“I can stay for a little while longer. Maybe until you fall asleep.” she assured him gently. “You might be able to hear… but if I start now, I won't make it halfway through the list before you konk out on me.” she chuckled, noticing how tired he was. “Go ahead and rest.”
Mari smiled softly but excitedly, already looking forward to taking him to the beach. “Ok.” she nodded, glad that he had agreed. “We can go to the mall or just a plain store, if you’d like, to pick one out for you.” She couldn't wait to show him all the different styles and fun patterns that were available now… Though a part of her was hoping he wouldn't want or be interested in the speedo variety. She’d always just found those very awkward just to look at.
"It's okay, i can still listen" he protested. It was true he was on the brink of passing out, but he kind of wanted to do so on the sound of her voice, which he liked.
"I'll let you pick the best option" he yawned, already knowing that Mari probably knew better than him when it came to shopping locations, a place he had never even seen in his life.
“Manaña, mi amigo. I promise.” she chuckled softly. “I can keep talking until you fall asleep if you'd like.” she offered, though she was even willing to sing a little if he wanted.
“Ok.” she smiled, nodding a little, speaking softer now to let him rest.
"Yes please" he softly whispered, getting more comfortable on his pillow, letting Mari begin counting all the nice things about him, the boy listening with one ear, interally happy to hear each one. In the end, the girl was right, as Damien passed out completely after about a minute, breathing evenly with his cheek squished into the pillow. Unlike all the other times he'd lived there, he slept on the right side - a sign he was more than comfortable to have her there and he trusted her, despite having met less than a week ago. Small partings in his hair still revealed the ugly scar, peeking from underneath the darkness of his dark green locks.
Mari nodded and found herself listing off some of the things she found that made Damien incredible, even though she had said she would tell him tomorrow… Maybe it was just because of how vulnerable he looked at the moment, plus he probably needed a bit of a confidence booster after the rough day he had. She smiled softly once she noticed that he had finally fallen asleep. Moving as silently as she was able, she stood up, brought his blanket up around his shoulders, and snuck out of his room.
She stopped for a moment, once she made it outside, and picked up some of the things that had been left behind in the near panic of Damien’s attack. It wasn't much, mostly just her notebook but she still didn't want to leave it behind. “See you tomorrow.” she whispered to the house as she walked back to the path, making a couple of other quick notes about what happened.
Damien slept for most of the remaining day, not having the energy to do pretty much anything really. The next day when Mari came back, he'd greeted her in the same clothes as the previous day, with his bed looking messy like he'd just climbed down - which he had, since he found it far harder to get up than any other day. He was just that exhausted, but hid it as best he could from Mari. He did enjoy the sweets she brought over though.
In the following days however, he gradually got better until he was relatively back to his original state pre-attack, and it was happy sign for both of them
Mari had been so happy to see Damien the next day that she didn't care if he looked like he just rolled out bed. She had still been a little worried when she left the day before so she tried to come back sooner. With the promised sweets, including a cinnamon roll with frosting for each of them. She had also brought a couple cans of chicken noodle soup for him and was more than happy to show him how to cook it.
As he healed, Mari kept coming over when she could to check on him and keep him company, answering questions and telling him about what life was like for most people.
All exhaustion aside, Damien was very well surprised by the cinnamon roll, not only finding it delicious but also fitting the definition she gave to the expression. The cans also sparked his interest, given he'd never seen any before, let alone with chicken noodles in them, but alas he was pleased by those too, finding the hot rich flavour much to his taste and also what he kind of needed at the moment.
The next days were just as uneventfull, but Damien enjoyed every little tidbit just as it was, learning more about the life outside of his forest. The weather was nice and calm, simply perfect for a day out, even though Damien spent it all inside, listenjng to Mari's tales and explanations with great interest.
Mari had been glad that he enjoyed the cinnamon roll, though she couldn't imagine him not liking them with his apparent sweet tooth, and had been prepared to explain the concept of prepackaged and frozen food when she noticed his reaction to the cans of soup.
