Falling Asleep on a Stranger

I couldn't form a coherent sentence. I couldn't even remember my own name. Tony Perry had just kissed me and I hadn't even told him i'd been wanting him to since the day we'd met. Was I dreaming? Was this even real? What even happened?

"Uh... well. Um. Okay." I was thinking in full sentences now, but my mouth still wasn't working.
Tony just beamed at me. "Was that okay?" He said, still beaming greatly.

Thinking i'd be able to talk, I tried for the third time. "Uh, yeah, I mean, that was... wow. I, uh. wow. Alright then." I leaned on his shoulder with a stupid grin on my face, and closed my eyes. I didn't even begin to comprehend what had just happened. I just knew whatever came out of this, I would be happy.

"You don't know how long i've wanted that to happen," I told Tony. "Even the first day you came into school. I knew you were special." I murmured into his neck. All of a sudden I was incredibly tired and I couldn't keep my eyes open.

"I know the feeling, Mike. I know. When I first saw you... there was something different and I knew I liked you the minute I walked in the door. That was... that was something else."

I was suddenly reminded of what he said in the cafe earlier, about relationships and all that stuff. Hadn't Tony dated two girls? Now I was confused again. Ugh, this rollercoaster pattern of my emotions wasn't fair to anyone; I didn't understand my own feelings anymore.

"Tony, why do you like me?" I asked him rather abruptly. I didn't feel bad about asking him after; I was just insanely curious.

"Well, uh, for starters, you're the opposite of what you appear to be. Not in a bad way, but you just seem like this hardcore tough guy, but still a good person, but instead, you're... don't get mad, but you're almost shy, because you seem to care so much about everyone around you. You're extremely kindhearted, I could tell you were the minute you spoke to me, and you're super cute on top of that. What's not to like?" I couldn't see his face, but I knew his eyes were lit up and he was smiling as he said this. I couldn't help but blush and I felt instantly better, I could feel my mood lifting. I stayed in that position for a long time until I could feel myself falling asleep. I went to sit up and lay down, but Tony stopped me.

"What are you doing? You can stay on my shoulder if you're comfortable."

"Mmm... mkay."

When Tony shook me awake, I had moved from leaning on his shoulder to laying spread out on my back and my legs on either side of Tony. When he woke me from what seemed like a short dream I was having, I remembered it being something about a band show, but instead of us in the audience at the show, me, Vic, Tony, and Jaime were all performing. Tony and Vic were playing guitar and Vic was singing, I was playing the drums and Jaime was playing bass, and it was really weird. But I didn't get a chance to think about what it meant or anything because before I could,, Tony started pulling me up from the couch and onto my feet.

"Tony, what- where are we going?"

"Shh. I want to show you something, but it only works if it's dark out. It's getting there now." He led me out the door and sure enough, the sky was a purple color.

"How long was I asleep, Tone?" I asked, unsure of what had happened.

"You fell asleep around noon... it's 8 pm now."

How did the time pass so quickly? I didn't think I was that tired... Oh well. Now that me and Tony were walking out in the fresh air, I started to wake up again.

"Did, uh, did my parents and Vic come home?" I asked him as we turned down the street, towards the school. It was chilly out and I didn't have a sweater on, all I had on was a tank top and ripped jeans. I started shivering rather violently, and Tony handed me his black Metallica hoodie. I refused it, because he looked cold, but he just shook his head.

"Nonono, you take it. I'm fine. And Vic came home around 5, with Jaime. They went upstairs right away and I haven't seen them since."

Atleast they made it home, I thought to myself. I wasn't completely keen of the idea of them together, but I figured I could trust Vic that they were okay. He probably did have a better sense of judgement than me, but it wasn't even my business anyways. As long as he was safe.

I took Tony's black hoodie and put it on; God it was so warm. We continued to walk wherever Tony was leading us, and we chatted about little things; our past, our families, nothing too thought-provoking and nothing too serious. I shared a Christmas story about Vic when I was five years old and he wrapped me up in wrapping paper, and that got him laughing and giggling (which was a bonus for me, I loved his laugh.) and he shared a cute story from his childhood, about calling 9-1-1 and hanging up. He must have been the cutest little kid.

"Tony, can I ask you where we're going? I'm morbidly curious." I looked at him, and he just smirked and winked. "Nope. It's a surprise."

"Awe, come on Tone, tell me! I hate surprises." I fake-pouted and groaned. He just laughed more.

"Nope. Not telling." And his smirk came back.

