Lonely Night

They were both blushing messes, it seemed. He was thankful that his awkwardness didn't catch on to her as well. Which, by the way, what was up with that? Dublin prided himself in being cool and collected, yet the more time he spent around Charlotte the more he caught himself being a blubbering idiot.

"Alright, if you say so. But let it be known that Dublin Andrews is a selfless gentleman who tried countless times to convince you to take the bed, to no avail. If anyone asks." With a pseudo-solemn look, he went off to grab sheets from the closet.

While he made the makeshift bed, he spoke in a soft, sincere voice. "Hey, thanks for staying over. I really appreciated the company. Sorry I made you stay up all night."

Charlotte watched him make a bed out of the couch, wondering if she should intervene in any way. Her hands stayed up as she looked on. "Thanks for having me," she told him, equally as softly. "Tonight was great. Better than any night I would have had alone." She gave an evasive glance to the window, as if there was something interesting outside. The moon was quite pretty, hm hm. "We should do it again sometime." she said nonchalantly.

He didn't look at her as he finished the bed, but he smiled at her gentle tone. "We can have sleepovers." For some reason, the thought was funny to him. He imagined Charlotte braiding his hair as they watched Gilmore Girls. God, he had been spending too much time with his sisters. He needed sleep. After it was done he stepped back and admired his makeshift bed for a moment before turning to his guest. "Alright, that's it then." He lingered for a moment, in case Charlotte had anything else to say before their night together ended.

All she had to say was, "That sounds nice," and she began unlacing her boots. After he left, she crawled onto the couch, settling onto the small space she chose instead of her own bed. It was strange. Despite having never slept there before, and despite the strange atmosphere around being there at night, in the dark, it didn't feel foreign. She felt at home, as crazy as it sounded. She missed having someone in the next room when she shut her eyes at night, and it comforted her.

She woke up when the sun was still an orange light, newborn in the sky. She had been sleeping in such a way that the amber light shone delicately in her eyes, startling her at first when she opened them. She thought someone was holding a flashlight to her face. When she came to her senses, she looked around and found the time. 6:53.

That's right, it was Monday. The school had classes on Monday.

She got up as anyone would having slept less than 5 hours. She yawned, putting on her boots and not even bothering with the socks; she stuck them in her bag, which hung over his table. It was only when she looked toward Dublin's room that she stopped for a moment, blinking away the fatigue slightly, until it came back on whispering needles prodding her head and she held it with a groan. She'd sleep in the library.