Sean woke up a mere four hours after he'd fallen asleep, the light from the sunrise slipping through the sheer curtains in the common area and casting rays into his eyes. He turned his face into the couch cushion and adjusted his body so he was lying on his side instead of his back. He was just about to fall back asleep when he heard someone groan in protest.
Sean instantly shot awake, turning his body back toward the source of the noise. That's when he saw the curly-haired brunette curled up on her side at the opposite end of the couch, one of her legs folded underneath her and the other laid straight. He'd figured that before he moved, their legs had been tangled together, which caused her to be jolted around.
Sean sighed deeply, weighing his options; if he were to get up, he'd avoid any awkward confrontation with anyone who comes out of their rooms, but he'd risk waking Kaycee up and making the situation more awkward than it already could be. If he stayed in place he'd eventually have to face Kaycee in this situation anyway, so he figured it would be best if he at least tried to move.
Sean slowly sat up on the couch and lifted his legs swiftly over Kaycee's and placed them on the floor. He cautiously pushed himself up onto his feet, trying not to put too much pressure on the couch cushions so she wouldn't be moved around again. He shuffled forward a few steps before looking behind him to see if Kaycee had stirred, which he saw that she hadn't.
He picked up the popcorn bowl from the coffee table as well as the water glasses that rested on coasters. He sauntered over to the sink and placed the glasses and the bowl in the sink, reminding himself to clean them later.
Sean took one final look behind him at the small brunette on the couch, making sure she he hadn't woken her before quietly opening the door to the room he shared with the two girls. He stepped inside of the dark room, using only the light of his phone to guide him to his own bed. Tahani lay sprawled out on her mattress, her hair fanned out on the pillow, her mouth slightly agape in deep sleep. She hadn't left any room for Kaycee anyway, so she could claim that Tahani's bed-hog tendencies were the reason she slept on the couch if anyone were to ask.
The real reason, however, were the reruns of Friends Kaycee had chosen. After another hour of silently watching the tide roll in and out, Sean figured they should head inside. It was one in the morning, after all, the family had things planned for tomorrow. He'd managed to shake Kaycee out of her semi-slumber and lead her back inside of the resort, but she had insisted that she wasn't tired yet.
"Sean can we please watch something? I'm not ready to go to sleep yet." Kaycee whined, pulling on Sean's arm so he'd sit next to her on the couch.
Sean threw his head back in exhaustion, "Kayc, I'm going to bed. You can watch whatever you want, but by yourself."
"You said you'd do anything for me." She pressed her bottom lip out in a pout, "Please, Sean. I want you here with me."
Sean stared at his ceiling, smiling giddily at that memory. I want you here with me. He couldn't say no to her after that, and she knew she had trapped him. He did end up letting her pick what they watched, knowing that if she chose anything they'd seen before, she'd fall asleep in minutes. As soon as Sean heard the Friends theme song echo throughout the otherwise silent room, he too, felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.
That was the last thing he remembered, he knew he didn't even make it through the first episode. He figured Kaycee hadn't either, she was falling asleep on his shoulder on the beach, both of which must've been cold and uncomfortable.
His thoughts were interrupted by the bedroom door opening and closing quietly, Kaycee stepping inside. She used her phone, as well, to maneuver around her surroundings, and upon seeing Tahani taking up the entirety of her bed, she sighed. She turned to see Sean lying on his own bed, looking up at her lazily. He quickly fluttered his eyes shut, hoping she wouldn't have noticed.
"I know you're up, doofus." Kaycee whispered, sitting down on the corner of his bed.
Sean opened his eyes to meet hers, her hazel irises gleaming even in the dark room. He reached up to rub the sleep out of his eyes, "Mmm, good morning, Kayc. How did you sleep?"
Kaycee bit her lip, trying to keep the smirk from gracing her face. The truth was, she'd slept well, the best she had in ages actually, despite the uncomfortable couch. Sean did too, she could tell.
He had fallen asleep before she did, almost not making it through the Friends theme song.
Kaycee watched as his head fell forward every couple of seconds, until he finally nodded off completely, his mouth slightly agape and his head tilted sideways.
