Cabin Nine [[Revised Edition] Under FURTHER Revision]

Twenty

Us being Gen-Z teenagers who are creative and touch starved, we figure out ways to "do the do," so to say, without being caught. Most of the time, he comes over while my parents are asleep and we be as quiet as humanly possible and then he has to leave. It sucks, but it's what we've got. It's not like they leave me at home alone anymore.

The first time he ever falls asleep at my house is quite the situation.

I wake up to my first alarm and initially panic when I feel a body next to mine. Jack wakes up to my alarm too, but he reacts considerably better. While I yelp and thrash around, he freezes and doesn't react when I accidentally kick him.

"You're here!" I whisper-yell, because I have no idea what else I'm supposed to do.

He stands up and stares at me, which makes me feel more awkward than he usually makes me feel. I'm tangled in a mess of sheets and I can't really move.

"You know, this whole first experience waking up next to you didn't go as I thought it would," he says. I can see the smile creeping onto his face.

"Jack, this is not the time to be joking! What if someone saw you? What if my parents saw you?! I would be homeless!"

Jack sighs and sits down next to me. I can almost hear my own heartbeat. I wonder if he feels the way I do. He can't possibly understand this. Not fully. "I know. I'm sorry. I swear, it won't happen again. I'll sneak out once you guys leave."

I free one of my arms from the sheets and grunt triumphantly. Jack smiles softly at me.

"You'll be late for school and you're supposed to be driving me today," I remind him. He makes no effort to help me out of my cloth prison.

"Oh, I totally forgot."

I shake my head and lean past him to look at the clock. My inability to stop myself sends me tumbling off the side of the bed. Jack smoothly catches me and stifles the sound with his own body rolling on the floor. It sucks that I caused him pain, but hey, it released me from that stupid sheet.

Jack rubs his elbow and sends me a questioning look.

"If you get dressed now and go out the window, you might be able to make it home in time for a shower," I say, only half-joking.

Jack scoffs disbelievingly. "Out the window? I thought I was supposed to be the one with the crazy ideas."

"You're the one who fell asleep!" I rationalize. "And it's still dark! If you wait any longer, the sun will come up!"

"Tyler!"

"Jack!"

We stare each other down. Jack's frown breaks into a crazy smile. He laughs and kisses me. "Looks like my insanity is finally rubbing off on you. I'm so proud."

I watch him get dressed and slip smoothly out the window as if he's done it a thousand times. His car starts four houses down the block and I watch until I can no longer see his headlights glow in the dark neighborhood.

I shower and throw my sheets in the washing machine. Mom would kill me if she found any evidence of Jack there. She would know what it meant. I mean, she would kill me for anyone, but she would automatically assume it was Jack. They always do.

For once, I'm glad that I'm such a stickler for cleanliness and hygiene. Nobody suspects anything when I change my sheets every few days. I just complain a little about Jack eating a jam donut in my bed (again) and they understand. At least, they think they do.