Falling (Asleep) For You {Book Of Mormon/Churchtarts}

Chapter 3

Poptarts nestled into the corner of the couch, wrapped in a threadbare blanket he had brought from home. The elders trickled into the room sporadically. Elder Michaels joined him on the couch, followed by Elder Neeley. 

McKinley fiddled with the ancient TV, trying to get the movie to start. None of them knew who left the television in the mission house. The Uganda mission hadn't had a good track record, so it wasn't like Elders came back from it with stories they wanted to tell. All they knew was that movies made in the last quarter century weren't going to be an option, as the machine only took VHS.

"Mind if I join you?" 

Poptarts looked up and met Church's eyes. He looked around the room, finding there weren't any other open seats. He scooted over to made space.

"Of course." Poptarts said. Church sat down next to him, his leg resting against Poptart's. "Where were you? The movie's about to start." Poptarts watched McKinley struggle with the TV. "...hopefully."

Elder Church gave Poptarts one of those radiant smiles. "Duty calls. I was doing the dishes."

Poptarts giggled. "Elder McKinley made you clean up after all?" Church shook his head.

"No, I volunteered."  Poptarts must have looked confused, for he elaborated. "At home, I always had to clean up after dinner, I just...don't feel right leaving someone else to clean up after all this time." Church looked slightly uncomfortable with discussing his home life, so Poptarts changed the subject.

"So, those dish washing skills must really impress your girlfriend, huh?" Poptarts said. 

Church pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Actually, I don't have a girlfriend right now," he said nonchalantly. Poptarts almost felt relived, but he wasn't quite sure why. Why should it matter to him if Elder Church had a girlfriend? "I lived in a really small town, and there were maybe..." Church tilted his head to the side, thinking. Poptarts couldn't help thinking it made him look like a puppy.

"Maybe, four girls in my grade?" 

"Dang. I mean, Utah isn't exactly known for large cities, but that's really small, even for Utah standards," Poptarts said, impressed. Church nodded. 

"We didn't even have a Starbucks. What city in the world doesn't have a Starbucks?" Church continued. Poptarts let out an overdramatic gasp, throwing his hand over Church's mouth.

"Don't let Elder Price hear you say that," Poptarts joked. "I'm pretty sure he would have you excommunicated for not having tried the best drink in the world."

Suddenly the room was flooded with blue tinted light, McKinley's efforts paying off as the TV finally turned on. The conversation died down. Poptarts blushed, realizing he still had his hand over Church's mouth, and removed it awkwardly.

The movie started, and it was one of Poptarts favorites, but he couldn't concentrate. He was all too aware of Elder Church right next to him. The way that he and Church made contact in several places, at the shoulders, the hips, the thighs. He knew it was just due to the lack of space on the couch, and nothing more, but it was still distracting. Poptarts didn't know why it was bothering him so much. 

He focused his attention on the movie, ignoring the Elder beside him. The stress from the day combined with the lack of sleep he had gotten the night before started to blur his vision. Poptarts yawned and allowed his eyes to close, too tired to bother staying up just for a movie.

The first thing Poptarts saw when he opened his eyes was Elder Church's chin as he stared forwards at the screen. Poptarts sat there for a moment, waking up, admiring his jawline. The movie was still on in the background, nearly half over.