My Mate Is Too Shy {Jiminxreader}

2) Of Waffles and Arachnids

Date: October 14th
Time: 9:15am
Location: Home, the kitchen table
Mood: So confused. So very, very confused.
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Life was not kind to Y/n and never had been.

At six the man who she had grown up with, looked up to and adored, abandoned his family, leaving her and her brother without a dad and her mom without a husband or best friend.

At seven she became so bashful and once fainted when having to read a finished report in front of her entire classroom.

At eight she'd broken both ankles when she became convinced that she could fly away if she jumped from a high enough distance—that being the roof of her dad's garage.

At nine she realized where meat came from. After crying for three weeks the decision to never eat an animal again had been an easy one, and one that she swore to never go back on.

At twelve she'd developed her first crush, and nearly died from overworking her heart every time he came near. After she had been admiring him for more than two years, she heard him call her a loser and her first love came to a sad end.

At fourteen she came down with bronchitis, ignored it forever as she tended to do whenever she became sick, and left untreated it had turned into pneumonia, which had very nearly killed her.

At sixteen she'd been hit with her second crush. Jackson. His family had moved in across the hall in their apartment building and he was everything her teenage heart couldn't handle. Never treated her different, even though she was definitely different. He always had a smile and kind word for her and he smelled really nice. Then the next year he'd moved on to a college far from home and she hadn't seen him since.

Now at nineteen she was still terrified of society, her birth father remained AWOL, her self confidence was all but nonexistent and to top it all off, she had a stalker.

At first she thought he was simply a strange guy and they'd shared an odd experience. Maybe-hopefully-she would never see him again when he came off of whatever drug he was obviously on. Sure he was weird, sure she felt more on edge last night on the way home, as if someone was watching her every step of the way. Those were normal feelings—for her anyway. To someone who hated catching anyone's attention, it always felt as though there were eyes on her.

This, however, was not normal.

Nine am on a Sunday morning, this tiny blond man should not be standing in her kitchen with the biggest eye smile she'd ever seen.

"His dad and I went to school together." Her step father explained, as if that was any excuse for why this tiny man was now in their kitchen.

Exactly five minutes ago her mom had called her out of bed to join them for breakfast. So with an unwashed face and mouth, and no bra or socks here she was, thinking she was safe in her own house in the early morning. But no, life was not kind to her and it wasn't about to let anyone forget it.

At least she had the forethought to put on an over sized hoodie, a bright pink, sparkly affair decorated with a unicorn's horn on the hood. It had been a parting gift from Jackson. Normally she'd never wear such a thing, as it drew too much attention, but since it was from him it was now considered sacred.

In reality, it did nothing to shield her from those eyes shaped like half moons or that bright smile with a single crooked tooth. It did nothing to make her feel less exposed in the one place she was supposed to feel safe.