The Alien Next Door

19 - Spaghetti Hoops on Toast

POV: Phoenix
The last hour of the car ride has been pretty much silent, I'm just leaving Jake to keep him comfortable. He was really sad to leave the farm but with a promise from Morgan that they were going to come stay with him for a bit very soon he reluctantly got into the car. I'm driving and he's been in and out of sleep for the the majority of the ride so far, how I wish I was sleeping right now too.

As soon as we got out the car I knew he didn't like being here, his hood was up and he couldn't wait for me to get out the car to grab our bags and instead grabbed them himself and made his way inside quietly. I managed to catch up with him as he got into the lift and silently grabbed my bag from his hand, he kept his head low and nearly jumped out his skin when the lift pinged to indicate we had reached the floor we lived on. "Do you want to come over to mine?" I ask him as we approach our respective doors. I hear a quiet yes leave his lips and get my keys out to open my door. I let him go in first and he practically collapses onto the sofa as I shut the door. "What's up?" I ask
him as I take my bag into my room. "I'm just tired," he replies as I hear him shuffle about on the sofa. I quickly get changed into some grey joggers and a black t-shirt before making my way back out into the lounge. I look over at Jake to see him laying there with his eyes closed, I stand there and admire the man in front of me, I don't think I'll ever get over admiring him. "What do you want?" He whispers, catching me off guard. "Oh uh, nothing. Just going to grab your bag and put it in my room," I say quickly, picking up the bag from beside the sofa and making my way back into my room.

I ended up laying down in bed whilst Jake was on the sofa in the other room, possibly sleeping but my predictions were soon proven to be wrong when he came into the room and took off his hoodie before asking "Can I lay with you?" To which I replied "Of course you can, I'm just checking everything's okay in the world," He slipped off his shirt before laying down beside me and resting his hand on my back. He was laid on his side with his head at the top of the bed and I was on my stomach with my head at the end of the bed on my phone reading the news from the last few days. Not much has happened thankfully but it seems as though the weather is going to be getting shittier. He started drawing little circles on my back which I was trying so desperately to ignore, little did he know that drawing on my back would send me into relaxation so fast I'd be off to sleep at the drop of a hat. He continued to draw little shapes on every part of me he could reach and I was struggling to keep my eyes open at this point and the words on my phone were all jumbling together. "Jake," I manage to whisper out. He hums back in response as I'm failing to keep my eyes open.

POV: Jake
I knew it would send him to sleep quickly but I couldn't help myself. Seeing him so relaxed made the tension leave my body and I joined him in the land of unconsciousness for a while. I woke up before he did so decided to make a start on dinner. Phoenix didn't have much in his cupboards so I made the executive decision to run to the shops quickly to grab some bread so we can have spaghetti hoops and toast for tea, it ain't much but it's honest work.

I don't think I've been outside anywhere by myself in the city for a while now but I have this weird unfound confidence that is sitting inside of me for some reason. It might be because it's getting dark and there is barely anybody around from what I can hear but I savour the feeling and walk quietly through the shop doors.

On my way back to the apartment, I replay the time I was in the shop. I walked in, found the spaghetti hoops and a loaf of bread and went and paid for them. Then I left with the two in hand and started my walk back. Nothing bad happened, it was uneventful. And somehow, that inner confidence managed to grow a little. I can do these things.

When I got back I quietly opened the front door and put down the food on the counter. I listened to hear if he was awake but couldn't hear anything so I tiptoed to his room and checked in on him. He was peacefully sleeping still so I pulled the door to so the microwave and toaster wouldn't wake him up.

I'm just waiting for the toast to pop up when I feel a soft pair of hands cover my eyes. "Guess who?" He says sleepily. "I don't know," I joke. "It's Yours and truly," he adds. "Oh,
Phoenix?" I continue. "You guessed right!" He quietly exclaims as he lays his head on mine and moves his hands from my eyes. Just in time with the toast. "Go back to bed, I'll be there in two minutes," I quietly tell him as he continues to lean on me. He plants a soft kiss on my head and slowly makes his way back to bed. I begin buttering the toast after I pop the spaghetti hoops into the microwave.

"Dinner is served!" I say with a smile on my face as I walk into the bedroom. Even though he knew I was making food he still looked surprised when I handed him his plate, silly goose. We ate quickly and he took the plates out into the kitchen and washed everything up for me, he said something about making us equal, I think he's still half asleep if I'm Honest. Whilst he was doing that I grabbed my laptop from next door and found a movie on Netflix for us to watch, Madagascar. You can't go wrong with a bit of Madagascar honestly. When Phoenix got back into bed, he snuggled into me and I pressed play.

As we were laying there watching the movie together, laughing at the stupidity of the penguins, I realised how proud of myself I am. Who'd have thought all of this would have happened because of a silly fire alarm. But, I'm glad it has. I've come so far and still have a while to go, but for now I am proud.