gave a nod, acting as if he was just testing me. At that point I couldn't help it anymore, and as soon as turned away I started cracking up. Yeah, this guy terrified me, but really? He knew how to drive a car, and so far seemed to be an expert in human anatomy, but he didn't how to make a simple bowl of a cereal? I knew he didn't eat human food, but still, cereal's probably the simplest thing you can cook. It's so simple, "cooking" is kind of an overstatement. If I weren't so terrified of him I'd burst out laughing right there and then. However, I still couldn't stop the snicker that escaped me.

            Jack glanced back at me, and I quickly stopped laughing and wiped the smile off my face, looking at him innocently. Watching me silently for a moment, he then turned and exited the room, closing the door. As soon as I heard the front door close in the distance, I burst out laughing. I'd almost forgotten how good it felt to laugh.

            If only that amused mood could last forever.