Written: 24 | 09 | 2017 / 25 |09 |2017

—•—

"Oh my god!" They seethed, holding the PC mouse too tightly. "Why won't this program work?" [name] groaned and deleted the fifth app they downloaded. "Dodgy free apps wasting my time."

The taste of tea on their lips and their pyjama [dress/long shirt] pulled up to their knees, they blew their fringe out of their face, the annoying strands blocking their vision. "Stupid hair, stupid apps, stupid broken air con." They grumbled, squashing another bug that flew onto the screen. "Stupid bugs."

Sighing in defeat, they shut down the PC and flicked off the lights, blindly walking back to their bedroom, almost tripping over paper that scattered across the ground. "Damn it."

Their teeth sparkling and their hands washed, they sorted their blankets and turned off their lamp to prevent bugs from being attracted into their room. With the window open, the flyscreen breathed fresh air into the stuffy area that had been closed all day.

[name] mused over the thought of someone barging into their home and murdering them while they slept but tossed the thought to the back of their mind just as they tossed in their bed, blankets wrapped tightly around one leg and one arm.

Ten minutes later they were flicking through their newsfeed on Facebook, latching onto every video that entertained them. Feeling a yawn creeping up on them, the [gender]'s eye caught an interesting trailer. "It?"

The face-splitting ominous grin was imprinted in their memory. "Holy shit," they whimpered, knowing that it would take a while for them to sleep now. "I should not have watched that in the middle of the night. Fuck." Blanket encircling their body, they shivered. Checking the time, it was one in the morning. "Fuck."

Cursing at their stupidity, they pulled the blanket tighter around their eyes, hoping that they could sleep.

Sitting outside their neighbour's door, they basked in the darkness, the motion sensor lights having long gone out. "It's okay, he'd understand. I do this all the time. Right. I should just knock." Albeit the nagging reminder that they were waking him up again presented itself clearly in their mind. "Damn it."

The [colour] haired adult stood up, holding their blanket tighter, the lights coming back to life. "I'm a grown adult, I can handle a silly trailer." The sudden creak from further up the hall spoke volumes of their next actions.

Spinning around and swiftly knocking on the door, they anxiously waited for a reply. As every second passed, they grew more anxious, the lights fading away again.

Hearing movement, they gave their self a pep talk, trying to cover up their guilt of waking him up. When the door opened, they almost threw their self at him but prevented from doing so, the anxiety of angering him being the reason. "[n-name]?" The drowsy voice of their neighbour brought guilty relief as they were reminded they weren't alone.

"Ah, Bill. I'm terribly sorry for disturbing you. Did I... Did I wake you up?" [name] gave a wavering smile.

The lazy eyes drifted to them, instantly noticing the blanket encompassing his neighbour. He cracked a smile, one of his eyes almost closed while doing so. "Scary movie?"

They deflated, nodding their head in shame. "I'm sorry." He chuckled and shook his head, stepping out of the way for them to walk in. "I hope I'm not annoying you by waking you up this late... Again."

"Don't worry about it." Bill closed the door behind them and walked towards the kitchen. "Drink?"

"Ah, no thanks." Even with the denial, he boiled the water, setting up two cups.

"What was it this time? The Exorcist? Nightmare on Elm Street?" He asked, flicking his working air conditioner on.

"God no. That's crazy scary, even for my standards. It was actually the trailer for It..." [name] trailed off, sitting on a high chair in the kitchen.

He laughed and shook his head, pouring the water and milk into the chocolate powder. "Figures." With the hot chocolate made, the considerately taller man leaned against the bench across from them, sipping at his own cup.

Their small hand reached out and tasted the drink, warming them up in the cooled room. "Tasty." They licked their lips.

"Hm." He accepted, placing his drink back on the table. "How many blankets?"

"None. I'm pretty good with this one. Thanks, Bill. I'll just crash on your couch." He leaned on his elbow and gave a bright smirk.

"Really?"

They bit their lip and hid their face behind their cup. "No... But I don't want to intrude any further." The eye bags were too noticeable in their opinion.

"Come on. You can clean your teeth with the toothbrush you left here last time." He took their cups and placed them in the sink, guiding them back to his bedroom and the attached bathroom.

They stood in the mirror, both cleaning their teeth with their respected toothbrushes. "Thanks, Bill." They repeated, washing their hands as he placed their toothbrushes back in the drawer.

"Anytime."

They stood next to the bed, a blanket folded in their arms as he turned off the air con in the front room. "What have I got myself into." Red grinning lips flashed in their mind and they shuddered. "Never mind."

"You haven't gotten in yet?" Bill asked, throwing his gown onto a hook, showing his shirtless body.

"U-um, which side did you prefer again?" [name] nervously asked, diverting their vision as he placed a shirt on.

"The side you don't prefer." He replied. They took a slow breath and crawled across the bed, nearest to the window, having noticed the charging phone and ruffled blankets on the other side.

They faced away from Bill, hearing the bed creak as he got in as well. "Good night," they whispered.

"Good night."

Their vision was bleary as they felt the bed move. [name] caught their breath as they didn't recognise the blankets that covered them but they relaxed when they remembered that they went over to Bill's home last night. Or a couple of hours ago if the darkness of the room had anything to say about it.

