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𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝐛𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.
𝐏𝐀𝐔𝐋 𝐏𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 blankets from his shoulders and pulled himself upward until his feet touched the floor. he couldn't sleep again, effectively plagued by that same dream. quietly, he stepped out of bed and shuffled out of his room, down the stairs, out the front door.
once he was standing on his front lawn, paul paused to take a deep breath. he wore a white t-shirt and funny-looking striped pajama pants, his feet bare in the cold, damp grass. paul took his time, standing unthinkingly, thoughtlessly, while glancing up to the sky. the moonlight was reflecting beautifully on the pavement, off polished cars, into the windows of each house on the street- and oh god, there was ivy, sitting cross-legged in the center of her lawn.
his eyes widened unmistakably, his heart racing as he debated whether or not he had enough time to try sneaking back into his house. it turned out that he didn't, because ivy was already calling out a greeting to him.
ivy faced the silent street, motioning for him to come closer. paul looked hesitantly to his house before wandering in her general direction, and after she didn't say anything, he asked, "what are you doing?"
her brown eyes captured the moonlight with ease, having an arcane shine to them- paul had to blink away his thoughts of her peculiar beauty. "learning the secrets of the universe." her gaze combed over his sweat-soaked shirt, his purple eye bags, and she winced. "you look disgusting. and you're shivering. here." ivy tossed her khaki jacket carelessly to paul, who gingerly pulled it on.
ivy exhaled shortly, and despite his clear uneasiness, paul leaned to sit noiselessly in the grass, ignoring its unpleasant texture. he considered her apparent meditation and decided to copy her stance, crossing his legs, pretending not to notice that their knees were touching.
ivy heard his teeth chattering before she bothered to look at his shaking figure- how could he still be cold from the night's temperatures? she reached out and rubbed her hand up his arm, trying to bring some warmth to him. in an effort to hide his blush, paul slouched slightly, sinking into her big jacket, and she smiled.
a certain light came to her eyes when the corners of her mouth lifted upward, and again he was thinking of how gorgeous she seemed in the pale moonlight. he shrugged off the feeling and was about to speak to her when he heard her voice ring out, devoid of its usual troublesome tone. "i'm sorry for shagging your friend at your party." she ripped up a chunk of grass and kept her eyes on the ground.
paul shrugged indifferently, which was the opposite reaction ivy expected to get from him. she thought paul was more high-strung than that, and when she raised her eyebrows at him, he laughed. "what? it doesn't matter much to me, pete's hardly a friend."
"no, no, i just.." paul laughed again, at her confusion and her expression. ivy frowned, her knees pushing into the grass as she leaned on the backs of her legs, and she started poking his cheek, "what's so funny, paul? what's got you so smug?" he started staring at her knowingly, and it dawned on her. "you were the one who took my bra? paul! you have my bra?" and his laughter filled her ears once more.
huffing, ivy stood from her lawn and marched with surprising speed to his house, effectively wiping the smile from his face and replacing it with a feeling of overwhelming panic. it was a while past two in the morning, meaning that paul's brother and father were now sleeping, and that ivy would undoubtedly wake them. he followed her to the door, trying to convince her to stop, but she was already climbing the stairs which led to the bedrooms.
"ivy!" he whisper-yelled, grabbing her wrists before she could bust into his room. she opened her mouth but paul talked over her, "i'll get your bra. i'll get it, okay? but you need to leave." ivy crossed her arms, deciding to call him a number of crude names at an increasingly loud volume. "oh my fucking god, ivy, i said i'll get your bra!" paul shouted accidentally, and it wasn't long before paul's sleepy father appeared in the hallway, an unmistakable look of annoyance showing on his face.
