Supposed To Be Me (Shadow x Reader)

Chapter 2 Called In Sick

"It was Maria's favorite. Gerald told me how to make them," he replied.

"I didn't think Gerald had time for anyone or anything other than his precious Maria. Everything he did was for her. Even making you. I wasn't sick. I was fine. Because I didn't need anyone, I didn't get anyone. So the fact that he taught you something actually amazes me," you said having flashbacks to your old room. You took a bite of the french toast. Never before has your tongue ever been overwhelmed by such flavor!

Shadow came back to your bedside and pressed his hand to your forehead. Almost the moment he did so, you shivered suddenly cold. How could you possibly be cold when you're sweating like mad?! Whatever the reason, Shadow's suspicions seemed to be correct because his face either revealed genuine concern or just disappointment. You couldn't always tell with Shadow.

"So..., what's wrong with me...?" you asked wrapping yourself in more blankets despite the fact that you were burning up. Something like this never happened to you on the Ark. But Shadow knew everything about this planet already. Surely he'd know!

Shadow shook his head as if it weren't anything as serious as he suspected. "You just have a fever. Humans here get those all the time," he told you.

"If humans get them here all the time, then why didn't I get one on the Ark?" you asked suddenly curious about the subject.

"The Ark is an area under quarantine meaning that it's isolated from everything else due to a certain disease that needs to be kept from spreading. Maria had a serious illness and that was why she was there. The Ark was made free of all of the different elements of this planet which could worsen her condition. Due to the lack of exposure to these elements, your body is having trouble keeping them from your system because it never had to fight them before on the Ark. This is why you're coming down with a slightly more severe case than normal. I'm actually quite surprised this wasn't worse," he explained.

You blinked with curiosity and then took a sip of orange juice. It actually made you feel a little better! You drank more of it after making this discovery. Once your glass was completely empty, you looked up at Shadow again. "So, I'm lucky, huh?"

Shadow was about to respond with a scientific answer, but then seemed to have another thought come to him. His eyes suddenly revealed a huge burst of emotion. "Too lucky. And your sister didn't get any of that same luck."

You realized he was still mad at you for the whole thing. There was nothing you could do to fix that. Rather than pressing the matter, you changed the subject. "Why did you come back? You could have just left me here. If you really dislike me so much, then why did you come back?"

He thought about his reasons for a moment before speaking them verbally. "You're about the only one I have left. Without anyone, I have no purpose. Upon that realization, I came back."

"I don't think you're telling me everything," you pointed out detecting how unlike him those reasons were. "I think the real reason you came back was because I am the last connection to Maria you have."

...

He didn't say anything to this and simply left as if to say, 'Think what you want'. You saw him hop back onto the other bed and lie down. His gaze went off into space. There was no talking to him when he got like that, so you didn't even try. Instead, you dove back into the covers of the hotel blankets and fell back asleep.

You were back on the Ark because you still viewed that place as your home. Sitting up against the wall of your room, you were trying to think up new games to play next time you saw Maria and Shadow. Good versus evil. Love and death. Pain and destruction. They all had a happy end for Shadow and Maria. They all ended with a terrible death for you because you were the villain of each story. Just in the middle of a brilliant idea, someone knocked on the door.