In a Heartbeat

|Chapter Twelve|

Jonathan sat up quickly in the trundle, rubbing his neck, which was aching from the wooden boards. His heart was pounding, though he didn't know why. It felt as though there was a hazy line between what was real and what wasn't, and he was still half-dreaming. As his eyes adjusted to his surroundings, he became aware of where he was again. Sherwin's house. He focused his vision on the small boy, watched his chest rise and fall, and heard his steady breath. Not wanting to wake the boy, he carefully stepped out of the trundle, onto the soft carpet. A white clock on Sherwin's desk told him it was 4:00 AM. Fantastic. He stretched his arms up over his head, yawning. Jonathan didn't feel like sleeping anymore, but knew that one way or another, he'd have to. Turning around, his eyes landed on the ginger-haired boy. He smiled to himself, as a little lock of hair fell over his eyes. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pushed the lock of hair away, cupping his face with his had. Standing up again, he heard a thump come from somewhere downstairs. Jonathan carefully went into the hall, peeking over the railing of the staircase. The curtains had been left open, letting the bright moonlight shine through over the windowsill. There, perched on the edge, was a cat. The cat had white fur, specked with large, grey patches, and big, blue eyes. Around its neck was a black collar with a little gold bell that sparkled by the light of the moon. Jonathan slowly went down a step, then another, making sure not to make a sound. Once he got to the bottom, he walked towards the cat, which was now looking out the window. The cat, now noticing he was near, hopped off the ledge, with another soft thud. As the cat padded ahead of him, he noticed a wooden stand, with two bowls, one filled with water and the other with food. How had he not noticed that? He supposed that something as small as owning a cat wasn't something to really talk about, but still, he was a bit surprised that Sherwin hadn't told him. Suddenly, he heard a noise from the top of the stairwell. There stood Sherwin, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "Oh god, I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Jonathan quickly said, as Sherwin stumbled down the stairs. "No, it's alright. Wasn't sleeping well anyways." Sherwin mumbled. The ginger-hair boy sauntered over to the wooden stand, filling the near-empty bowl with more food. "Sorry for not telling you. I didn't think it mattered, but then you were going to stay, and...It just never really came up." He said, running a hand through his hair. "That's alright. What's his name?" Jonathan replied, sitting down next to the cat and petting its soft fur. "Her. S-She's a her. Her name's Arabella." At this point, Sherwin too, was sat next to the cat, as her big blue eyes looked up at him. "Elegant.." Jonathan murmured. Sherwin picked up the cat, her little legs kicking at the air. He carried her up the stairs and into his room, disappearing behind the door. Jonathan tilted his head, then stood up. He slowly walked up the stairs, turning one last time to look at the moonlight, sparkling with specks of dust. As he walked into Sherwin's room, he saw that the small boy was fast asleep, cuddled up with Arabella. He smiled to him self, wandering over and sitting next to the bed. His even breathing was a peaceful sound to Jonathan, and that just made him smile even more. Placing his lips on Sherwin's forehead, Jonathan smiled fondly one more time and said to him, "Good night." As he lied down on the trundle bed and closed his eyes, he never even noticed Sherwin smirk and blush, and whisper "Sweet dreams," right back.

||| Well I haven't been updating in a while, I've been major busy. I've got a mostly free day tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get more progress done. So sorry to everyone who has been waiting for this! I swear to myself and to you that I'll get at least 3 more chapters this month. Bye bye, loves!|||