Hot Starry Nights

6:2 ~ Howard

  Around 3:00, I get a message from Nat. He's coming home.

  He never told me why he left this morning, only that he's with Blake and Ember. I wonder if it has something to do with my birthday, but I'm not sure. Why else would he be with my sister and my best friend at once? Especially when he hates said best friend. Or maybe I have too much faith in him.

  Either way, I've been missing him. There's really not much to do here, I've mostly been on my phone all day. I went out to the treehouse at one point. I have ideas for it.

  A knock on the door brings me back to reality and I jump from my seat on the couch. I carry my feet to the door and practically throw it open. In front of me is Nat, and Blake's red truck is pulling out of the driveway. I grab Nat's hand and pull him into the doorway, hugging him and planting a kiss on his forehead. He smells like apricots, which he knows has been my favorite fruit for years; at least since I was nine.

  "Did you buy a perfume?" I pull away from him, resting my hands on his waist, and watch as his cheeks turn pink.

  "Well- I mean- it was on sale- do you like it?" I smile at him. He's just so cute sometimes.

  "It's my favorite." I let go of him and close the front door.

  "I know you like apricots, but I didn't know if you would like the perfume . . ." I grab his hand and pull him to the couch, sitting down and pulling him into my lap. 

  "Where were you all day? I missed you." He blushes, either at my words or my actions- maybe  both- and leans forward to put his head on my shoulder. He whines and I chuckle, rubbing my hand up and down his back.

  "M' so tired." Without thinking, I reach my left hand for his right and thread it in my own.

  "If I'm comfortable enough, you can take a nap here, or I can take you to bed." He's silent. The only move he makes is squeezing my hand. I stop rubbing his back and grab his other hand, rubbing them with my thumbs.

  "Have we ever actually held hands before?" He mumbles quietly into my shoulder.

  "No. Do you like it?" He nods.

  We spend the rest of the day on the couch. At one point, he laid down and pulled me with him. He fell asleep while I scrolled through Tiktok, texted Ember, and thought about my birthday, which led me to thinking about my parents. They weren't around for my last birthday, or the one before, but they promised to be here. They promised.

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  Holy fuck, I'm starving.

  We didn't eat dinner yesterday and I don't know if Nat ate anything before that.

  I open my eyes to see Nat sleeping soundly on my chest. His light eyelashes and thin eyelids flutter while he sleeps, and his breath tickles my neck.

  I've been staring for at least ten minutes when my phone rings, waking up Nat. I pick it up without checking who it is and answer, watching as Nat lays on my chest. He's tracing the bones in my hand with his index finger.

  "Hello?"

  "Hey Blake. What's up?"

  ". . . Howard? I thought this was Nathan . . ." I pull the phone away from my face and see Nat's clear phone case with the picture of his mom.

  "Oh. I thought this was my phone. Wait- why are you even calling Nat?" At this, his eyebrows furrow. He reaches for his phone and I let him take it, now only hearing one side of the conversation.

  "Blake? . . .  Yeah, it's fine. Why're you calling?" I can hear the confusion laced in his voice. I squeeze his free hand with mine and feel what's probably a little too happy when he squeezes it back. "No, we got it all. Does Friday work for you?" My birthday is Saturday. Is that what this is all about? "Alright. Bye." He hangs up on Blake and drops his phone to the floor. I thread my empty hand in his hair and he lays his now empty-handed arm on my chest, under his head.

  "I have to go to Blake's house on Friday. You can't come with me because it's for your birthday." I sigh, already knowing how bored I'll be. Unless I can hang out with Ember.

  "Oh, and Ember will be there too, so you'll have to find something else to do."

  "Can I do you?"

  "I'll be busy."

  "I'll find someone else, I suppose."

  "Please don't. I mean, we're not exclusive, but I'll be sad. Don't make me sad." He tilts his head up and I look in his light blue eyes, eyes filled with humor and a bit of seriousness.

  "I won't. I would never. Will never." I smile for reassurance. "Now are we going to get up, or what?"

  A/n: guys i was making a christmas episode but i didnt finish it in time D:

  Maybe next week?