The Bad Boy and the British Girl

The Girl Who Is Sleeping

Zach Graye's POV:

It's Sunday evening, there's no school tomorrow. Thank god! It's some kind of teacher day or something. But my mom went out with my little sister and they are staying with my aunt, I don't really like my aunt so mom let me stay here. But not in our house because I'm not to be trusted that much. So Liz's it is.

We had a fight earlier, as per usual. But it wasn't a proper fight, it's just the conversation Liz and I have when I piss her off and I usually go and apologise. Except this time she apologised to me, profusely I might add. She was sincere and all I could think about was what she said to me on the Ferris wheel. 'I have my reasons' what could that mean? What sort of reasons? Did she have a bad relationship with someone? Did they fuck her over or something, so now she doesn't trust anyone? I don't know. I will find out. But tonight isn't that night. I'm bored and need some company, I would ask Liz, but she seemed pretty involved with her paper. Her mom went out earlier this evening and said she'd be back at around midnight. So I've decided to sneak out of Liz's window, through mine (which I left conveniently open) and maybe ask if Jessica or one of her friends wants to hang out...well...something along those lines.

I open Liz's door with a small creak and shuffle into a red and grey room with fairy lights hung around the ceiling. Liz is fast asleep, curled up on her bed with a book by her feet. It's 9:35pm and she's dead asleep, she must have been writing that paper all day. I watch her for a moment, she's so peaceful. So calm. Her eyes are shut firmly, her hair is elegantly swept across her brow. One hand lies gracefully over her stomach whilst the other clutches the book by her toes. Liz's head rests gently upon three pillows with the fairy lights making her skin glow, I could watch this all night. She looks beautiful, she looks like she's free almost. I can imagine her imagination is set free and she's dreaming of everything.

