Dreadful

Chapter 5

I was hesitant to meet with him at first. However, I didn't want to break down again. I saw Hannah that night, but the next day... it was weighing heavily on me, and I finally met with him after school. We were silent that time, just content together in the smoke filled room. I wondered how often he smoked... but looking at the silent sadness in his eyes, I realized he must do it every day.

When I could help it, I would see Hannah. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I would see Niko. Hannah never said a word, but she knew that I was seeing him. I think she came to terms with it after a month. I rarely saw my parents anymore, except for when I came home to sleep.

After that first month, my visits weren't so quiet. We would talk and laugh together, it didn't matter what it was about. His parents were out of town a lot, and Yuri didn't care what we did together. I started seeing him more often, maybe a few times a week, but we cut down on our smoking... Maybe taking a hit or two when I first came over.

...

I was happy today. We had finished smoking, and were binging on something chocolate. Suddenly, we heard all sorts of screaming and moans coming from somewhere in the house. "What the..." Niko's face contorted in disgust and I didn't bother finishing my question. He got up, threw open his door, and yelled into the hall. "Shut the fuck up, Hannah! Yuri! Don't make me come in there!" I hadn't realized... but it was definitely the sound of some kind of freaky sex going on. Niko slammed the door and I burst into laughter, unable to hold it in.

"Oh... my... god! You have got to be kidding me!" I was rolling around on the couch, and Niko playfully shoved me over so he could sit down before he started laughing too.

After we had laughed ourselves out, I found myself lying in his lap, looking up at him. His face was serene, and I could see a huge chocolate smudge on the underside of his chin. I smiled at how childish it seemed. How the hell did he get chocolate there?

"Niko..." I took his face in my hands to hold it still while I sat up and licked the chocolate from his chin. I released him and sank back to his lap with a giggle. He looked at me with a "what the fuck?" look, and I could only laugh. "You had chocolate..." I licked my lips and smiled. He chuckled in reply, and leaned his head back on the couch in thought. One of his hands toyed with my hair, and the other rested on my stomach. I drifted off to sleep... for the second time in his presence.

When I woke up, it was dark. For some reason, I really want to go home and eat dinner with my family... Maybe I was in a good mood...

It was hard for me to sit up. Niko's fingers were caught in my hair, and his arm lay heavy on top of me. For some reason, the thought of him sleeping struck me as funny. "Niko..." I poked him in the stomach, but he didn't budge. "Hey..." I tried to pull his fingers from my hair, and after some difficulty, I managed to free myself. "Niko!" I sat up and shook him a little. Still, he refused to wake up.

"What a lazy bum..." I muttered under my breath as I straightened out my tangled hair. I could just leave without telling him... But looking at his peaceful face, I knew I couldn't.

"Hmm..." How could I wake him? A funny thought occurred to me, and I straddled his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and nuzzled my face into his neck, taking a deep breath of his soothing scent. I kissed his skin lightly, toying with it. His arms wrapped around my waist in reaction, but I could tell he was still sleeping.

I pulled back to see his sleeping face. I was hesitant, but decided to continue. I leaned in close, barely brushing my lips against his. Through my half closed eyes, I kept an eye on his reaction... just in case it didn't go over well. I kissed him harder, moving my lips against his, sliding my tongue against the crease of his lips. His lips opened, allowing my tongue inside, and I began to feel him kiss back. He was sluggish, not quite awake, but his arms held me close and he responded to me well.

I knew he was finally awake when he kissed me back with fervor, knowing it was me. After a while, we finally broke apart. He sighed and met my eyes, with a glint of humor reflecting back at me. "That's an interesting way to wake up..." I stuck my tongue out at him and flipped off his lap. "You were being stubborn. I had to do something." He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Smiling at him, I tapped his thigh and stood up. "Well, I just wanted to let you know I was going home." I gathered my things together while he watched. "Eh... What a lame reason to wake me up for." Despite what he said, I knew he wouldn't have liked me leaving without telling him. "Yeah, yeah. See you." I shook my hand over my shoulder and showed myself out of his house.

For the first time in a long time, I actually held a conversation with my parents.