The World As We Know It

Chapter 16: Aftermath

Art Credit: questioning.my.art on Instagram

Throughout the night, as she was sleeping, Yelena was very aware of the fact that Blair was lying right next to her; a small reminder in the back of her head that she wasn't alone— and that she should probably keep a comfortable distance between them.

Because Yelena was trying to be respectful; as well as preventing herself from sprawling out across the entire bed like she was used to doing— as the last thing she wanted to do was smack into Blair while she was in the midst of sleeping. Surely, if she were to do that, Blair would never want to share a bed with her again.

So Yelena kept to her left side of the bed; laid out on her side to keep her legs and arms to herself— which was a lot harder than it seemed, since she only had a full-size mattress. There was only an inch of space between them, and Yelena really hadn't had a clue yet, if Blair was a fan of cuddling.

For the duration of the night, she stayed rather stiff; somehow tolerable for her until the morning time, when she finally turned onto her back to find some relief. There, she would lay for an hour; comfortable, though it was the matter of Blair trying to hog all the blankets that bothered quite a bit.

Under any other circumstances, Yelena wouldn't have minded so much; but she was laying naked underneath, and it was a bit cold in the room. Her apartment heater wasn't the most reliable at times; Yelena's annoyance towards this more or less waking her up, as she really didn't want to get up from the warmth of her bed, to mess with the thermostat.

She was still very much tired; stubborn, as she refused to open her eyes, despite it being impossible to go back to sleep now. Yelena was an early riser, even on her days off from work; knowing that it was well into morning, because her room was growing bright— not too bright because of the blinds, be definitely later than six am, like she was used to.

To confirm this, Yelena cracked open an eye to check the alarm clock on her nightstand table; reading eight-forty-six. She sighed, trying to settle back into her comfortable position again; but with her mind now knowing the time, it was obvious why she couldn't.

Her body was used to the schedule of being up and active; as on usual Sunday, she'd be in the gym by now doing cardio— though the activities from last night surely served as more than exceptional replacement.

Yelena hadn't forgotten about it; but the memories flooded her head again, and she found herself all giddy all over again— blinking the rest of the sleep from her vision, as she turned over to face Blair.

Thankfully, she was not a dream Yelena had hallucinated over the night; there in the flesh, as she laid on her stomach— Blair's entire face buried into the surface of her pillow.

This caught Yelena off guard, as it didn't seem like the most comforting position to be sleeping in; chuckling to herself regardless— as Blair lying there with her hair all a mess, had only made her seem only more beautiful in Yelena's eyes. Raw and human; as waking up next to one another, was truly the second step of being vulnerable.

From how hard Yelena was grinning, her cheeks were starting to hurt; something she would hate to admit, or otherwise be caught doing, as Blair started to stir— Yelena freezing, as she herself didn't want to move and risk waking her up further.

But of course, she doesn't want to be caught staring either; her heart beating fast, as Blair would move onto her side— now face to face with Yelena, as her eyelashes fluttered for a second.

Almost, Yelena wanted to close her eyes and pretend like she was asleep; as watching her now felt like a precarious game. Blair would breath out heavily through her nose, before going still again; Yelena waiting cautiously for a second, admiring the way sleep looked on her— makeup mostly rubbed off, though her glitter eyeshadow and black mascara remained smudged around her eyes.