Hot Starry Nights

5:2 ~ Howard

  He's been gone for four hours. It's almost midnight. I've called him seven times in the last ten minutes. Why has he been gone for so long? 

  The door opens, and Blake, Nat, Griffon, and someone I don't recognize walk in. He has light blonde hair and slightly tanned skin, and he's very tall, as well as a bit lanky. He's probably about 6'2.

  "Are you Ward?"

  "I'm Howard. And who are you?"

  "Zane, Griffon's friend."

  "So what happened?"

  "As far as I know, Griffon and Nathan were hanging out, and got drunk. Griff called me, and once I got there, he could barely even speak coherently. Nathan was in a similar state. Don't worry, I'm sure that Griffon was the one that caused it."

  I wouldn't be too surprised if Nat caused it. "Are you going to take Griffon home, or do you want some help?" Almost as if summoned, Griffon stumbles forward over to Zane and hugs him.

  "I'll take him home. Also, is Blake your sister?"

  "Yes. Did Nathan call her to pick him up?"

  "Yeah, she was pretty close to getting drunk herself, but she kept saying something about there being blood?"

  "She was talking about me." She was right. There would be blood if she had gotten drunk.

  "Right. Well, I suppose I'll be going now."

  "You may want to stay here, I don't think it's safe to drive with someone intoxicated in the car."

  "It's alright, I've done it before. Take care."

  "You too, and be careful." Blake finally lets go of Nat once Zane is out the door, and he barrels into me. We fall on the couch with him on my lap, clinging to me like a teddy bear.

  "Sorry, I didn't know if anyone else knew yet. I figured it was better safe than sorry."

  "It's alright."

  "I have no fucking idea what's about to go down, so I'm gonna head home."

  "Nothing's gonna happen!"

  "I'm not taking any chances!" I hear the front door slam closed, and after a moment, I pull Nat into my arms and carry him into my room. I lay in bed with him, and he clings to me the same way he did before.

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  It's 1:57 in the morning and I can't sleep. It doesn't help that Nat has been trying to kiss me since at least 1:41. I haven't let him.

  "Please?"

  "No. You're drunk. Why do you keep getting drunk," I laugh through my next words. "It's concerning that you get drunk as often as you do when you can't even drive yet."

  "It silences the voices." I look at him to see if he's serious and a tear slips from his eye. I sit up and he crawls between my legs, leaning with his back flat on my chest. I run my hands up and down his arms as he hugs himself.

  "What do they say, Nat?"

  "They say I'm not good enough." I wrap my arms around him to hug him, bringing him closer to me as he leans his head back on my shoulder.

  "What else?"

  "I'm ugly. My scars are ugly. And I shouldn't be here, with you."

  "Do you ever listen?" He doesn't answer, ultimately giving me my answer anyway.

  "Nat, you're beautiful. Your scars are beautiful. Every part of you is beautiful, the voices are lying. You're good enough. You're more than I could ever ask for. You-"

  "They tell me that Dad was right. That I should give up."

  "Nat, please don't. Don't give up," My arms squeeze a bit tighter around him, and in turn, he moves his arms over mine and hugs me, turning around so he's facing me. I lay down,  pulling him with me, and he lays on my chest. I run my hands through his hair as his sobs get quieter.

  "We should change out of our day clothes." His sits up on his knees, tugging at the bottom of his shirt slightly.

  "I would be most comfortable in nothing~" He pulls his shirt off and I cover my eyes, fully aware of the tint on my cheeks.

  "Nat! At least put some pants on! And give a warning!"

  "I didn't realize you wanted one~" I feel his hands on mine, pulling gently. I look away and he hugs me. I can feel his heartbeat on mine. 

  "It's not like you haven't seen me shirtless, Howard." I look at him when I feel him start to trace circles on my shoulder, trailing to my collarbone and back.

  "Every single time before, I was trying to bandage something, or ice bruises." He looks up at me and trails his hand to my jaw. He sits on my torso and leans down to kiss me. I flip us over and pin him down, using one hand to hold his wrists and the other tp prop myself up. I'm sitting on his torso now. His face is red and he's breathing heavily, and I'm sure I'm in a similar state.

  "That is true." He smiles lightly, and I collapse on top of him. He hugs me, and I press a gentle kiss to his forehead as his breathing fades to a slow, steady rhythm.