Ghosts Aren't Real. sapnap

9. replacement panda

I ordered everyone some food from Chipotle while they figure out the sleeping spots. I walk into the living room to 3 grown men throwing a panda around making jokes.
“Foods gonna be here soon.” I say laughing. Clay starts to wheeze and George throws me the panda. I look over at Nick and he just smiles. It's so warm. I smile back.
“Isn't it a lucky lady's birthday tomorrow?” Nick asks. I shake my head no.
“No idea what you're talking about” I say sarcastically.
“I have an entire day full tomorrow so make sure you get enough rest tonight.” He says grabbing my panda. I grab it back from him and roll my eyes jokingly.
“Speaking of that, what's the plan for that?” I ask. “I don't wanna steal your bed again.”
Nick laughs nervously. “Oh no, I know that laugh all too well..”

“So are you comfortable sharing a bed with Nick” George yells. I look back at him and Clay is just wheezing. That seems to be the only sound that man can make.

“If you're not it's okay, we have a backup plan.” Nick says. I blush at the thought of us sleeping in the same bed.

“It's whatever. I don't care.” I say trying to hide my flustered look on my face. The
doorbell rings and Clay starts running to the door.

“Yay food!” He says. We all laugh at his childlike behavior. He sets the food down in the kitchen. I hand out all the food and we all dig in.
“So Alex, you ready for the best birthday tomorrow?” Clay asks in between bites. I shake my head.
“I have no idea what to expect.” I say looking over at Nick. He smiles and throws my panda at me. We all laugh and eat our food. I finish my food first so I get in the shower first.

After my shower I put on my favorite pajamas. It's sweatpants with a baggy T-Shirt. I walk out of the bathroom and all the boys are arguing who's the best speedrunner.
“It's Clay.” I say from a distance and George throws a pillow at me. I laugh and go into Nick's room getting ready to sleep. I look around for my panda. “It's not in here.. I swear I put it back in here.” I say to myself. I walk out to the living room. “Hey have you guys seen my panda?” I ask slightly freaking out. They all shared a look and looked over to Nick’s cat. The cat was ripping apart the panda. I take a step back.
“Alex, I'm sorry.” Clay says. I ignore them all and walk back into Nick’s room. I start to cry.

“Alex…” Nick says, he sat down next to me. “I can get you another one. We all saw her attacking it but we were too late, the stuffing was already all gone.” He gives me a hug. “I can run to a store quick and get you one-”

“Nick, we won that panda together. It sounds stupid but it meant a lot to me.” I say, his hug had calmed me down. “You also give really good hugs.” I say and he laughs.
“Glad I can be of some service here. Do you want me to go and get you a new one?” He
asks. I shake my head no.

“You are my replacement panda tonight.” I joke, ‘i'll just find a small pillow’ I think.
“Where are the other 2 sleeping?” I ask, and right on queue Clay and George walk in the room.

“George is gonna sleep on the couch and I have an air mattress Clay is going to sleep
on. They didn't want to sleep in the living room” He explains. I just sit around and wait until they finish setting up. I yawn and Nick notices so he rushes the other two a little bit. Finally they finish setting up over an hour later. It is now almost midnight. I may look and act like I am an evil person but I'm actually terrified of night and the dark. The 2 older men are laying down and scrolling through their phones and I'm looking around for a pillow. Nick notices and finally sits down on his queen sized bed.

“Can you shut the light off please? Then we can sleep.” He says. I glance at him. ‘Oh my god he didn't know I was joking…’ I shut the light off and lay next to Nick. I lean in close by him and rest at his side. I move in closer and look up at him. He smiles at me. I smiled back, he gave my forehead a kiss. “Good night Al,” He says. My face heats up,
“Good night Nick” I say.

‘I really like this man’