𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘌𝘔𝘗𝘛𝘠 𝘗𝘈𝘙𝘛𝘚 𝘖𝘍 𝘔𝘌 - HOZIER

XX

TWENTY.

Vivienne awoke with a startle, as she did most mornings, a few beads of sweat on her forehead and her eyes still puffy. She groaned as a sore throat began to settle in, her fingers running over the skin of her neck as she tried to recall what had caused her to cry enough to leave uncomfortable effects in the morning. She could only resurface foggy memories from days prior or stressful calls to her cuttoff family to try and locate Emani— and her nightmare of the crash that felt all too familiar with how much it plagued her sleep.

She rolled to her side, propping herself up on her elbow and pulling closed the curtain behind her headboard. She let out a deep sigh as she scanned the room and remembered the show that night- already mentally preparing to swallow her own emotions in exchange for a good performance. She tossed her legs over the bed, rubbing her eyes as she stood up and took a step forward—

A chaos of clattering and unintelligible shouts ensued as Vivienne fell to the floor, her shoulder slamming into the ground with a loud thud. Andrew was startled from his sleep the second her foot pressed into the side of his face- his body immediately shooting into a sitting position, then hovering over Vivienne as he crawled over to her side.

"Shit! Are you alright?" His voice was raspy with sleep, his face contorted in confusion and his eyes barely open. Vivienne rolled to her back, cradling her shoulder in her hand and groaning. The two shared a few seconds of silence as they tried to recall what events had led them to this exact moment— the quiet cut into by Vivienne's giggle.

"What in the hell are you doing on my floor, Andrew?"

The same energy lifted Andrew's mood as he was overcome with laughter, rubbing the side of his head. "What are you doing stepping on my face?"

"I think my question is a bit more compelling," Vivienne let her eyes fall open, her cheeks flushing with heat at the sight of Andrew suspended over her. One of his arms was pressed to the ground near her head to keep himself up, the other quickly brushing a large chunk of hair away from her face while his was tied in a loose bun- a few strands dangling.

"You... uh... asked me not to leave," Andrew felt a tinge of warmth in his skin as he realized his position, slowly sitting back onto his own legs and giving a hand to pull Vivienne up. "So I didn't."

Vivienne accepted the gesture, draping her hands over her knees as she scanned every inch of his face for sincerity— and it was all she could find. She couldn't tell if the twist in her stomach was from anger for his undying desire to help her, or if it was great-fullness for the same.

"And to be fair, the plan wasn't to be tripped over-" He smiled crookedly, rubbing his face. Vivienne couldn't help being entranced by his morning appearance: his tear stained t-shirt tugged just slightly up his abdomen, his hair a mess due to the tossing and turning he did to avoid sleep so he could be there if she ever woke, and his muddy green eyes that could barely focus from exhaustion— but were trained only on her. "I was supposed to be up first... I was going to run by a store to replace your phone and all before anyone woke up..."