Colin went back inside, leaving me on the pavement, but only a few minutes later he was back. He had an insanely satisfied smile on his face as he held out his hand.
The keys of Josh's car were dangling inches from my nose.
"So much for the plan to run, huh?" I scoffed, but I wasn't complaining at all when we got in the car. My vision was blurry, so I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the window.
Then I suddenly realized something. "Wait— how are the others getting back to the hotel?"
"Josh is going to text me when I have to come and get them." He glanced at me and smiled. "Just sit back and relax, I got this."
I couldn't wait to get in my comfortable pajamas. When we got back to the hotel, we went up to the seventh floor and I unlocked the door of my hotel room. I pushed it open, but Colin lingered in the doorway.
"Is it okay if I come in?" he asked, his eyes shimmering in the twilight.
I held the door open for him. "Of course it is. Don't be silly."
He followed me into the room, timid now that we weren't in the jubilant atmosphere of Federico's anymore. I was calm on the outside as I put my stuff on the dresser underneath the TV, but my insides were burning.
My feelings were all over the place when I went into the bathroom to put on my pajamas. And it had nothing to do with the migraines.
Colin was stretched out on the bed when I came out of the bathroom, playing a game on his phone. He took one look at me and let out a snort of laughter.
"What?" I said, suddenly really conscious about what I was wearing. I looked down and saw that I'd put on my bunny pajamas without realizing it.
"Really, really nice," he said with tears in his eyes, ducking to avoid the pillow I chucked at him. "I'm sorry, those pajamas are adorable."
My face immediately went red, but I tried to ignore it and flopped down next to him. I closed my eyes, trying to relax.
He was quiet for two minutes. Then he leaned over to me and whispered, "Does it help with the migraines, to close your eyes?"
I had to cover my mouth to stifle my laugh. "Yes. But I wouldn't mind if you came up with a way to entertain me."
"Challenge accepted." There was a rustling sound as he changed the position he was lying in. It was really quiet for a second.
Then, I heard the unmistakable sound of a picture that was being taken and my eyes widened with terror.
"What are you doing?"
"Providing entertainment," he simply said, and he turned away from me with an evil sneer on his face.
I got up, ignoring my throbbing headache, and launched myself forward to snatch the phone out of his hand. "COLIN O'DONOGHUE! This is not the kind of entertainment I was talking about!"
"Should've told me," he said innocently, avoiding my grabbing hands.
I landed flat on my stomach when he slid off the bed. He started typing frantically and all I could do was watch miserably.
When he looked up again, his eyes were gleaming.
"Check your Twitter."
I rolled over to the other side of the bed, bent down to the pick up my phone and went straight to Twitter.
My notifications were already going crazy. Then I saw Colin's tweet.
@jenmorrisonlive in her natural habitat...... Heehee #sleepingbeauty #ouat
My headache was killing me, and I had to read it four times before it dawned on me, but when it did, I dropped my jaw. "You've got to be kidding me. This is all over the internet now."
"I know." He was trying really hard to contain the smile on his face. "Never let it be said that I shy away from a challenge."
The only reason why I didn't make another attempt to hit him with my pillow was my headache, which was slowly taking over any rational thought that still remained. I scrolled through my notifications. All the responses made me smile like an idiot.
@colinodonoghue1 @jenmorrisonlive WHAT ARE YOU GUYS UP TO??
@jenmorrisonlive I LOVE YOU JEN
@colinodonoghue1 @jenmorrisonlive you're so beautiful jen omg
@jenmorrisonlive @colinodonoghue1 Colin why are you there with her
"You know, I think this is more entertaining for them than for me," I said, pointing at my screen.
He fell down next to me. "But you can't say that I didn't succeed."
"What do you mean?"
He was smirking like a five-year-old. "It made you smile, didn't it?"
I punched his shoulder before putting my phone away and leaning back into my pillow. But when I closed my eyes again, it was impossible to wipe the grin off my face.
God, he was such a dork.
* * *
It wasn't until Colin's ringtone boomed through the room that I realized I'd fallen asleep. I groaned and rolled over— only to find him lying right next to me, clearly waking up as well.
"Must be Josh," he mumbled, reaching for the bedside table. He fumbled to get his phone, but then he suddenly got up. "Oh no."
"What's wrong?" I glanced at him over my shoulder.
"It's Josh. He sent me a bunch of texts, saying I have to pick them up... the first one half an hour ago."
As he rushed through the room to collect his stuff, I checked my phone to see what time it was.
Almost midnight.
Wow, it felt as if I'd been asleep for much longer than that. I put my phone back, and when I looked up again, Colin was standing at the end of the bed.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked.
I nodded, smiling to reassure him that I would be fine, and then I did something I wasn't really expecting.
I crawled out of bed and gave him a hug. "Thank you for tonight," I muttered in his ear.
"Anytime."
It felt awkward when we both took a step backwards. He was still looking at me when he opened the door. But then my gaze shifted to the illuminated corridor.
My heart dropped when I saw who was standing there, his hand frozen in mid-air, inches away from knocking on the door of my hotel room.
♡ I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I loved writing it! And THANK YOU for reading! Every comment and every vote makes me smile like an idiot. 😉 ♡