•|•|•

I was sharing a room with a boy, in nothing but his shirt

•|•|•

I FELT NONE-EXISTENT in my own body holding his calm gaze, a heartbeat lingering as I felt the movements of the sirens around me, hands up my wet clothes, until both of them were staring at the side of my face while I kept my gaze in his,

"Calm," he repeated, his voice in my head, steadying the nervousness that ran in the hollows of my bones.

I swallowed softly, staying as still as I could, breathing low- trying my best to stop the images that popped into my head.

Images of being pulled to the bottom of the ocean- a deep shiver trailing down my spine as sharp hisses came out from the sirens just near my ears, my heart thudding, eyes enlargening-

"Just Listen," Harvest ordered, this time audibly, "be still and listen."

With his calm tone, I fought the urge to take my chances and bolt out of the water and push the sirens away.

I may not have much upper body strength but I was sure my brain would pump up enough adrenaline to get the job done in a life-or-death situation.

But calm, stay still, listen, I eased myself, my eyes training in his as the hissing became lower, drawing near to me, until I felt cool lips on my outer ear on one side, causing my muscles to stiffen, a low hissing that sounded like some kind of language, being murmured in my ear.

A soft tingle ran up the canal, a dry feeling overtaking me, only for a slight moment, as she pulled away slightly another siren, rising from the water, stilling right in between Harvest and me, her eyes took the burden off of his to her own reptillic eyes, seeming to be reading me for a moment, her face looking nothing less than hostile, slowly showing her two fangs,

"Easy," Harvest murmured lowly, his tone was low like it was a command.

I could see her visibly stiffen at the sound of his voice, or was it the tone in which he had said it?

She suddenly moved to me so quickly, too fast for me to panic or react in time, her slimy hands on the side of her face, grilling up the water until her silverfish tail, glistened in plain sight in the moonlight, drawing my forehead to rest on hers, and I could feel the world closing around me, drifting off, my eyes shutting closed, my legs growing limp within me as I collapsed-

------------

I blinked in scenes, feeling my weight departing from the waters, strong arms wrapping around me, the world blurry, as I was taken out of the water.

I went out for a few seconds, eyesight blurry, a shiver dancing across my skin but something heavy fell over me as I blacked out again, opening my eyes to the blurry look of the moon behind me, the trees trailing behind us.

I turned slightly, blacking out again, waking up once more to the blurry side view of Harvest, looking down at me momentarily, a breath away, pulling me closer to him- my eyebrows arched at this, but slipped away into the darkness, breathing in comfortably as I snuggled closer, eyes drowsy-but feeling warmer close to what I could only define as a heater, warmth spreading through me.

--------

I could feel a steady reassuring thump beneath me, calming me for some reason as I listened, my eyes whispering open slightly. The feel of bright lights burned through my sensitive irises as I peered through my eyes lashes, coming face to face with-

My eyebrows furrowed and I slightly moved my head back, staring at his chin, and the side of his face as he looked straight ahead, my brain trying to piece things together-

The steady thump I was hearing was Harvest's heartbeat, my ear pressed only inches above his chest, his arms wrapped around me as we walked, his dark coat over my body, shielding me from what I could assume was the cold- I slightly moved glancing over his shoulder- through the hallways-

They looked familiar and yet, so unfamiliar-

My eyes widened- the BOY'S hallway.

I looked back up at him this time very much awake, eyes wide in horror. He didn't look back down as he kept walking but spoke nevertheless.

"Go back to sleep," he grunted.

I tapped his chest twice, a deep frown on my face and he sighed looking down at me cocking an eyebrow.

"Don't be difficult."

A scowl formed on my face this time tapping his chest harder, though he didn't seem fazed by it, nevertheless complied, his eyes trailing to the ceiling with an eye-roll, jaw ticking before looking back down at me.

