Sabotaging Your Heart (+18) DeadByDaylight

Chapter 1. Warmth

Jake was sitting in his usual spot on one of the larger logs around the Campfire. His chin rested on his gloved hands as he absently watched the orange and yellow flames flicker, an occasional pop from sap in the firewood making the fire jump and cast even more shadows around the already dingy and dark area. He blinked slowly, only really looking across to the other side of the fire a few moments as a small, darker skinned survivor arrived. That was long enough to see she looked cold. He let his eyes wander over her small frame. Even at the distance they were, he could see her shivering. He let his gaze linger a few seconds before staring back into the never extinguishing flames.

'Why does she sit all alone instead of next to someone if she is cold?' He ponderd, his brows furrowing slightly.

Detty PoV
The cold wind blew against her bare skin, making her shiver as she got closer to the warm campfire and sat down, quickly hovering her hands towards the flame. She saw that Jake and a few other survivors took notice when she, Claudette, the gentle and shy healer of their group, arrived at the fire and sat in the only vacant spot away from others. Claudette had quickly been lost in thought before she looked up, seeing Jake sat across from her on the other side of the fire. The way the flames lit his face up, casting shadows behind him, made her heart flutter.

'He's so cute,' she thought.

She felt the goosebumps on her body heighten as another breeze hit her small frame. She started rubbing her arms to try and create some warmth from the friction as she kept glancing at the other survivors, seeing them huddled near each other and chatting away to keep warm. She was never the social type so she didn't really know how to confront them. If they didn't invite her over, she usually just stayed by herself... so, she stayed sitting there, alone, thinking.

'Jake has a spot open next to him... maybe I can...' She thought to herself after a few moments of looking around.

Jake PoV
Jake hadn't really thinking about anything in particular, 'Bird Brain' a few of the others teased him for how he seemingly spaced out, head always in the clouds. Sighing heavily, Jake shifted to sit up, lightly crossing his arms across his chest and nuzzling his chin into his scarf. The front of his face was still mostly exposed. The scarf covered his ears comfortably, though it only came up to right below his cheeks and was over his chin and mouth, just under his nose.

He looked around again with his eyes only, and noticed Claudette looked a lot colder, now rubbing her arms. She was also nervously looking around for a place to sit near someone... As her eyes stopped, they were... at the spot next to himself. Jake let out another sigh and groaned internally. He knew she wouldn't dare to sit next to him if he didn't invite her over. She always seemed like she was extra mousy around him and he couldn't figure out why.

'Maybe it's just because she's... too alike to me, nobody cares to go out of their way to try and talk to those of us that are quiet...' He frowns internally.

Making eye contact with the darker skinned girl, his eyes softened though... He simply nodded his head at her and unfolded his arms to pat the spot next to him, signaling that he was okay with her joining him.

Detty PoV
Claudette felt her face warm up as Jake had seen her looking at the empty spot beside him and patted it to signal her to sit next to him. She hid her face from him slightly as she clutched her dirtied shirt.

'God, this is embarrassing...' she thought to herself as she got up and made her way around the fire to the available space.

As she sat next to him, the warmth from being near someone else could be felt almost immediately.

"H-hi Jake... sorry haha, I was cold..." she small talked, avoiding his eye contact.

She looked down to her boots and the ground. The cold was still getting to her... she was a good foot away from Jake, but she didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable or weird if he didn't like being too close to her... Perhaps she was overthinking, but she'd rather stay safe in that regard. She kept her hands rubbing at her arms and tugging at her shirt in a futile attempt to warm herself.

Jake PoV
Jake watched with a stifled yawn as Claudette made her way over. He half smirked at her attempt at small talk, though it was completely hidden inside the ruffles of his scarf.

"It's okay, Detty. If we don't watch out for one another at the Campfire, would it even matter in a Trial?" He spoke quietly, though after the words left him, his body tensed.

'Shit... that came out so wrong. I just sounded like a total dick...' He squints his eyes half shut as the slightest tinge of color came to his cheeks from the self imposed embarrassment.

He didn't mean to sound so harsh towards Claudette... if anything it was the exact opposite but... fuck. He silently cursed his social awkwardness.

--Claudette looked away at his comment and laughed softly. "Haha, yeah..." she mumbled near the end, feeling awkward.

After mentally throwing himself on a hook, Jake let out a deep sigh and shifted closer to the smaller female. Awkward or not, she was one of his very first friends in this forsaken place. He hated seeing her anything but happy... Well, as happy as they could be in this Realm. The color on his face brightened and spread to his ears as he moved to wrap an arm around Claudette's shoulders, pulling her into his side.

"S-sorry... I didn't mean it like that..." Jake mumbled into his scarf.

He pointedly focused his face towards the fire as his hand rested on her shoulder, slowly rubbing up and down her arm to try and help her get warmer. His heart skipping a beat here and there, and he didn't really understand why. She was... just a friend.