Never Too Soon

Gap in the Storm

POV: Harper

I shot up from the couch when I heard the door creak open.

"Who's there?" I asked timidly and Lauren hummed in confusion as she sat up too, not fully awake. Her eyes were barely open and her hair was everywhere.

"It's me, Harp. I'm home." My dad's voice was tired and groggy. "What are you two doing out in the living room?"

"I told her to take my bed and she wouldn't, and I'm more stubborn than her so now we're both out here." I gave a quick answer and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

My dad walked over to me and bent down to give me a hug. "I'm glad you're okay. There was a gap in the storm so I made it home quick enough. Is the generator okay? How did it get out of the garage?"

"Lauren pushed it." I hugged him back and he stepped back to look at Lauren who was looking at us with tired eyes.

"You pushed the generator?" My dad asked in disbelief.

"I did." Lauren nodded her head and ran her fingers through her hair once to fix it some. Someone didn't go to sleep as early as I did.

"Thank you." My dad's words were genuine. "I was worried about that, but I'm going to bed now. I've been awake for well over twenty-four hours now."

"Goodnight." I mumbled and laid back down with a huff.

Lauren mumbled something similar to what I said as my dad walked back to his room.

"Someone should've put their phone down when I did." I made sure to sound as cocky as possible.

"Watch the attitude." Lauren's voice went from tired to wide awake.

"Or what? You keep saying this and that and you do nothing. What are you going to do? Tell my dad? Newsflash: he is tired as shit and knows I have an attitude." I scoffed and rolled over so I was facing the couch.

"Everyone knows you have an attitude." Lauren shuffled around some on her couch.

"Anyone who annoys me knows I have an attitude. You annoy me, therefore you know I have an attitude." I picked at a the couch cushion seam until a thread came loose that I could fiddle with.

"God, you know how to test my limits." Lauren groaned and I heard shuffling before a flashlight clicked on.

"Where are you going?" I immediately sat up and watched the light go towards the kitchen.

"I need water." Lauren flashed the light upwards to show an unamused expression.

"Can you get me some too please? There are bottles in the fridge."

"Oh, so now you're being nice and polite." Lauren mirrored a similar attitude to mine, but hers was more controlled. Mine was whatever the fuck I felt like.

"I asked nicely." I whined. "You're already up."

The fridge light illuminated most of the kitchen and I watched her grab two bottles despite her acting like she didn't want to have anything to do with me.

"Awe, you don't hate me." I smiled as she walked back over.

Well, I was smiling until a water bottle came flying towards me and nearly hit my face.

"You almost hit me!" I hissed and slapped the couch.

"But I didn't." Lauren chuckled at my reaction before setting the flashlight upwards to light the room enough for us to see each other.

"What if you did? I bet you'd feel bad." I huffed and unscrewed the bottle cap after a small fight with it.

"If I meant to hit you, I would've. If I did somehow hit you, you would've had to move your face towards it, therefore it wouldn't be my fault and I would more than likely laugh." Lauren shrugged and took a sip of her water.

"Wow, you'd laugh at a full water bottle hitting me in the face." I frowned before only taking a small sip of the water. Although I was thirsty, I didn't want to have to get up in ten minutes because I have to pee.

"I was kidding. I wouldn't actually laugh." Lauren rolled her eyes as I screwed the lid back onto the bottle.

"Sure." I mumbled to myself.

"Oh, while I'm thinking about it, what do you want to do if places aren't open downtown because the storm messed them up?" Lauren's voice perked up.

"You are literally spending the night here and you are worried about spending time with me this weekend?" I was both shocked and happy. Shocked that she'd want to spend another five minutes with me after this and happy that she had even thought about it.

"I'm not spending the night because we wanted to have a sleepover. I'm spending the night because the storm would've blown me off of the highway. I could head home now, but I'm too tired to." Lauren yawned and wiped her eyes to wake herself up enough to talk to me. "But seriously, what do you want to do instead?"

"Is there anything we'd actually be able to do?" I quirked a brow.

She sat and thought for a second. That or she fell asleep sitting up.

"Lauren, are you awake?" I almost laughed when she didn't immediately respond.

"Y-yeah, I'm awake. Barely, but awake." Lauren's voice was getting groggy again, hinting at the fact that she was about to fall asleep. "You could always come to my place and watch a movie or something." She mumbled while laying down.

"You want me to come to your house to watch a movie." I wanted to make sure I was hearing her correctly or if she even heard herself.

"Mhm," she tiredly hummed and closed her eyes.

"You're asleep." I sighed and went ahead and dropped the idea. She won't even remember asking in the morning. "Turn the flashlight off if you can please."

A few seconds later I heard the flashlight fall a few times before she grunted in frustration and left it on.

I closed my eyes, facing the couch cushions, and took a deep breath.

"So are you going to come to my house to watch a movie this weekend or am I going to watch it by myself?" Lauren asked her question again. "I'm awake and aware of what I'm asking. It's a yes or a no question."

My smile made its way back to my lips. "What movie?"

"I don't even know what I'm having for breakfast and you're wondering what movie we are going to watch this weekend?" Lauren asked with a snort.

"Okay okay," I giggled and turned to face her to see her wide awake, looking right at me.

"Is that a yes?" Lauren low-key smiled.

"Yes, I'll come watch a movie with you." I fought back a laugh when her smile grew bigger. Her excitement alone made me happy.

"Okay, good. Go to sleep now." Lauren turned the flashlight off, flipped over, and went silent.

How am I supposed to go to sleep now that I'm this happy and excited? She really just turned around and told me to go to sleep.