Chains: Part 19 (Eyeless Jack x Reader)

{Reader’s POV}
        When I woke up, I was surprised to find myself wrapped in the blanket. Sunlight poured through the window, making me grunt and roll over. Usually I didn’t see light like that while I was awake, so this was probably the first time I’d woken up in the morning since coming here. Yawning, I sat up and cracked my neck only to suddenly wince in pain. Memories of the previous day quickly flashed through my mind, and I sat in bed for a while just processing it. A lot had happened: I got injured, learned Buddy was killing people as early as April, figured out Jack has PTSD...

        It was a lot to take in.

        Eventually I forced myself to get up and shuffled to the dresser to choose today’s clothes. Setting them on the bed, I peeked cautiously into the hallway to make sure it was empty before crossing to the bathroom to take a shower. However, as I glanced at the main portion of the cabin I suddenly froze. I could glimpse part of the table from here, and saw a tall, slim colorful red box on it. Briefly debating with myself, I slowly approached the end of the hall and peered into the main room. Boxes and bags of food were piled atop the table, ranging from cereal to vegetables to jars of jelly to candy to loaves of bread to... everything.

        As I gawked at it I suddenly noticed movement from the corner of my eye and turned to see Jack sitting on the couch, stretching his arms above his head. Turning back slightly as he stretched himself, he froze upon seeing me. “Oh, you’re awake,” he commented, lowering his arms and giving me a small nod. He was wearing his mask, so I assumed he’d gone back to retrieve it and everything else. I didn’t see why he was still wearing it, though; I’d already seen his face.

        “...Um, yeah,” I mumbled, deciding not to question it. I did, however, question the food, casting it a puzzled glance. “Why...?”

        “Oh, yesterday the way you acted suggested I put some stuff in the wrong places, so I decided to take everything out so we could reorganize it.” Pausing, he added, “Except meat. That’s always refrigerated.” I nodded slowly.

        “Right... um, thanks.” He shrugged and turned back to the TV, watching the news. I stared at the back of his head for a moment, noting the bandages wrapped around the spot where I’d hit him with the rock. No, I didn’t feel bad about that. The guy nearly strangled me, twice. Honestly, it felt good to know I dealt him physical damage, it meant he wasn’t invincible after all.

        Emotional damage, though, was another story.

        I pushed it from my mind as I went to the bathroom to take a shower, adjusting the shower head to create as little pressure as possible on my neck. I took my time, washing off all the dirt and grime from yesterday, before sprinting across the hall to change into my clothes. Once I finished I finally ventured into the hallway once more, cautiously approaching the main part of the cabin.

        Jack was still on the couch, though this time he seemed to have been waiting for me. As soon as he heard my footsteps he snapped his head towards the hall and got up. “Come on,” he said, walking to the table. “Let’s sort this stuff.” I nodded as I silently joined him, eying the food. We began sorting everything for two piles: one for the fridge and one for the cabinets. Whenever I designated something for the fridge he’d place it there right away, to prevent it from going bad. It was fine with me, since I didn’t really want to see any more organs floating inside jars.

        As we worked he’d ask me questions about the food, like whether peanut butter could be eaten on its own or if chocolate syrup needed to be used on ice cream. Some of the questions were actually kind of cute; he was like a little kid, not knowing even the most obvious and basic stuff. I had to try not to laugh at some of them.

        During this time neither of us brought up yesterday’s events, which suited me just fine. I think we both needed a bit of space, there was a lot of stuff to process. I’d occasionally catch him staring at my neck, and I’d stare at the bandages around his head, but we never said anything about it. At one point, though, as I lifted a tub of butter I turned to see him standing right behind me, making me yelp and jump back.

        “Sorry,” he muttered, but he didn’t back away. “Turn around.” Confused, I decided not to ask and just did as told. I felt a small tug on my hair as he lifted a thick strand of hair, followed by an audible sniffing.

        “...Jack?”

        “Mmhmm?” Sniff, sniff.

        “What are you doing...?”

        “Sniffing your hair.”

        “...Why?”

        “Because it smells good.” He let the strand fall and then started stroking my hair, sending an involuntary shudder down my back. Gentle or not, any physical contact with Jack always unnerved me. Most of our contact so far hasn’t been exactly pleasant, especially yesterday’s. He did this a couple days ago, too, when he gave me the books, but it wasn’t any better then. Honestly, it kind of weirded me out.

        “...If you want, you can use my shampoo,” I mumbled, slowly setting the butter in the refrigerator pile. Jack immediately stopped stroking my head and snatched the tub, quickly depositing it in the fridge while I savored the brief reprieve. Once he’d closed the door he returned to my side, and began stroking my hair again.

        “It’s not the same,” he said, shrugging as he ran his fingers through it. I felt him lean forward, his breath warm on the back of my head as he inhaled the lilac scent. Personal space definitely invaded. I quickly set a box of Frosted Flakes in the fridge pile, and he stopped stroking my hair to deposit it in the fridge. Glancing at the other cereal boxes, he asked, “Should I put those there too?”

        “No, Frosted Flakes are the only ones that need to be refrigerated,” I lied. “That’s why they have the word ‘frosted’ in the name.” Given that he tried to microwave cereal the other day, I’d had a feeling he’d buy that, and sure enough he did. Before he could move to pet me again I began circling the table, examining the remaining food and slowly nodding. “Well, I think that’s everything that needs to go in the fridge.”

        “Really?” He sounded a bit surprised, and nodded. “Alright. Let’s set up the cabinets then...” Oh thank goodness. No more petting. We set to work silently, stocking the cabinets and taking note of where we put everything so we could easily find it later. After about half an hour we finished, closing the doors and sitting on the couch with a sigh.

        “Done,” I muttered, flopping onto the couch and closing my eyes.

        “Was it that tiring?” he asked, tilting his head, and I shrugged.

        “Not really. It’s just really boring.” Jack didn’t respond, and after a few seconds he suddenly touched my hair again. Surprised, I gave a small yelp as jolted in my seat and scrambled to the end of the couch while he just sat still, hand still hovering where my head had been.

        “...Does it hurt?” he muttered, sounding a bit flustered as he glanced at his hand.

        “No, no, not at all. It just feels a little, uh... weird. And freaky. And unexpected. And weird.”

        “You said weird twice.”

        “Well, it is! I mean, most people don’t pet other humans.” He didn’t respond right away, thinking it over. Then suddenly he was leaning against me, his face inches away from mine. Yelping in surprise, I leaned back as far as I could as he raised his mask, revealing a razor-sharp smirk.

        “You seem to forget something,” he whispered, his breath warm on my face. “I’m not human.” A shudder ran down my spine as I stared at him, too stunned to react or even think. After a few moments he pulled away and picked up the remote, switching the TV on wordlessly. As he adjusted his mask I caught a final glimpse of a triumphant smirk.