❝i scared you in your house❞

GALLY WAS A COMPLETE AND UTTER SHUCKFACE. How dare he put all that stuff about Iris in Jem's head? Now, every time the Slicer saw her, which was an annoying amount, he thought about it, and Iris was the last thing he wanted to spend his time thinking about. However, she was now what he spent all day thinking about, and it was all Gally's fault.

Jem now noticed everything about her — how her lips curved up slightly at something Winston said, or how her laugh echoed throughout the cafeteria. He was honestly sick of it. It did not help when he walked into work the next week and saw her legs swinging as she sat in a chair and watched Winston slice.

"Oh, for shuck's sake," he groaned, rolling his eyes as soon as he stepped inside the Hut. He thre his hands up in the air before allowing them to come back down hard on his sides, creating a loud slap that made both of the people and a couple of others jump. He stared at the girl in disbelief. "Don't you have a job?"

"What's up your ass this morning?" she questioned, surprised by the sudden burst of anger. Usually, he just ignored her for a bit until she got bored and decided to annoy him. Then, he started yelling. However, that time, he just started the day off with shouting, which was not a good way to start a day.

He was staring at her with a dumbfounded look, wondering if she was honestly asking him that when she knew the answer. He replied after a moment, "You."

"Woah!" she exclaimed, and a smug grin made its way onto her face as she pretended to be astounded and slightly offended.

It took him a second to process what she was talking about, and when he did, his face fell. He just glared at her while Winston snickered while trying to do his job. Jem groaned because, of course, she had to make it weird. "That's not what I meant."

"Sure, it isn't.," she giggled out, and she loved that this was riling him up so much. She did not fail to notice the pink that appeared on his cheeks that he was trying to hide by turning around and washing his hands in the bucket in the corner of the room.

He glanced back at her, and his blood boiled when he saw her still biting her lip and smiling. "I hate you."

"Well, I'm not your biggest fan either," she reminded him, although this was already common knowledge to both of them and the rest of the Glade. All of the Slicers and Med-jacks, which was just Jeff and Clint, were sick and tired of hearing them fight, even though it was entertaining sometimes. Most of the time, it was just annoying.

He held up his hands after he was done drying them and made a walking motion with his fingers that made him look kind of stupid. "Then why don't you skedaddle to your job?"

"Did you just say skedaddle?" she questioned, and she was so confused that she was not even laughing. It had been a hot minute since she had heard a grown teenager use that word. In fact, the only time she had heard the word was when a fourteen-year-old came up a year and a half ago. And then there was Jem, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old, using it in his everyday life, apparently.

He crossed his arms and tilted his head at her as he leaned against a counter. He decided the best way to play it off was to act like it was not a weird thing to say. "You have a problem with that?"

"No, it was just an interesting choice of words," she responded, holding her hands up in her defense and acting like she did not mean to make fun of him at all, when really, she kind of did.

It took him a second to think of a response, and he regretted it as soon as he said it, knowing that it was not a solid comeback. Well, confidence was key. "It was actually just one word, so take that."

"Well, you got me there," she said sarcastically, and she acted defeated like she was so embarrassed that he just said that to her. She was honestly astonished that he could not come up with anything better. He was usually pretty witty with his sarcastic comments. "I mean, there's just no coming back from that insult."

"Can you just shut up?" Jem asked her, rolling his eyes. She knew that that meant that she had one that battle, and she was very pleased with herself.

Winston, finally having enough of their bickering, turned around to glare at them because he was actually trying to do his work, and they were making it really hard to refrain from stabbing himself in the head. "Can both of you do that, actually?"

"Sassy Winston. I like it," Iris chuckled with a grin, and she hopped off the counter, knowing that she should probably go actually do her job. There were very few times where an injury was really serious, but God forbid Jeff be in charge when one happened. "Well, I'm gonna head out."

"Thank you," Jem told her in a fake, sweet voice. She said nothing and just gave him the finger on her way out the door.

《 ✢ 》

IRIS HAD DONE ENOUGH FOR THE DAY, SO ALBY LET HER OFF EARLY. She had sewed someone's finger back on, done stitches on four other people, reset someone's dislocated knee, and removed a nail from a Builder's hand. Clint and Jeff knew where to find her if anything bad happened, but she was taking a break for the moment.

She had this spot in the forest that she really liked because if you laid the right way, the leaves and breaks in the trees looked like a bird. It was not that interesting, she knew that, but it was a lot better than staring at broken limbs. She allowed the sun to beat down on her face as she enjoyed the peaceful sound of nature. It was far enough away that the yelling from the Glade was faint and just barely audible.

That was why she almost groaned when she heard footsteps behind her. When you were in the Glade, there was not much entertainment, so you noticed things. You noticed how people worked and talked, and Iris was very good at noticing how they walked. That was how she knew who it was pretty soon. "If you're hear to be an asshole, I'm not in the mood."

"Is that how you greet everyone, or did you just magically know it was me?" Jem's annoying voice questioned. She really did not want him there when she was getting some peace and quiet, and she especially did not want him there if he was just going to annoy her and disrupt her rest.

She shrugged, not looking up in hopes that that would make him go away. "I'm good with footsteps."

"That's not creepy at all," he muttered to himself as he continued to take steps toward her until he was standing right above her. He blocked the sun from hitting her face, and just glared up at him, wondering what the hell he wanted. There was no way that he just came to find her to talk to her.

"Okay, I'm trying to enjoy a nice day, and I really don't need your sarcasm ruining it," she responded, rolling her eyes before closing them and waving him off like she was shooing a bothersome fly. She wanted to enjoy her free time before she had to go back. "So, you need to stop that."

"How about I just stop breathing?" he scoffed. He was made to be sarcastic, and he did not think that he had ever gotten through a conversation without making some sort of comment. She knew that better than anyone because she was usually on the receiving end of said comments.

She opened her eyes once again, wanting to know the reason that he just had to bother her at that moment. Someone had better be dying or something if he was refusing to leave. She still had no clue why he was even there or how he knew about where she was in the first place. "Your other option is to leave."

"I'll shut up," he told her, and she was shocked. She had never heard him utter the words 'shut up' when he was talking about himself. He had never shut up in his life. Yet, there he was, not talking.

What was even more surprising was when he got on the ground next to her and lied down, his hands on his sides just like hers were. She turned her head to look at him, and he smiled when he saw the baffled look on her face. "What are you doing?"

"Enjoying a nice day," he answered, like it was the most normal thing in the world for him to lie down with her and look up at the trees. She had never even sat near him by choice, and here he was, sitting with her and her alone for no apparent reason. Iris wondered what bet he lost.

She eyed him suspiciously, wanting to know what his scheme was because there was no way that that situation was just happening. "Why?"

"I like them too, you know.," he informed her.

She was still confused and a bit annoyed that he liked the same thing that she did, even something as broad as a nice day that everyone liked. He was such a copycat. "I kind of figured you just wanted it to be dark and gross all of the time so that you live your broody life in peace."

"That does sound nice, actually," he commented, and before she could stop herself, she laughed. He grinned at the sound, and for a moment, they both forgot about the ongoing feud between them.

That was until she felt something brush her palm, and her eyes widened when she realized that it was his hands. He looked shocked and scared as well, and they were brought back to reality very quickly. She coughed awkwardly before climbing to her feet as he did the same. She gestured over her shoulder and back toward the Glade."I think I heard someone screaming."

"Yeah, I think Winston needs me," he added. Both of them knew that the other was just making an excuse, but they did not say anything as they both spun on their heels and went their separate ways.