Crashing to Fall (Student/Teacher) (ON HOLD)

Chapter 22: Jammies

I'm so sorry I didn't get back to you guys for so long; I was busy with homework and getting too much sleep (taking a nap at 5:30 and waking up 12 hours later is terrifying) So, here's your update, although it's basically a bonding, filler bit, but still something, yeah?

The apartment was empty and I was standing in the kitchen staring at the mess the guests had made. The chips were scattered across the counter, the dip plopped in chunks like constellations around the bowl. The tub of ice was now just water and a single floating can, and the living room was littered with paper plates and beer cans. I knew I should've been doing something to clean up, but I just couldn't find the will to move.

"C'mon, honey, come with me. I can do this in the morning." I felt Stephen's warm hand on my forearm and I flinched slightly before glancing back at him and nodding. "Yeah, o-okay."

He smiled sadly at me before leading me down the hall, the plush carpet soft against my bare feet. I loved that feeling, of the different threads of material pushing up against the soles of my feet...

I heard Stephen say my name, and I looked up to realize I had stopped in the middle of the hall to wiggle my toes in the carpet. He was staring down at me with worried eyes, and he seemed to be waiting for an answer.

"What?"

"I said, are you coming?"

I nodded, stuttering as I said, "Oh, erm, y-yeah, sorry, I just...yeah, I'm coming..."

I started towards him, but he didn't move towards the bedroom, so I stopped again. I refused to meet his eye as my eyes wandered across his chest and I muttered, "What are you waiting for?"

Without warning, he pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around me tightly, and I started to melt into him. He felt so warm, so familiar, so much better than...

"I'm so sorry, Leslie; I'm just so, so, so..." He whispered into my hair. I could feel him trying to erase everything that had happened from my memory and his, and I could also feel the impossibility of that weighing down on me. I wouldn't be able to forget it. He hadn't drugged me, he hadn't done anything to make me forget, he'd just figured he could do whatever he wanted and not--I stifled a sob as I let my thoughts break through the wall I'd been feverishly building since Stephen had burst through the door. It couldn't have happened to me; I wasn't worth it, he was just...

"No, you're worth it, Leslie, I swear to God, if you say you're not..."

I jumped at the sound of Stephen's voice and the feel of his breath on my scalp, and realized I'd been thinking aloud. "I'm sorry, I was thinking out loud, I didn't mean to--"

"Leslie, stop. It's okay, I'm okay with you doing that, you need to--"

I couldn't help my outburst. "No, it's not okay! Your--your best friend tried to--tried to--and nobody could hear me, I was in there crying for help, and everybody was just chatting away while he...did what he did, and I couldn't do anything, he had such a tight grip, I just couldn't...Stephen, it hurt. He didn't even get very far, but I just...I felt so helpless, Stephen. Nobody could hear me, and I...couldn't..."

He gripped me as my voice trailed off and broke. "Oh, Leslie, I'm so sorry. About everything. None of this would be happening if I'd just stuck to being a good person and not doing this with you. If I'd just kept to myself like I always do, just helped you and sent you on your way, instead of taking such a liking to you, instead of..."

I pulled away from his warm, hard, yet somehow perfectly soft chest, his shirt sticking slightly to my tear covered face as I said, "No, don't you dare pin this on yourself. This was him, this was all his fault. You're the only reason I haven't...done something irrational yet; you're the only good thing I actually have going for me right now, you cannot say that you're not. Please, don't take that away from me."

He stared at me then with sadness in his eyes. The sorrow that filled those pools seemed to make them deeper, darker. I noticed now what made them so captivating; they were old. His physical self was young, but his eyes...they'd read and seen and hidden so much, and they'd aged just as quickly as his mind. He was far beyond his years, and if you tried hard enough, you could just barely see past that shallow sheen of youth and into the depths of his experiences...And I loved him even more for it. I put my hands on his face. "Don't you dare."

He smiled sadly at me again, before taking my hand from his face and pulling me into his room. He crawled onto his bed, sliding under the covers with me and pulling me into his warm grasp before I could do anything. I pressed my back against his chest, whispering, "I haven't gotten into my jammies yet..."

I felt his smile in my shoulder as he kissed it. "Jammies?"

I blushed slightly, giving his hand on my hip a light smack. "Shush your face, Andrews, I'm gonna steal one of your shirts and call them jammies, and you're going to get over it."

I got out of the bed quickly and quietly, padding over to the dresser and pulling open a drawer. I searched through the clothes inside for a second, looking for one of the biggest, and upon finding a band tee that I specifically felt fond of, I cocked a head at Stephen. "Turn around?"

He smirked. "Make me."

I felt my stomach churn slightly at the thought of him seeing me in my undergarments, but I decided I didn't have anything to worry about when he was around. He was going to protect me; he wouldn't hurt me or pressure me into anything...I turned my own back any way, hastily stripping my shirt over my head and pulling his over my head before pulling my jeans off rather ungracefully. I smoothed my hair back into a ponytail, and turned back around to see that he, too, had soundlessly gotten up and changed into his own pajamas--a simple pair of long pajama bottoms. His chest was bare, and I swooned a little at the sight of him. What was I doing with this guy? He was a fucking god...

I scampered over to the bed and dove under the blanket, hoping to hide my growing blush. He clambered in behind me, assuming his position of 'big spoon.' His chest felt so warm against my back through his shirt...

"How are you feeling?" he breathed into my neck.

I felt the corner of my mouth turn up in a small smile as I said, "Better, now that I know you're so good at comforting me and punching people in the face."

He chuckled and kissed my neck. "I am pretty good in those two areas."

I closed my eyes. "You are."

He snuggled in a bit closer, and I felt him more than heard him say into my spine, "I will always be there for you. Now or later."

I searche around for his hand beneath the covers, and upon finding it, grabbed it and held it tightly. "I know you will. Thank you."

He breathed a laugh and said, "No, thank you."

And I felt myself begin to drift into sleep.

I feel absolutely terrible for promising you stuff and never doing it. I really do; my friend just sprung a surprise 'let's hang out' on me, and so I wasn't even home from 11 in the morning to 8 that night :/ fun, but it also meant being away from my beloved lappy :( Anyway, do you guys think Steslie is going too fast? I have a feeling the timeline is super fucked up, but I'm not sure if it feels okay to you ladies or not...Feedback is always awesome, yeah? This quota will be...22 reads and 10 votes. I LOVE YOU GUYS SO FREAKING MUCH; YOU'RE BASICALLY THE LIGHT IN MY LIFE. This is a lying free zone.

--blurghtastic is super thankful for you guys and says YOUR WISH HAS BEEN POMEGRANTED