"Remind me whose house you're going to again?" my mother asks as I start making my way to the front door. Her hands are on her hips, a common sign that she is frustrated. I forget that when it comes to people she doesn't know, my mother enjoys playing twenty questions.

"I told you before, Mom," I murmur. "My friend Aurora invited me over."

"Who's Aurora again?"

"The senior that I study Calculus with."

"You're close enough now that you're having sleepovers?"

"I guess so," I murmur. To be honest, I considered cancelling a few times, but I also desperately wished to see Aurora again, and so here I am now, minutes away from heading over to her house.

"Well, your family will miss you," she says. "It's usually tradition--"

"I'm not ten anymore," I say, and with that, I leave the house, expecting I'll get another lecture when I come home the next morning for being rude. I try to ignore the frustration growing inside of me, how my mother always acts like I can't take care of myself, how she never lets me have any fun, how she tries to instill guilt in me, and how she always says things that are so subtle yet so hurtful at times.

Sighing, I shove my things in the car and drive the short distance to Aurora's house. I'm so upset that I barely feel any nervousness until I pull up. The reality sets in that I'm actually going to be spending the night at her house. I almost want to drive away, but the front door opens, and I actually let a tiny screech escape my mouth.

As I grab my things, Aurora runs up to my car. She must be freezing out here in the snow as all she is wearing is some light loungewear, but she greets me all the same with that familiar warm smile.

"I'll grab your sleeping bag," she offers, and I hand it to her as I grab my duffel and head inside. Already, her two cats bound up to me, nuzzling against my legs. I slowly set my things down and pet them as her parents enter the room.

"Oh, Callie. You're here already," Aurora's father says.

"The cats sure seem to like her, don't they?" her mother comments. 

"We're just going to order some pizza tonight. Is that okay?" Aurora asks.

I nod and follow her upstairs to her room where I drop my things off. She takes a seat on her bed and stretches her arms while I stay seated on the ground below.

"How were the past few days of break?" she asks.

"Boring."

Aurora giggles. "Mine too." She frowns, then pats her bedcovers. "You can sit up here, you know. I don't like staring down at you like that."

Sitting on her bed?! That feels like a dangerous boundary to cross, and for a moment, I almost decline, but my legs start rising anyway, and soon, I'm sitting opposite of her.

"I figure after dinner we can watch movies and the ball drop," Aurora says gleefully.

"Y-Yeah. Sounds good," I say.

There's a scratch at the door, and Aurora opens it up. Her cats, Oscar and Sammy, just can't seem to get enough of me apparently. She lets them in, and they immediately jump onto the bed. Sammy goes directly to Aurora. I assume that gray tabby loves her the best, but Oscar nuzzles his fuzzy orange head against my leg and eventually sits comfortably in my lap while I run my fingers through his fur.

For a while, we sit like this, chatting quietly and petting the cats, occasionally playing with them once they get the energy to do so. It's the moments like these I wish could just last for hours on end. But alas, Aurora's parents call from downstairs that the pizza has arrived, and we have to say good-bye to this quiet time.

I take a seat at their dining room table, feeling slightly awkward. I've only been over to Aurora's house once before, and even then, I was mostly in her room studying rather than interacting with her parents. Thankfully, her parents know how to keep a conversation going, so we aren't forced to only hear silverware clanking against plates.

"So, have you thought about colleges yet, Callie?"

"Mom, she doesn't want to answer those questions," Aurora interrupts.

"That's okay. I want to major in Chemistry," I say. "My parents don't want me going far, so I'll probably just go to state college."

"You must be smart, then," Aurora's mother says.

"She is," Aurora agrees.

"Do you have any siblings?" Aurora's father asks.

"I have a younger brother and sister. They're twins. They're in seventh grade, but my sister will attend St. Joseph's once she graduates," I explain. I take another bite of pizza, feeling satisfied with my answer.

