//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - How Awkward Can This Get? // Story: Seeds of Redemption // by Pyrefly_91 //------------------------------// "Pardon?" Applejack asked,unsure of what she heard me say. I looked square into her eyes, somehow feeling myself getting lost in their emerald depths. I shook myself free of my self induced trance, and calmly replied. "I think you heard me just fine." Feeling my smirk returning to my face, I continued. "I said let's go inside, dry you off, warm you up, and get you in my bed." "What makes you believe that I wanna sleep with you. A) We just met. B) You're a human. And C) Never in a million years." She snapped, rage burning bright in her eyes. I held eye contact for a few more seconds before I busted out laughing. "What in the hay is so funny?" "You!" I said, barely controlling the volume of me laughter. "I never said we'd be in bed together! Man, I didn't actually believe you would think that. I just said that we needed to get you into my bed. I have no idea where you came from, or if you even know where you are, but its like two in the morning. And figuring I just saved your ass from drowning after you fell out of the sky, I feel I need to give you a place to sleep" Upon hearing this, she instantly turned red in the face a looked at the ground next to where she was still sitting. "Hey, now, I was only joking with you. Don't look so sad." I said, now changing to a kinder, softer tone of voice. "Come on, lets get you inside and settled in." I rose to my feet and reached down to her, offering her my hand so I could help her to her own feet. Applejack started to reach out for my out stretched hand when she suddenly withdrew and began to examine it, almost like she had never seen a hand before. "So these are hands? These sure do look like what Lyra described them as. I'm gonna need to say sorry to her for telling her hands weren't real." I stood and watched as she continued to look examine her body, almost as if she was familiarizing herself with it for the first time. I watched her run her fingers through her golden blonde hair, run her hands along her tanned, toned body. She even squeezed her own breasts and put her hand between her legs. All the while, I felt my face getting hot and my pants get tighter than they already were from jumping into the pool. "Can we please go inside?" I said quickly, trying to stop her from inspecting herself further. "It's bad enough that I'm soaked from saving you, but I really don't want to get sick." "Oh, sorry 'bout that sugarcube" Applejack apologized and finally took my still outstretched hand and let me help her up. As I slung her arm around my shoulder to help her inside, a sudden chill sprinted down my spine. Which was weird because even though I was soaking wet, my body heat had returned to normal from watching Applejack 'inspect' herself. 'Fuck.' I thought to myself. Something bad was gonna happen, something really bad. That was no ordinary chill. That was my 'I'm screwed' sense going off. The only problem is that it has a time frame, and if something doesn't happen immediately, then I have to watch my ass for the next twenty four hours, before I can call it a false alarm. But that never happens. Every time some one came looking for any of my previous girlfriends, that chill had happened sometime within a day of my girlfriend taking off and leaving me to deal with their shit. "Something wrong?" Applejack asked me, noticing my demeanor change, "Ha, what? Oh, no. I'm fine." I responded hastily, shaking my head and continuing to walk inside. Finally inside, I brought my naked house guest into my living room and helped her down onto a couch. I started up the stairs before turning back to her. "Don't go anywhere. Stay right there, I will be right back. I need to grab you a towel to dry off with. Stay put, please." She just looked up at me and nodded. I continued on and grabbed a towel from the closet and ran back downstairs. When I stepped of the stairs, I found my guest fast asleep. I had no idea what to do, just a few seconds ago she was wide awake. Now shes out cold, and still naked! "Usually a hot chick asleep on my couch is a pleasant sight." I said into the quietness of my home. "But this is just ridiculous. Not to mention I just saved her from drowning after she fell out of the fucking sky! And what was up with her inspecting herself? And why is she not wearing anything? What the fuck!"My mind was going a hundred miles an hour, all in the vain attempt to figure all this out. But then I remembered something she had said. "Who was this Lyra she mentioned? Why would she talking about hands, and why would Applejack-." I stopped mid sentence and quickly made two decisions. Number one, I'm not saying Applejack every damn time I refer to her, I'm calling her AJ and she can kiss my ass if she don't like it. Number two, AJ has to be from some other world, how else could I explain her memory of people she knew as well as her interest in her form. "Well, no point dwelling on anything right now. She's the only one who can answer all my questions, but she's asleep where I'm gonna be sleeping, and I need to get her into a real bed. She is my guest after all, right?" No answer came, as was usually the case when I would start to think aloud. So, also in typical fashion, I answered myself. "Right, but she's still soaking wet, not to mention she'll need clothes. We can hit the mall tomorrow and have her pick some stuff out for herself. Till then she can borrow something your exs always seemed to leave behind before taking off." "Good plan." I said, agreeing with myself I softly walked over to the couch and crouched