Runaway Prince -- DNF

Sleeping

George grabs a pillow and a blanket and puts it on his bed for me. It's not a huge bed, my bed at home was bigger than this, but it seems big enough for two. Barely...

"Umm... thank you, George," I say as he climbs under the covers. "I really appreciate it."

He smiles and I grab my pajamas to go change. When I get back, George is snuggled under the covers with his nose in a book. Kinda cute.

I nervously walk to the side of the bed and George looks up.

He smiles. "Did you want to see what book I'm reading tonight?" He looks excited about it.

My nervousness slowly ebbs away as I climb under the covers with George and he starts talking about the book he found. It was called Hamlet. George seemed to really enjoy the longer stories. He told me it was a story we could read for at least a week. I told him I was excited.

After he read the first couple of chapters he started yawning. The candle on his bedside table was almost down to the end of the wick. He closed the book and turned his body to face me.

"All done for tonight?" I ask, turning my head his way. He nods tiredly, eyes barely open.

"I'm tired," he yawns tucking his hands under his cheek.

I shift so I am on my side facing him. He smiles tiredly and I lean over him to blow out the dwindling candle. The light flickers out and I lay back down tucking myself under the covers. The moonlight from the window shines over George's pale features.

I feel weird, but I watch George as he sleeps right in front of my face. He's so close to me, yet we don't touch. I'm close enough to feel his breath blow softly across my face, to see a sprinkle of freckles across his cheeks and nose, to see his red lips and cheeks.

I feel a sudden closeness to him, not just physically, but also emotionally. He has shared so much about himself even if sometimes it is unintentional. He told my about his past, and trauma, and he showed me who he really is on the inside. Not standoffish and rude, like he first seemed to be, but kind, genuine, and truthful.

Truthful. Something I was working on. Something that would take time. And time wasn't something I had on my side. Right now, castle guards were out searching for me, trying to bring me back to my awful life. That was something I really wanted to avoid, but I also wanted to avoid being a liar to the people who have treated me like a real person for the first time in my life.

George shifts in his sleep, moving his hands from under his cheeks to under his pillow. His legs slightly glide against mine, shoulders collapsing towards me subtly.

I knew two things had to happen soon. First of all, I need to tell George the truth, even if that means losing him. Second, I need to be willing to move on without him despite the way my heart races when I am around him, the butterflies I get when he laughs and smiles, and the cute way he does everything.

It was going to be difficult.

***

I wake up feeling a warmth in my heart. My head felt in the right place after I sorted myself out last night.

I'm laying on my back and feel the weight on my chest shift. It wasn't my imagination. I squint my eyes open and see George sprawled across my body, the covers completely discarded.

How did we end up like this?

I stare at his peaceful features just like I did last night. Should I wake him up? It's not like I can leave him here to sleep in, we still have to go to work today. But Hugh hasn't called us downstairs yet, so we can still sleep a little longer.

One of my arms is tucked under my pillow, squished by George's body, the other one draped over his back. It was surprisingly comfortable. And I was warm, despite not having any covers, because George was keeping me warm. Even in the cold of autumn.

I hear the breakfast bell and George shifts but stays asleep. I rub his back trying to wake him up, but it seems to make him fall deeper asleep. I decide to just roll over.

I tuck my arms around his torso and shift so George is underneath me on the mattress. The shift makes him wake up as I pull my hands from underneath him. I level above him and he stares bleary eyed up at me. My eyes go wide and his become focused as he realizes our position.

"I uhm..." I stutter out. He pulls his arms up, to push me off probably, but ends up hitting my elbow making me collapse onto him.

I hear an "oof" as I crash land, bodies flush together, cheeks side by side. Our legs are awkwardly tangled together as I try twisting off of him. My hand gets a hold of the sheets beneath me and I twist away. Our legs pull George to turn to me and we stare at each other, out of breath.

I feel like my face is on fire. Not only did I wake up to our somewhat intimate position, I also woke him up by hovering over him in an even more intimate position. It was embarrassing to say the least.

"I'm sorry," I mutter as our eyes lock together.

He takes a deep breath. "Yeah," he gulps out, "me too."

We both hear the bell again and jump out of bed. We frantically change and rush down the stairs for a quick breakfast. Hugh gives us a strange look, but doesn't say anything.

I catch George looking at me as I take a bite of a muffin. When I see him he quickly looks away. My eyebrows scrunch together.

As we walk to the bakery, I feel George's eyes on me again. I look his way and he awkwardly smiles, after getting caught twice, and turns away again.

Is today going to be weird?

Thanks so much for reading! Don't forget to drink water. :)

1064 words