Valeriana

30

Has anybody started school yet? I start in the morning. If you haven't started yet, when do you start?

CWs/TWs: vomiting

.•°*°•.

Joel couldn't sleep.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not fall asleep. He didn't get it. He was exhausted and all he wanted to do was go to sleep. But that was the one thing he couldn't do.

Sighing, he pried himself from Lizzie's hold and got up to go to the kitchen. Though before he could even make it out of the bedroom, he was suddenly having a dizzy spell that had him tumbling down. His fall must've startled Lizzie awake since she rolled over and sat upright, rubbing her sleepy eyes with her hand.

"Joel?" She yawned. "What are you doing on the floor?"

Joel rubbed the back of his head, which he'd hit on the corner of the bedframe, and sighed. "I was just some water getting for up," he said, then paused. "No, I'm water some for up get. No, I'm not water. I'm getting some water up get for- ...never mind."

Lizzie blinked. "Okay...?" She shook her head. "I can get some water for you. You need more rest than me."

"No, it's fine," Joel said, finally grounded enough to get off the floor. "Go back to sleep, love."

"Seriously, Joel," she said as she got up out of bed. "I will go get you some water, okay? You stay there."

Joel sighed. "Fine," he huffed, earning a playful swatt from Lizzie. "What?"

"Lay down," she said, then left the room to get him some water.

As he waited for her to come back, he closed his eyes and let himself relax a little bit. Suddenly he was a lot more tired than before. He yawned and shifted onto his side, pulling the blanket over him. He was so sleepy...

When he opened his eyes, there was sunlight pouring in through the window between the curtains and the alarm clock read eleven o'clock. Did he really fall asleep after all that? Sitting upright, he stretched his arms over his head and yawned. He actually felt really well-rested and wide awake for once. That was nice.

The door opened slowly and Lizzie poked her head into the room, then smiled. "Good morning," she practically sang, coming into the room with two plates that had cinnamon French toast with syrup and whipped cream on top. "I already drove Grian to school," she said. "We've got the whole place to ourselves." She brought the food over and handed a plate to Joel, who gladly took it from her.

"Liz, this looks delicious," he said, picking up the fork to slice off a piece. He paused when he noticed her standing and waiting, then looked up at her to see an eager look on her face. "Um..."

"Well?" she said. "Take a bite."

He nodded and ate a bite of the toast, his eyes widened. "What the fuck did you put in this?" he asked, stunned at how amazing it tasted. He looked down at the plate and took another bite. "Liz, this is fucking amazing."

She beamed at him. "Thanks!" She climbed into bed with him and grabbed her own plate to eat, leaning against him. "I'm really glad you like it."

They ate in comfortable silence, then once they were finished with their breakfast, they repositioned themselves so Joel had his arms wrapped around Lizzie and she had her face buried in his chest. It was the first time in a long while that they actually cuddled. It was really, really nice.

They fell asleep like that after a while of just enjoying each other's company. Joel had woken up before her, but he refused to move away when he saw the adorable look on her face as she slept. She looked so peaceful and at ease, like nothing in the world could disturb her or wake her from her deep sleep. It was just the cutest thing Joel had ever seen.