About a week later, Mari was heading over again to see him. Damien had fully recovered and she was carrying a plastic grocery bag as well as her usual messenger bag in preparation for their plans today. The young woman wouldn't deny that she was a little nervous for her friend but was also excited to show him around. She let out a slow breath as she approached the front door of the old house and walked in, making her way to Damien’s room. “Hey, Damien? You in here?” she asked, knocking lightly on the door.
There was no answer from behind the door, and no noises either, which meant he was either sleeping or wasnt there. It seemed a little odd, especially at this hour for the boy to not be in his room, given his almost perfectly constant schedule, so where was he?
"Oh, uh… looking for me?" the familiar voice rung out from behind her. Turning around yielded the sight of Damien holding a small cloth in his hands, seemingly wiping them. "I was a little late on the gardening today so i finished later, i hope i didnt keep you waiting"
With another chain of apologies, he invited her inside the room, putting the cloth aside and tidying up whatever he could to make sure she was comfortable - despite there not being anything to clean since Damien rarely seemed to make a mess anyway. He noticed the bag soon after, giving it shy curious glances, since he already knew that whenever she brought a bag along, there was something new inside it.
Mari was a little concerned when she didn't hear a reply but jumped a little when she heard her friend behind her. “Oh, hey… Yeah, I was looking for you but no, I wasn't waiting too long. I just got here.” she assured him, turning to face him as she calmed down from the accidental jumpscare. “It’s going to see you again, amigo.” she smiled.
“Oh, you don't have to apologize. It's fine.” she shook her head slightly at his apologies and smiled a little when she saw him glance at the bag. “Are you ready for today?” she asked, a little nervous but excited for what they had planned.
The boy lightly brushed the back of his head, as if a little embarrassed at his own accidental jumpscare of her - he never meant to frighten her, but apparently thats what happens when you deceive expectations.
"I-, its nice to see you again too….Yeah, i am. A tad bit nervous but im okay" he replied to her question, starting to play with his hands as he began to guess what was inside the bag. The both of them had reached an agreement the days before that Mari would take him to see a little of the outside world, even visit her house probably, so whatever was in the bag was most likely for that purpose.
“I don't blame you. Honestly, I'm a little nervous too.” she admitted before reaching into the plastic bag. “Here. I brought you a couple of hoodies so you can choose what you want to wear.” she explained, holding out a plain zip-up grey hoodie with her school symbol on it and a simple blue pullover one as well. Both were about average-sized but would no doubt be a little on the baggy side on Damien because of his thin build and apparent preference for that style.
"So these are hoodies…." the boy murmured, picking up the two clothes that had been offered, looking them over and brushing his hand over the material they were made of. He'd never seen something as blue as the pullover, or with a symbol such as the other one bearing the school logo.
'Is it okay if i take this one?" he pointed to the gray one, curious to see what the silver line thing on it was and how it worked.
“Yeah. Remember, I wore one like this when I first came over.” she nodded, gesturing slightly to the pullover. She watched patiently for him to make his choice, smiling softly when he picked her old gray school one. “Of course it is.” she assured him as she let him take the zip-up hoodie. “Uh… you do know how to use a zipper, right?” she asked. Since he made his own clothes, Mari wouldn't have been surprised if he had never even heard of a zipper before.
"Oh yea right, of course" Damien nodded, reminiscing the night of their first encounter. He turned the hoodie on all sides for a while, looking it up and down until he eventually put his hands in his lap, giving Mari a shy and guilty look.
"I, um… admit i dont really know how. I know it goes up and down like your bag one, but how do you put it back together if you slide it all the way out?" he asked, lightly gesturing at the girl's own zipper. Indeed, if one took a look at his made up wardrobe, most of it was either a one piece or using buttons, like the old styles. So zippers were something entirely new to him, or at least in practice, since he hadnt dared touch Mari's bag to see how it worked.
