Paper Planes

I lied on my back, awake. I spread my arms out on the bed and breathed deeply, trying to welcome sleep.

I looked over towards the clock, but Tucker's head was in the way. I scrunched my mouth to one side and waited for him to move. He moved. He rolled over into me and woke himself up.

Hey, it's 2:47.

His eyes peeked open. "Padma? What are you still doing awake?" he asked me quietly.

I looked over at him. "I am just having trouble sleeping. Don't worry about me."

He flipped over onto his stomach and looked towards me. "What's on your mind?"

I smiled him. "You have to wake up soon, why don't you go back to sleep?"

"Because I wanna stay up and talk to you."

"Okay. What would you like to talk about?"

"I don't know. We're getting married and we hardly know each other. Like, did you know I can play classical piano?"

"I did not."

"Yeah. I taught myself how to play other stuff after that. Like different styles of piano, and guitar. I tried to learn drums, but I was just awful at that."

I laughed. "Well do you have one?"

"One what?"

"A piano, or a guitar."

"Actually, yes. You've never been in the basement, have you?"

I shook my head. "I did not know you had one."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me off the bed. He led me down one flight of stairs to a door I had never really noticed. "I always thought this was just a closet, or something. I did not want to go loking around."

He laughed. "You can look around all you want." He opened the door and flipped on the light. He motioned for me to go.

"You go down first," I said.

He laughed and I followed him.

He didn't just have a piano, he had a baby grand.

"Play me something." I said, as we both admired it.

"Okay." He sat down and started playing classical music I was vaguely familiar with. I smiled and sat next to him. I started shivering a bit. His basements cold. "Are you cold?"

I nodded.

"Here," he said, getting up and opening a closet full of blankets. He grabbed one and tossed it to me. When he lifted it up, an old looking acoustic guitar became visible. He got it out slowly and sort of examined it.

I laid the blanket down on the concrete floor and grabbed another blanket out of the closet. He sat down and I sat next to him. He started strumming notes and chords and everything I knew nothing about. He started singing a song I didn't know and I smiled.

I wrapped the blanket tighter around myself and continued to listen to him play.

Forty five minutes later, we were laying down on the blanket. He had his head resting on my stomach and I played with his hair.

"I like your playing. Why did you stop?"

"I don't know. I guess I just needed to grow up I figured and I stopped playing. It was a slow procession."

"Do you miss it?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm kind of glad I came down here. I think I might pick it back up."

I smiled. "I'm glad, also."

He yawned. I smiled. He looks so cute from here. I furrowed my brows. Now, I'm not supposed to actually like him. We're just supposed to be friends.

"When I was little, my older cousin brought a guitar over," I started. His eyes started to droop. "And I remember watching him from when I was a small child. He wasn't very good, of course. But it was still nice to listen to."

I looked down and noticed he's almost asleep.

"I really liked to hear you play, Tucker," he was barely just hanging in there. "It was really nice. And I like your voice." I felt his breathing fully steady out and I smiled. I kept running my fingers through his hair. "And I'm really glad that we're down here, and that we've been getting along lately," I said to his sleeping form.

I hummed the song Tucker was singing as well as I could remember it.

"And I don't know if I'm supposed to," I said, "but I think I'm starting to like you."

I laid my head down and started to drift off to sleep.

I let my hands fall down to my side and I started breathing slower.

My head starting settling down and my thoughts started drifting off.

"I think I like you too, Padma," I heard Tucker whisper right before I fell asleep.