SANTA TELL ME ( JOE KEERY ) [SLOW UPDATES]

SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN - DAY FIVE

THE dulled light soothed Ariana's close eyelids enough for them to slowly open. The room was lit with a muted yellow, the closed curtains making the light similar to the colour of tea stained paper, like the type you made in school to resemble old letters. The air smelt clean as if someone had just washed clothing, and it made Ariana smile sleepily into the sheets, her body still half asleep. She gently rolled over onto her back, pulling her arm out from underneath the soft pillow and stretching it up along with the other.

She was still half asleep when her weighed down arms fell onto her legs, but when she felt the clothing underneath her skin, her eyebrows furrowed and the blanket of sleepiness shifted. She wasn't wearing her soft, fluffy pyjamas, but instead thick clothing. She pried her eyes fully open and peered down at her body, the morning light illuminated the outfit that she had wore the previous day, the fabric still clinging to her body. Her face scrumpled up with confusion even more, until her face was just a collection of lines.

Her body still felt weak and shaky from her sleep as she pushed herself up onto her hands. Her slim arms shook under her weight as she stared down at her clothes, completely confused as her mind roamed back to the night before. Her memory went blank after her conversation with Joe, the timeline blackout as if a scene had been deleted.

She sighed heavily and just let herself fall back onto the bed, the sudden weight pushing out air from in-between the blanket and mattress, a fresh flowery smell engulfing her. She rubbed her eyes, the sleep that had crusted and formed at the corner of her eyes falling away, when she realised something weird. Her bed smelt of cookies, gingerbread cookies, not flowers. That would seem minuscule to anyone but to Ariana it seemed different. She slowly pushed herself up again, and peered around the room, drinking in every single detail. The room was slightly larger than hers, but other than that everything else looked the same, the dresser, bed and tv were in the same place, and the bathroom was to the right of the double bed. She sighed in relief as she was about flop down onto the sheets again when her hazel eyes caught something extremely weird on the back of chair. A brown leather jacket. It was very attractive and Ariana would love it if she saw it in a shop, but she hadn't and she didn't own anything like it. So why was it in her room?

She carefully span her legs off the bed and tentatively creeped to the chair, tucking her hair behind her ears and she took the jacket arm in-between her fingertips. It felt smooth and fine under her touch, as she gently ran her fingers down the length.

Before she could investigate the clothing piece anymore or anything else in the room, like the large suitcase on the floor or the skis in the corner of the room, or even the boots beside the door. The bathroom door opened, and Ariana span around startled. A small gasp escaped her mouth as her eyes met Joe; her eyes trailing his body at a leisurely pace, memorising every detail for way longer than she needed.

He stood in the doorway, his hand clasped around the edge of the door, the other around the dark wooden doorframe. He looked equally as shocked as her but it soon melted away, and instead he stood staring at her cautiously with large eyes. Her eyes darted frantically from his forehead to his nose then to his flushed cheek then to the other. She didn't know where to look and she didn't need a mirror to know that redness had seeped onto her own face. But instead of looking at the painted walls, or the expansion of the bed or even her own sock covered feet; she took another prolonged gaze over his body.

His soaked hair was plastered to his forehead, as if some one had glued it down and droplets gathered at the ends of the thick strands, clumping together and falling onto his bare, tanned chest. His brown eyes were clouded as they stared at her and he subconsciously chewed on his full bottom lip. All he was wearing was a white, fluffy towel which was wrapped securely around his waist and ended just above his knees. Once her darkened eyes landed on the towel, the edges damp from him, she focused on it completely, unsure specifically why. The bathroom behind his looming body was warm from the heat of the water, the floor and walls slightly slick, whilst the mirror was coated in a thin mist of condensation.

She hadn't even heard the water running.

The thick, awkward air was pierced by Joe as he reluctantly cleared his throat, slightly choking on the knot that had wedged itself in his windpipe. Consequently the long, filled stare broke, and Ariana quickly began to become infatuated with the appearance of the floor. Her cheeks burned and so did Joe's, but the heat of the water and his damp skin, hid it well.

"I-um" He managed to grumble out of his wet lips, his throat felt warm and raw, his voice gruff and rough from not being used for a while.

Ariana just gulped, still staring at the design of the wood, the grains that all swam parallel to each other as if fine needles had been dragged along wet clay before setting. She waited for him to speak, she had no clue how she had ended up in his room or what to say.

After a few more painful seconds of silence, the snow softly patting the window creating a weird hum over the room, Joe began to explain the night prior, his voice still hoarse and deep. Ariana made a mental note of forcing him to drink some herbal tea.

When she had started to drift off late into the night, on the crimson sofa, her head perfectly cradled on his shoulder, Joe hadn't found himself able to awake her from her peaceful sleep. So instead he gently picked her up in his slender arms and slowly carried her up the stairs to the long corridor that held his room, tucked comfortably to the right. Once he reached it and had made his way to outside his tall wooden door, he took a lengthy time cradling the girl whilst carefully finding the key to unlock his room, a small chuckle under his breath. He managed to swing open the door and swept Ariana in cautiously so she wouldn't knock her head or any other body part on the dark door frame, her slim body still clutched safely in his warm arms.

He didn't even flick the light on as he gingerly creeped to his bed, careful not to trip over any miscellaneous objects like his jacket or wake the girl in anyway. Once he reached the smooth, made bed he gently laid her down on the sheets like she was a treasure who could be broken at any slight movement. Warily he pulled the cover back and gently tucked them over her, her frame making a small delving imprint in the mattress as she sniffled in her slumber and buried her face in the clean bedding. He couldn't help but watch her for a little too long, his eyes adoring before he slowly backed away from the sleeping beauty, and quietly slipping into the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed himself. He slept on the floor beside the bed, taking a pillow from the other unoccupied side of the bed. He was unsure if she'd feel comfortable with him sleeping next to her in the bed and he didn't want to overstep any boundaries. Plus he didn't really mind sleeping on the ground of the room, and he left her happily sleeping, safe and sound.

Once he had finished telling her, a bright smile played her lips but it was masked by her face gazing down at the floor, her heart was beating too fast and it was going to explode at how cute and kind she found him. Joe awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, his hand clasped around the thick hair at the nape of it.

"Thanks" Ariana mumbled, she felt like a small flustered child as she stood in his room and she still couldn't believe how sweet he was. Joe nodded and chewed the inside of his lip and Ariana told him how she must get going before whispering another 'thank you'.

Her eyes were still hazy from only waking up minutes ago and as she slid out of his door, quietly closing the it behind her - the noise feeling loud to both Joe and his rapidly beating heart - and bustling down the softly lit hallway at a quickened pace; she thought about how she didn't know what would happen if she had stayed in the room with Joe longer, but a niggling part of her wished she'd stayed to find out.