1979
Brookline, Massachusetts
June hated being home alone. Her house was too large for three people, June and her parents, she was an only child. The house had three bedrooms, the third one was empty and they used it to store stuff they didn't have space for, including her Elton John records and additional memorabilia. June's room was the smallest of the three, but still quite big, with a large window.
The window was quite scary without the curtains, and they usually weren't on. That particular night was bright, but quiet. She could see a part of the yard and the window of the O'Briens house. She got chills by hearing the wind outside. Her parents were out, to a party. They trusted June was old enough to fend for herself. At this point she was sure they wouldn't be back until down. She tried to cover up the window with a blanket, but the top of the window was too high for her to reach.
She got back on bed and covered herself from top to bottom with a thick blanket, but the house was still eerily silent, like a ghostly ambient for a horror movie. Her only company were the Elton pictures on the wall, and they were looking like a crime scene investigation board at this point. She knew she didn't have to worry, but the whole situation was unsettling. She couldn't do anything but stare at the window, fearing that something would appear outside her yard, a killer, a robber... or something. It didn't help that she had watched The Texas Chainsaw Massacre a day earlier.
She decided to go closer to the window. She looked outside once again, and confirmed there was nothing out there. She looked at the next house's window and a dim light came from there, indicating that there was someone up. It was past three in the morning at that point and she desperately wanted company. She was sure it would be a good idea to invade the neighbor's bedroom and jump on his bed.
She opened the window and made her way to the neighbor's window silently, jumping the tiny fence that separated the two houses. She looked inside, the curtains of his window were partially open for some reason and she could see him lying on his bed, moving around as she was doing minutes prior, maybe experiencing the same feelings of insomnia. She knocked on his window, her tiny fist making a low, but perceptible noise.
He sat on his bed, clearly hearing the knocking. He hesitated, but slowly came to open the window for his intruder friend. He was wearing baggy blue pajamas and his ginger fringe looked all messy. The moon light and the dim lamp were the only sources of light available and they gave him a ghostly, pale look.
"June?" he looked at her, confused.
She nodded. "May I enter?"
He frowned, but decided not to question it. She entered quickly and he shut the window behind him. "What's wrong?"
"Can't you sleep either?" she asked him.
He scratched his head. "Yeah, I think I had a nightmare and I don't remember what it was."
She went silent for a moment, looking around. He looked at her, trying to guess what she wanted to say. She was wearing a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants. Her face was partially covered by a dark shadow, he couldn't read her facial expressions.
"Can I... sleep here?" her voice sounded fragile and scared.
"What?" he asked; startled.
"I don't wanna be alone. Please... let me sleep with you." She pleaded.
He hoped she couldn't see his face flushing as he heard those words. A lot of questions popped up on his mind. Why? On the same bed? Don't you think this is inappropriate? What are you doing? Why me, June? But as he thought of it, she was already sitting on his bed. He could've said no. But... he never said no to June, ever. She always had some of his French fries, a bite of his hamburger, a bit of his ice cream. That day wasn't different. She looked way too scared to be alone.
"Okay." He simply said.
He sat beside her, gave her one of the pillows he had on his bed and laid down. She did the same. The left side of his bed was leaned against the wall. He was on the wall side and she was by his right side, facing the window. His bed wasn't so small and he was fairly skinny so she could make herself comfortable. He was as away from her as possible, respecting her personal boundaries.
Out of a sudden, she turned around and hugged him, slowly putting her head against his neck. He was paralyzed once again. He raised his eyebrows. So many questions to ask. She smelled like peach and her embrace was warm. He could feel her hot breath against his neck; his heart was beating faster than ever before. He avoided to touch her for a bit, but had to know why all of that was happening.
"Are you scared?" he asked her, his lips right next to her ear.
"Yes." She whispered.
"Of what?" his voice sounded gentle and comforting.
"I don't know" she replied.
He felt so embarrassed for a moment, his face started to flush and his breathing got heavier. She didn't seem to mind and she was about to fall asleep, he presumed. However, after a while, her smell started to calm him down and he got used to the fact a girl came in, hugged him and fell asleep on his bed. It was June, just June. They were friends, right?
His eyes started to close, he felt sleepy again, for once that night. He wasn't fighting to stay awake and just let his body drift to sleep while June held him. It felt right at that moment. Everything did. In an almost unconscious move, he let his arm go around her and hug her tightly. Her sleeping body responded by moving even closer to him. He didn't seem to mind.
-
Luke went to Conan's room to wake him up; he was apparently the only one that wasn't awake. It was still early in the morning and the O'Briens were going out to camp that Sunday. He caught his brother and their neighbor sleeping on the same bed, embraced peacefully. After a couple of seconds of shock, Luke woke both up. They seemed confused and a bit embarrassed.
Luke warned both that his parents could enter the room at any second. Conan sleepily looked at June all messy, now sitting next to him and the memories of a few hours prior came back to him. June nodded and avoided looking at Luke, embarrassed by the situation. Conan followed her with his eyes as she stumbled to his window and awkwardly tiptoed to her own. Conan looked back at Luke, thinking how weird would be to explain all of that to his brother.
