Her wrists.. They were bruised. I tried my best not stare as she awkwardly stood in my room, but it was just so obvious. How could I let myself do that to her? I knew the entire time she was much smaller and I could hurt her so easily, still I let my anger get the best of me. Fuck, I felt like shit! How dare she come into my room, apologize, compliment, show me her wrists and look so cute in my shirt?! Wait, what? No, I didn't think that. This is Ember we're talking about. She's an elf. She's not cute anymore.


I rolled my eyes. My own thoughts were distubring me. At least she accepted my peace offering, but now I had a burning in my gut that was telling me I didn't do enough. Her wrists had to be hurting her, those burises were terrible. Even worse than my nose, actually. And the bad part is that was the second time I put my hands on. She had to know I'd never hit her, right? She just gets under my skin so bad..


Putting my guitar back in its rightful place, I knew exactly what I had to do. Thanks to me ruining most of her clothes, she'd probably be wearing the same hoodie or whatever to cover the bruises, so I could at least make her more comfortable. It was bad enough the only shirt I had to give her swallowed her body. If her torso had just been a few inches taller, it would have fit her fine, at least with length. But, she's a girl. I'm sure she can find something cute to do with my favorite shirt of all time. Fuck, it was hard to part with.


Digging around my closet, I found a hoodie I'd only really worn in the eighth grade, when I wasn't as tall and awkward as I am now. It'd be a long shot, but it just might fit her well enough to only be long in the sleeves. It was nothing special, just a black hoodie that had New Found Glory printed on the back of it. I used to love this thing, but it's much too small for me now. Besides, better for her to have it than to let the thing collect dust. Speaking of dust.. I hurried over to my dresser and grabbed my cologne, giving it just a small spray to make it smell less.. Old, and unworn.


Confident in my attempt to make her feel better, well, to make myself feel better about her sore wrists, I decided to get this over with. Spending the next few days ignoring Ember made me feel bad. So, at least until she can wear a short-sleeved shirt without getting questioned, I owned her a friendship. Kind of.


Preparing myself for the worst, I trotted down the hall and to Ember's room. It was oddly quiet in there, I'd almost thought she might have left the house, but it was obvious she hadn't. I mean, the girl had like, no friends. Shaking the thought, I barely knocked on her door. Thinking she might not have heard it, I turned to leave, but the moment I started to walk away the door was opened.


"Jack?"


"Uh, listen.." I awkwardly sighed and scratched the back of my head. "I feel really bad about this morning and I need to make up for it. I know it's not much, but this is one of my old hoodies. It might be able to fit you, at least until your wrists heal.."


She offered me a smile, but I could tell she was really buying my kindness. She shifted her weight and hid her wrists behind her back. God, she looked so cute. My shirt very well could have been a dress, or at the very least a night gown. Wait, no. I can't think about that. There's enough going on between, I can't be daydreaming about her now, too.


"Thanks, Jack."


"And, uh, well. I was wondering if maybe you'd want to come downstairs and watch a movie with me?" Realizing how lame I must have sounded, especially to a girl that hated my guts, I tried to cover my attempt to win her friendship. "You know.. Just so mom and Carl can see we're getting along."


For a moment, I thought I saw her face drop, but she quickly nodded her head in agreement. I bit the inside of my cheek to avoid smiling and pointed towards the stairs, letting her know she could join me when she was ready.


When I got downstairs, I let out a sigh and plopped down on the couch. What kind of stuff was she into? Would we like the same kind of shows? Fuck, why do I care?


Shit. I'm actually starting to care about the mouthy, little elf.

Notes

Not my best update, but you guys need some more insight to Jack's teenage brain. xD
-Jess.