Instead of waking him so he could fall asleep in his own bed, she left him; he looked far too peaceful, his long eyelashes fluttering as he dreamed, his breathing shallow and consistent. She had completely disregarded the show in front of her at some point, finding herself only focusing on the boy that lay asleep beside her. She had eventually pushed herself up from the couch to turn the lights off, allowing only the television to flood the room. She contemplated going to her room and crawling into bed with Tahani, which seemed much less appealing than pretending to watch Friends on the couch with a sleeping Sean. She padded back over to the couch and sat down so she was facing Sean, her legs curled up beneath her.
Even with all of the lights dark, the screen illuminated Sean's features enough for her to appreciate. The freckle above his lip, the dimples decorating his cheeks even as he slept, his dark fluffy hair; all things that she had committed to memory, but still enjoyed looking at. She felt her eyelids grow heavy, the tranquillity within the room enough to put her to sleep.
She lied down, allowing her legs to sprawl out and entangle themselves with Sean's. She had fallen asleep almost immediately after that.
Sean watched her as he patiently waited for her to answer his question. Her face contorted into a sly smile, her eyes not meeting his.
Kaycee traced patterns in the white comforter of Sean's bed, "I slept well. And then you woke up and moved around."
Sean tried his hardest to keep himself from wincing. She had been awake. He wanted so badly to avoid an awkward situation with her. Her having a boyfriend made little situations like those, that used to occur more frequently than he would ever admit, something that couldn't happen anymore. He figured she'd be angry with him, or at the very least, afflicted.
Kaycee sensed his discomfort, his foot shaking back and forth from underneath the sheets. She moved closer, putting a hand on his leg, him turning to meet her eyes.
"Chill." She tapped his leg twice before removing her hand and placing it in her lap, "You fell asleep first, I made the decision to stay. I mean, I didn't really have any space to sleep anyway." She gestured to Tahani sprawled out on the bed, gaining a small smile from Sean.
She never did enter her room to see if Tahani had left her a side of the bed to sleep. She didn't bother to tell him that she hadn't even really considered sleeping in her own bed in the first place. She figured if she had just told him she decided to stay with no second thoughts, he'd feel like he was caught in an even more awkward situation.
Not that the situation should be awkward. They'd fallen asleep on couches together before, often during movie marathons. But after Jack came into the picture, Kaycee would often wake up in the middle of the night to Sean on another couch, or sometimes in a completely different room. It didn't bother her, really, she knew he was being respectful of her relationship with Jack.
Sean nudged her arm with his foot, tilting his chin in the direction of Tahani. The brunette was in the process of rolling onto her side, which left a spot large enough for Kaycee. She turned back to Sean and saw him face down in his pillows, not allowing her to continue with their conversation even if she wanted to.
Kaycee sighed and removed herself from her seat on Sean's bed to crawl into the one she shared with Tahani. She turned on her side to face Sean, letting her eyes flutter shut and sleep to take over.
****
"I like this one." Tahani stated, scrolling through the photos Kylie had taken of the two of them on the sunset cruise.
Kaycee scrunched her nose in disgust, "T, I'm not even looking at the camera in that one."
Tahani shook her head, swiping her finger to the next photo. They'd been at this since they set foot into the van ten minutes ago, Tahani selecting photos to post that she looked good in, and Kaycee vice versa. Neither of them being able to find a middle ground.
Kaycee turned to look out the window, watching the moon as the car raced down the road on the way back to the resort. The bright stars twinkled among the navy blue blanket sky, various constellations decorating the universe. The moon stood out to Kaycee the most, the bright white sphere seemingly followed them as the car continued forward, almost as if it were dancing in the sky. She sighed, leaning her forehead onto the window, allowing herself to admire the Hawaiian night for the last time on this trip.
"Okay, okay, how about this one, miss picky." Tahani bellowed, shoving the phone screen in front of Kaycee's view. The girl sighed once again, taking in the photo one detail at a time, wishing Tahani were less impatient when it came to posting online.
"I only look like a slight moron in that one," Kaycee started, turning her attention to her brother and Sean in front of her. She watched as Devon nudged Sean's arm to get his attention, showing him something on his phone that made Sean tilt his head back in laughter.