"Ugh, fine... but this better be good." I felt something caress my hand; it was Tony's. He seized mine gently and interlocked our fingers together in an ever-so-gentle way that had me smiling like an idiot.

I looked over at him at the same time he looked at me, and we both turned, blushing ridiculously. This was a pretty perfect night. Tony and I had kissed earlier, and he was now holding my hand, taking a late night walk with me; how much more perfect could it get?

Eventually, we made it over to a familiar sight; the river we had been to earlier that day. Or was it yesterday? It seemed so far away, this morning... almost like it was a different month. My nap hadn't helped me judge the time either. I piped up, "Tone, why are we at the river?"

"You'll see." Was all he said in reply.

I really hated surprises. They drove me insane. But this walk felt so familiar; like we had just done it this morning.

"Tony, are we going where I think we're going?" I smiled as I figured out why this walk felt similar to the one this morning; it was. We were headed towards the bridge, but this time, Tony was taking me there instead.

"I don't know, where do you think we're going?" He winked, and I knew for sure we were going to the bridge. I didn't know why, but I loved the idea.

"Tony, are we going to the bridge?" I beamed like an idiot.

"Mikey, yes we are!" He said as if I were a five year old.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Awesome." I smiled. "But I thought you said you were afraid of heights?"

"Well yeah." He sighed. "Actually, you didn't get the full story of when Vic came home. This isn't my first trip to the bridge. See, when Vic came home with Jaime, I asked them to watch you for a second and I had to go somewhere, which is why when you woke up you were laying on your back. And so I left and went to the bridge, and it's really not that bad, but I really liked the look of it and the atmosphere while I was on it and I figured that maybe... it could be our special place?"

"Oh my god Tony, that'd be so great." I couldn't stop smiling. That was just so cute and great it wasn't even possible.

"Okay, I was hoping you'd say yes." He smiled back at me.

We were almost to the bridge; I hadn't ever actually explored it, up until now. I'd always known it was a cloudy, seafoam green color, but i'd never realized that the color had come from years and years of rusting metal. It was only 15 feet long, and it didn't serve much of a purpose, other than getting across the small gray river that ran underneath it. I had never noticed the little things the bridge had; the strangely symmetrical way the paint was ripped off and shredded, how the dark and light green colors blended together under the dimly lit sky. The bridge had always been a great place to think alone; and I was betting anything that it would be ten times better with Tony by my side.
We had just reached the entrance to the bridge when Tony froze in his tracks and stopped moving. I stopped once I realized he wasn't moving; but I didn't know why. I didn't want to ask him why he stopped, so I turned to look at him. His face was expressionless, but his eyes said it all. They were full of awe, excitement that could have easily been seen as nervousness, and he seemed to be daydreaming about something that I couldn't quite understand. He snapped out of the daydream, but his eyes still had that wonder and excitement in them when he turned and looked over at me.

I wanted to say something about his chocolate brown eyes, how beautiful they were, but he cut me off with a kiss that felt like little jolts of electricity passing through our lips. I put my arms around his waist, tugging him closer to me until I could feel the heat coming from his body. He wrapped his arms around my neck, pulling me in. We stayed like this, perfectly connected until I started to feel dizzy. I reluctantly pulled away and walked over to the edge of the bridge, holding Tony's hand. I sat on the cold ground and he followed suit, putting his right hand underneath my chin and leaning in towards me. After a quick, light kiss that felt just as great as the very first time, I looked up to the sky. The night was a purple-black color, and the stars scattered aimlessly in the sky. It was one of the most beautiful and romantic things I had seen in my entire life.

"Isn't the sky beautiful?" I said, taking in everything I was seeing.

"It really is. It's the perfect night." I could tell Tony was looking up at the sky, turning his head ever so slightly. He reached over to where my hand was, interlocking our fingers and sighing slightly when we touched.

"Mike, will you be mine?" He turned towards me with his eyes wide and his smile full.

"Yes. Yes I will, Tony." And we kissed again, the spark as real as it was the first time.

~

When we came back to my house, around 1 in the morning, we were laughing and smiling and kissing and having the best time. We walked up the stairs (slowly this time, I didn't want Tony to get hurt again), I unlocked the door with the key under the mat, and I whispered to Tony.

"If you don't want to go home, you don't have to." He smiled and whispered back, "Okay, i'll stay." He giggled and we went upstairs to my bedroom, making sure not to wake my parents or Vic. If they found out we were out all night, I was dead. I gave him a pair of boxers to sleep in and a t-shirt, and I changed into my Harry Potter pj's and a Green Day tee. I was starving though, so I ran downstairs and made two peanut butter sandwiches for me and Tony. I also grabbed some water and 4 bags of chips, since I hadn't had dinner and I was betting on him being hungry. When I got upstairs, I tossed him the chips and water and handed him the sandwich. I closed the door behind me and sat down on my bed, across from where Tony was sitting, on my rolling chair.

