Velvet Light

Corduroy dreams

Promise that you'll stay here, you and I can lay here until the end of time
- Rex Orange County

—

As he woke up beside a resting long-haired blonde, watching as her stomach rose and fell gently with each breath, Niall knew there was nothing more precious.

Charlotte had ended up staying the night, aware that she was still intoxicated for her to safely drive home. She slept in Niall's Queen-sized bed beside him, not because anything happened, but because all the other beds in the house were taken as well as the couches. She was apprehensive at first but ended up being far too tired to argue it.

Niall heard the buzz of his phone from his bedside table, turning onto his side to read the phone screen. It was a message from Zayn.

Zayn: how's sleeping beauty? ;)

Niall couldn't help but stifle a chuckle. He knew that nothing happened, and even if something were to happen, he wouldn't have felt comfortable disclosing something so intimate so soon.

Charlotte shifted to her side, still in her slumber. Replacing her original attire was one of Niall's t-shirts that appeared oversized on her petite body. One of his friends' girlfriend was kind enough to lend makeup wipes, and it was confirmed that he found her just as beautiful with as without makeup.

He taps his phone quickly, the only sound he made was the tapping of his nails and thumbs on the phone screen.

Niall: still very much asleep...

And just as beautiful, he added to himself.

Small shifts and murmurs could be heard from the girl before she used her palms to hoist herself up into a sitting position. Yawning, she scrunches up her eyes and wipes her left eye.

When she opened her eyes to an unfamiliar room and a ruffle-haired man in the bed beside her, she was half surprised until she recalled how the night ended.

"She lives," Niall chuckles in an attempt to break the ice. He could register the unfamiliarity, aware of how confronting it must be for her.

Groggily, Charlotte stifles a yawn before smiling half-heartedly. "Apparently so, although we'll see."

Her head throbbed faintly, but not terribly. She knew she consumed a fair amount of alcohol, but not enough to give her a killer headache. Even so, a slight hangover was certainly no better than no hangover at all.

"Can't we just lay here all day and forget about the world?" She asks, groaning at the bright light that seeped through the seems of her eyes.

Unfortunately, Niall didn't offer her favourite solution. "As much as I would like that, and believe me, I wouldn't oppose - it's probably important you make it known to your friends that you are in fact alive and breathing."

"I guess you're right," she mumbles, internally rolling her eyes. He seemed to have a habit of that - being right.

She turns toward the table at her side of the bed, reaching for her phone. Turning the phone on, she noticed countless messages from her friends. Most were understandably asking whether she was okay since they couldn't find her for the rest of the night, or curious as to who the mysterious blonde was with dark roots. This humoured her, knowing she was going to be asked many more questions if she revealed she slept in the same bed as him.