"in the name of the lord, how are you still sleeping?" noelle scrunches her eyes shut tight at the sound of ethan's hushed voice, and at first, she thinks it's just a dream.
"ugh." she groans, rolling over on her bed, refusing to open her eyes. that is, until ethan decides to poke her cheek with his index finger.
"what time is it?" she finally grumbles, rolling onto her back, still resting her eyes.
"i have no clue." ethan murmurs.
"check my phone." noelle points to what she hopes is her bedside table, where her phone should be lying, plugged in.
"three forty five." he says, and noelle doesn't respond. although, she does hear him talking to himself a bit.
"i wonder what they did with mine....does gray have it...could he get into it....maybe they burned it..." then it became mumbles that she couldn't understand.
"it's called, i have to get up for work in two hours and i'd really appreciate more sleep."
"what's it like? actually finishing high school and getting a job, you know." when she hears his words, noelle's eyes shoot open. she sits up in the bed, and there's no light in the room, but she can tell he's there.
she can just....feel it.
"what do you mean?" noelle asks, reaching over to turn on the bedside lamp and she squints her eyes at how bright it is, but he is unaffected.
"oh...you don't know. it's okay, you'll know sooner or later. i was just awake and thought i'd say hi, maybe ask if you'd like to go play some music or something..."
"music?! ethan, it's nearly four o'clock in the morning!"
"so?"
"so? dude, we don't do that here. i don't know where you're from, or what planet you think you're from, but i can assure you, we don't even have a band at the high school. of course, i go to school online, and am graduating in a few days, but that's not the point. did you escape from a mental hospital or something?" as soon as the question comes out of her mouth, she regrets it. ethan's eyes fall to the floor, his smile falling the slightest.
"not a morning person, i see." his voice is so weak that noelle can't help but feel tears climb up her throat, as well as an apology.
"no, ethan, i-"
"i can't blame you anyway. you have no idea why i'm here, who i am, but i promise you, i will tell you every bit of the truth. right now, i'll let you get sleep." he stands up, ready to walk out.
"just make sure my parents don't see you, okay?"
"you won't have to worry about that, trust me." ethan assures the girl, and he steps over, leaning to kiss her on the forehead. his lips are warm, and she's confused, but doesn't care. it's like she's physically incapable.
but that's alright with her.
♡♡♡
