Keeping Him Sane (An Add x Reader Story)

Chapter 6

I now realize that I haven't quite explained this yet. Add is currently eight right now and he along with (y/n), who is currently seven, will get older as the story progresses. Now on with the chapter!
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        He woke up to someone counting. It was (y/n) counting to be more specific. When he opened his eyes, he saw her sitting across from him with her eyes closed as she counted. "...15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21," she was saying. Her voice was low and soothing. It reminded him of something from his past but he couldn't quite figure out what it was.

     "Why are you counting?" he asked her with a sleepy voice. He wasn't fully awake yet. The sound of his voice startled her, and she looked frightened for a moment before realizing it was only him. Add propped himself up on the arm he had just been lying on.

        "I was keeping time but then I got bored and began to count to keep myself busy," she said as she lifted her head from where she rested it.

     "You can count up to what number?" he asked out of mere curiosity.

        "9,999,999," she said. Her ansswer surprised him and she didn't seem to be lying about it either.

        "How is that possible if you can't read or even write?" he asked. The concept didn't quite make sense. Counting was indeed easier than reading and writing, but it still didn't make sense to Add.

        "They made me learn to count but they kept me from learning to write or read. I tried to learn as much as I could from what they said when they thought I wasn't listening," (y/n) said.

        "She's clever. That's good to know," Add thought as he stood up but something was bothering him. He was still weak. He still didn't know enough and worst of all, (y/n) had seen him in his moment of weakness. "If you were keeping time, then how long have we been here?" he asked her.

        "Umm, two hours, twenty-five minutes, and twenty-one seconds and counting," she responded. Even her counting accuracy was a little surprising.

        "We need to get you in better shape. Come on, let's go," Add said. She got up and followed him as he walked through the aisles scanning the bookshelves. He was looking for the language section. The library was sorted by topic and not by alphabetical order. Once he found it, he stopped and scanned the area for a basic book. He pulled the one he was looking for off of the shelf and handed it to (y/n) before he continued walking again.

        "Wait, Add, what does it say?" (y/n) asked him as she followed. Add nodded already knowing this fact.

        "You'll know soon enough," he responded as he guided her to the ladder in one of the library's corners. They went down to the seventh floor and he guided her to her room.

        "Stay in there and read that until I come back. I need to go do something important and I can't have you getting in my way," he told her as he opened her door.

        "But I can't read. Don't you remember?" she spoke with worry. (Y/n) likely had no idea what Add was planning do, so of course she said such things.

        "I do remember but I think you can figure it out on your own. For now, just try to make it past the second chapter. Maybe I'll reward you if you actually obey me this time," Add said as she walked into her room.

     "If I hadn't left this room you'd be dead right now," she snapped. Add glared at her and was satisfied when he saw her flinch.

        "Don't mention that ever again. You have no business worrying about me. Your only job is to get better. Understand?" Add snapped back. (Y/n) was shaking a little but she had gained a some boldness in the short time Add had known her.

        "If that's my job then what's yours? I don't exactly remember asking you for any of your help," she said with slight aggression. Add did not answer her. He simply closed the door and walked away. She didn't need to know that his job was to take care of and study her. If she were to find out that he intended to gain something from her, he would probably lose her trust.

        Add had already figured out that she trusted him enough already. It signified that she was a little too trusting but he would fix that later. He went to his lab where he retrieved his dynamos and changed into a new shirt. The set of dynamos that he'd used earlier were experimental and he noticed that they were slower by a few seconds.

        He was going to get food and some clothes for (y/n). The girl also needed medical attention. The scars and possibility recent welts on her back looked quite painful. He was surprised that she was able to even fight since her injury was so bad. He would be back in approximately seven hours give or take.

        Add needed to be back sooner than that, but the place he needed to go was a village where he wasn't exactly welcome which meant that he could under no circumstances be seen by the village's residents. He would need to be stealthy and keep out of trouble so that he could get what he needed and be back before (y/n) passed out from lack of food. 

        Once he was ready, he went by (y/n)'s room to make sure she was still there and then he left the library and started his countdown. He needed to measure the rate that the library killed him. Yes, the library was indeed killing him. He could not be away from the library for more than a week or else he would die.

        The library's enchantment cursed him the moment he first entered the library. In fact, it actually spoke to him and told him that he was pretty much bound to the library until the day he died. He hadn't believed the stupid library's words until one day, he did nearly die.

     He had gone three days out from the library's location and didn't plan on returning for a while but on the fourth day, he started to get weaker and felt extremely sick. He immediately realized the problem of course. Add was no fool. He got back to the library in a bloody mess with only five minutes left until he would have died.

        Ever since then, Add had always made sure that he kept up with the time if he decided to go anywhere outside of the library. As he made his way to get everything he and (y/n) needed, he wondered if the library had cursed her as well. If that was true, then it would cause Add a lot of problems. What worried him the most was that he wouldn't be able to study her as well if she could only go so far within range of the library.

        He was already having trouble studying the nasods that roamed outside of his range. Add decided to worry about that later once he returned alive and well to the library. For right now, he needed to focus on getting to the foreign merchants in the village he was headed to.
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Did you guys think this chapter was okay? I hope you all did. There's another update coming soon. Until next time my cool readers!