Surprise Me.

Chapter 12- "Pretender" by AJR

When I woke up, I moved to get out of bed when an arm snaked around my waist and pulled me back. My back gently collided with Colby's chest and I could feel his heart thumping faintly through his t-shirt.

"Where do you think you're going?" Colby murmured, his voice husky.

"I was gonna go back to my own room before Sam found out." I replied quietly.

"Maddie, I'm pretty sure Sam already knows."

"I texted Kat and pretty much asked her to lie to him. She closed my door and told Sam that I'd gone to bed."

"Not the worst idea you've ever had."

"No, I think that award goes to the time I said we should each chug a two-liter of Mt. Dew and have a burping contest."

"Didn't you throw up a few times that night?"

"Six."

"Glad you kept count." I sighed and looked at the clock on his bedside table that read 5:32. I basked in his warmth for another moment before sighing and crawling out of his grasp. "What are you doing?"

"I wanna go watch the sunrise for a little bit. I'm stealing a hoodie really quickly." I reached into his closet and grabbed the first hoodie I touched, slipping it on over the baggy t-shirt. Colby flicked on the lamp next to his bed and sat up.

"Are those my boxers?" He asked, looking me up and down.

"Yes. I got cold earlier. They're clean, don't worry."

"Thief." He teased. I opened his door and poked my head out into the hallway, looking for any sign of Sam or Kat. Nothing.

I crept out and made my way to the balcony, Colby following behind me. As I reached it, I leaned against the railing and breathed deeply, taking in the cool morning air. Colby threw his arm around my shoulders and pressed a kiss to the top of my head, looking out at the early morning sky where stars were barely beginning to fade and color appeared along the horizon. We stood for a while completely alone in the cool stillness of the morning, just admiring the sky.

"The sky's pretty, but not as pretty as you." He said quietly.

"I'm out here in an incredibly oversized hoodie, your boxers and your t-shirt, with my hair in a messy bun. I'm a hot mess."

"That's what makes it special. You're wearing my clothes."

"You're such a dork."

"Not the worst thing I've ever been called."

"Oh, I meant to tell you this last night. When I went to the bathroom at the party, there was a girl in one of the stalls and we talked for a little while."

"I swear, women will talk to anyone."

"I told her about the whole situation with Ben and Ashley last night, and she said that she would make sure that they didn't have teeth."

"I was pretty close to following through with that."

"I thought it was funny that he just laid on the ground for a minute."

"I heard him call you a bitch the first time and I knew I needed to step in. It pissed me off so bad I was shaking."

"It was a rough night overall, but I loved going to the playground with you."

"Yeah, everything was great until I fell on my ass off of the monkey bars."

I laughed, recalling the memory. Colby moved to the side and hugged me, burying his head into my shoulder. I raked my fingers through his hair as we swayed slightly.

"I'm still tired." He announced.

"Wanna go back to bed?" I asked, pressing a kiss to his temple. He nodded. "I'm gonna go back to my own room and sleep in my bed for a while. You should do the same."

"Why?"

"Because Sam will probably follow through on his threats if he finds out you and I slept in the same room last night."

Colby stood up straight, and looked at me with disappointment in his eyes. "I understand. Let me walk you back to your room, at the very least."

"I'd like that."

"When Sam gets up, are we pretending that we've moved on from this whole thing or are we acting as depressed as possible?"

"That's tough. I say we pretend we've moved on and get more depressed throughout the day. Screw with his brain."

"I like the way you think."

Colby took my hand and led me to my room, careful to make little to no noise. He paused outside of my door and met my gaze, his oceanic eyes contemplating something. He leaned in and gave me a soft kiss before starting back towards his own room.

"If you need me, text me, okay?" He asked.

"I will." I promised, opening my door and entering. I flopped down on my bed and stacked the pillows up behind me to mock the shape that Colby's body made behind me. If I closed my eyes and pretended I was in his bed, it felt as though he was actually there. Little did I know that in the room down the hall, he was holding one of his pillows to his stomach, pretending I was there.

because I posted the other chapter late, here's the next chapter to make up for me being off schedule :)