the dark you fear in the night // gawsten

two

geoff: good morning

geoff: did you sleep well? or at all?

awsten: about an hour, and it wasn't pleasant 

geoff: better than nothing, i guess

awsten: i'd probably feel better if i got none tbh lol

geoff: oh

geoff: sorry

awsten: not your fault, don't apologize

geoff: want me to come over?

awsten: don't you have work?

geoff: i'll call out for you.

awsten: no it's okay i'll be fine

geoff: i'm coming over

---

geoff always had a protective aura coming off of him according to awsten. whether it was the way he acted or looked, or about that time when he shoved awsten behind him to shield him when a fight broke out in the middle of the street, awsten felt safe with him. 

awsten is laying on his couch in a big wool sweater watching a soccer game in a language he doesn't understand when geoff uses his spare key to get into the apartment. 

geoff lives in a nicer apartment in the building next door from where awsten lives. awsten had living essentials, while geoff had a bit more luxury due to having a better job. geoff was a pediatric endocrinology nurse, while awsten was a receptionist at a large yoga studio. the younger made barely enough to scrape by, and geoff often helped him with bills, which he was happy to do so. 

geoff pushes the door open with his right hand, a small plastic bag in his left. he shuts and locks the door and looks at awsten, who returns the gaze up at him. the older asks, "are you alright?"

awsten shrugs, "as good as i'll be."

the boy looks weak and tired as he sits up and geoff sits next to him. they continue watching the soccer game together, neither of them understanding what was being said or happening. awsten gestures geoff to take the remote, and he does, switching on sportscenter. 

geoff hands awsten the plastic bag that he had. "i picked up breakfast before coming over, that's why i ran a little late," he tells him. awsten opens the bag and takes out the container of orange juice and a bagel wrapped in saran wrap and smiles at geoff. he tells him he's not hungry and he'll eat it later.

slightly wobbly on his feet, awsten gets off the couch and goes into the kitchen. he puts the bagel on the counter and the juice in the fridge. rubbing the bridge of his nose as he walks back into the living room, he sits gently down next to his friend again. 

as awsten watches the tv, geoff watches awsten. he sees the boy's upper eyelids droop and how he rubs them every few minutes. the circles under his eyes are darker than they were last month, and the blood vessels in his eyes were more prominent than they've been, showing a bright red color. 

geoff has always known that awsten had trouble sleeping, he just never knew it was this bad. he knew in high school that awsten stayed up til about five every night, before sleeping til six and then going to class. that was normal for awsten and geoff knew about it and never questioned it.

but now awsten is twenty and geoff is twenty-one, and the lack of sleep awsten's been getting alarms geoff.

the older stretches over and places his arm around awsten's shoulder, the younger getting shocked at the sudden touch, and geoff pulls him in. awsten makes himself comfortable and pulls his legs up onto the couch and leans into geoff's side.

geoff's arm is now draped over his chest and holding him close. "i want you to try and get a little bit of a nap while i'm here, okay?" geoff asks. 

awsten has terrible nightmares, and due to those he doesn't sleep. due to the nightmares as well, he rarely feels safe falling asleep. but, right now felt different. he felt different. 

he looks up at geoff, who is looking down at the tired, blue haired and bloodshot eyed boy, and nods. 

feeling safe and protected, awsten fell asleep on geoff while watching sportscenter.