midnight oneshots <3

a man can dream

I'm standing in the elevator, listening to the awkward elevator music. There's a short man standing alongside me, tapping his foot impatiently. When the elevator dings open on my floor, I step out, walking down the hallway to my apartment. When I open the door, my cat Gizmo runs up to me, his purr vibrating his body.

"Hey, Giz," I say, kicking off my shoes and dropping my bag by the couch, plopping down on the comfortable cushions.

Gizmo meows, curling up alongside me as I pull out my phone, checking my messages. I have two notifications. A text from my dad, saying that he wanted to go to a basketball game with me next weekend. He called me 'Aus,' his only nickname for me, seeing as my name, Austin, can't really be shortened much more.

My other text was from Bella Madison, a girl who I've been talking to for a few weeks. We met on Tinder, though we've only met in person twice. Even though I'm not permitted to tell her many details, she's fascinated by my work as a detective, and my investigation into a serial killer, Bianca Martinson, or Red Owl. One of the things I haven't told her is that once I went undercover for two years. I got into Bianca's inside group, and, after a year, we actually dated. Honestly, I fell a little in love with her. I know I was there to just get information so that she couldn't succeed in killing people, but I couldn't help but fall in love with her. She was amazing. She was smart and feisty, and she was beautiful. I think Bianca really did reciprocate my feelings. But I was ordered back home, and I had to leave her. I told her that my family needed me back in France, then staged my death in a plane crash in the Atlantic. I still investigate her, however. I couldn't let her go completely. Bella has been the first girl since Bianca that I've actually had significant feelings for.

Bella asked me if I wanted to go on a hike this weekend with her. She's an avid hiker, and we're in the perfect place for hiking, Asheville, NC. She wants to go to the Catawba falls, since I'm not very experienced and it's only a 2.7 mile hike. I return her text with an enthusiastic yes, and toss my phone onto the opposite side of the couch, propping my feet up on the coffee table and leaning back, closing my eyes.

I wake up in what seems like minutes to my phone alarm, telling me to "wake up, wake up, start your day!" I reach across the couch to turn it off, and I see that it is six in the morning. I've been asleep since I got home last night, and my stomach growls as proof, reminding me that I didn't eat dinner. I drag myself off the couch, stretching my legs and groaning, annoyed at myself for falling asleep in that position. I fix myself a large breakfast of a breakfast burrito and a leftover sandwich from the other day. I change clothes and feed Gizmo before heading out for work. It's Friday, and I'm looking forward to my date with Bella tomorrow. I speed through my day, going to a bar to meet about a potential lead on the Red Owl, but I leave with no further information. Dejected, I call up my friend Sam, and we decide to go to dinner at Outback, as Sam's favourite food is steak.

I meet Sam at the Outback, and he claps me on the back, reassuring me that I will find the Red Owl, since I'm the 'best detective ever', and 'not even an owl can hide from me'.

"So, how's Bella?" Sam drags out her name teasingly, digging into his steak.

I blush, looking down. "We're going on a date tomorrow. I think she's good."

"Wow, Austin, you really like her, don't you?" Sam grins at me, taking a huge bite.

"I-" I consider this. "Yeah, I do, I think."

"Congrats, man," Sam says, taking a sip of his water. "You gotta introduce her to me, you know." He points at me as if he's my dad and I'm in trouble.

I smile and nod, stabbing at my steak and filling my mouth.

We stayed there for another hour, then we split ways, Sam telling me good luck on the 'romantic hike' tomorrow. I return to my apartment, feeding Gizmo and going quickly to sleep, except actually in my bed this time. I wake up a few times throughout the night, coming to consciousness between dreams of what will come the next day. I'm in the middle of a dream about Bella turning into a duck and rolling down the mountain when my alarm goes off, telling me to 'wake up, wake up, start your day!' I roll out of bed, and my phone buzzes. I check it, and see a text from Bella telling me to bring water, with five exclamation points. I grin, responding with a thumbs up emoji and six exclamation points.