butterflies ઇଓ matt sturniolo imagines

𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦

ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅ઇଓ

chris had trouble knowing exactly what might help you, which often resulted in every gesture being just a bit over the top. when you were hungry, he brought home food from two different restaurants; when you were sick, he bought medicines that had nothing to do with what you'd caught; when you were stressed, he would trot at your heels like a puppy and beg for something to do that would make you feel better. you knew it came from his heart, so you could never hold it against him, but lord, was it tiring at times.
tonight, though, you were thankful for it.

chris had never dealt with someone's nightmares before- aside from his brothers, of course, but that's a special case. he could handle theirs with less caution. but you? you're his girl. everything had to be gentle, thoughtful, and precise, all for you. he couldn't give you a smack between the shoulder blades and a gruff "you'll be fine in the morning" like he could to nick... not if he wanted to keep a girlfriend. and the boy was stumped beyond belief by this prospect as he watched your face twitch in your sleep.
you were snuggled so sweetly into the sheets of his bed, the blanket tucked beneath your feet like you always preferred it. your hair was a fuzzy mess across his pillow, and your drowsy fingers clutched his pillow as if holding onto your bad dream. you were scrunching your nose and mumbling incoherencies, and chris could only sit and wonder what he should do.

do i wake her up? it doesn't seem that bad, she's probably okay. she might want me to leave her be. she might not fall back asleep if i wake her up, sometimes that happens to her. maybe she'd rather me stop it from getting any worse. what if it's making her sad? or scared? what if she needs help?

the brunet's mind raced at lightning speed, mulling over every intricacy that could make or break his decision to interrupt your dream. the boy played with the fabric of his bedcovers and pondered, letting his worried eyes drift to the mindless television still playing from earlier when you'd fallen asleep to a movie. he'd spent so long admiring you that he never noticed when that first movie ended and a new one began. he watched for a few moments, beginning to lose focus, but he snapped out of it when your arm jutted out across the mattress towards him, grabbing hold of his sleep shirt and knicking the skin of his chest with your polished nail. he winced at the jab. when the boy looked back to you, he saw a screwed-up face that looked more troubled than before, and you tugged so tightly on his tee that he had no choice. consequences be damned- he was going to wake you up.

he shook your shoulder softly, to which you grunted groggily. he shook harder at that, and your eyes snapped open in shock; you sucked in a ragged breath and sputtered, your dry throat making you look foolish. the boy helped you sit up and rubbed wide, soothing circles between your shoulder blades, patting you a few times to make sure you ceased coughing. you craned forward, letting your head fall embarrassedly into your blanketed legs and groaning.

"are you okay?" chris asked.

"mhm,"

"looked like you were having a nightmare, doll," the boy continued, "i could see it in your face."

"i'm fine, it's fine."

"you didn't look fine-"

"chris, i'm fine."

the second you snapped, you wished you could immediately take the words back. the boy's hand dropped from your back and recoiled into his lap, and his heart sank just a touch. this always seemed to happen- him trying to help, and you getting frustrated with him for it. you could blame his persistence, but you knew it was you. you've never been good at taking help when you need it, let alone from someone who lives for taking care of you. with every effort the boy makes to ease your troubles, you seem to push him back, swearing you could handle everything alone. but what good was that when he's there, willing to work? willing to help? was your pride so infallible that you couldn't let your boyfriend do the heavy lifting once in a while?