Being Shot

P h o t o #37 - Low Light

As sad as it was, I drummed my sweaty hands on the sides on my sweatpants-clad thighs, rocking back and forth on my feet as I waited for a response.

"She's in the bathroom." Elliot sighed behind me, giving the okay I needed. I turned, meeting with his only minutely sheepish face, "Sorry about that, we were rushing for a reason."

I held up my hands and waved them, "No, it's okay, really," I looked at the other three, all of them watching to see how I'd react. Keeping my cool as best as I could, I babbled, "I was actually worrying whether or not you all had something to sleep in, so actually I'm a little relieved. Not that I couldn't look for something you guys could borrow-"

Arms wrapped around my shoulders and squeezed, their source behind me. I whipped my head to the side.

"Pink." Was all I could utter as I stared at Kayla's attire. Matching pastel pink long sleeved shirt and silk fitted pants that hugged at her hips and ankles. Her feet in snug dark pink slippers and her hair up high on her head in a messy bun held together with - you guessed it - a pink hair tie.

She winked at me, her make-up-less face still as beautiful as always, "Yup. By the way, nice socks."

A small grin lifted the sides of my lips. A realization hit me as Kayla almost twirled into the living room in front of me, beginning to lecture the boys on just how they could dirty a room so much in under five minutes between their bags and discarded clothes drenching the ground.

Just as they were about to retort, I spoke up, "Wait, you guys had clothes with you? How did you know you'd be staying the night?"

Kayla looked to the side, folding her hands behind her back, "I may have predicted that there was possibly a very good chance of us staying for the night."

I stared blankly at the five of them as they all looked as though they had been caught taking one too many pieces of candy from a "take one" Halloween bowl.

Parker smirked, clearly entertained, "I told you this wouldn't go over her head so easily." He slid his glasses up and met my gaze with amused eyes, "She's too sharp for it."

Cheeks warming, I briskly ran over to the closet next to the lamp and opened its double doors, coming face to face with a multitude of folded blankets, sleeping bags, and pillows.

"Holy crap," Jonas mused behind me, "if there's ever a zombie apocalypse, I'm heading straight for your house."

I turned and gave him a look, though I couldn't surpass the smile brimming. Letting out a giggle, I put my left hand on my hip, "Blanket or sleeping bag?"

He held out his hand and grinned, "Sleeping bag."

I threw a plump dark green one to him, and suddenly everyone got in line. All boys except Elliot chose a sleeping bag, the rest of us gabbed a blanket of our choice.

I reached for a deep purple comforter at the bottom and closed the closet doors, turning around to come face to face with everyone sitting in a circle as before, except now the games were cleared from the ground and everyone was wrapped up warmly in their own individual way.

My heart leapt as I joined them, noticing that in the very back of my mind that this scene was one of the many I could only dream about just a few months before during one of my many nights without sleep. At that time, all I could do was create scenarios in my head in silence as I stared back and forth from the ceiling to the clock, anxious about the time I was wasting. Now I was living those tiny visions.

Filled with contentment, I took my place in between the Appollo siblings as always, wrapping the thick blanket around my shoulders as I sat cross-legged.