30 Days

“Wrap me up like a present and put me away,
and when it gets cold I'll be yours…”
- Fool’s Holiday, All Time Low.

“Alex?” I said into the phone trying to be quiet as my parents were asleep.

“J-Jack…”

“Alex, where are you?” I asked, concerned because Alex sounded cold.

“Out - outside your house,” Alex replied, “L-let me in.”

I jumped off my bed and padded downstairs quietly to open the door for Alex. As I let him in and led him back upstairs, I wondered why he was at my house in the middle of the night.

Once, we’d gotten ourselves comfy on my bed, I asked Alex why he was at my house.

He looked down at his lap as he answered, “Ah…well…”

I smirked, “Go on Lex.”

“I – I had a nightmare… A-and it was…” He mumbled the last few words.

I couldn’t make them out, so I looked at him in earnest, hoping that he would elaborate, which he did a few minutes later.

“It was scary, we were on a bridge and you were almost falling off and I couldn’t do anything! All I could do was watch as you went over and into the water. Fuck, I woke up sweating, and shit, the first thing I needed to do was make sure you were ok…”

While I was pleased that Alex had had a dream about me, I was sad that it’d had been a nightmare. I could sympathise, I had similar ones about him dying far too often for my liking.

“D’you wanna stay here tonight?” I asked, unable to keep the thought from my lips.

He nodded shyly, “If you don’t mind…”

I laughed softly, “Like I’d deny you the chance to spend in my bed.”

Too later, I realised that what I’d said could have a double meaning, but thankfully, as Alex changed into a spare pair of sweatpants and a loose t-shirt, he didn’t seem to notice my unintentional innuendo. That was good; I didn’t think I could deal with him being awkward with me, not when he came to me for comfort.

“You ok now then?” I asked quietly, as he climbed into the bed and nicked a pillow to put his head on.

“Mmhm,” He mumbled into the pillow, “Yeah. Come cuddle?”

And how could I refuse such a request from the one I loved with all my heart? The answer: I couldn’t. I joined him in bed and put my arms around his waist, feeling him adjust his position in my bed so his head was on my shoulder.

I fell asleep listening to Alex breath slow and steady.