Pack [Eddsworld]

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

A thunderstorm raged outside the house. Tord couldn't sleep.

He rolled over to face Ylva as she slept peacefully, the soothing sight spawning butterflies in his stomach. Every exhalation caused a few loose strands of her hair to flutter, the soft noise of her breath laced with a hint of a whimper. Tord lightly placed his human hand on the side of her face, letting his thumb brush across her cute freckles from her nose to her cheekbone. He desperately wanted to know what was wrong with her so he could fix it and make her smile again, but she refused to open up to him.

Her eyes opened, fixing him with such an intense, blue stare that he found himself captivated unable to move. Ylva seemed unfocused and bewildered for a few, silent moments, but she soon went back to sleep. She instinctively snuggled closer to Tord, her arm moving so it lay over his side. His gaze gentled and he wrapped his arms around her, settling his head on the pillow above hers and closing his eyes.

He slept soundly for the rest of the night.

~

Everyone in the household went about their usual morning routines, with Matt, of course, taking over an hour in the bathroom to perfect his appearance in the mirror. Even though Tord was awake for a lot of the night, he felt quite refreshed and alert as he aimlessly traipsed through the house. Ylva, on the other hand, had half-closed eyes and seemed to be suppressing a yawn every time he glanced at her in a concerned way.

It was odd, because Tord was sure she must've got a lot more sleep than him, unless...

"Ylv-" he was cut off almost immediately as Tom entered the living room.

"Hey, did you two go out again last night?" He inquired and raised his silver flask to his lips; upon noticing Tord's unimpressed look, the Brit huffed, taking a sip. "Relax, Sunshine. It's coffee."

"Tom drinking coffee? What's next," Edd walked past with a chuckle, on his way to the kitchen with an empty mug in his grip. "Giant robots?"

"Very funny, Edd." Tord called after him, frowning slightly. "But no, the storm kept me awake for a while, but I never left the bed. Why'd you ask?"

"I heard a thud and the floorboards creaking upstairs when I went to the toilet... I just presumed you two were scheming again." Tom trudged across the room to stand behind the sofa, leaning on it and peering between Ylva and Tord. "You've been quiet," he observed and put away his flask in his hoodie pocket.

"I..." Ylva yawned again, blinking slowly. "I didn't get much sleep."

"Why's that?" The Norwegian stared oddly at her, trying not to get distracted by how sweet she looked when she was tired.

"I was out." She mumbled, sinking into her pink hoodie and folding her hands over her stomach.

Tord's suspicion increased. "Out?" He echoed.

She suddenly sat bolt upright, a look of horror flitting across her freckled features as she whipped around to stare at Tord. Her lips moved soundlessly as she fumbled for words, whispering 'oh God' repeatedly under her breath. Tom instinctively took a step back as she slammed a shaking robot hand down on the back of the sofa, stumbling off the cushions and getting to her feet in a clumsy manner that was very unlike her.

"I-I'm going to b-bed." She announced with a waver in her normally bold voice, striding from the room.

The boys watched her as she left. Tom clambered over the back of the sofa to sit in her place while Tord examined the carpet as he thought feverishly.

Why was she out?

Why was she so afraid?