They heard the low whistle of the shower and sat up, the heavy weight of being tired pressed down on them. "What time is it...?" They mumbled, blindly searching for their phone. With no presented item, they borrowed Bill's phone, taking a few seconds to adjust to the bright light. "Five...A.M.?!" They almost shouted.

[name] glanced at the bathroom door to see if they disturbed their neighbour and sighed in annoyance at them self. The [colour] eyed adult flopped back down on the sheets with their arms spread out, the guilt of waking up Bill back in full force. "I can't believe I woke him up at one just because I couldn't handle a scary trailer. Damn it [name]." They mumbled.

Hearing the water shut off and the opening of a door, they peeked their eyes open. "[name]? Did I wake you up? Sorry. You should go back to sleep." He consulted, hair still wet and shirt missing.

Their desire to kiss his toned chest flickered across their mind, how much they wanted to unbuckle his jeans... but they tossed it away. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" He chuckled, sitting down on the bed.

"I woke you up so early while you had to get up a couple hours later. If I'd known I'd never had asked to stay here." They confessed.

He smiled and picked up their limp hand, gently pressing his lips against it. "As I said, I don't mind. I'd rather you wake me up in the middle of the night over you spending the whole night awake in fear. Even if it was your choice to watch the scary movie, trailer, whatever."

[name] blushed, stammering their answer. "W-well you had to get up so early, it's barely five in the morning."

"So? I'm used to this." He smiled. "You should sleep. I'll be gone next time you wake up." Bill stood up to choose a suit, mindlessly flicking through his closet.

They watched his back, the tall man's slim figure reminding them that he was at minimal a head taller than them. Deciding that borrowing his comfort and warmth needed a repayment, [name] stood up, straightening their pyjamas. "Coffee?" They asked.

Bill looked back at them, smiling. "Don't worry about it. I can do it."

"I insist."

"Well..."

Switching positions from last night, [name] leaned against the table with tea in their hands, watching him finish his breakfast. "Seconds?"

"No thank you. It was delicious by the way." He stood up to put his dish away, walking past them to the sink.

"I've got it." They stood next to him and turned the tap on, cleaning the plate with the soapy water they set up before.

"Thanks."

"No worries." They stood in peaceful quiet as the rushing water of the tap was the only disturbance. The [colour] haired adult finished cleaning the dishes and cling wrapped the spare food, placing them in the fridge. "Where are you heading today?" They asked as Bill leaned against the bench facing them.

"I have a couple of interviews today and tonight I have the premiere for my upcoming movie," Bill smirked. [name] raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

He laughed and shook his head. "You're not curious what movie I was in?"

"Well, what movie were you in?"

"It." He chuckled.

[name] widened their eyes. "What? No way. I didn't see you in the trailer."

He laughed and leaned closer. "You sure about that."

[name] pondered for a moment, thinking of all the characters that popped up during the two-minute clip. Then it dawned on them. "No way."

"No way?" Bill asked, standing to his full height.

"Oh my god." They whispered.

"Yes."

"Jesus, you were so scary in the trailer. I would've never known if you didn't mention it." They shuddered at the thought of sleeping next to Pennywise.

He tilted his head to the side and puckered his bottom lip, pulling back his cheeks, widening his eyes. "Really now?" He said in his Pennywise voice.

"Oh my gosh, Bill! Stop that, it's creepy." [name] lightly slapped his arm and he laughed.

"That's the point."

They giggled and shook their head. "Save it for the movie." He laughed. [name] smiled, the laugh sounding musical compared to the voice he just used. "You're really talented."

"Yeah?" He asked in his normal voice, moving from the kitchen to the front area to put on his shoes.

"I'm not just saying that because you're an actor, I just mean you're really talented." At making me smile, they finished in their mind.

"Thank you." He replied, standing up, pulling a tie off the hook to place on his neck.

"Let me do that." [name] insisted, taking the tie from his hands, a spark of electricity shooting down their spine.

"You can do ties?" He asked, bending down for them to slip it over his head.

They smiled and patted his chest. "My dad insisted I learned so I could walk my future husband to the door and tie his tie for him before he would kiss me and we would say goodbye. Like in all the cheesy movies."

He laughed and brushed his hair back. "He has your future planned out for you."

"Eh, I wouldn't mind seeing my husband off every day with a kiss and a goodbye. Seems cute in my opinion."

Bill gave a small smile and checked his watch. "I should go now. You can stay as long as you want. Just try and avoid watching any horror movies while I'm gone."

[name] laughed and nodded in agreement. "Not without the big bad wolf to scare them all away."

"Of course. Wouldn't want little red riding hood getting lost in the woods without me. Who'll save them from the dangers."

"And you'd protect them?"

"I'd protect them from the whole world if I could." Bill smiled.

"That's cute." [name] mumbled, feeling their heart drop as they knew they'd never by his little red riding hood. Feeling soft warm lips on their forehead, they looked up in surprise, their cheeks blushing a light pink colour. "Bill?"

"See you soon." He promised

"See you." And he left.

—•—

Vote.

Comment.

Read.

Fin.