Five days before

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There's a thunderstorm. Geoff loves thunderstorms; the roars from the sky and the mobile electricity. He loves them because sometimes nature can't handle the pressure of being depended on; sometimes it's tiring. He loves them because sometimes the sky explodes. He loves them because they're nebula. Angry purples and soft blacks rush together inside of him - making the most wholesome feeling. So he watches. He watches from his bed, the window and curtains open. He glances over at Awsten's worried expression and how he has enveloped himself in duvet. He's scared. As much as Geoff wants to continue watching the pretty storm, Awsten is more important.

Geoff jumps to his feet and closes the window. "You okay, bud?" He asks Awsten, who has sat up. He nods shakily, but Geoff brushes it off. He closes the curtains anyway and climbs into his bed to sleep.

It's a shame that Geoff had to shut off his entertainment now because it seems to be right overhead - judging by the close roaring he can hear. He leads his eyes to Awsten's frame again. He notices how frail Awsten looks; curled up into a tiny ball and shaking with such voracity that the bed lets out creaks.

"Are you scared, Aws?" Geoff inquires tentatively, as he wraps the duvet around himself with an uncertainty.

Before Geoff hears an answer, he hears a whimper and then a cough and then a strong, certain "No."

"Really, Aws, its not a problem if you are." Geoff insists. He sits up in his bed, ready to go comfort his roommate. Awsten is silent and if he wasn't still shaking then Geoff would have thought he was asleep. Geoff sighs and covers himself with his duvet once again.

This only lasts a short while because there was a massive clap of thunder that shakes the building. Awsten let's out a shriek and his body springs from his sheets to under his bed. Geoff shoots up as well. He runs to Awsten's bed and kneels down in one rushed movement.

"Hey, bud, hey. It's okay, yeah?" Geoff sounds like he is trying to coax a hamster out from behind a wardrobe. "It's just thunder, okay? Yeah? Just thunder." Awsten presses himself against the wall that his bed is next to. He keeps shaking his head as Geoff tries to console him. Since Geoff is only in pyjama bottoms, he's cold. "C'mon, Aws, it's cold. You've gotta be cold 'cause I'm freezing my ass off out here. Come out and you can sleep with me in my bed, yeah? C'mon." Geoff bargains, seeing Awsten like this is like seeing a scruffy puppy at an animal shelter.

There's a pause. "Okay." Awsten begins to shimmy his way out and as soon as he can, he leaps to Geoff's bed. Geoff follows him, getting into bed and protecting Awsten.

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