Nobody's Listening

T H I R T Y

Curled up on the couch in my M&M pants and a black tank top, I intently watched Inception, blindly grabbing at the bowl of popcorn in my lap every few minutes. About twenty minutes into it, I heard the water upstairs shut off. A couple of tense minutes later, I heard the bathroom door open and the guest bedroom door open and shut. I returned to the movie, already lost.

"Shit," I muttered, frustrated with how fast the plotline could go in this movie. I sighed, gave up, and went to the kitchen for a drink. My thirst for soda was greater than my thirst for finding out what the hell was going on in Inception.

I didn't bother turning the light on as I maneuvered my way around the kitchen, almost tripping over the rug in front of the sink. Regaining my balance with the fridge handle, I ripped the door open and gazed into the cold, half empty depths. I shivered, found a can of Pepsi, and closed the door quickly. I rubbed at my goosebumps with my free hand and started walking back to the living room.

I had just made it past the island counter when something dark and lanky jumped out and grabbed me, one arm snaking around my waist and a hand covering my mouth from the scream I uttered, muffling any sounds. I panicked, my heart rate spiking as I flailed my arms and legs against the strong person who attacked me. In desperation, I managed to grab a good mouthful of their fleshy palm and bit down. The person immediately let go, cursing.

"Fucking shit, God damn, Dezza, chill out," James said, rubbing his wounded hand against his bare chest.

I stepped back, examining him with a fat ray of moonlight from the window over the sink. His shoulders and cheekbones were highlighted in silver, and his dark, dripping wet hair looked blue. He looked like a statue in pain, and I felt extremely stupid to think that it had been a rapist or burglar.

"Sorry," I squeaked, reaching forward and grabbing his hand to find that it was bleeding a little. "Don't sneak up on me next time, okay?"

"Fine." I looked up, his eyes boring into mine. The irises looked almost like marble. The corners of his eyes crinkled and he smiled. "Kiss it for me?" he whined, stepping closer and forcing his hand closer to my mouth.

I smirked. "Fine," I echoed. Bringing his smooth, warm hand closer to my face, I pressed my lips against the bite marks. He shuddered as I licked the little droplets of blood off his palm. I dried the spit with my dry, chapped bottom lip. It had been abused by Luke yesterday and by the cold today, and I knew it would feel rough against his wound.

Ah, shit, Luke, I realized, dropping the hand suddenly. It fell limply against the plaid pajama pants he had borrowed. From the contact of his hand, it began to fall irresistibly lower on his narrow hips. Fuck, I'm getting a lady boner.

"Th-thanks," James stammered, pulling the pants higher.

I dragged my eyes from his waist and smiled shyly, my skin heating. "Uh-huh," I chirped cheerfully, adjusting my grip on my sweating Pepsi can. "WannawatchInceptionwimme?" I blurted out. He raised his eyebrows and I blushed harder. "Or, if you want to do something else, that's fine," I backtracked. "Or we can watch something else." I mentally smacked myself. I sounded idiotic.

Surprisingly, a smile bloomed across James' face, the lighting on his cheeks stretching over half of his nose. "Sure, I'd love to watch Inception with you. Mind if we start it at the beginning, though?"

A laugh burbled out of my mouth. "No problem," I said as I led the way back into the living room. I settled back into my seat on the couch, and James sprawled out on the opposite end, his knee lightly brushing the edge of my foot. I sighed deeply and started the movie over again.



Halfway into Inception, I was fighting to stay awake. At the other end of the couch, James had slid down so that his head was resting on the arm of the chair, and his toes were tucked under my legs. I fidgeted when he did this, but I was almost positive he hadn't even realized he had done it.

I barely noticed my eyelids drooping down, blocking out Leo's lovely face. My face fell away from hand and I crashed into James' legs. I almost didn't want to move, I was so tired, but I forced myself to stand. I wondered if I could make it to my bed without collapsing. I sure as hell didn't feel like going through my regular nightly routine of washing my face and brushing my teeth.

I managed a few steady steps between the coffee table and the couch when James grabbed my wrist.

"You're getting u-u-u-used to doing that," I said, trying to muffle my yawn with my free hand.

"'m cold," he murmured, pulling me closer.

"I can get you a blanket," I suggested, half-heartedly trying to pull myself from his strong grip while still stifling yawns.

James shook his head and slipped his hand down to my fingers. Our fingers intertwined and a shock ran through my body. Tingles formed in the pit of my stomach and my worn out heart womped into a frantic rhythm. "Sleep wi' me," he begged, pressing my knuckles to his lips without opening his eyes.

"James, I can't – what if my mom – James, this is ridiculous – I really can't–"

He grazed his teeth across my hand, effectively cutting me off. "Don't care. C'mon, please?" He finally opened his eyes and I was caught in the silver depths of his eyes. Even though his was obviously exhausted, his eyes were simmering with emotion.

I gasped and quickly turned it into a yawn. "I'm tired, James. I wanna go to bed."

James sat up suddenly, his eyes still burning. I flinched slightly. "Just for a bit, okay? I… I don't want to be alone," he whispered, almost inaudible. His gaze fell and in the light of the television, I saw a fine blush settle across his cheeks.

Tears welled up in my eyes and I brushed them away impatiently before he could see them. "Fine."

He snapped his attention back up to me and smiled, just a tad too widely to be truly happy. After settling himself back in a comfortable position within the plush couch cushions, he patted the area in front of him. I slowly sat down and lay out beside him, my back barely brushing his naked chest. Suddenly his arms snaked around my waist and pulled me closer; his body curled around mine and I shivered though I finally felt warm.

James nuzzled my hair out of the way with his face and pressed his forehead into my neck. "Thank you," he breathed before his breathing fell into a steady pace with mine and we both fell asleep.