Nightmares (Enorace Fluff)

Chapter 7

Enoch woke up with a strange, sick excitement in his stomach. He couldn't keep the smile off his face as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and walked to Horace's door. He wasn't even sure why he wanted to see him, but he raised his fist to knock anyway- then hesitated. Enoch frowned. He tried to knock again, but found he couldn't make himself do it. It wasn't like him to get freaked out like this, but for some reason he couldn't work up the courage.

Suddenly the door handle turned and Enoch cursed, sprinting back to his room and shutting the door just as Horace stepped out onto the landing. Enoch held his breath as Horace walked past and down the stairs. Once his footsteps had receded, Enoch breathed in relief and slid down the door to the ground.

He knew he'd have to face Horace eventually, but he had no idea what he was supposed to say.

"So you know that thing that happened between us last night? Pretty weird, huh?"

Enoch shook the thought out of his head. He'd never felt so confused in his life.

He felt happy and sick and angry and embarrassed and excited and terrified.

Did he like Horace? Of course not!

...Maybe?

And did that mean Horace liked him? He thought about it, how close they'd become lately, how Horace smiled at him when he saw him, which had to be a first in Enoch's life. So... yes?

No, he thought. Stop creating something that isn't there. You're just friends.

He nodded. Okay, so just friends, that made sense. Horace wouldn't smile at him like that, or hang around him if they weren't friends right?

So maybe last night didn't mean anything at all. Maybe he was overthinking it- nothing had really happened, after all. Their faces were close together, then Miss Peregrine came in. Simple as that. They were sleep deprived and not thinking straight, and a weird moment had passed between them. Horace had probably thought nothing of it. He'd probably forgotten already.

Still, Enoch thought about how close they'd been, how Horace's hand had been intertwined with his, and he couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Miss Peregrine hadn't walked in.

You're just friends. Friends do stuff like that. You're just friends.

He repeated it in his head as he walked down the stairs to breakfast.

You're just friends. Just friends. Just friends.

He sat down at the table and ate his breakfast in silence while the peculiars chattered around him. He could sense Horace staring at him from across the table, trying to get his attention. Enoch looked up.

Just friends. Just fr- oh God.

Enoch's heart tried to jump out of his chest the second he made eye contact with Horace, and he quickly forced his eyes down to his plate before the other boy could say anything.

Okay. You can do this. Just be normal.

Enoch sneaked a glance and found that Horace was still watching him.

Crap.

He quickly looked away. The way his heart was racing was definitely not helping with his 'just friends' theory.

Enoch avoided eye contact with Horace for the rest of breakfast and ignored him when he offered to take Enoch's plate as they were packing up. When Horace called after him as he walked down to the basement, Enoch pretended not to hear him.

As long as Enoch didn't look at or think about Horace, he was fine. Okay, so ignore him for eternity in order to stay friends. That sounded sustainable. Not.