"Fine," he grunted, stopping in the middle of the empty hallways, and placing me on my feet, to which I gladly accepted, only to find my legs wobbly

I almost fell on my face if it wasn't for his steady hands putting me into place, our faces a whisper apart, his cold eyes boring into mine, breathing low for a moment.

My heart rattled out our proximity, my breathing equally low and harsh against my chest, pushing him frantically away, not at all comfortable with his hands on me, still wobbly as I did so but managed to steady myself, though my brain still felt dizzy.

The cold immediately attacked my skin, and I shivered.

He shook his head at this action like it was a typical kind of reaction he would have expected from me.

I overlooked this, staring at him in anger, eyes flashing all sorts of emotions at all that I went through- I was cold-

I didn't even know what the sirens had done to me back there and why was he carrying me to his room I assumed?

This was the boy's hallway.

My gaze stiffened looking down the hallway and then back to him, gesturing for him to explain to himself.

His eyes narrowed on me, "forgive me for not taking you to your room," he muttered in a low mocking tone, as I rubbed my arms at the cold, my teeth chattering, "but I didn't feel like explaining to your nosy little roommate why I was bringing you half wet, half-frozen to death, at 2 am," he grunted, draping his coat over his arms, slipping his hands into his pocket.

I huffed at this, realizing entertaining him was only prolonging my freezing to death, and there was no way he would consider owning up to his actions.

I whipped around walking back in the direction of the girl's hallway, my hands running up my body trying to keep myself warm, my teeth still clamming together-

"Where are you going?"

I didn't reply.

This was a mistake, trusting him, following him, everything was a mistake.

My feet felt frozen to the floor.

He cleared his throat loudly, something that sounded like he demanded my attention.

I gritted my teeth, pausing in my footsteps, eyes narrowing on nothing in particular before finally turning back to him.

He looked at me for a moment before sighing and walking towards me.

"Your shoes," he grunted, holding them for me.

I glanced at them confused, before looking at my feet-

Gosh, I didn't even feel I wasn't wearing them, my feet must be numb with the cold.

I looked back up at him, pursing my lips, but took them from him, not bothering to wear them in front of him, but before I could turn away, he spoke again.

"Good luck explaining to Daya, where you've been for the last two hours," he began, eyes trailing down my stature, "why you're soaking wet, why you can barely walk properly, and of course, why you were with me, because believe it or not she's going to find out. Whilst I don't care, something tells me, you don't work too well under pressure, and if it wasn't that you can't speak, would be a horrible liar," he grunted, " but then, of course, Daya's a yellow, and every yellow is a master at body language-" he concluded with a careless shrug.

His words left me rattled.

How would I explain this to her? She was a light sleeper and would wake up as soon as I turned the key during the whole shoot! The key! I frantically patted my pocket's down and luckily I could feel it, tucked in safely.

Close call, thought I may have lost it in the forest again.

But what next? She was probably wondering where I had slipped off so late in the night and never returned.

"Your best chance is to wait it out till tomorrow. By then your clothes would be a little bit drier, your balance returned, and your hair-" he paused eyes narrowing down on it as if trying to find the right words, " wouldn't be such a mess," he muttered, "maybe then she would believe you spent the night with a friend for a sleepover or whatever it is females do," he grunted, seemingly confused by this, before returning his gaze at me, a smirk traveling up his face, "but then again, I do look forward to the day you start taking risks-" he trailed off.

I shut my eyes at this, breathing lowly, before opening them again- I glanced down in the direction of the girl's hallway longingly, then back at Harvest who kept on his annoying smirk, gesturing me toward the boy's hallway with a raised eyebrow.

Heart sinking, but knowing he was probably right, I complied, taking the offer.

I walked down the hallway, feeling his presence right behind me-

"Still not wearing your shoes?" he hummed, a certain amusement in his tone.

I pursed my lips, not saying a word as I couldn't, but not even sparing a gesture to reply- He grunted at my silence the sound of his footsteps echoing down the empty halls behind me, but my bare feet did not even make as much as a squeak.

