I found myself stirring awake. I didn’t want to open my eyes, it was warm and comfortable. I was enticed by the comfort and cuddled up closer to the heat. I couldn't remember the last time I had access to something like a heating blanket. I let out a sigh, being warm and bundled up under the covers like this was really nice. I felt like I could stay here forever. I found my self nuzzling into the heat. My face was nice and warm, it felt so different from waking up to the tip of my nose being numb from the cold that I had gotten used to. 

As I woke up a bit more, I realized what I was nuzzled up against was moving, ever so slightly, at a steady rhythm. I froze and opened my eyes wide and looked up. Jay’s body was up against mine. His eyes were closed and his long dark lashes were more noticeable than ever this up close. He really did have a pretty face, what a waste on his crazy ass though. Since he was asleep I wanted to take advantage of that and put some distance between our bodies before he woke up. But the moment I tried to move I noticed something heavy draped over my waist. He had an arm wrapped around me. I bit my bottom lip. When did this even happen? I definitely didn’t initiate this right? It took me a moment to remember but, right, I had a leg cramp after walking for so long yesterday. My cheeks flushed remembering his hands on my leg. Did I really just let him massage me like that? Worst of all I can’t believe I fell asleep in his hands. If I had a tree to bash my head into repeatedly I definitely would have been doing that right about now. 

I shifted against him, trying to shimmy my way out for this situation as stealthily as possible. As I flexed my leg muscles though I immediately felt that very familiar soreness you experience the next day after an intense workout. God we had already been walking for three days straight as it is, how much longer did we have to travel? I wasn’t sure if I would make it through another whole day of walking. I let out a sigh. Really I just wanted to go back to sleep. Having to face the situation I had been dragged into was draining, both physically and mentally at this point.

“I thought you were going to try harder to get away to be honest.” My eyes widened and my body stiffened. I found my self slowly looking up, like a horror movie, until my eyes landed on Jay’s smirk and smoky grey eyes glinting with amusement. I pushed on his chest with both arms and scrambled away. He laughed.

“You were awake?!” I asked more like an accusatory statement.

“Yeah, you snore.” My cheeks heated up. He is infuriating. I went to stand up, having every intention to stomp off somewhere. However I barely made it to my feet before my legs just gave out on me and I found myself quickly kissing the ground with my ass. I heard him laugh again. I didn’t bother turning around, I didn’t feel like seeing his smug face. I had half a mind to just sit here forever. Granted he had already proven he could lift me and carry me without an issue so I guess even if I did that it wouldn't do much. However making myself just as much of a pain in the ass as he already is to me by doing so was very tempting. He didn’t seem bothered by having needed to carry me though. I wonder what I could do to annoy him then? I sat there with my own thoughts for a while, realizing that I didn’t know a single thing about Jay. How could I use a weakness against him when I didn’t even know the most basic things about him?

I finally turned around. Jay was up and making food, the sunrise streaking through the trees behind him casting long shadows. 

“Do you have a family?” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could think of whether or not that was how I should ask that question. He stopped stoking the fire with the stick he had been using for a moment.

“No.” He answered plainly before continuing to stoke the fire. Well, that was a dead end. It was hard to follow that up with anything else. He didn’t really show any emotion when he answered but…

“Do you?” I blinked. He didn’t look up from what he was doing as he asked. I left a long pause of silence. It got so long that I could have sworn it was starting to devour me, and if I didn’t say something quick it was going to eat me up entirely.

“No.” The moment the word slipped through my lips I could feel my heart tighten and my stomach turn. It felt like a lie, even though it wasn’t, I guess. Jay looked up at me, his gaze was piercing, like he was searching for something. He looked back down after a moment, and made a sound a lot like a grunt. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but it felt like he had decided something. Could he tell even I wasn’t sure of my own answer? I bit my bottom lip. “Um… anyway, how much longer do we have to walk?” I asked a bit quieter than I had intended to. I just wanted to change the subject at this point. He let out a bit of a hum, seemingly having to think about it. 

“Probably another day or two.” He looked back up from stoking the fire again, his gaze landing on my legs for a moment before looking back up into my eyes with a smirk. “Probably closer to two.” I frowned.

“What does that mean?” I had kind of given up on hiding my irritation with him, he was unpredictable but at the very least he didn't seem to mind my personality. I definitely couldn't say the same for how I felt about his though.

“Considering that you struggled to even stand up a few minutes ago, I’m probably going to have to carry you.” My cheeks heated up. The thought of being carried by him again was to embarrassing.

“I just needed to rest a bit, I’ll be fine.” I stated, really not bothering to mask my irritation at all. He raised an eyebrow, his smirk still plastered on that smug face of his.

“If you say so.” He wasn't buying it. Worse than that though, I wasn't buying it either. But as it stood, drowning myself sounded more appealing than having him carry me again. I was just going to have to try and fake it until I made it.

We ate. He made the same thing as the other day but I could tell he added some different mushrooms this time. I had to assume they came from around where we camped this last night. I was decent at foraging but it’s not like I had every plant memorized. I just knew a good handful that were safe and how to identify them correctly so I wouldn't accidentally poison myself. I was curious how it was that he seemed to know so much though? I looked up from my bowl of broth to see Jay already on his third serving. I guess he was a big guy, plus he's been carrying everything… and me that one time. I shook my head at an attempt to purge that memory. 

“How did you learn to forage?” Changing the subject seemed like the best idea. Jay looked up at me, taking another spoonful of soup before answering.

“What do you mean?” That was a weird answer, what did he mean ‘what do I mean’?

“I mean like… how did you learn which plants were safe to eat and which weren't?” I asked a bit cautiously. For some reason I was suddenly feeling anxious about his answer.

“I mean… the same way everyone does I guess?” That was even more confusing, what the hell was he talking about?

“Uh… like from a book…?” I asked, even more cautiously now, really not sure what to expect him to say at this point. He took another bite of his soup before letting out a little laugh.

“No, by testing them.” My mouth fell agape for a second and I almost dropped to the bowl that I had in my hand. Did I just hear him right? I'm definitely misunderstanding right?

“Wha… what do you mean…?” I found myself even more terrified of his clarification at this point. He raised an eyebrow at me, as if I was asking something strange, even though he was definitely the one that was saying strange things right now.

“You've never tested anything before? You just take a bite, and if it makes you sick you throw it up and you know that that isn't edible.” I swear I felt myself get light-headed from the blood rushing out of my body hearing his explanation.

“You… How the fuck are you still alive?” The words shot out of me like a rocket, I was just in such disbelief at what he had just said to me.

“I mean like I said, if it made me feel sick I just threw it up.” I had no words, my mouth was still left half open. I felt like my brain was short circuiting trying to process what this real human person just said to me. At this point though maybe he wasn't human at all, maybe he was some kind of vampire or something? Because what else could explain the absolute insane thing he just said? 

“Are you sure you're human?” Somehow that's all I could say, because what the hell else was I supposed to say to that? This man has definitely been poisoned before, probably multiple times, and is somehow still sitting there without a care in the world.

“Couldn't tell ya.” He answered plainly as he downed the rest of his soup. I guess at the very least I knew that whatever he was feeding me was definitely not poison, considering if it was apparently he would have eaten it first anyway. 

“You're crazy.” I said half under my breath, more to myself from the sheer disbelief.

“You're not the first to say that.”

“Yeah, that's not exactly surprising.” He laughed at my response. Clearly he found this amusing, meanwhile I felt like I was going to have nightmares about this man tonight.