{Reader's POV}

            The next few days there was a bit of tension, to put it lightly.

            Jack obviously still felt guilt about attacking me. Every night he made a big show of locking his bedroom door before going to sleep, as if discouraging me from entering. Not that I would, because his room felt off-limits, taboo. Unless he fell asleep in the living room or my bedroom, I wouldn't bother him. Waking him was a one-time thing, I doubted I would be doing THAT again. Along with that, he still kept his mask on twenty-four seven despite my words. If anything, he seemed to be even more protective of it, constantly checking if the strap was on correctly.

             Despite the tension, we still went to the clearing on a daily basis so he could work on the dummies. After two more days of failing to get past the limb stage due to his perfectionist tendencies, Jack had placed me in charge of molding them and went to work on the torso. He still tried to get it as accurate as possible, but this time it wasn't as big of a deal since it at least made sense. After all, he'd be using them as references for extracting organs, though I tried not to think about that part too much.

            Three days after the initial incident, Jack decided to stop fussing over the dummies and go hunting, leaving me alone at the cabin. For the first time, though, he didn't chain me to the bed. He just said goodbye and left me alone, leaving me with a glorious sense of freedom. Despite the tension, it seemed I'd still managed to build a bit of trust. Honestly, that realization gave me the best feeling I've had in ages. I would have celebrated with [fav ice cream] or [fav candy] if I had any.

            After reading a bit in my room, I got bored of the book and went to the living room to watch TV. I was still there when he returned, carrying several canvas bags and a satchel slung over his shoulder. Upon opening the door and seeing me on the couch he gave a jump, nearly dropping the bags, before quickly collecting himself and tilting his head.

            "What are you doing...?"

             "Watching TV. Did you know nighttime programming is better than daytime? This paid advertising block is HILARIOUS. The host and 'happy customers' are all so cheesy." Glancing at the bags, I perked up a bit. "Did you get me food too?"

            "Uh, yeah, but..."

            "Sweet!" I rose and took the bags from him, leaving the satchel since it was slung over his shoulder, and carried them to the kitchen table.

            "Wait," he muttered as he followed me. "Those bags are heavy, and you're still recovering..."

            "Jack, you said it usually takes up to three weeks to recover from appendectomies, and it's been three and a half. I'm pretty sure I'm good now." Jack just watched me in obvious bewilderment as I set the bags down, but after a moment he slowly followed and set the satchel on the counter. I glanced back but quickly refocused my attention on the bags as I saw him remove a jar. Clinks sounded as he opened the fridge and rearranged the fridge's contents to fit it inside. Organs, no doubt. Even now I wasn't used to the idea of him eating them.

             After a while I heard the fridge door close, at which point he joined me and helped unpack. "[Name], go to bed. It's three in the morning."

            "Not tired."

            "Not ti—? What were you even doing while I was gone!?"

            "Like I said, watching TV. Beats the daytime stuff. Did you know every single channel you get airs soap operas at two in the afternoon? Do you have any idea how invested I am in Ricardio and Ellen's romance at this point? I shouldn't even care!" I snorted and rolled my eyes as I unloaded the bags, only to pause as I removed a long, darkened glass bottle with a fancy red label. Lifting the cool bottle, I examined it as I spoke. "...Uh, Jack... What's this?"

            "Wine," he replied simply.

            "I can see that, but..." I trailed off, and retrieved another glass bottle from the bag, this one containing a brown liquid. "Beer, too?"

            "Yeah, so?" He shrugged. "It's for me, not you."

             "...Are you sure that's a good idea?" I frowned at him. So far I'd only seen him drink once, and that ended pretty, well... weird. Jack just snorted, though, shaking his head.

            "[Name], I'm not an alcoholic. And it takes a LOT to get me drunk." Despite his assurances, I was still a bit worried, though.

             "You sure?" I asked as I unloaded another bag. "You're not pretty when you're drunk..."

