lover boy & dollar store girl ♬ matt sturniolo

XV

CHAPTER XV
[ so that's it? ]
♬

     chris was the first to wake up.  the boy felt around the mass of blankets for his phone; the time read 8:26 a.m. he was never the early riser of the three boys; nick was always up first and acting as a human alarm clock for the other two. when the youngest sat up in his little makeshift bed on the living room floor and stretched the sleep from his limbs, he took a look around to remind himself why he was sleeping on the floor. nick was passed out on the loveseat next to him, his arm limp over the side of the couch and his face pressed comfortably into the couch cushion. chris took a picture, thinking, just in case.
     chris froze when he saw matt and minnie, a devious grin creeping on his lips. matt was still upright, but slumped nearly flat, both legs sprawled beneath the blanket he shared with the girl; minnie was asleep on his lap, her torso laid across his legs and her head resting gently on the armrest of the couch. she was tucked in close by the arm that draped across her waist, holding onto the spare fabric of her cherry hoodie in his sleep, like he was making sure she didn't roll off the couch. chris also snapped a photo of them, knowing matt would be pissed first and then ask him to send it to him later.
     chris hated seeing people be sweet with each other. seeing locks on bridges and initials carved in bathroom stalls made him want to puke, but despite the urge to be bitter towards them, chris couldn't help but admire the way minnie and his brother were. he couldn't be mad about it- not about them.

     he figured he would let the noise of fumbling around in the kitchen wake everyone else up- he didn't want to be responsible for the inevitable awkward silence that followed the kids waking up on top of each other. so he got up and made his way to the fridge, loudly opening and closing the door on a mission to get some orange juice. he slammed the cabinets shut when he grabbed a glass, and had to force himself not to laugh. he found so much joy in his own humor.

at the clinks of dishes in the sink and running water, minnie slowly came out of her sleep, rolling over onto her back and staring up at the ceiling. she wanted to close her eyes just from that familiar warmth of a bed beneath her, the same way she feels sucked back into slumber every morning when she wakes up at home... until the warmth moved.
her heart was in her throat when she felt the couch shift beneath her, and realized quickly that she had been sleeping on top of matt all night long. she got up as gently as she could, trying not to wake the boy, and shuffled onto the couch beside him, trying to calm the racing beat of her heart. the boy's eyes fluttered open and closed and then open again, and she hoped he wouldn't realize she'd been on him for an entire night.
when his gaze fell on her, minnie didn't feel so worried. his sleepy eyes were so blue, and soft like cotton when they stared. he flashed a lopsided grin at the girl, rubbing the sleep from his face and sitting up with a quiet groan.

"good morning." his voice was low and gravelly, raking the words roughly. minnie felt a million butterflies swoop inside her stomach.

"morning," she spoke, voice quite raspy herself. matt hid his blush by pretending to rub his face for what sleep was left.

"did you sleep okay?" matt asked, "i didn't want to move you."

so he does know, she thought. she felt so embarrassed. "you could have. i can't have been very comfortable."

"it was fine," matt swatted her words away, "you were so sleepy, and i didn't mind."
minnie wrapped her arms around her sides, beginning to feel like he couldn't possibly be telling the truth. his legs must've been asleep- she felt too big for them to not be.
matt reached across the couch and brushed a few wild hairs away from the girl's eyes, running his finger over her eyebrow. "i slept really good. better than i have in a while," he said, giving her that charming smile again. it was hard to think anything about herself, or anything at all really, when he smiled at her that way.