Suddenly though I see her drop her book. I thinks she's awake and has noticed me staring, but then I realise that she's just clenched her fist and tightened her eyes. She begins thrashing her head side to side, her breathing begins to shallow and gets quicker, one of her legs kick up before she starts screaming. It's a quiet scream at first, not loud, but she gets louder with each one, she's in so much distress and as I run to her side and shake her to wake her up she screams as loud as she can. Her body sits bolt upright as she puts a hand on her pounding chest, she begins to drip with sweat at the same time as shivering. Tears are brewing in her eyes and she panting and gasping for air.
"Liz? Liz can you hear me are you okay?" She just stares at me, there's nothing behind her eyes except pure fear. "Liz? Liz please answer. Please Liz are you okay?!" I shake her shoulders violently as she snaps out of it and runs into her bathroom. She slams the door shut and locks it. I hear the shower turn on and then her clothes dropping to the floor in a pile.
"Can you get me some pyjamas from the top left drawer of the chest next to my wardrobe please?" Her voice is shaking and all the confidence she's had before has shattered.
"Sure, any pyjamas?" I ask, trying to have a gentle voice.
"Just the shorts and socks and vest please." She responds almost robotically as the shower water eases off.
I hear her pad towards the door and stick her hand out for the clothes. I place them in her quivering hands as the door closes. Moments later she walks out, looking full of colour in her cheeks and walking with the same confidence she had when I met her.
"Liz are you okay?" I ask as she slumps herself onto the bed.
"I'm fine Graye, seriously." She muses.
"Well you're obviously not. I just watched you scream and thrash in your sleep, I wouldn't call that fine." I push her to answer me.
"Well then you need to redefine your meaning of fine." She retorts as she turns on her lamp and turns off the fairy lights. It's so frustrating the fact that she won't ever let me be there, she won't let me in she just shuts me out. I can't stand it, I know I haven't known her long, but it feels like it's been a lot longer than it has been. It feels like months rather than just over two weeks. I have to know, tonight.
"Liz. Stop."
"Stop what?"
"This constant 'I'm fine' manoeuvre. I'm not buying it anymore." I state. Not with anger or annoyance, but I want to sound like I am confident with my words. Although deep down, I know I'm not, I'm scared that if she does tell me then nothing will be the same.
"Why do you care so much?" She huffs as she walks towards the door, she's opening it and beginning to go downstairs.
"I care Liz, because you are my friend. You clearly don't open up to anyone and it isn't good for you!" I follow her down the steps into the kitchen whilst she pours herself some orange juice. She looks at me whilst silently offering me some, I shake my head in refusal. She can't just try and change the subject not this time.
"Well, it hasn't caused many problems so far. So I'd rather keep it to myself." She's putting the orange juice back and walking into the living room.
"Does Charlie know?" I ask her, crossing my arms.
"No." She simply stated it as she slumps onto the couch, her hand curled around the TV remote.
"Why not? She's your best friend isn't she? They're meant to know these things? Aren't they?" I just walk closer to her as I begin to tower over the sofa.
"For you perhaps, not for me. She doesn't need to know and I don't need to tell anyone so please just drop it." She won't say my name, she won't say it and I don't know why.
"Why? Why should I?" I am starting to raise my voice now.
"Because I said so." She switches the TV on and hops through the channels. I snatch the remote off her and turn it back off. I turn to face Elizabeth with anger pouring off her.
"Not everything you say goes Liz." I tell her as I look down to her. She walks towards the stairs again.
"When it's about my personal life, everything and anything I say goes." She whispers it almost. She walks up one step. "I have secrets."
Another step. "That I'm not willing to share." One more. "So ask me again and I'll break you." She walks up the rest of the stairs and slams her door shut. I'm left standing there, with the remote still in my hand. I slowly put it down and pick her orange juice up from the coffee table, I go to the cupboard and grab some chocolate before making my way up to her room. I know she's more angry than she's ever been before, I know it's my fault. But as I walk into her room (after knocking) she engulfs me into a hug. I can feel my chest already dampen from tears, I try and out the chocolate and juice down on the side by the door and as soon as I do her arms wrap around my neck. I warily put my arm over her shoulders and hold her tightly, we don't speak any words. We just stand there, for what feels like forever. My hand on her back and chin on her hair, her arms round my neck as she shakes every time with small sob.
"I'm sorry I'm such a bitch." She mutters into my shirt.
"I'm sorry I'm such a dick." I whisper to her. I hear a muffled giggle and know from that, that she is okay. "I won't push you to tell me okay, I promise. It won't happen again, I swear I won't." I say as I push her away and stare into her eyes as I say it. Her cheeks are stained with tears and her eyes red from the crying.
"I will tell you someday, just not now. Not when I don't know you that much. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologise I shouldn't have pushed it."
"I shouldn't have shouted and gotten so mad."
"Can we spend more than five minutes around each other without arguing?" She laughs as I say this, a genuine smile and a laugh which warms me slightly.
"Shall we say that we have to try our very hardest to agree with everything the other says. Not get mad or start bickering. We just agree to disagree or something like that and move on?" She asks as I nod my head and hug her once more. "I should go to bed, it's getting late." She says kindly as we break apart.
"You know there's no school tomorrow right?" I raise an eyebrow at her.
"Yeah, well I have an audition so you know got to get that beauty sleep." She says as she slides under her duvet.
"Audition for what?" I ask her as a plant myself on the end of her bed.
"That video you got of me, was the first audition I had to do, I've got this one now to see what role I get in a musical on Broadway." Broadway? That's in New York? It's not hugely far from here...but still it's far enough away.
"Broadway as in New York Broadway?" I ask her.
"Unless you know of any other Broadway...?" She raises her eyebrows as I laugh lightly.
"It's far away is all I'm saying." I look down and fiddle with my thumbs.
"Aw is Graye going to miss me? I'm not moving away, I'm driving there. Don't worry." She reassures me as she snuggles further down into her bed.
"Oh okay, well. Good luck with that tomorrow! I'm gonna head off to bed now too, I am quite...er tired..." I stumble over my words as I walk out her room. I'm halfway down the hall when I hear her voice chirp up again.
"Graye?" Is all she says.
"Yeah?"
"Door." I forgot to shut the door so I pad back down and grab the handle.
"I'm ever so sorry your majesty." I do a small bow before winking at her.
"You really must work on that accent! It's actually offensive!" She retorts as I chuckle and close the door.
"Night!" I say as I walk down the hall.
"Night night, see you in the morning!" She says.
"Yeah. Night night." I close my door as our conversation ends.