Run

VI

           When Alex is awoken by someone crawling into his bed in the middle of the night, he had initially thought it was Emily. But as he pried open his eyes and looked down, he was surprised when he saw buzzed hair and pointy ears shuffling under the blankets.

"Falren?" The boy froze. "What's wrong? What are you doing here?" Falren looked up, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Every time I close my eyes, all I can see is that monster, and every time I see it, one of you dies." Falrens voice sounded broken. The tears in his eyes began to fall down his cheeks. Alex moved before he could think, reaching out to cup Falrens cheek and wiping his tears away. Before he could start speaking, Falren spoke out again.

"Sorry, I uh, sorry, I'm sorry. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I'll go now." Falren started moving away from him. Before Falren could leave, Alex stopped him,

"Wait, Falren! Do you, uh, I mean, would it make you feel better if you slept in here?" Alex knew he was probably pushing Falrens boundaries, but for some reason, the thought of Falren crying alone hurt his heart.

"R-really?! You wouldn't mind?" Falren looked up at him in shock as if it was a foreign concept that his presence wouldn't bother him, and it probably was. Alex pulled Falren into a hug as he whispered in his ear.

"Falren, you could never bother me. Let's get some rest." With that, he let himself fall back onto the bed, bringing Falren with him.

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When Falren had entered Alex's room, he had honestly just wanted to make sure he was still alive, that the demon hadn't gotten him. Falren knew he was being ridiculous, but he had just wanted to be sure. He hadn't meant to get so close to him; Alex looked so peaceful sleeping, and Falren couldn't help but get closer to him until he tried to climb over to him to feel his heartbeat.

That's how he ended up in his current predicament; being held against Alex's chest. Falren could feel his heart beating a thousand miles a minute, and he couldn't understand why. Was it because this was his first time being this close to another person? Maybe he had some sort of heart problem. Was it a side effect of him being an elf? That was probably it; he could worry about it tomorrow because, between the crying he did earlier and the warmth, he could feel himself being dragged into the arms of sleep.

============

"Alex? Hey, wake up; it's morning time now." A soft voice woke him up. It was warm and soothing. Alex gently opened his eyes to see Falren before him, his blue eyes still laced with sleepiness.

"Hey, good morning. How did you sleep? No more nightmares?" Alex hoped to prolong getting out of bed for as long as possible.

"Yeah, no more nightmares. I just had, uhm, happy dreams." Falrens response sounded a little unsure, but Alex wouldn't push when it was clear Falren didn't want to tell him.

"I'm glad. Feel free to come to me whenever you need something, even for the little things."

"If you're sure, then I will."

"Of course, I'm sure. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't want you to." Alex finished the conversation and began to get up before a hand on his wrist stopped him.

"Could we-could we maybe stay like this for a while longer?" Falrens voice was unsure and timid. Alex let himself fall back into the bed.

"Of course, we can." He smiled at Falren, "Y'know, I'm glad you're voice was the first thing I heard this morning." Falrens face burst into a flush almost instantly as he diverted his eyes.

"You-you can't say things like that, Alex!"

They lay there basking in each other's presence as time ticked by. They both knew that it would happen eventually and when Alex's phone chimed his mother's ringtone from the nightstand beside the table, they knew they'd have to get up.