Matches: Why We Burned Out

four // a pillow and a bodyguard all in one

four // a pillow and a bodyguard all in one (edited!)

The sun had almost fully set and I was still sitting on the top of that hill with Romeo. As I was a chatterbox, I couldn't help but start up a conversation, and we ended up speaking for ages. He was so interesting.

The way he looked at life was so different to anything I could've ever imagined. But he didn't seem happy. He told me that he didn't like the night because he didn't have anybody to tell him what was real and what he made up. As an only child, he found himself feeling quite lonely, especially because his parents were always working. When he was younger he would sit alone in the dark and get really sad because he couldn't tell if he was imagining things or not.

Sometimes he wouldn't see his parents for days in a row. He could've died and nobody would've been there to notice. This was really terrible for him because he'd had heart problems in the past, and he was scared that it could happen again.

But he said that he looked forward to the mornings because the light kills the darkness and he was reunited with reality again.

For some reason, this really broke my heart and my eyes were watering. When Romeo looked over at me he raised his eyebrows in shock. "Why are you crying?" His voice was gentle and his lips were close to my ear.

"I'm not crying," I debated, knowing damn well I was about to start. Instead I ignored his question. "You read the saddest chapter of your life to me."

Romeo sighed softly as he combed his fingers through his hair. "Cheer up, petal. I'll be okay."

After looking at him for a long time, questioning whether or not I should debate with him, I decided to stop being such a downer and lighten the mood. As a child, I enjoyed the freedom I felt when I rolled down hills with my brother. So I lay down on the grass, allowing my body to roll down the hill.

My mind felt clearer once I reached the bottom, so I signalled for Romeo to join me. He did the same, grinning as he reached the bottom. We ran back up the hill hand in hand, flinging ourselves back down on his jacket.

I lay on my side, with my head propped up on my hand. Romeo mirrored me with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Then he reached over to pull blades of grass out of my dark hair. I liked the way I felt when he touched me. Sparks exploded from his fingertips and sent tingles all over my body.

Once he was done, I knelt beside him to filter through his hair for blades of grass. He never broke eye contact with me. Rather than searching for grass, my hands began to soothingly run through his hair. I could tell he enjoyed it by the way he looked at me.

He carefully took my wrists in his big hands and removed my hands from his hair. He placed one of my hands over his pounding heart, "You feel that?" he whispered, "That's you."

I blushed, grateful that he couldn't see it because it was too dark. I lowered my face so I was closer to him and I stared into his confusing eyes. They looked darker since the sun was hidden. My eyes trailed down to his lips; the softest lips in the universe. He smiled once he noticed me staring at his lips. He put his hand on the back of my neck, and I closed my eyes.

My heartbeat sped up as I anticipated Romeo's lips on mine and my breath kept getting caught in my throat. I never imagined he'd make me this nervous.

"Romeo..." I whispered softly, and I was immediately greeted by his lips on mine. The first few moments were slow, as if we were trying to become familiar with each other's taste. His lips were sweet like the donuts we ate earlier. We kissed so delicately, almost as if we were shy. My hand slid up his chest and into his hair again. Romeo's fingertips carefully brushed my arm as he moved his soft lips together with mine. As we became more comfortable with each other, we became slightly more passionate. Our movements were clumsy, but perfect at the same time.

Our lips departed and I rested my forehead on his, taking deep breaths to slow down my heartbeat. His hot breath tickled my lips which brought a small smile onto my face.

Still flustered, I laid down beside him with my head rested on his chest. It felt like my head was in the clouds and my lips were swelling slightly. I shivered as Romeo delicately ran his fingers up and down my arm. We both gazed up at the stars scattered around the night sky.

"That constellation is called Phoenix," I whispered softly as I pointed up at the stars.

"How do you know?" he asked curiously.

"You have to play dot-to-dot with the stars. They make shapes that tell stories," I answered, my eyes still fixated on the sky above. The view from here was absolutely beautiful. I definitely had to remind myself to go back.

Romeo's fingers tangled themselves in my hair as he spoke lowly, "Tell me a story about the Phoenix constellation." It was almost miraculous how he went from not wanting to hear my voice at all to asking me to talk to him.

And so I proceeded to tell him about how the phoenix was said to have resembled an eagle with purple, red and gold feathers and a scarlet and gold tail. I told him how Ovid wrote in his Metamorphoses that the bird lived for 500 years. When it reached the end of its life span, the phoenix would build itself a nest at the top of a palm tree, using incense and cinnamon bark, then ignite the nest and die in the fire.

He chuckled a little at the last bit. "Imagine if humans did that. Set themselves on fire when they're old and weak."

I laughed with him as I realised how in love I was with his ability to put things into perspective. I still couldn't believe that we kissed the way we did. He was such a complex beauty, yet I was straight to the point and simple. We must have been the most unlikely couple... if we could even call it that.

After some time, he fell asleep. His arm protected me and held me close to his chest. It must've been the most comfortable place I'd ever slept. He was like a pillow and bodyguard all in one.