Blinded by Limerence

21 | Her Knight in Shining Armor

She didn't bother to switch the lights on; no, that'd just wake her up fully, then her next problem, after the tiny bladder issue, would be that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep after her bedroom lights would blind her and scare the sleep away.

Then again, at this rate, she was probably not falling asleep anytime soon as thoughts of that disgusting creature remained in her head and would most likely haunt her dreams.

The little text bubble with the three dots popped up, indicating that Trevor was typing out a reply... but then it disappeared... then reappeared again.

All of a sudden, Morgan's cellphone started to ring, and Trevor's contact name popped out. Caught off guard, she nearly jumped three feet in the air in shock, but she answered the call nonetheless.

Only, she didn't know it was a video call.

"Hey there, pretty lady," Trevor greeted, wearing his signature teasing grin. She noted how his voice was still slightly groggy, and she suddenly felt a pang of guilt for probably having woken him up. "Now, doesn't she look lovely, folks?"

At the sight of a sleep-ridden Trevor, Morgan felt her stomach swarm with a thousand butterflies, and in an instant, she felt small and vulnerable under the boy's intent and captivating gaze, suddenly remembering how zombie-like she looked at the moment. She frantically combed through the tangles in her honey blonde hair, a small pout lining her thin lips.

"I didn't know it was on video," she frowned, flustered.

"Really? I didn't know," remarked the boy playfully, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Morgan decided to give up, knowing that she couldn't really comb her hair right now, much less dress up and actually look presentable. Instead, her gaze fell upon Trevor in the small phone screen.

He, just like her, had bedhair, his dark locks tousled and spiking out in all directions. The only difference was that he actually pulled off the look, unlike her.

"So, where's this mighty roach you speak off?" asked Trevor in a silly voice, acting as if he were her knight in shining armor.

"In the bathroom," Morgan answered quietly, fearing that if she spoke any louder, her parents would hear her—or worse... the cockroach would.

"Get up, and go over," the brunette instructed softly. "I'll just be here. Don't worry."

"I'm fucking scared, Parks," deadpanned Morgan, glaring at the boy through the screen.

"Yeah, I know. All you girls are afraid of roaches and that shit," he chuckled, and for some reason, she found comfort in his voice.

"Wow, way to be sexist—it's just so gross," she added, thinking that that word pretty much encompassed the vile creature's existence. She shuddered at the mere thought of having another encounter with the cockroach. 

"So what's the plan, kitten?"

"I... I don't really know," Morgan admitted. "Just— Keep me company, will you?" A bright idea struck Morgan. "I'll flip my camera and keep it focused on that blasted roach, so you can keep an eye on it," she said, still annoyed that that cruel little thing kept her from relieving herself.

"Okay."

She hesitated. "Trevor—"

"You'll be okay."

At his comforting words, Morgan nodded, flipped the camera, and slowly opened her bedroom door once again. The light she had accidentally left on in the bathroom could be seen from the safety of her room, but regardless, she crept down the hall again then stopped short in front of the bathroom.

"Trevor, help. I don't know where he is anymore," Morgan panicked, her eyes hastily scanning the tiled floor of the bathroom. "I don't see him."

"Oh, so it's a 'he' now?" laughed Trevor in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Isn't that a little sexist? Like, female cockroaches can't scare the crap outta female humans? Oh, how the tables have turned."

"Shut up," replied Morgan, admittedly having to stifle a laugh. "Okay, I'm going in."

She stepped into the bathroom, feeling as if it were a battle zone, and thinking it was safe enough, she pulled down her pajama bottoms then her underwear, sat on the toilet seat, and finally relieved herself.

Only after she had flushed and washed her hands did she realize that Trevor had heard her urinate.

It was extremely embarrassing, she thought as her face heated up, and she shut off the lights and went back to her room.

The fear of the cockroach was long gone, now replaced by the immense embarrassment she felt.

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"T-Trevor," she stuttered, not bothering to flip the camera back because she knew that if she did, he'd only find amusement in her flushed face. "Y-you... You heard... all that... right?"

Trevor didn't know why, but for some reason, he felt his heart swell in awe at how utterly adorable Morgan was being. He decided to chalk it up to him having a type—he tended to fancy shy girls.

"Indeed I did, baby girl," he laughed softly. "It's no big deal."

Her voice seemed to tremble a bit. "I-it's embarrassing."

He rolled over in bed, unable to contain his sudden giddiness. He mustered up his biggest, brightest smile for her to see through the camera. "C'mon, Darhk," he said. "Think of it this way: that cockroach didn't dare show his face anymore."

At his remark, the girl flipped the camera back, and he saw her face again. He noticed her visibly relax as her previously stiff and tense shoulders dropped a bit, a small, crooked grin gracing her features.

"Yeah, I guess," she responded. "I'm sorry... I didn't wake you, did I?"

It was a simple question, and yet, Trevor knew that he couldn't tell her the truth because she'd just wind up feeling guilty about waking him, and he'd have to reassure her all over again.

It was a tiring cycle, he had to admit.

But truth be told, he didn't mind being woken up by her text message.

"Nah, I've been up all night," he lied through his teeth. "You know how it is with sleepless nights."

Morgan nodded understandingly. "Yeah, I get that," she giggled softly.

He found it cute how she was embarrassed about her bedhead at first but had ultimately chosen to give up. He could see the faint dark circles lining her tired brown eyes and the way her lips somehow remained naturally red. Her hair was all over the place, of course, and it took all of him to suppress a laugh at her expense.

"I should go back to sleep now," she whispered with a small smile. "Thanks for keeping me company, Parks. G'night."

At that, she hung up the video call, and he placed his cellphone back on the nightstand.

He lay still in bed, replaying in his mind what had just happened—how she had texted him out of the blue, how she had sounded so tired but was effortlessly cute.

Suffice it to say, sleep eluded him, sparing him from sleeping another wink, but that was alright with him, because happiness took sleep's place that night.

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A/N [09.28.20]: So, turns out I like writing in third person. I might even be better at it than the usual first person, but I don't know xD