We turned the corner in silence, until we stopped at his door, to which he merely pushed open.

He didn't even bother to lock his door- I noted.

It was either he was not very smart- or most likely, no one would dare steal from Harvest- well not anyone but Daya.

She did steal his pendent, and though he seemed to disapprove of it, he wasn't as angry as he could have gotten, which made me think there was something he and Daya shared that gave her that sort of privilege with him.

I shook my head out of it, it was none of my business.

He came back into view, hand against his door frame, towering over me,

"Are you going to stay there till the sun comes out?"

I glanced at the room behind him for a moment, taking a deep breath out before walking beneath his arm into his room.

It was warmer in here but still chilly.

The same dark covers from before, curtains drawn. He closed the door behind him, and my ears strained for the thud, realizing what I had done a moment too late.

Locked myself in a room with Harvest Adams.

I kept putting myself in stupid situations that led me to do stupid things.

I watched as he walked to his wardrobe, placing his coat inside, and taking out a black shirt.

"You can change into this," he offered, placing the shirt on the side of his chair, as he walked past me.

I looked at it momentarily- change?

"You do want your clothes to dry, right?" he grunted raising an eyebrow in that accent that made everyone else feel stupid.

He sighed, "I'll turn around and you can change-"

I looked at him like he was crazy. Turn around?

What did he think this was? Netflix?

I could barely change in front of Daya, and he thinks I would change here. WITH HIM? I may have broken many of my own rules, but I was not getting half-naked in front of anyone-

He might even peak!

He stared at me for a few minutes as if trying to figure out what was going on in my mind.

"You're a shy one," he stated, a grin gracing his lips making him look utterly stupid. I hated that word, shy- yes I was shy- so what?

I didn't always have to be told I was.

Besides, the right words were 'decent', 'traditional.' and "raised right-"

My look tightened, eyes trailing to the door with a calm gesture. The smirk got wiped off his face, as he glanced at the door, then back at me.

"Really?"

I gave him a down-to-earth, sure-as-rain look.

He scoffed at this turning away.

"If you don't give me two knocks when I ask, I'm coming in," he grunted over his shoulder, opening the door and closing it behind him, opening it a second later, "and I don't peek," he grunted giving me a sharp eye, before closing the door behind him with a firm thud.

I stared at the door for a moment, my heart racing - only relaxing when I realized he was gone.

My eyes trailed around his room- he didn't like a lot of things, he seemed to be quite minimalistic, keeping everything simple just the way it was the last time I was here.

Sighing, I walked to the chair taking out his shirt, lifting it.

I frowned at its length, shaking my head. He thought I would wear this? My thighs would be showing. Scratch that, I'm sure my panties too.

Gritting my teeth I moved to his wardrobe, opening it.

Surprise, surprise.

Endless amounts of dark coats and no other color but black. I rummaged through his shirts, finally plucking the perfect one-well, it was the longest I could see.

Moving to the center of the room I took off my clothing, eyes still strained on the door, watching for a shadow underneath it, just in case. I managed to change laying down my pajamas spread on the chair. I would do a dash in three hours before anyone would be awake. It was a Saturday tomorrow so more than likely, people would be sleeping in.

Slipping his shirt over my body, I frowned as it still cut my thighs in half, I shut my eyes at this in frustration, running a
hand through my hair when his voice came through my head,

"Are you done? I'm coming in."

I froze at this, looking around for a moment, spotting his bed, and I dived into the covers, rolling them up my body.

"No knocks," he repeated in my head.

I nodded in the darkness as if he could see me, watching as the nob slowly turned, and he pushed the door open. His eyes fell on me for a moment, taking a low breath out, he moved in, closing the door behind him.

Without any warning, he took off his shirt, and I looked away, staring at the wall, my teeth clamped together, goosebumps riding my skin.

How inappropriate.

"I'm.." he began walking toward me, "not shy." he finished and I could feel his presence behind me, but I didn't look back, eyes still facing the wall, I felt the pillow beside me being taken away.

