Bully for You

four || theories four you

"I already have." 

"Yeah," An amused smile flashes across his face, but he straightens it out a second later. "Rufus wants to say sorry." 

A roll of thunder echoes from outside. I cross my arms to protect my bandage from the wind and rain. "I don't want to talk to Rufus. Or you." 

"You scared him." 

"So what? He scared me," I glare at Rome's shoes. They're slick with rain and there's mud around the edges. Drops of water hit the back of my shirt. "And at least I don't bite people when I get frightened." 

"You should," Rome says teasingly. "Maybe it would make Ava back off." 

I shake my head. "She'd kill me." 

"Winifred -" 

"Stop calling me that. You know I like to be called Winnie," I snap. A second later I wish hadn't said anything. Rome likes to get a reaction out of me. Now he won't ever stop calling me by my full name. 

I wait for a teasing remark, shuddering from the cold. When Rome doesn't say anything, I peek at his expression. His gaze is turned to a spot over my shoulder. A second later, I hear the window slides shut. The cacophony of rain and thunders dies away. 

"Hey," Rome takes a step closer, cradling the dog. I stiffen. "Give Rufus a try. He didn't want to bite you." 

"It doesn't matter what he wants," I sigh. "It matters what he did." 

Rome holds up Rufus to my eye level. It's not even a dog. It's a puppy with short brown fur, floppy ears and eyes that take up half of its head. His tongue is halfway out of his mouth and his tail wags. Despite our conflict earlier, Rufus looks happy as ever as me. 

I roll my eyes to the ceiling. I pride myself on not judging people before I get to know them, so I guess that should apply to dogs.

"Fine," I mutter. "I forgive the dog." 

"Good. Now pet him." 

With a long sigh and trembling fingers, I reach out and stroke Rufus's head. Or at least, I try to - Rufus, eagerly following my motions, follows along and licks my fingers. I yank my hand away. 

"That was brave of you, Winifred." 

"I knew you would call me that again..." I say. 

My voice starts to slow and quiet. Rome and Rufus fade into black then I'm watching my memory replay on film. Soon, that starts to crumble away too. I fall back into darkness, waking up layer by layer. The softness of my bedsheets, the weight of the blankets, the sunshine playing on my eyelids. 

When I wake up, something soft touches my cheeks. It feels nice. I stretch out my back lazily, enjoying the sensation before realizing they're Rome's kisses. I open my eyes. In front of me is Rome, the more mature version of him. 

"Weird," I mutter. 

He kisses my cheek one more time. "You were talking in your sleep." 

"I haven't done that in forever," I squint up at the real Rome. "What are you doing?" 

"Testing a theory of mine," He leans back against his pillow, hair falling in front of his eyes. Honey, our kitten-turned-cat, has snuck between us in the middle of night. She's still fast asleep, her golden chest rising and falling with each breath. "You fell asleep quite suddenly last night." 

"Like you don't know why," I accuse, my voice still slurred from sleep. "You're the one who caused." 

"And isn't that interesting?" Rome says. "Last week, our bond was relatively week. Now, it seems that it's strong enough for me to actually lure you to sleep - I wonder what triggered the sudden change."