As dusk reached the home they were trespassing within, (Y/n) looked out the window with admiration. Sunsets were something she held near and dear to her heart, courtesy of her lovely parents. Feeling an overwhelming sense of sadness was, unfortunately, part of continuing their tradition. It was something she was willing to endure, however, in order to keep their memory alive. She felt a shift next to her, resulting in her breaking away from her thoughts and focusing on the individual next to her. As she saw Jack twiddle his gloved thumbs in his lap, she noticed he was avoiding eye contact, something that was rather unusual for him.
"Are you okay? Something on your mind?" Jack shook his head no to her question immediately, almost defensively.
"No, I'm fine." (Y/n) squinted her eyes at him, clearly not believing the lie he had just told.
"Promise?" Jack finally stopped fidgeting and looked at the girl.
"I told you a million times already, I don't make or believe in promises." Rather than accepting his vague answer, she sighed out of frustration before turning to completely face him while sitting with her legs crossed on the couch.
"How about we play truth or dare. Have you played before?" Jack tilted his head in confusion, showing the girl that the answer was no. "I'll explain the rules. We take turns and one asks the other whether they pick truth or dare. If the person picks truth, the other asks them a question they have to be truthful about. If they pick dare, then the other person has to give them a task to complete. Do you understand?" Although he didn't seem completely trusting of the idea, he eventually signaled his acceptance by also adjusting his body so that he was facing (Y/n) while crossing his legs. "I'll go first. Truth or dare?" Jack took a moment to think before responding.
"Truth."
"Okay, perfect. Why don't you like promises or believe in them?" Jack visibly scoffed at the woman as she smirked.
"That's the entire reason why you wanted to play, isn't it?" The girl laughed loudly as she nervously nodded her head, making Jack's heart flutter. He couldn't find it in him to not answer honestly, so he did. "Honestly, I didn't really know until recently why. Remember how I told you that I lost all my memories when I wasn't a human anymore?" (Y/n) nodded, listening intently to every word. "Well, lately I've been... getting flashbacks of old memories. I'm not exactly sure why, but I know I'm not supposed to remember anything. Anyways, today when you found me passed out, I had a memory of my mom. I was young, and she promised me she loved me... but I know that wasn't the case. I guess that's one of the reasons why I don't believe in them."
(Y/n) was speechless as she felt her eyes welling with tears. She could feel the pain in his voice as he retold the memory he had experienced. She couldn't imagine what it must feel like to experience life through memories like that. Reaching a hand out and gently gripping his arm, she gave a light squeeze as she reassured him. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea. I guess... I don't know, growing up, my own parents never broke their promises." She laughed bitterly before continuing. "So I take them very seriously. When I say I promise something, I would never break that," the woman cleared her throat before wiping stray tears and changing the subject, "anyways, I'm sorry. I pick truth also for my turn."
Jack looked up to the ceiling as he began to think of his question, trying to stop his heart from aching at the sight of her crying. "Do you hate me for everything I've done to you?"
"Not at all," (Y/n) interrupted with no hesitancy. "I don't hate anyone in this world, and especially not you, Jack. You've also helped me to see the world differently, in a good way. It's hard to explain." Jack stared in awe at the girl. Despite everything that's happened, she truly doesn't hate me. That's... so reassuring. He found himself cracking a smile at her, one he couldn't control. This caused her to grin right back while nervously laughing. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare." (Y/n) pondered what she could ask him to do with a lack of resources and an uncreative environment, until she finally happened upon one.
"I dare you to leave the handcuffs off me tonight. And before you say no, I'm begging you. I promise I won't run away." Jack stared into her big, beautiful eyes that were pleading to him. He sighed dramatically as he thought through her offer, in disbelief that she even made him think about it. I'm only considering it because I want her to be happy. After several minutes of silence, Jack had his answer.
"Fine, but don't make me regret it. I will find you if you leave." As Jack unlocked the handcuffs, (Y/n) squealed in such joy as she thanked him repeatedly before subconsciously hugging him without thinking. After realizing with horror what she had just done, she quickly gasped and let go.