"Stop playing twenty questions with her," Aurora grumbles as her parents continue talking to me. To be fair, I don't mind. It at least gives me something to talk about rather than staring at Aurora and thinking about how we'll be sleeping in the same room tonight. Still, I find it kind of adorable Aurora is annoyed with her parents jabbing me with questions.

Afterwards, the whole family takes up the couches. Aurora and I sit on our own couch. Her legs are facing toward me, though I keep mine toward the TV and keep quiet as I let her put on whatever she and her family want to watch.

"You're bad at making decisions," she tells me when we move onto our second movie and all I have to say is, "Whatever you want to watch."

"I know," I say. I find myself growing increasingly more tired during this movie, and I think that maybe if Aurora were sitting beside me, rather than hugging her legs and facing me, I could lean against her. But then I remember these are all just fantasies in my head that will never manifest into reality, and so I return to focusing on the movie in order to stay awake.

In the last half hour until midnight, her parents break out the sparkling cider, and we drink away until the ball drops. As the confetti explodes on T.V. and a few poppers go off in the neighborhood, I look at Aurora and think crazily that I barely even knew her a year ago. Yet, here I am now, sitting in her house with her family, one of her cats on my lap, and feeling madly in love with her.

After I finish up my glass of cider, Aurora and I head upstairs. We take turns in the bathroom, and once my pajamas are on and I'm ready for bed, I sprawl out on my sleeping bag, assuming I'll just fall asleep in a matter of moments.

Aurora walks in with black glasses on her face, and I suppress a laugh.

"What?" she asks.

"I didn't know you wore glasses," I admit.

"I wear contacts, but I wear glasses at night. Poor vision runs in the family," she complains. I suppose it makes sense. Her father wears glasses, and I assume her mother wears contacts, then. I expect her to crawl up into bed and for us to say goodnight, but instead, she sprawls out on the floor next to me, and I stiffen.

She's close to me, not close enough that we're touching, but all I would have to do is reach out my hand and...She's just laying on her back, her hands resting on her stomach, not really doing or saying anything. Not sure what to do, I lay on my back as well, mimicking her position.

"I didn't even know you a year ago," Aurora murmurs.

She's thought that, too?

"Yeah. Crazy," I say. I'm afraid if I turn towards her, I'll want to reach out and touch her, or attempt to kiss her. I can't afford to lose our friendship just because I'm that idiotic.

"I'm thankful I met you though," Aurora says, which causes my heart to seize. "Even if we just studied together at first, you're fun to be with, you know?"

"Y-Yeah. Same." Those are the only words I'm able to conjure, because right now, my palms are sweating and my heart is pounding. Why haven't we just gone to bed? Why are we just laying here like this and talking? It's already past midnight, nearly one in the morning, and I was tired just watching that second movie around eleven o'clock. Why do I now feel so awake?

"I'm sorry my parents bothered you about college and stuff. I always hate those questions," she murmurs.

"Oh. It's okay. I don't mind. I don't have many choices so..."

"Why don't you go somewhere farther away? You could get into a good school," Aurora says. She's holding her hands up into the air and twiddling with her fingers now. "Not that state college is bad, but I just...it doesn't seem to fit you." With those words, she lowers her arms back down.

"My mom doesn't want me going far. And besides, my parents have to pay for my siblings' college tuition as well. So it's easier this way," I say.

"But...sorry if I'm wrong, but you're not that poor, are you?"

"No. We have money. I don't know. I promised my mom I'd do this long ago, and now it just seems wrong to tell her I don't want to. I'm comfortable here. It's hard for me to...try new things. I should be able to get a degree fine at the state college, and then I have a lot of options," I say.

"I guess you're right. But...you're going to be an adult soon. Do you really let your mom make choices for you like that?"

Yes.

"I think I want to go to state college, too," I say.

"At least you have it easy. I'm not sure which college I'll end up going to, that is if I even get into a good number of them. And even then, I'm not sure what I'd do after," Aurora admits, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Whatever you were writing. It was good."

