Chains: Eyeless Jack X Reader

Chapter 19

            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.