Hello? Hi.

33

Aden laid awake in bed, exhausted, yet not able to sleep. When he closed his eyes, he just imagined how outraged his father must have been right now. What could his father do though? He didn't know where Aden was, so there was no way he could hurt him. Aden tried to reassure himself, closing his eyes again. No, he wasn't going to be able to sleep anytime soon.

Aden sat up. He looked in his jean's, the ones he was abused in by his father, and found his phone. Aden hadn't tried to charge it since he got here. Why should he have anyways? It's not like any of his old schoolmates would do anything but tease him. Aden sat on the edge of the bed, his left leg restlessly shaking. He scratches his arms anxiously, even though there's no itch. He starts to leave familiar red scratch marks on his arms.

"I just need to freshen myself up in the bathroom," Aden said quietly to himself. He got up and tried to be as silent as possible in order not to wake up Noah, who was laying in the living room couch. The bedroom door squeaked open, and Aden cringed at the sound. It was so loud! Noah shifted his head on the couch, and Aden froze. 

"Aden?" Noah asked sluggishly.

"Yeah?" Aden responded. 

"What are you doing awake? It's 3 am."

"You're awake," Aden mentioned.

"Well I, um, couldn't fall asleep."

"Me neither," Aden said, sounding like a child coming to his parent's bed after a nightmare.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Noah asked.

"No. I was awake this whole time." 

"I thought you were tired."

"I was so tired that I couldn't sleep." Aden paused. "I'm overthinking about my parents and stuff." 

"Are you hungry?" Noah asked.

"No, um, no." Aden doesn't know why he feels so shy around Noah. He wasn't shy when he was texting. Aden breathed in deeply, he was going to be blunt.

"Aden, are you okay?" Noah was now up and walking toward where he remembered Aden's voice was. It was dark though and he was clumsy. He tripped on the living room table next to the sofa.

"Noah? I'm going to turn on the lights!" Aden turned around, then felt dumbstruck as he realized he didn't know where the light switch was. "Um-"

"No, it's okay, I used to tripping around here in the dark. Lots of midnight snacks have gotten me used to it." He was now right in front of Aden. Aden felt Noah's breath on his chin. Aden didn't realize he was a little taller than Noah. Noah grabbed Aden's hands like Aden did in the parking lot.

"Maybe you can lie down with me," Aden said. He couldn't see Noah's face reaction in the darkness and he stayed silent for a second. 

"Are you sure you'd be comfortable with that?" Noah asked.

"Yeah, that's why I asked you spork!" Aden said nervously laughing. 

"Okay." They walked to the room, hands still intertwined. 

They laid there, Aden nuzzling Noah's neck. Now there was no possible way Aden could think about his parents, the people who teased him, or any bad thing in the world. 

"I didn't want you to go and sleep on the couch in the first place," Aden admitted quietly, softly running his hand up and down Noah's chest. Noah smiled goofily at the comment, holding Aden closer.

"Yeah, I didn't want to either," Noah said sweetly. He nuzzled Aden's curly hair with his nose. Noah remembered falling in love the second he picked Aden up, which sounded weirdly cliché. He just couldn't believe someone could hurt someone so amazing and beautiful. 

They fell asleep. Aden hugged Noah's chest and their legs entangled themselves in their sleep. 

________________________________

Noah woke up the next morning in total comfort. Sunshine peeked through the blinds and lit up the bedroom dimly. Aden's breathing was heavy next to him. He was hugging Noah and his face was hiding from the light. Noah tried to stretch without waking Aden. Aden shifted his face up, eyes still closed, face a bit flushed, lips chap, and mouth open just a bit. Noah blushed a bit, all he could think about was just grabbing his face and kissing him. But he could never do that. Noah realized that he never thought anyone was as beautiful as Aden. 

"Morning" Aden said suddenly, stretching from his comfortable position. The dark eyelashes that rested on his smooth cheekbones revealed smiling brown eyes. 

"Good morning," Noah said a little easier, as he was awake for a couple of minutes now. Aden closed his eyes again and moved closer to Noah again. Both of their breathing became lighter. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," Aden said softly. "Did you?"

"Yeah," Noah said. He picked up the courage to finally say something. "Aden?"

"Mm?"

"I like this. You in my bed I mean." Noah said, nervously shifting after. Aden's face arose and he smiled. Noah's eyes were actual diamonds, they were so blue and bright. He put his head on the pillow next to Noah and looked into his mesmerizing eyes. Aden put his hand softly on Noah's cheek and Noah became flustered by the contact.

"I really want to kiss you, Noah," Aden finally admitted. Noah imagined them kissing repeatedly that morning, but in the back of his mind anxiety and self-doubt always got the best of him. He looked away from Aden's locked eyes. 

"I, um, didn't brush my teeth yet. I don't want to have terrible breath on our first kiss." Noah shyly said, and Aden smiled knowingly. He wouldn't have minded Noah's breath, but he understood how anxious Noah was. He removed his hand from Noah's cheek. 

"It's okay," Aden says, and he softly kisses Noah's forehead. He finally sits up on the bed, getting up from the bed soon after to use the bathroom, leaving Noah in a tiny bubble of happiness. The only thing on Noah's mind was Aden and if he was dreaming. If he was, he never wanted to wake up.