Sugar, Baby?

Sweden and Skansen and Sleep

I'm roused by a knock far too early the next morning.

I stumble to the door, looking a state, I'm sure, and crack it open.

"Ah, Perrie?" Jesy says, sounding far too cheery for it being so early.

"Come in," I croak, coming in to view through the crack in the door.

"Did you- oh, I'm sorry! Did I wake you up?" She asks, looking genuinely concerned.

"It's alright," I say, waving her off. "I could sleep forever. Just, ah, give me like 20 minutes to get ready?"

"Yeah, sure," Jesy says. "I can go back to my room and just, uh. I could-"

"You could stay here, if you want?" I ask. It's what I want, so I figure I may as well ask.

"Okay," she says, taking a cursory glance around the room before settling on the edge of the bed.

I head into the attached bathroom to change, quickly dressing. When I brush my teeth, I crack the door open so Jes doesn't just feel like I've left her alone.

"Do you, ah, sleep in a lot?" Jesy asks, sounding genuinely curious.

"Any chance I get," I say, spitting the foam from my mouth. "Especially when we've been gone as much as we have. I don't know how you have the energy to do anything," I tell her.

"I'm not much for sleeping," she says casually.

I spit again, rinse, and then wipe my mouth with a hand towel before coming back out to her. I grab a hair brush and a scrunchie on the way out, planning to fix my hair in the vanity mirror.

"You're not much for sleeping? That thing that all humans have to do systematically, or we die? Not a fan of that?" I ask, a little disbelieving. Sleep is one of my favorite activities.

She gives a little laugh. "I'm just not very good at it. I have a hard time turning it all off, emptying my mind and all that. Jade gave me something to take for it, but I just- I always feel a bit unsettled in these foregin places. And I usually need to be up early, and not hungover. You know, I need to be up and ready to do an interview. I just, I don't really sleep much."

"How'd you sleep last night?" I ask, selecting a pair of shoes from the box the stylist brought in.

"Um, alright. I feel asleep a little after three, and then I got up about 7 or so," she says nonchalantly.

"Bloody hell, Jes," I say, turning to look at her.

"I just can't turn it off," she says, blowing out a breath. "What do you do to get to sleep? How do you empty your mind?"

"It's always empty," I say with a grin, and she laughs. "I used to have a problem when I was a bit younger, sleeping alone and all. Then I got a little dog, and the problem fixed itself. Now I sleep like a baby, even when Hatchi is away from me. I'm just a good sleeper, I guess."

"Maybe you'll have to teach me how to sleep sometime, then," Jesy says, clearly joking.

"Ah, finally, an area of my expertise," I say with a grin. "Really though, Jes, you can't go on so little sleep. It-"

"Listen, I know I need to fix it, okay? I just don't know how," she says, for the first time sounding as tired as she must be. "But, let's not worry about that now! I want to show you Skansen."

I decide to leave the issue of Jesy's sleeping habits alone for now. We can talk about them later, closer to bedtime.

"Alright," I say, finally selecting a pair of shoes. "Will these be okay? I'm not sure what Skansen is like."