Tahani nudged Kaycee's shoulder, willing her to finish her thought, "So can I post it?"
Kaycee only nodded, returning her focus to the window, watching the stars frolick among the sky.
Tahani turned to Kylie, who sat on her opposite side, giving her an inquisitive look. Kylie only shrugged, shaking her head.
Sean had been distant the entire day, Kylie equating his behavior to someone of another planet. He hadn't spoken to Kaycee more than a handful of times, spending most of his time conversing with Devon or her parents. It bothered her, she knew he was blowing the entire couch situation out of proportion. She had eventually grown frustrated with trying to talk to him to no avail and let him be, which seemed to be just what he wanted, much to Kaycee's dismay.
She never let her gaze fall from the sky for the remainder of the drive, allowing herself to ponder freely, without interruption. When her father pulled into a parking spot in the parking garage across from the resort, Kaycee shot out of the van as fast as she possibly could without running anyone over. She watched Devon and Sean laughing with each other a few paces ahead of her. Typically, she'd love that Sean was interacting with her family as if he were family himself, but right now, it irritated her beyond her own belief.
The elevator ride up to their room was painful. Everyone had managed to cram themselves into the elevator, which pushed Kaycee against Sean's arm. When she looked up at him to speak, she found he wasn't even looking at her, paying her absolutely no mind. She was never the person who needed attention consistently, but Sean's sudden coldness was enough to make her seethe in anger.
He didn't even look at her for the rest of the night. Not once, not when she nearly knocked him over trying to enter the bathroom, not when she asked for movie recommendations, not even when she said goodnight to him personally.
Everyone was in the common area when Kaycee decided she needed to go to bed. Not necessarily because she was tired, but because she was becoming more and more frustrated with Sean's antics as the night went on. She closed her bedroom door and crawled into bed, pulling the white covers up to her neck and snuggling in. She laid there, staring at the ceiling for the longest time just thinking. Hoping Sean would get over his little funk after today, she couldn't deal with him ignoring her. She knew she was being dramatic, but with every passing minute that he didn't speak to her, she felt like she was dying.
Kaycee sighed, rolling over onto her side to check her phone. The time blinked at her through the darkness, it had been a full hour since she had told everyone she was going to sleep. She slid her phone back onto the nightstand and flipped her body over 180 degrees so she was facing the window. She closed her eyes, finally feeling the slightest bit tired.
She had been lying there for about twenty minutes, her body unfortunately not succumbing to sleep, when the bedroom door swung open quietly.
"I'm not lame, Tahani," The voice spoke, projecting out toward the common area, "I'm exhausted."
Kaycee heard Tahani's voice faintly from where she must've resided, "Mhm, whatever you say, Lew. Is Kayc awake?"
Kaycee heard Sean step further into the room for a moment, keeping himself quiet. He paused over her, and moments later she heard his footsteps retreating back to the doorway, "It doesn't seem like it."
Sean said goodnight to Tahani and her family before shutting the bedroom door. She listened as he walked toward the bathroom and shut the door quietly. She heard the faucet running and his electric toothbrush turn on. He emerged a few minutes later, slapping the light switch on the wall off and shuffling over toward his own bed.
His footsteps stopped but she didn't hear him climb into bed, instead she heard his steady breathing hovering above her.
"I'm hoping you're not awake this time," He whispered almost inaudibly, "But I'm saying it anyway."
Kaycee waited, keeping her breathing consistent and her eyes closed. He didn't speak for several seconds, but when he did, it took all of her strength to not turn to him immediately, questions burning at the tip of her tongue.
"You confuse the hell out of me, Kaycee Rice. I've never met anyone quite like you." He paused, sitting down on his bed. "Whenever you're around me I feel like I'm on fire. I can't figure it out."
She heard him throw his covers back and climb into bed, the only thing soothing her racing heart being his consistent breaths resonating throughout the room.
___________________________________
Author's note: Hey guys, I'm currently all moved back in at school, yay! I start classes tomorrow, so I figured I'd get this next chapter out before I forget :)
So with school starting up again, I'm not going to have as much time to write, but don't worry, I won't forget about it. I'll write as much as I can, whenever I can.
Alsooo thank you all soooo much for 3k reads, I love you all sm :')