A Code Without End

Chapter 3

"Jax?..." Pomni just sat there for a moment, quite unsure of what to do. Then, Jax's breathing got heavier, more ragged suddenly. Instinctively, Pomni kneeled right next to Jax. She furrowed her eyebrows as she hesitantly put her hand out... she wasn't sure if Jax would be okay with her trying to comfort him.

Despite her own doubts, she placed her hand gently on his shoulder, then she slowly rubbed it up and down his upper arm. Jax's eyes darted to Pomni, his gaze softening a little seeing her. Pomni noticed this, and smiled faintly.

"Hey..." Pomni whispered gently, "you alright?" Pomni couldn't lie to herself, as much as Jax was a jerk... she cared for him. Jax couldn't answer. He was still in the midst of his panic attack.

Pomni felt horrible. She was sure Jax didn't mean for her to abstract. She gently grabbed Jax and pulled him into her lap, hugging him. She began gently rubbing his back.

"You're okay, I've got you. It's not your fault." Pomni whispered.

Something that Pomni said must've touched Jax a lot, because he began breaking down even more. Pomni's eyebrows furrowed in concern, as she frowned. Did I say something wrong?—

"I never thought I'd say this... but..." Jax mumbled, "thank you." His breathing was slowing down, as his trembling body began to die down. Pomni was taken aback slightly. Jax? Saying thank you? Thats new. But Pomni just smiled warmly.

"Of course, anytime. Just know that I've got you now. You're safe here." Pomni whispered against Jax's ear. Jax shivered, then blushed a bit— the way Pomni whispered into his ear gave him this odd feeling... but thankfully for him, the room was dark so it was hard to see his slightly pink cheeks.

Jax gently nuzzled himself into Pomni's touch a little more. The way she held him in her arms felt so comforting to him. Pomni gently lifted Jax up—jeez he's heavy...

and brought him to his bed. She layed him down, and put the covers on top of him. Jax got comfortable in his bed, as Pomni began to gently stroke the top of his head.

"Don't worry, just sleep. We'll take care of everything. For now, get a good rest, you deserve it." Pomni whispered into his ear before quickly kissing him on the forehead.

...

Pomni froze.

D-did I just kiss him?...

Her eyes widened in realization. Pomni was about to apologize, until Jax just smiled and mumbled under his breath;

"You're stupid." Jax turned his body away from Pomni. Pomni stood there frozen, until Jax gently grabbed her hand from behind.

"Breathe. It's fine." He said, with a reassuring voice. Pomni nodded. She squeezed Jax's hand for a brief moment, before turning and heading for the door to leave the room.

As Jax heard Pomni gently shut the door, he sighed in relief— and disbelief. Relief because she didn't see his tomato red face, and disbelief because he can't believe she just did that.

But...

For some reason, it felt nice to him.

Jax choked. There was no way he just thought that.

"Jeez..." he sighed, while pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I better fall asleep, before my mind races even more." Jax whispered to himself. It wasn't long until his eyelids felt heavy... he then drifted off into a deep sleep.

...

As Pomni gently shut the door behind her using her left hand, she immediately put her right hand on her mouth in embarrassment. She just stood there, frozen for a couple moments. Her shoulders hunched as she started laughing in disbelief. She began looking around, praying that nobody saw her exiting Jax's room—