Narcolepse looked panicked for a moment, then shoved Jasper into a closet and closed the folding door.
"Stay quiet."
He pulled on his jacket and went to answer the door.
"Where's Snow? Have you seen him? I hope he didn't get lost in the forest again."
"Calm down, Skins. He's probably in the bathroom or something."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. He's around, I promise."
Jasper heard them say short goodbyes, then Narcolepse came and opened the closet.
"Ok. Go to bed before Skins wakes up the entire house to search the woods for you."
Jasper stepped out of the closet, then gripped Narcolepse by the back of his neck and brought him into another kiss. He felt the other's warm hand against his skin and his thumb rubbing up and down his jaw. It was enough to set every inch of him on fire. Narcolepse broke the kiss and put their foreheads together, smiling.
"Goodnight, Snow."
He whispered. Jasper let out a shaky breath, but didn't move. Narcolepse had yet to remove his hands from Jasper's neck and shoulder, keeping him there. Not that Jasper minded... He could stand here all night. Narcolepse released Jasper and gave him a push toward the stairs.
"Go on."
Jasper grinned at the floor and left the room, going back to his own. He couldn't sleep, though. His whole body was vibrating with delight and excitement. He kept touching his lips and running fingers through his hair. He couldn't stop smiling and it was almost annoying. But he couldn't stop. This was officially the best night of his entire life. And he had a feeling more nights like this would be made. Maybe not quite as grand and special as this one. Or maybe they'd be even better. He didn't know. He just knew he couldn't wait.
He did eventually fall asleep. When he woke up, it was daylight and the house sounded alive downstairs. He got ready for the day and was about to head downstairs when he noticed Roderick's open door. He went and looked in at the albino who was rolling a pencil back and forth on the desk. That was curious. He'd never seen Roderick with a writing utensil that wasn't colorful. Roderick looked at Jasper and smiled.
"The Chosen One seeks the Pale King's company?"
"I was just saying hi. I'm going down to breakfast. Are you coming?"
Roderick raised his arm and showed Jasper a bandage that was wrapped around it.
"The kitchen is forbidden."
Jasper felt his heart sink into his stomach. That meant Roderick had hurt himself, didn't it?
"No one understands. No one understands."
Roderick began rocking back and forth in his seat at the desk.
"Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad bad bad bad bad bad! Bad!"
Roderick yelled and started hitting his head. Before Jasper could move, Skins came racing up the stairs and took Roderick away from the desk and had him lay in bed. She covered him with a blanket and put the nature sounds on the radio. Jasper noticed the paper sitting on the desk and took it before Skins could tell him to leave the room. He went down to breakfast with it folded into his jeans pocket. When he saw Narcolepse pouring syrup on his pancakes, his cheeks immediately flamed, remembering the night before. He cleared his throat and went to get himself a plate, then sat next to Freak.
"Is Roderick ok?"
The boy asked, his yellow eyes wide and full of concern.
"He's gonna be alright, I think. Skins has it handled."
"He just keeps getting worse... I wish we knew how to help him."
"Yeah... Me, too."