Hot Starry Nights

1:4 ~ Howard

  "Oh. Um. Really, it was nothing, I promise. You don't have to stress about it. It really wasn't impor-"

  "But I do have to stress about it Howard! You aren't telling me about it and it makes me think you were talking about me behind my back or something. Now I don't even know if I can trust you about it because you lied about it. You've lied to me."

  Nat looks frustrated, angry, and sad. Did I really cause all of this from one little lie? Why did I even lie? This is stupid. I should just tell the truth.

  "Nat, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied in the first place. It was really stupid, and I have no excuse."

  "So, what were you guys talking about?"

  "She thought that- She thought that the reason we weren't here today was because we'd fucked, and that we were so tired from it we woke up late."

  "That's it?"

  "Well, yeah." I look up from the ground and Nat looks like he's holding back laughter. He's not . . . mad at me. He walks up to me and puts his hands behind my neck. He leans his head on my chest and looks down at the ground.

  "Y'know, you could've just said that from the beginning, right?"

  "Aren't you mad?"

  "Should I be? It was only a mistake."

  Right. Why was I so worked up over this anyway? Oh yeah. He was pissed at you. That's why it hurt so much.

  "So we're good now? No more assholes being assholes?" He looks up at me. A hand flutters over to his heart and grips his hoodie.

  "Ooo, that hurt."

  Now that the current issue was, well, no longer an issue, my brain finally took in our position. We were standing in the middle of the room with his face inches away from mine. One of his hands was on the back of my neck, and the other gripped his hoodie. I took him into a hug to avoid him seeing my blush. "So how long are we going to stand in the middle of your living room like this?"

  "Sorry."

  "No, you're good. But my arms are starting to get pins and needles."

  "Sorry."

  "Stop saying sorry."

  "I thought I was going to lose you after this." I grip the back of his hoodie.

  "The only thing you have to apologize for is lying."

  "Sorry for lying."

  "I forgive you. You already explained yourself."

  I let go of him and mutter something about sleep. I go to my room and close the door. This time I set an alarm for the morning. I think about everything that just happened. I start blushing again. It must be really hot in here.

○○○○○○○○○○○

  I wake up and my face feels wet. I must've been crying. Which means I probably had another nightmare. Which ALSO means that I probably woke up Nat. Again. Fuck. My alarm isn't going off, which means I either slept through it or I woke up earlier than it. It's still dark outside, so it's most likely the latter.

  I start heading outside to get some fresh air, but when I open my bedroom door, Nat comes tumbling through. He looks worried, and like he may have been crying as well.

  He rushes up to me and hugs me, and we fall on my bed. We have way too many sleep issues. I blame our parents. Assholes. What time even is it? I check my phone and it's 2:38. I went to bed about two and a half hours ago. Of course. I just can't fucking sleep. I'm going to have to chug three fucking monsters to stay awake. Nat gets off of me and crawls into my bed.

  "Oh, I see. You just wanted into my bed."

  "Shut the fuck up you asshole."

  I get up to go sleep on the couch, but Nat pulls me back.

  "Stay? Please?"

  I looked at him pleading with his tear-stained cheeks and red eyes. Who the fuck would even say no? I get in next to him. I make sure my alarm is set and lay on the opposite side of the bed. I gradually fall into sleep, thinking about how to explain this shit to Ember.