Haphephobia

Chapter 8

Slowly opening my exhausted eyes, I looked around. 

I saw nothing but darkness, and it took me a minute to remember where I was: turning my head, I heard the sound of snoring only a few feet from where I stood. I shivered slightly, realizing all my blankets had somehow fallen off in the night. Not that I'm surprised- I was a completely restless sleeper.

Taking in a deep breath and groaning, I stretched out cat-style. I felt the small of my back release a quiet little 'crack.' I sat up, finally gaining the willpower to swing my legs over the end of the bed. Rubbing my eyes with the back of my hands, I grabbed the sheets that had fallen and placed them in an unorganized pile on top of my bed- I'd take care of that later.

But for now... I was starving.

I saw red LED numbers staring harshly and unrelentingly through the dark room: must have been Folkvar's alarm clock. Squinting slightly, my eyes stinging from the contrastingly bright light, I read that it was three forty-five in the morning. I'd only fallen asleep slightly over an hour ago- no wonder I was still exhausted.

Letting myself slink down to a tired, hunching posture, I ambled towards the door. I almost laughed- one of those tired, confusing laughs that you get when you're half asleep- when I thought how zombie-like I must have looked. 

Reaching out for the knob, I pulled it open quietly. The door, unfortunately, had a different idea- it creaked loudly as it went forward, resulting in a snorting grunt from Folkvar. Not expecting anything more than the one grunt, I walked into the hall, closing the door behind me- ignoring the second creak this resulted in. 

I continued my dead-walk towards the end of the hall, thanking my lucky stars that this excessively lengthy hallway seemed only a few feet long. 

Once I had finally reached the very end of the hall, I turned my head towards the kitchen. A single flourescent light was on, and I heard faint clinking coming from that general direction. I almost wondered if I should turn back. I didn't feel like dealing with people. 

Just me, Ben. Come on in. I knew right away that Ava was in that kitchen- not that this was difficult, considering the fact that she had just spoken clearly in my head. I smiled shyly to myself, admittedly glad that Ava was up too. I don't know why or what it was, but just being around her at all made me feel at home.

There isn't another feeling like that. It's unique and happy and somehow warm. It made me think of sitting on a comfy couch in front of a fireplace, drinking coffee and hearing good music. That sort of wholeness you feel...That's what being by her was like.

Maybe it was a little weird, considering I had literally just met her that day. Maybe it had to do with the connection thing, too. But still- I just couldn't shake the feeling. I loved it, but it was strange.

Coming into the kitchen, I looked up to see Ava in all her green glory. But there was something there I'd never seen before- surely, never would see again, and perhaps I'd never want to- she was crying. Barely: only a tear or two fell from her wet-rimmed eyes, but she was still crying. 

"I never wanna hear that sissy stuff in your head ever again, Benjamin. You hear me?" Ava said, hurriedly wiping the tears from her eyes with her large green sweater and chuckling quietly. I produce a small smile. 

"Yeah. Promise. No funny business here." I said, and before we could say more on this uncomfortably emotional subject, I made for the fridge. Jackpot! Four eggs left in the container.

"Want some?" I asked. She furrowed her eyebrows, but smirking, nodded her head. I set to work, finding and gathering- mostly with Ava's help- a bowl, a fork, salt, pepper, butter, a pan, a spatula, and two small plates. I started the burner on the oven, placing the pan as quietly as possible on top of it. While a small pad of butter melted inside it, I quickly whipped the four eggs in the bowl, adding salt and pepper.