"But is it good enough? That's the question," Aurora admits. I hear her body shift, and I know without a doubt that she is now facing toward me, but I'm too scared to turn toward her, so I merely remain on my back, staring up at her ceiling.

"I think...I think a lot of what you do is amazing, and I'm sure whatever you do, you'll excel at. So I wouldn't worry about it," I say.

I hear Aurora let out a huge yawn. "Thanks. You too."

My heart is pounding. Is now the right time? Should I just rip the bandaid off and come out to her? Because in this moment, I feel we've both been more vulnerable than ever before.

"Aurora?" I murmur.

No response. This time, I finally turn my body and realize she's asleep, or dozing at the bare minimum. At first, I sigh in relief. I suppose I won't have to tell her today after all. And then I realize that she's asleep next to me instead of in her bed. I reach my hand forward to wake her, to tell her that she should go to her bed, but she looks so serene sleeping like that, even with her glasses on and at a wonky angle. I expect her to wake up shortly, but all I do for an hour is lay on my back, listening to Aurora sleep beside me. Her breath goes in and out slowly, and occasionally, she makes tiny sounds of sleep that make my body squirm.

Shit. I really can't fall asleep with her laying right next to me. I turn my body toward her again. I don't know what compels me to do it, but I reach my hand forward, and just ever-so-gently brush her cheek with my thumb. Fireworks. Dazzling. Sparkling. If I didn't think I was attracted to women before, I sure think so now with the way that simple action has made me tingle. She shifts slightly, and I quickly move my hand away. Did I really just do that?

Nevertheless, she remains asleep, but one of her long curls has made its way near my hand. This is it, I promise myself. This is the last I'll do, I think, as I lightly trace the strand of her hair with my finger. I realize I've never actually touched her hair before. It's soft. She still sleeps soundly, and for just a few minutes, as that's all I'm allowing myself, I stroke that strand of hair just ever so slightly before I begin to doze in and out of sleep.

I wake up when I hear movement. My eyes slowly creak open, and it's still dark out. But I suddenly notice the absence of warmth next to me and realize Aurora has probably finally awoken and crawled into her bed. I think nothing of it before I fall back into a deep sleep and awake in the morning when I feel tiny paws on my body.

I groan and open up my eyes just as Aurora swoops up Oscar from my sleeping bag. The morning light of winter is blinding, and I almost want to turn over and shove my face back into my pillow for that darkness again.

"Morning. You sure slept in late. Sorry to send the cat in," Aurora says.

I sit up slowly and rub my eyes. "What time is it?"

"Almost ten," Aurora says. "Did you not sleep well or something?"

"I slept fine!" I lie. "I must have been more tired than I thought."

"Well, we were up late talking."

"And you fell asleep on the floor. How comfortable was that?" I ask.

"My back kind of hurts today. I'll manage," Aurora says. "Breakfast is ready downstairs by the way."

I grumble and start crawling out of my sleeping bag. Aurora sets Oscar down and he exits the room, but she remains standing.

"Hey, Callie?"

"Yeah?"

She looks like she has something to say, the way she stands nervously. Her lips are curled, as if she is pondering over her thoughts, but all she asks is, "Do you like syrup on your waffles?"

"A little bit," I say.

"I'll make sure we set some out," she says as she heads out.

I'm too sleep-deprived in that moment to really consider what it was she wanted to ask, but I assume it was nothing important. Perhaps she really was just curious about my waffle topping preferences. I head downstairs a few minutes later, eat a quick breakfast, and pack up, guessing my mother will be worried about me if I don't get home soon. Aurora walks me out to my car, and I thank her for letting me spend the night.

"I can't believe school starts in a few days," Aurora says.

"Me either. I'll see you in Calc."

"Yes, see you in Calc," is the last thing she says to me before I drive away. The memories of the night hit me. I'm thankful Aurora didn't wake at all, but suddenly I feel guilty, as if I took advantage of her, though I find it hard to believe she'd be furious I touched her hair. Still, I have a feeling the memory of last night will be burned into my mind for a long time to come.