forever you

[eight months]

The room was hot and dense, the bar crowded despite it being a Wednesday night. Siobhan felt like there was no air left to breathe. Chatter and clamors got lost in the background noise, the beating in her skull making it impossible to hear anything but the static buzzing in her ears. Somehow, her legs managed to keep her up. One laborious step after another, she left the table she'd been seated at for... an amount of time she couldn't remember, then headed towards the exit. At least, what she thought was the exit. The foggy haze that had descended on her at some point during the night hardly allowed her to distinguish anything. A silhouette. An empty stool. A solid, sharp-edged object she would later realize were table corners she kept stumbling into. Finally, a fresh, swift current swept over her forehead. Forcing her eyelids to stay open, she focused on the sensation of twirls of air dancing around her, on her skin, a silent invitation to follow them outside. A few final difficult steps, before she reached her goal.

A loud clank from the metal door rattling open. A gust of wind enveloping her swaying body, as she stumbled out into the night.

The bubble of hot air clinging to her limbs released her in a sudden explosion, replaced by the soft winds of early spring, still carrying an undertone of the winter chill. Siobhan took a deep breath like it was her first one ever. Music and sounds slowly faded as she took a few steps further into the street, the quietness of the night slightly soothing the throbbing in her head. Her butt found the sidewalk ledge, all the remaining strength slipping out of her body now that it carried her out. Getting home sounded like another exploit she'd need to accomplish. But for now, Siobhan couldn't care less. The sky was such a pretty sight, dappled with millions of tiny shining dots. Only the moonlight felt cold, a watchful guardian keeping an eye on the bulbs illuminating its garden.

Was he also sitting somewhere at night, watching the stars? Or was he amongst them, mingling with the brightest ones, just like he deserved to?

Only the cooing of sleeping birds answered her, undisturbed in their sleep.

"Siobhan?"

It took some time to put a name on the voice, even if the owner was looming over her. But she was drunk and he was covering the moonlight, his face cast in shadows she couldn't look past. Only when he leaned closer did she recognize the curls in his hair, the high cheek bones and slim jawline, bushy brows over worried eyes.

"Noah?" Was it really him? What was he doing here?

"Are you okay?"

Was she okay? Of course not. But even in this state, her mouth knew not to spill any details, too used to keeping thoughts a secret to untie her tongue. To an almost stranger, no less. Instead, it tried forming questions of its own.

" 'chu doing here?"

Her words did come out somewhat intelligibly, because Noah was now crouching beside her, the frown digging deep lines on his forehead causing a light chuckle to escape her lips.

"What I'm doing here ? I was just hanging out with some friends. What about you? Are you alone ? Where's Marcela ?"

The sentences were too long for her fizzy brain to catch up. If she was sober, she would've frowned at the worry in his tone, would've caught the tense posture of his shoulders, the wary glances he kept casting behind her. Instead, Siobhan just stared at him, intently, like some child wondering about her favorite candy. "Are you sad too?"

His confusion was probably the reason he didn't stop her fingers from caressing his forehead. The lines slowly disappeared, leaving only smooth, hot skin under her touch. His breath was hot against her wrist, but it was the glint in his troubled eyes that mesmerized her for a second. Before the haze took over her foggy brain again, her vision blurring. As if her entire body was being thrown into a rollercoaster, her balance lost between the tilting sky and the fast-approaching ground.