"I didn't know if you were hungry, but I was, so I made peanut butter sandwiches... I'm starving. And since I slept through dinner, well, I need something in my stomach." I smiled and he nodded. "Can't go to bed with an empty stomach," he agreed. We finished eating super quickly and I threw everything out in the trash can behind my door. I came back to a very tired Tony laying on my bed, waiting for any excuse to fall asleep. I walked over to the bed, laid down and pulled the covers over me. I snuggled into Tony's warm chest, feeling him sigh, his breathing becoming even and shallow. I listened to the rhythm of his heartbeat until I fell asleep shortly after, dreaming only about tonight and what it would bring me in the future.

~

"MIKE! Unlock your door! We're gonna be late!" Vic screamed through my door. I jumped up, feeling colder than I was last night. I looked around, realizing someone was missing, with nothing in place. I frowned. Where had my turtle gone? My phone vibrated then, making me jump. I reached over to where it was charging, and unplugged it. I rubbed my eyes, squinting at the screan, and read:

Mike -
Went home to get a change of clothes for
school. Sorry I had to skip out without me telling
you in person. I'll see you in first period!
Love, Tony

So that's why he wasn't here, I thought to myself. Well, I wouldn't want to wear the same clothes as the day before. I got up and looked at the clock; how was it already 7:30? I noticed my alarm had been changed to around 6:30... Probably Tony's doing. No wonder I woke up late.
I ripped the drawer out of my dresser and snatched up a generic black t-shirt; I wasn't really concerned with what I was wearing. I grabbed some pair of pants, I didn't even bother to check the color, but I lucked out when I realized they were black. I went downstairs to the bathroom and I put on some deodorant, brushed my teeth and my hair, grabbed my bag and went to the living room. And Vic was nowhere in sight. Where was that idiot? He had just screamed at me to get up... I jogged down the hallway and upstairs to Vic's room, figuring he might be there. I opened the door without thinking about privacy, yelling.

"Vic, where the fuck are you? Dude, I'm ready! We gotta go!" I looked around his room and he was nowhere in sight. I went downstairs to the living room, bathroom, kitchen, still no Vic.

"Oh well," I mumbled, "I'm not gonna sit around waiting. I'm leaving Vic, wherever you are!" I shouted out to him, if he even was here. I grabbed my bag and my jacket and walked to school.

When I got to school, I went straight to my locker, not wanting to be late for math. A felt something tap my shoulder and I jumped.

"Oh!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to surprise you... good morning." Tony smiled at me, a look of pure happiness on his face.

"Not a big deal. I've just been antsy ever since I woke up; you haven't heard from Vic, have you? He woke me up to tell me I was late, and I haven't seen him since."

"Uh, no, I haven't. I also haven't heard anything from Jaime, either. I can't seem to find either of them, and i've called their cells; no answer." He shrugged it off, but I was getting frustrated. This was starting to sound really strange.

I didn't have much time to dwell on the issue; the warning bell rang right after our conversation. I groaned loudly and whined, "Tonyyyyyyyyy I don't wannnnaaaaa go to maaaattthhhh claaaaaasssssssssss." I fake pouted and he pouted back.

"Me neittherrrr mikeeeyyy. I don't waannnnaaaaaaa dooooo maaatttthhhhh in the mornniiiinnngggg. Waaaaaaah."

"Bleeeeehhhh." I said right back at him. We sauntered through the door and sat down at our desks; I put my head on my desk and closed my eyes. Tony slouched and leaned his head back, looking like he could fall asleep right there. Mr. Simmons walked in the room about 5 minutes after the bell, handing out the quizzes from yesterday. Tony got his back, and Mr. Simmons told me I had to take mine today, because of what I missed yesterday. I followed him out of the classroom and right outside the door was a desk. I sat down and he gave me the quiz.

~

"I didn't know a damn thing on that quiz..." I complained to Tony inbetween first and second period.
"What was that even on?"

"I dunno. I got a 60%. Atleast I passed, right." He shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm not even caring much about that, it's the whole Vic issue that's bothering me. I texted him while I was taking the quiz, but he hasn't responded."

"I tried Jaime too, and yeah. No response."

"Ugh. Where the hell could they be?"

Tony didn't get a chance to respond, because at the other end of the hallway, a State Cop was coming straight towards us.