down in front of the sleeping AJ. I don't know why, but her hat was still on her head, and with her still wet and all, my mind took yet another dive into the gutter.Blocking the images in my brain from causing my body to react, I gently place a hand on her shoulder and gave her a few light shakes. After a few seconds of rocking her, her eyes began to flutter open lazily. And I immediately punch myself in the chest because of how cute she looked doing that. "What's up partner?" She asked, half awake. Then her body was rocked by a shiver that rivaled that of my sixth sense. "Oh wee, I'm freezing." I recovered from my self induced pain and stood up, holding out the towel. "That's why I woke you up. You're still wet from outside, plus you'll be better off in a real bed. Just dry off and I'll take you to my room, you can sleep in there. And while you're getting comfy, I'll find you some clothes to wear for later, ok?" She sat up, nodded and took the towel from my hand. As she stood, she stumbled and fell right into me, knocking us both to the ground. And because she was on top of me, I could not stop my face from turning beet red and my body finally joining my mind in the gutter. "Oh," AJ exclaimed as she laid on my chest. "Sorry bout that. Still need to get use to walking on two legs." She then shifted and lifted herself from laying on me. But now my face was a deep crimson, and still getting redder, since she was now straddling me, and I had an eyeful of her luscious chest. Thank god she wasn't just a few inches further back. With the color of my face still getting darker, I shifted my sight to her face, which wore a look of confusion. "You alright? Yer face is redder than an apple." "I'm fine, just please, can you get off. You have no idea how awkward this is right now." "Ah shoot," AJ said, rolling off of me. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Its like I said, just not use to walking on two legs is all." "It's ok, lets get you upstairs and in bed. I have a lot to do before I can get any sleep myself." "Alright." As I watched her try and stand up, it was clear she was gonna fall again. I quickly got to my feet, stepped behind her, and gently held her steady. She looked over her shoulder at me, and I gave her a slight grin. "I got you. Just lean on me and I'll help you up." I then Threw her arm around my neck once more and proceeded to help her up the stairs and down the hall to my room. Now my room was really nothing special. A large queen sized bed was positioned opposite the door, its headboard against the middle of the wall. The bed was flanked by a nightstand to the right, and a six drawer dresser on the left. Along the walls hung posters from all my favorite video games, like Legend of Zelda - Skyward Sword, and the original Fable. A few collectible figures from AQW sat one top of the dresser, along with some of my favorite Bionicals, from before they fell out of production. Next to the door was a 72'' LCD Flatscreen TV, hung on the wall with all my favorite retro gaming systems sitting below it on a shelf I had built for them. There was a PS1 and 2, an N64, Gamecube, and the original Xbox. I helped AJ get under the covers and walked over to the left of the bed and opened a smaller dresser that was hidden just under the bed frame. I opened up the single drawer to reveal all the clothes that my past girlfriends had left behind when they took off to hide from the police or debt collectors. I reached inside and pulled out a orange tee shirt, a pair of solid black panties, a matching black bra, and a pair of skinny jeans. I then threw them onto a chair that was at a desk along the same wall and turn toward AJ, who was finally covered up thanks to my bed spread. "Alright, Lets go over what's going down. First off, When I knock on the door later, I need you up and dressed quick. These are what you can wear tomorrow, everything should fit no problem. When you're done, go over to the door, open it and call my name. You do remember what I said my name is, right?" "Tyson, right?" AJ guessed. "Close, but its Jason You can also call me Jay. Its easier to remember. Which brings me to my next point. From this point, I'm going to refer to you as AJ. Reason one, Applejack is too long to say all the time. And second, its a weird name, even for someone like myself. Alright?" "Not a problem. As a matter of fact, everypony calls me AJ," "There is another thing. Tomorrow during breakfast, you're telling me why you came falling out of the sky, where you are from, why you can't walk normal, and most important, why the hell you where naked. Cool?" "Sure thing. If you wanna know something, I have no intent of lying to you. After all, I am the Element of Honesty." Good, I think. And finally, We are going to the local mall tomorrow to get you some clothes of your own. I can't have you constantly wearing the left overs from my past girlfriends. It just wouldn't be right. Ok?" "Gotcha." "Good, Now get some sleep. Like I said, I've got something I need to do before I turn in myself. I'm gonna be right down stairs on the couch. If you need anything, just call for me." As I walked back to the door to the bedroom, I could feel her watching me. I raised my hand and turned back toward the beauty now laying in my bed. "Goodnight AJ." I said quietly. "Goodnight Jay, and thank you for all this." Said AJ. And with a smile, I nodded my head in acknowledgment, and snapped my fingers, turning off the light. I then closed the door and proceed down the hall to my computer room, only stopping for a second to open my towel closet again to grab a box of tissues. I quickly entered the room and closed the door behind me.