The Appreciator

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Sunlight seeped through the cracks and crevices of the wooden walls and cheap, torn up blinds, as (Y/n) slowly opened her eyes. That was the best night sleep I've had in a long time... probably, months. Going to stretch her arms and legs, she halted as she felt cold metal on her left wrist. Looking over, she could see Jack was still sleeping soundly beside her, facing toward her. Deciding she didn't want to wake him, she simply sighed and stopped stretching. He needed sleep so much more than me. Looking around her, she could see better in daylight just how torn up the home was. Chunks of carpet missing, along with the blinds being half off the windows and the door crooked on its hinges was only the beginning of the absolute mess the place was in. Regardless, at least she finally had a warm bed to sleep in, thus she wasn't ungrateful. Sighing in contentment, (Y/n) looked over at her kidnapper that was still peacefully sleeping. She had never been able to look at him up close before without his mask.

Though his skin was grey, she found herself admiring his little physical qualities that presented themselves to her. His skin was smooth and blemish free. Not only this, his eyelashes were long and curly, making her slightly envious of them. His lips were thin yet beautiful, and not to mention his shiny chestnut hair glowing within the sunbeams that were hitting it at just the right angle. Why am I... thinking about him like this? His soft breaths were heard very slightly as his eyelids began to flutter, resulting in his eyes meeting hers as he began to wake up. Her eyes widened as she began to feel embarrassment. Nothing like getting caught staring at someone. She turned away and heard him chuckle as her cheeks heated up.

"Good morning, (Y/n). I see you've been up for a while." She turned towards him, cheeks and ears still feeling hot.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. I just have never really looked at you without your mask." He shook his head as he stayed smiling, feeling his own face heated up. Why would she stare at someone who looks like me...

As Jack lifted his arms to stretch, (Y/n)'s arm got lifted by default, allowing her to finally stretch without worrying about waking him up. The two silently stared at the ceiling, before Jack continued to speak. "We need to obtain supplies today. We won't be able to stay here for long, so we need things like food for you, water, clothes." As (Y/n) looked over to listen to Jack speak, she noticed he began to fidget; yet another little habit she had been able to pick up of his for when he was nervous. "So... I know I explained to you my diet being human kidneys. I haven't eaten in a long time actually. I need to probably go out and hunt today." (Y/n) felt a bitter feeling boiling up inside her. She understood that this was something he needed to do, but she hated the idea of a person dying because of it. It made her feel sick to her stomach as she wondered what kind of person they would be or what kind of life they've lived or could've lived.

"Oh." Jack sensed (Y/n)'s emptiness in her reply.

"Hey, I don't necessarily know how I'm going to do it yet. I know you don't like the idea of me killing someone, so I'll try my best to prevent that from happening." As (Y/n) looked in Jack's eyes fearfully, she blurted out what felt like an extension of their conversation from last night, even though it was seemingly separate.

"Why would you do that? Why care about what I think or how I feel?" The man immediately looking away, (Y/n) felt Jack, once again, shut down from the conversation, completely detaching himself from any sense of it. It's very clear he struggles with saying his feelings out loud... maybe even realizing them himself. The downside of that is that I'll never know them either if he can't tell me. With a heavy sigh, (Y/n) decided to oblige the mandatory subject change. "Well, how are we going to get the supplies, anyways? You can't exactly go into a store when you don't look like a human, and you clearly don't trust me to go in by myself." Jack contemplated her good point, before responding.

"Actually, I think I might have an idea."

*2:51 PM, 37 mins later*

"I can't believe I'm actually about to say this, but this just might work," sighed (Y/n). The pair stared at the store in front of them, Jack with his normal mask on and (Y/n) with a dress, heels, and a wig that they had found within a random cupboard in the abandoned home. "Let's get this over with, shall we?" Stepping into the store, Jack pulled a wallet out of his pocket, showing it to (Y/n).

"By the way, I do actually have money for this." (Y/n) looked at him with widened eyes, knowing it was stolen from his victims. "It was from a long time ago, I just prefer stealing rather than spending money unless I absolutely can't get away with it," Jack spoke quietly. (Y/n) simply shook her head in disappointment. Jack had, unfortunately, not been persuaded to take the handcuffs off the two. Therefore, it was a rather odd sight; two weird young adults in costume that were handcuffed together. Regardless, they simply shrugged off the stares they were getting and got a shopping cart.

Before they knew it, their cart was decently filled with things like water, food, a few first aid items, clothes, new shoes and socks for (Y/n), and hygiene products for the two. Approaching the checkout line, thankfully the store was surprisingly not busy, leading to the pair being able to begin putting their items on the conveyor belt. As (Y/n) continued to put things on the belt, she noticed the worker staring at her and Jack in a concerned way, before finally speaking.

"I'm sorry, but we don't allow masks in the store." (Y/n) and Jack looked at each other, before (Y/n) made herself laugh.

"Oh, him? I completely understand, ma'am, but there is a small issue. You see, we just came from a costume party, and as a prank our friends decided to glue the mask to his face and also handcuff us together, as you can see." Lifting up their connected arms, (Y/n) continued. "That's why we're buying all this first aid stuff, he's a medical student. I do apologize, but I assure you this won't happen again." Jack stared in awe at (Y/n), amazed at the effortless lie, before looking nervously at the cashier who was already staring back at him. Although she seemed apprehensive still, she reluctantly continued to scan their items.

As they walked out of the store with a shopping cart full of bags, Jack decided to speak first.

"You were pretty good back there. You think she believed it?" (Y/n) giggled.

"Oh, not by a longshot." They both smiled together as they continued towards the car. Although it didn't seem right, (Y/n) found herself enjoying Jack's company more and more, though she couldn't understand why. Perhaps, one of the many reasons was that little by little, he was slowly showing her his true colors- colors so beautiful, Van Gogh would be envious.

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