            "Why? What'd I do?" At this point I froze, sucking in a sharp breath. So far I'd been pretty tight-lipped about his drunken antics, since a lot of it was pretty undignified. The guy dumped beer on his lap and laughed about how it looked like he'd wet his pants. I wasn't going to talk about that night so easily.

            "...Never mind," I muttered as I resumed unpacking, and I swore I could feel Jack smirking at me behind his mask.

             "Come on," he prodded, hovering behind me. "I want to know..."

             "Don't you know the saying, 'curiosity killed the cat'?"

            "'And satisfaction brought it back'," he recited in response. "Or something like that."

             "Is that even part of the saying?" Jack just shrugged, making me sigh and shake my head. Placing a tub of butter to the side, Jack recognized it as the "fridge" pile and quickly snatched it, carrying it over to the fridge. Once he returned he tilted his head.

            "Come on, just one thing," he pleaded, and I sighed, shaking my head.

             "...Fine. You cried about the window." He glanced at me in surprise.

            "...Huh?"

            "You stumbled into the room and started crying over the window. You kept saying stuff like 'I killed her, I'm an awful person' and stuff like that. You spent a good ten minutes mourning it, like it was a real person." Jack just stared at me, not saying anything, and I rolled my eyes. "...What? Too embarrassed to respond?"

            "No, just... surprised." Surprised? This made me glance at him curiously.

            "Surprised?" He nodded.

            "You know, way back when I first came here, sometimes when I was bored I'd grab a bottle of wine or beer and go to your room and just... talk to the window. It was kinda stupid, I know, but it was also... nice. I could air out all my worries or complaints about my friends, like how stupid Jeff was or how annoying BEN's latest prank is, and not have to worry about being judged..." He trailed off. Scratching the back of his neck, he glanced away sheepishly. "...Pretty silly, huh?" I just stared at him, surprised by the story.

            "...Actually, that's kind of adorable." He froze at my words and just gawked at me.

            "...Adorable?"

            "Yeah. It's like you had an imaginary friend or drinking buddy." I snickered at the thought while he stared at me.

            "...Are you making fun of me? I can't tell..." I just laughed and ruffled his hair, making him yelp and jump back. "Hey! Don't do that!" I just rolled my eyes as I went back to work, deciding not to comment how he liked to do that to me.

            "It IS pretty cute, though," I commented, smirking. It quickly faded, though, as I glanced away. "...Sorry the window broke..."

           "It's okay," he said, shrugging. "It was either break the window or potentially let you die. And in the end, you're better." This made me freeze, holding a pack of hot dogs just above the bag.

            "...I'd hope I'm better than a window," I muttered after a moment as I set it down in the fridge pile. Jack just chuckled as he took it and put it in the fridge. As I went to unpack another bag I suddenly froze as I saw what was inside. My eyes lit up as my mouth fell open, the corners of my lips tugging upwards into a smile. "This...!" My voice was a squeak, too excited to speak normally. Reaching into the bag, I grabbed the [fav candy bar] on the bottom and held it up. "This is...!"

            "I found it while hunting," Jack explained with a shrug. "I remembered you said it was your favorite, so I snagged it. I figured it's the least I could d—" He stopped mid-sentence as I suddenly tackled him and wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug, his body stiffening as I squeezed him.

            "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" I squealed, quickly releasing him and holding the candy bar like a treasure. Licking my lips as I carefully unwrapped it, I took a small nibble off the corner. A soft moan escaped me as I pushed it around my mouth with my tongue, falling into a state of pure euphoria as I savored the taste. Jack just stared at me in silence for about a minute, obviously still shocked by the hug.

            "...If I'd known you liked it that much, I would've gotten you one sooner," he commented.

            "Screw you for taking so long," I retorted, sticking out my tongue playfully. He just shook his head as I withdrew my tongue to continue savoring the taste.

            "Is it really that good...?"

              "Jack, have you ever tasted heaven?"

            "...No...?"

            "Well, that's what candy and sugar is." I took another bite and smiled, while Jack just tilted his head at me before slowly shaking it. Even with that mask always crying black tears, I could picture him smiling.