goodnight, stranger

fifteen

They watched Zapped mostly in silence, and Olly was thinking about how stupid it was that the two of them were sitting in Ash's apartment on a Friday night watching movies aimed toward twelve-year-old girls, not seventeen-year-old boys. He couldn't believe he'd actually found someone who would sit through these movies. He could only hope Ash was enjoying himself.

Olly also kept noticing that for each minute that was spent in silence between them, they'd managed to shift closer to each other. Stretching that resulted in inching across the sofa. Turning to each other to laugh at something and not turning all the way back around so their bodies were angled toward each other. Dramatic gestures that ended in an "accidental" hand brushing a shoulder or knees knocking together or something. By the time the end credits were rolling, there was almost no room between them; their legs were resting against each other, and Olly had put his hand on Ash's knee to say something earlier and forgot to take it away. Olly could see each rise and fall of Ash's chest up close.

They were watching each other instead of the credits, and Olly was caught up in how Ash's eyes looked in the dark living room. His pupils were blown wide, lit only by the faint flow of the TV screen. His eyelashes curled up over his eyes, and he looked up at Olly through them, his gaze soft. His eyes were the prettiest shade of green.

"I like your eyes," Olly murmured. It felt wrong to speak over a whisper. "They're really pretty."

Ash's face went red, but he gave Olly one of those shy smiles. "Thanks."

They studied each other for a moment longer, and Ash lowered his eyes, clearing his throat. Olly opened his mouth to apologize, but a voice in the doorway cut him off.

"Can you two please turn down the TV? Some of us are trying to sleep."

Olly turned to see Alayna staring at them from the doorway, an eyebrow raised and her arms crossed over her chest. He could feel his face warming as he tried (and failed) to subtly move his hand away from Ash's knee.

"Sorry," Ash scoffed. He rolled his eyes, but his voice was a little high-pitched; he definitely hadn't been expecting her to walk in. "We're getting ready to wrap it up anyways."

Olly felt his heart drop a little. They were having so much fun. He didn't want to leave.

Alayna glared at them for another five seconds before turning and walking back to her bedroom, and Olly let out a breath of air he didn't know he'd been holding. He turned to look at Ash.

"So," Ash said, his voice quiet as to not disturb Alayna. "This is super last-minute, but..." Ash nervously rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away from Olly. "Would you maybe want to spend the night tonight? Since it's already so late?" Ash looked back up at Olly, and he felt his heart skip. "I'd hate for you to have to walk home in the dark. And you can borrow my clothes and a new toothbrush if you want."

Olly could feel his face getting warm. "Staying here sounds cool." Cool. Chill. Fun. Rad. Awesome.

Olly tried to shake his sudden nerves off, sending Winnie a quick text letting her know where he was. When he was finished, Ash stood and led him down the narrow hallway. As they passed Alayna's room, they could hear Alayna and Oakley snoring away together. Ash led Olly to the room at the very end of the hallway.

"Sorry," Ash said sheepishly as they stepped inside. "It's a little messy."

It really wasn't, especially by Olly's standards, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway. He was in Ash's room. He couldn't really think straight. Still, he was able to appreciate the cool gray walls and the pictures of Ash and Alayna dotted around the wall. It smelled overwhelmingly like Ash, which wasn't surprising, but it was still nice.

"It's nice in here," Olly murmured. Ash smiled a little.

Ash gave Olly a pair of comfortable clothes to change into, and then there was the whole situation about sleeping arrangements.

Ash offered to sleep on the couch, but there was no way Olly would make him do that. Olly warned that he normally slept with a body pillow because he liked the feeling of holding someone while he slept.

"You can spoon me," Ash said abruptly. Olly's heart almost stopped.

"Wait. Really?"

Ash's face flushed, and he averted his eyes. "I mean. If you want to." He laughed nervously, taking a step toward the bed. "Sorry. That was really blunt. I just— y'know, if it's gonna end up happening eventually, we might as well just... get it out of the way, y'know?"

Olly couldn't stop himself from smiling because Ash definitely wanted Olly to spoon him. "No, that's a great idea."

Olly definitely wanted to spoon Ash, too.

They climbed into bed together, and it was uncomfortably stiff at first. There was definitely not a No Homo way to do this. They laid in silence for a while, Olly's arms wrapped around Ash's waist, and Olly found comfort in the constant rise and fall of Ash's chest against him. Holding a person was so much better than holding a pillow. Ash was warm, and the longer they laid there, the more he relaxed. Damn, he was touch starved.

Eventually, his mind began to wander. How was it possible to feel so safe? Did Ash feel as comfortable as he did? Would Ash ever consider staying the night in his room? Was this too much for a second date? Was this even a date? Would they go on another date?

It wasn't long before Olly began to doze off, and all of his worries melted away until the only thing remaining in his mind was a calm darkness and the rise and fall of Ash's chest against him. Everything would be okay tomorrow, he decided, as long as he woke up next to Ash.