Mari smiled and set the blue hoodie on the couch. “You just have to slide the loose piece back into the zipper if it's all the way open.” she explained, gently taking the bottom part of the hoodie and pulling the zipper open to show him. “Now, if you want, you can leave the zipper completely open and just wear it as a jacket. Or you can close the zipper back up… just don't zip it all the way up. It's kind of uncomfortable and looks… well, weird. No one wears a zipper that high.” she explained with a brief shrug.
The boy watched with intent as she showed him how to operate the zipper, before trying it himself a few times to try and understand it better.
"Oh, got it" he nodded at about his third or fourth try. "Is that like a fashion thing then, i suppose?"
It sure sounded like a fashion rule to him, so thats what he was going to treat it as - not that he knew much about fashion in the first place, given his wardrobe was all but according to fashion.
After a period of fiddling around with the hoodie, he took off his own large pullover and reluctantly put on the new one, looking down at it to see how it fit him - it was indeed rather big for him, but he was comfortable in it with his skinny build.
She watched patiently as he took the hoodie and tested the zipper on his own. The concept was fairly simple, at least to her, so she didn't think that he would have any real trouble with it. “I… I don't know. I never really thought about it. I don't really keep up with the fashion industry or stuff like that so I don't know all the “rules” if that is what that is.” she admitted somewhat thoughtfully. She had just thought wearing the zipper all the way up was uncomfortable… and she did mention that it looked silly, but that had just been an opinion… But how many other people thought the same thing?
Mari smiled encouragingly as Damien put on the gray hoodie. “It looks good on you. Do you like it?”
Damien looked himself up and down, even scooting a little away to better observe the fabric and the way it draped on him.
"I- i love it! It's so warm!" he replied, with a smile, snuggling into the hoodie. The new fabric intrigued him as much as he loved its texture, continuing to fawn over it once he pulled his hands out all the way through the slightly bigger than him sleeves - it wasnt a big difference in the end, just that when his hands were down, the sleeves covered most of his hands in an almost cute way.
"Uh.. Am i ready to go now?" the boy asked, pausing for a bit. "What about my eye? Wont it get noticed?"
Mari couldn't help but chuckle softly at Damien’s adorable reaction to the hoodie. He did look very cute and… modern in it, though he would probably look cute in just about anything. “I’m glad you like it.” she smiled back before reaching in a side pocket on her bag. “I thought about that and I hope that this will help.” she told him as she pulled out a dark pair of sunglasses. “These are usually just meant to help keep the sun out of your eyes but they also make it harder for others to see your eyes.” she explained, holding them out for him.
The boy raised his gaze at the new object Mari pulled out of her bag, inspecting it with even more curiosity. Unlike the hoodie, glasses were something he hadnt encountered before except a few mentions in books, but other than that he had no prior experience with it. He reluctantly took them from her hand, turning them on all sides and trying to figure out what to do with them.
"So these.. Also protect your eyes from the sun?" Damien asked, trying to loom through them at a window without unfolding them. Eventually after some prodding, he slowly pulled on the little arm things, looking at them as if trying to figure out how to put them on.
Mari chuckled again as he struggled with the glasses, even holding them up and just looking through them. “Here.” she smiled as she gently took the glasses back and opened them, sliding them over her face to show him how they worked. “Yeah. They… minimize the amount of sunlight that makes it hard to see.” she explained, taking the glasses off and handing them back to him.
"Its so interesting… To make something to shield your eyes from the sun" he said to himself, taking the glasses back and slowly sliding them on his own face without brushing the hair from his face first, thus ending with his long fringe trapped between his face and the glasses.
"Whoa, everything dimmed!" he exclaimed, looking around with the glasses on. "It's like it suddenly turned evening! Even you are darker."
“Yeah. Well, looking at the sun can actually cause some degree of damage to your eyes so the sunglasses filter some of that intense light so it's more manageable.” she explained, perhaps simplifying a little. She chuckled a little when his hair was pinned between his face and the shades. “You might want to fix your hair.” she suggested, nodding at his observation. “It just looks darker because the lenses are tinted. Nothing really changed. But they do work better when you're wearing those outside.”
