Red

RED - 9

I turned over in the bed for what seemed to be the fourth time now, unable to get into a comfortable enough position to sleep in.

"Would you quit it already? I'm trying to sleep here" Will's voice cut through the darkness and I took that moment to sit up in the bed with a huff.

"Sorry, but I can't sleep. This bed is too... fluffy"

Will rolled over in the bed so that he was facing me, "Fluffy?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Sorry to be a grouch but I wanted to sleep and I was wide awake. What was I supposed to do?

"Chill, kitten," Will sat up as well and ran a hand through his already tousled, "What's on your mind?"

"What?"

"You heard me. What's on your mind?"

"What does that have to do with-"

"Obviously you can't sleep because something's bothering you," he answered in a duh tone as he propped a pillow up against the head board, leaning his back against it, "Get it off your chest and it will help you"

I gave him a weary look through the darkness of the room before I turned to my beside take and clicked on the lamp, illuminating enough dim light to see him more clearly.

"You sure this will work?"

"It's worth a try" he shrugged a little tiredly. Following his previous actions, I propped a pillow against the head board and leaned against it myself, so that now we were sitting to that our shoulders just barely touched each other's.

With a small sigh, I thought of what it was that was on my mind at the moment, and I told him.

"You know, you're leaving tomorrow night, and... I don't know... maybe, I don't want you to go"

I felt ten times of embarrassment admitting this to Will,  and I know that even though there was barely any light, he could see the blush on my cheeks.

"Awe, you'll miss me?" He mocked and I rolled my eyes, feeling even more embarrassed, "Shut up. This was stupid"

I went to turn off the lights when he stopped me, "No, don't. Sorry" he chuckled slightly and I sighed and rested back against the head board again, waiting for whatever it was either he or I had to say next.

"It kind of scares me, you know?" He began to talk, "A whole new world. All by myself. I won't know anyone or anything or anywhere. But if this is what keeps me alive..." he shrugged his shoulders as he trailed off, and I continued to talk again.

"I think you're important, you know"

"What?"

"You're like... the only thing that I have left here" I brought my knees to my chest.

He paused, not understanding until, "Ruby-"

"I know that Snow and Cindy are my best friends and everything but... look at me. I don't belong here. I'm no princess and I have no prince. My mother fled the village after I went missing and I already had no father. And my grandmother... well. You know how that turned out"

"Sorry about that" he spoke quietly, looking down at his lap.

"Can I ask you why you did it?" I asked him quietly, and the tension between us began to grow.

"I... my dad saw you in the woods one time that you went to your grandmothers house. And as his son, he felt that a great way to prove myself would be to... trick you. So that he could kill your grandmother. And I wanted him to be proud of me, you know?"