You And I

Chapter 20: Silent Tension

It was 1 a.m., and I woke up with a scratchy throat. I sat up to get some water, glancing around the room to see Mei heading back to her futon. I figured she must've gotten some water too and didn't think much of it. After drinking from my water bottle, I lay back down, taking a quick look at Mei. She was already asleep, looking peaceful and, well... really cute. I smiled to myself and closed my eyes, trying to drift off.

The next time I opened my eyes, it was 7 a.m., my alarm waking me up. I tried to sit up, but something was off. My right arm felt... heavy. As I looked down, my heart practically stopped-Mei was sleeping on my arm. Her head was resting gently against my chest, and for a moment, I was frozen, my heart pounding louder than my alarm had been. I tried to wake her up, but instead of moving, she pulled me closer, nuzzling against my side. I felt my face flush.

"Yo, Ryan, help me out!" I whispered desperately, but he was already awake, his face splitting into a grin when he saw what was happening.

"Oh man," he chuckled, shaking Yvonne awake. "You gotta see this."

Yvonne blinked at the sight and burst out laughing, covering her mouth to keep it quiet.

"Seriously?" I hissed, still trying not to wake Mei. "Are you guys going to help or just stand there?"

Yvonne raised an eyebrow. "Help with what? Looks like you're having a good time." She smirked.

I wanted to protest, but before I could, Ryan whipped out his phone.

"Hold up, this is gold," he said, snapping a picture. "The biggest moment in history, dude."

"Come on!" I groaned, but deep down, I couldn't deny that it felt... nice.

At this point, Ryan and Yvonne woke Jane and Kris. They peeked over and immediately started laughing.

"Guys, are you actually going to help?" I whispered again, starting to feel more embarrassed by the second.

Jane grinned. "Why can't you just wake her up yourself?"

"I don't want to disturb her sleep," I mumbled.

Kris rolled her eyes. "Oh please, you're clearly enjoying this! Look at that smile!"

"Whatever," I muttered, trying to keep my cool.

Finally, they gently woke Mei, and the second she realized where she was, her eyes shot open. She stared at me for a long, silent second, her cheeks turning bright red before she quickly pulled away, sitting up in embarrassment.

Ryan, Yvonne, Jane, and Kris quickly ran outside, but I could hear them giggling from behind the door, whispering, "Let me see!" as they peeked in to catch another glimpse of us.

The room was filled with awkward silence, but in the back of my mind, I couldn't stop replaying the moment, my heart still racing.

I got up from my futon, still feeling the heat in my cheeks, and glanced at Mei. She looked flustered and quickly apologized, her voice soft, "I'm really sorry for crossing the boundaries."

I shook my head, smiling reassuringly. "No, it's okay. You were fast asleep, so I didn't want to wake you."

She bit her lip, her face still a little red. "I'm really sorry."

I waved it off with a small grin. "Seriously, Mei, it's fine. No need to apologize."

An awkward silence followed, both of us unsure of what to say next. I thought to myself, Great, another awkward moment. I could feel the tension in the air, and it wasn't exactly comfortable.

But, as if on cue, the door swung open and the other four barged in, breaking the silence. Ryan, of course, was the first to speak, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Well, well, well... what do we have here?" he said, pretending to be oblivious to what had just happened.