"I'm so sorry, I don't know what I was thinking." Jack put his hand on top of hers.
"It's okay, (Y/n). Don't get so worried," he chuckled. After retracting his hand from her own, Jack felt his face heat up slightly from the contact. "Truth or dare?"
"I'll go with dare."
"Tell me what Jeff did to you." (Y/n) remained quiet as she thought over his request.
"You know, that's not technically a dare. That's more of a truth."
"Fine, then I dare you to tell me what Jeff did to you."
Shaking her head as she began picking at the couch seams nervously, she replied amusingly, "you got me there. It really wasn't that bad-" in the middle of her sentence, (Y/n) voice cracked, betraying her brave facade, as tears rolled down her cheeks all at once. Jack sat there shocked at the sight before him. Bravely, she continued to speak through her tears. "Umm, he hit me a lot. Pulled my hair. Starved me. Beat me. He told me a lot of things, really got in my head," she coughed out. "A lot of them were about you. He told me nobody cared about me or loved me. A lot of things like that." Finding herself unable to speak any longer through her sobs, she held herself as she let everything out.
Not knowing what came over him, Jack found himself pulling (Y/n) into his chest, holding her while she emotionally let her guard down. He couldn't imagine the things that Jeff had actually said, and he really didn't want to know any other details. Knowing what he generally had done was enough to royally piss Jack off, and he vowed to himself to get revenge. As (Y/n)'s cries slowed and she began to whimper, she pulled away from Jack at last, holding the blanket around her while sniffling. Jack reached his hands out and began whiping her tears as (Y/n) made eye contact with him. "Jack... truth or dare?" Jack stared at her in surprise, not sure why she was choosing to continue the game.
"Uh, truth." (Y/n) took a deep breath in and out before gripping the blanket nervously. Although she was shaking with nervousness, she knew she needed the answer to her upcoming question. If she couldn't get it now, then maybe she never would.
"Why did Jeff really say you would come for me with such certainty?"
"I really don't know-"
"Don't lie to me, Jack. In fact, why did you come for me? You could've left me to die." Watching Jack suddenly stand up from the couch, he began to walk towards the hallway leading to the bedroom while scoffing. Yet again, (Y/n) could feel him detaching himself from his feelings, becoming distanced and almost resentful. Does he do this because he doesn't know how to dissect his feelings? Regardless, she refused to let him run away this time. Continuing to hold the blanket to her body, (Y/n) got up quickly and ran in front of Jack, putting a hand on his chest, prohibiting him from going any further. "You have to answer my truth. Stop running everytime things get a little hard for you to deal with!" (Y/n) couldn't remember the last time she had raised her voice like this, but she was frustrated and confused.
"I don't have to tell you anything. What good would that do?" Jack snarled at her viciously.
"Well, what good does running really do, Jack? I'm tired of not being able to understand you-" Jack cut her off before she could finish.
"Well, I'm tired of not being able to understand myself!" Jack breathed heavily as (Y/n) looked up at the man before her silently. "How do you think I feel? I don't know why I do the things I do sometimes. It's frustrating." Jack had begun to cry, feeling the tar running down his face. (Y/n) felt so much empathy for the man before her.
"Why don't you let me help you, Jack? Keeping it bottled up inside won't do you any good." Jack roughed up his hair before finally blowing up inside.
"Because you can't help me, dammit! I'm scared of hurting you because I love..." a gasp echoed through the hallway as (Y/n)'s widened eyes met with Jack's. It was irrelevant whether or not Jack had finished his sentence --- (Y/n) knew exactly what he was going to say. As the two stood face to face, not knowing what their futures held, all that was known was the unspoken sense of realization dawning between the two of them.
Author's Note: Okay, so Jack finally established with certainty he has feelings. This week is a double upload, probably the last for the rest of this story.
Regarding my Jeff the Killer upcoming fanfic, I've decided to change the title from 'Paramount" to 'Fatalities.' I just felt it fit the story far better. T-minus two weeks until release! Again, it will be uploaded every Friday. I hope you'll check it out. :)