Into the Light

18

I ran my hand through my hair, and shook my head. I had it so fucking bad. I wasn't exactly sleepy, but I was incredibly full, so I didn't really feel like hanging out with anyone. Instead, I stripped my shirt off, grabbed my laptop and settled into the bed, next to Anna. I usually edited on my desktop but I could at least go over some of the material we had. We only had enough material left for one more video post, which meant that we needed to figure out what our next move was. We'd just been so busy with this Lilith business, that it hadn't really been in the front of our minds. Or that's how it was for me. Sam hadn't mentioned it, so either he didn't want to push me about it, or he hadn't thought of it either. Which was bad for both of us. We had to get our heads back in the game. There had been plenty of times when we pushed through and worked through problems, or a crisis. We could do it this time, as well. Granted, we had never worked through anything quite like this though. I kept trying to dig through the little footage that we had, but my mind just wasn't in it. I got frustrated, and closed the laptop a little harder than I meant too. Anna moaned, and scooted closer to me. I leaned over and kissed her cheek, then froze when she threw her leg over mine. "Anna?" I whispered, checking to see if she was awake or not. "Hmm," she murmured, sleep coating her tone. "Nothing. Go back to sleep," I whispered back. It wasn't like we hadn't slept in the same bed and cuddled before. It didn't matter that this felt 1000 times more intense. Or so I kept trying to tell myself. My phone buzzed so I picked it up to see a text from Sam. "Bags are in the fridge," it said. "Thanks," I texted back. I thought about all of the food that I had eaten tonight. I was really going to have to get back to the gym soon. I had found this weird restaurant that I wanted to take Anna too, the next day. It was called "Back to the 80's."  I had found it when I was looking for places to take her tonight. The website showed a café that was full of really loud colors, like neon everywhere, with 80's hit records hanging along the walls. There were old toys stacked in corners, and life size cut outs of original Star Wars characters. It was up around Sacramento, so it would take us a little while to drive there. I vaguely wondered if I should buy a couple of plane tickets instead. It would only take us about an hour and a half that way. I didn't even know if Anna had ever been on a plane. I knew that she hadn't really been outside of California, but that didn't necessarily mean that she hadn't flown anywhere. California was a large state. I decided to leave the choice up to her. After tonight, I didn't even know if she would feel like going anywhere tomorrow. I glanced over to her sleeping form again, and my heart faltered. There was some feeling in the pit of my stomach, but it wasn't altogether unpleasant. Just strange. I had felt 'butterflies' for a girl before. I had even been in love when I was younger. That didn't end well. Since then, it had been hard for me to completely open up to anyone. Maybe that's why my relationships never worked out. That and the fact that I had to hide any girl that I spoke to, so the extreme fans wouldn't attack her. Some of my best female friends had been ripped apart by them. It was exhausting and I hated it, but what could I do? It seemed like it had gotten a little better over time, but there was still a lot of hate when rumors started. It would be easier with Anna, if it came to that. She didn't even own a phone, much less have social media. Maybe I was getting ahead of myself though. I didn't know what the future would bring. I laughed quietly, thinking about her trying to work a damn cell phone and navigate Twitter or Instagram. She had seemed to get so enthralled watching Youtube, when I had left it playing for her that time. I lay there, just thinking about all of the new experiences that I could introduce her too. The world had definitely changed in such a large way since she had been able to enjoy it. This was going to be fun. Maybe I could even bring some friends so that she could enjoy it with them. Give her a chance to tell them about things that they didn't understand, instead of the other way around. Yeah...this could be great! I started imagining what her face would look like when she walked into the restaurant. The website said that they even named the food after sayings or things that only people alive in that age would understand. In my head, her face lit up with excitement as soon as we walked in. She would run to the wall full of famous actors, singers, and platinum records of that time. Or maybe she would go straight to the tower of memorabilia, with the old toys and tape recorders. She would start explaining to all of us how she used to have that toy or how her favorite movie was on a worn out VHS tape. Eventually, I was lulled into sleep with her smile and excitement at the forefront of my mind. If I had dreams, they were happy and peaceful, because when I woke up the next morning, I felt fully rested. Anna's leg was still thrown over the lower half of my body, so I looked over to see if she was still asleep. Her emerald eyes met mine, and a small smile played on her lips. "Good morning," she whispered, with her voice a little raspy with sleep. "Morning," I whispered back and smiled. I turned towards her, on my side, and put my hand on her bare leg that was on me. "Did you sleep well?" I asked, rubbing her leg. She shivered, and nodded. "Like the dead," she replied. I let out a bellow of laughter and shook my head. "Maybe don't say that for a while." She giggled, and rolled her eyes. "It was seriously the best sleep that I ever remember having. No dreams, no torture...no pain. Just a comforting sleep. I felt safe." That made my heart do that flippy thing again. "I'm glad," I replied, before leaning forwards to press my lips against hers.