Don't wake me up, not just yet.- Anderperry

8

It was the last night and it was terrible. Not only was it my last night of being able to meet him, but I also couldn't sleep! And I was getting more and more anxious because he told me not to be late and that was literally the first thing he ever said to me in the past 6 days of me dreaming about him. I COULDN'T screw this up.

I buried my face onto the pillows, didn't work. Tried how military men would go to sleep, didn't work. Counting sheep from a hundred to one, didn't work. I had no sleeping pills, obviously wouldn't work! Nothing was working out and I'm going to miss my big chance.

And at this point I was crying and crying. Because I was screwing up and I didn't know how to fix it. But the crying made me really tired and I did start to get sleepy. And just as I closed my eyes, preparing myself for my big sleep, someone was waking me up. Jesus! I literally was just about to fall asleep!

"Oh for the love of god, fuck off!" I yelled, I didn't care who it was but maybe I should've cared. The person slightly shook me again and I jolted my eyes open. It was Neil! But I wasn't sleeping, how could it be? Was he real? Is this one of my hallucinations again?

"Hey, Todd. Looking a bit grumpy tonight." He chuckled and he gently tapped on my cheeks. His fingertips being dry but I felt it. I really did. It was so real that I felt my cheeks bounce to the touch.

"There is no way in hell you are real. There's no way." I rebuffed in disbelief, jumping off from my bed as I pointed at him. He only smiled softly, his face gleaming under the moonlight. He was ethereal, just as beautiful as I remembered. He stood up to stand in front of me, holding the hand I used to point at him. He intertwined my fingers with his and I was shaking. I was scared and happy, all so much, all at the same time and I could feel tears yield back into my eyes.

He stepped a bit closer and pulled me into a hug. And for the first time in what felt like years, I was able to squeeze him tight again. I hugged him so tightly I could barely feel my arms. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me and started to rub my back. He repeatedly whispered words into my ears until I calmed down.

"It's okay. I know it's a lot and I know you're overwhelmed. But it's okay. You're okay." He said. And I knew it was Neil. Only Neil knew how to calm me down like this. Only he could talk in such a gentle voice that it would make me shut up. I stopped my sobbing and rest my face against his chest. There was no heartbeat but it was all real. He was really there.

"Let's go out, c'mon. We only have till 3 o'clock! It's currently-"

"10:27pm I know. I always know." I cut him off with a grin. He smiled back and kissed my cheek. Butterflies bursted out of my stomach and I was going to explode.

Neil then decided to-funny to say- jump off the window. But he was perfectly fine and all his bones were okay. Like he was a cat who could land every fall. He was fine. He was everything that wasn't me.

"Go on, Todd! Jump! I promise I'll catch you." He said as he stretched out his arms, a playful look on his face.

"Neil, are you sure about this? What if you don't catch me?" I asked in fear. But I was already sitting by the ledge of the window frame. Just a little push and I'd be off to the floor.

"Don't you trust me, Todd? I literally jumped off and survived. I'm sure as hell I can catch you!" He said. I chuckled a bit and thought 'of course you'd survive, you're already dead.'

I took a deep breath and slowly I pushed myself off and I yelled so hard. The air gushing against my face, everything happened so fast, almost like a blur. It was terrifying, but he caught me. And now I'm in his arms, being carried like a bride. I blushed a bit out of embarrassment and he teased me about it.