"Oh and please, make yourself comfortable on the bed, I'll take the floor," he grunted, seemingly not amused at all.

I frowned at this but didn't look back even as the light switched off and I heard him grunt as he took his place on what I assumed was the floor.

I listened to his breathing to see when he would go out, counting each breath until it was a soothing lullaby- and his breathing became quieter.

I waited a few more minutes, unable to go to sleep.

I wasn't born last night.

I evidently couldn't trust Harvest but even so, besides him being what he was, he was merely the opposite sex.

I was sharing my room with a boy, in nothing but his shirt.

I couldn't stop myself from worrying about it all. Taking a breath I slowly rolled over to the side of the bed, freezing by the edge.

Carefully and slowly, I peeked over just to see if he was still asleep.

His eyes were shut, a place arm over his eyes, breathing low. His hair was messy but He looked good this way- not all the way approachable, but less harmless with his prison eyes shut.

I licked my lips, taking a courageous breath in, slowly stretching a shaky hand, waving it over his face, trying to see if-

"Hi, I'm still awake," he grunted, arm still over his face.

I quickly retracted it, rolling back on the bed, and staring at the ceiling robotically, a shiver crossing my spine still feeling cold.

"If you want me to go to sleep faster, the least you could do is be quiet," he muttered, " your teeth are chattering."

I turned back round to face the wall, pulling the sheets over me tighter, but still failing to relieve the shake in them.

"Give me your hand," he suddenly stated.

My eyebrows furrowed, still staring at the wall.

What for? What was he going to do?

"For both our sakes, please give me your hand," he added, seemingly stressed about it.

I stared at the wall for a few more seconds contemplating before turning around again, moving slowly to the edge, peeking over at him.

He dropped his arm off his face, turning to me, deep blues encircling mine. I breathed out lowly, retrieving my shaky hand, still shivering from the cold.

He reached out his hand to my surprise, his fingers brushing against mine before entwining his fingers in mine. Big as they were, they seemed to sit perfectly, bringing our palms together.

Both our gazes were drawn to where our hands connected, immediate warmth overtaking my body like I was seated just the right distance away from the fireplace. A  gentle warm burn traveled down all areas of my body and I stared at him in wonder, unable to understand how a yellow was controlling so much heat-

Was it him, or just a feeling he was putting in my body?

I had no idea.

But even as I thought it through something strange pulled me into slumber, so quickly I could barely keep awake.

"There are two things I want, Talanda" Harvest began eyes in mine.

I could barely hear him, talk less see him. Everything was so foggy.

"I don't want you knowing any more about me than you already do," he grunted, "but.." the word hung in the air, and I tried my headrest to keep awake but my body seemed to need a break.

I could barely see him, noting his eyes were steadfast on me, something foreign in them-

"I also want you to trust me-" he plainly stated.

My eyebrows furrowed at his statement, I must be hearing things... I must...

I yawned, eyes finally shutting off the blurry world.

"You had one rule but I hate rules, they've governed me all my life. However, if I have to learn to keep it, or earn it, I must have something to lose,"

I could feel him move closer, I fought for one more peek, watching as his eyes traveled to where our hand connected for a moment, and I sleepily tried to listen, but his voice sounded distant-

"Each time I break your trust, I'll punish myself by giving you a clue,"

So distant.

"I do not control sirens, not by my dilect, or one of them.." he trailed off, "they listen to me because they have no choice but to obey-"

What? Something about sirens...

Listen- listen... so tired.

I could still hear his voice however far off it sounded, getting drowned by the silence of the empty world around me.

"It is what I am that compels them to obey- and when you crossed that line, you became one of them."

•~•

Well, there's a clue- Any suggestions for what he might mean or who Harvest is?

Let me know by leaving me a comment and a review! See ya'll next week! Thank you!

Read 7+ chapters ahead on Patreon! All links in bio :)

•~•