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“Libby, dear, are you awake?” I recognize Azure’s voice sounds elated. The surface I’m lying on is a lot softer than the floor I remember falling onto.

I nod the tiniest bit, rather than trying to actually say yes, and hear a sigh of relief as a light pressure extends itself to the cushion beside me. I blink weakly; barely able to focus on Azure’s head near my waist for the darkness of the room we’re in.
Testing my vocal chords, I whisper, “What happened, Azure?”

“Nothing happened, Libby. You passed out, and I took you back home.” I tried in vain to sit up, troubled by this.

“But Garrett…? And my mom—what did she say when you carried me into the house all out of it, Azure?” I could hear the mild hysterics in my voice, but I didn’t care.

“Hush, hush… don’t you dare worry about any of that, Libby. Your mother was out on an errand; your brother let me in. He promised not to call and tell her when I asked him.”

“Garrett? You didn’t fight him, did you? Please tell me that you didn’t, Azure.” I tried to look at him pleadingly, but he let his head remain out of good view.

He sighed in disbelief, “Do you think I would exchange blows with someone like him while you lay on the floor? Honestly, Libby, that’s ridiculous.”

I was relieved, and surprise to find that my concern bubbled not only over Azure, but also over Garrett. When had that happened? When he hurt my arm or when he coldly sent me away? That didn’t make much sense, but I tried not to dwell on the senseless.

“Good; and promise me that you won’t fight him.”

The silence lasted just a beat too long, “I promise,” he said to me, but I heard an almost breathless, “…just not in front of you…”

It wasn’t worth the argument that could have ensued. “What time is it?” I asked, not feeling like looking to the alarm clock’s glowing orange reading, much less facing the cute face on the clock itself.

“Nearly nine o’clock, but does it matter, really?” He stayed here that long while I slept? I wonder if Mama’s back yet.

“Not really,” I decided, “But I guess it’s late enough to just go to sleep for the night, right?”

Azure chuckled mutedly, finally bringing his head up from the bed, “Sure, dear, if you need an excuse like that to go to bed.”

“See you tomorrow,” I said, closing my eyes again. I felt his head hit the mattress mutedly again, but I did not protest.

The dream I saw that night was not particularly strange. The content was unexpected, however. The star of this dream was Garrett. He and I hiked over red rocks in the desert, and when I stumbled or fell, he would catch me with an impatient huff and a smile. Traversing the dry terrain was simple when Garrett would hold my hand, and we made haste to reach an unknown target. I suspected that the goal was indiscriminate because it really didn’t matter what we were questing for; the point was the questing itself.

I woke with a start, surprised by my own subconscious. Azure’s head still lay on the side of the comforter. He was breathing heavily, but no snores issued. As I watched, the breaths became slightly shallower, and finally, his eyes opened as well. He looked at me with a somewhat puzzled expression, but it was hard to judge past his content smile.

“Morning,” I managed.

Nodding, the puzzled look leaving his features, he responded, “And a good morning to you.”

This time, I looked to my digital clock rather than asking Azure for a reading, “It’s nearly eight… what day is it, today?”

“Saturday,” he answered loyally.

“Oh, good,” I allowed, sitting up, “But how are we going to explain you in my room through the night?”

Sheepishly, Azure shrugged, “I thought I might try a window-based route of escape.”

“Please don’t; you’ll break your ankles.”

“Then what do you suggest I tell your mother? ‘Yes, I stayed in your daughter’s room last night, but don’t worry, we didn’t do anything. I promise.’ While that’s the truth of it, the nature of teenagers’ parents won’t permit the circumstance slide by innocently.”

I agreed that my mother would not believe this story, no matter how true it was, “Maybe we tell her that… but then allow her to assume the wrong thing.”

“And that would be all right with you? For her to assume we had intercourse up here?”

I blushed, not really having thought it through. Mostly I was flushing because he’d used the word intercourse. Not that I expected Azure to be the type to say had sex or, heaven forbid, made love. Nonetheless, this really wasn’t what I meant to imply, but I couldn’t escape the crux of my idea.

“Um, I guess…”

“You’re not okay with that, really, Libby. Trust me, I know you’re not. Let’s put our heads together and come up with a more appropriate and also plausible solution.”
I hung my head in defeat, but also a relief that I couldn’t deny.

“Maybe if I explained the ‘She passed out, I came and stayed with her,’ bit, but then just told her that I also fell asleep… she could twist it if she wanted to, I suppose. But at least that’s true and sounds innocent…”

“Well, you are innocent.”

“And you aren’t?” he cocked his head to the side the tiniest bit, a curious smile playing on his face.

“I, for one, was prepared to lie and tell my mom that we’d had sex, Azure. That’s not particularly innocent,” I explained.

“Ha,” he shook his head, “If that’s your model of someone that’s not innocent, then I will definitely burn in some sort of hell… assuming that there is one for me. Haha.”

My not-quite-faded blush spread and renewed exponentially.

“Shall we go?” he offered, trying to ignore my obvious embarrassment. I was surprisingly not angry at this revelation; I wasn’t even disgusted, not in the slightest. When I discovered this side of my psyche, I scoffed at it and asked where it’d come from. It didn’t answer me, of course, but I still wondered. Was this new, or was it just some part of myself that had come with Azure?

I pushed back the comforter and sheets, disconcerted by my clothes: they were pajamas. My dirty uniform sat innocently in the hamper. My blush was already at critical mass, so I couldn’t really have gotten much more flustered. I decided not to mention it.

“Do you mind, like, hiding in my closet or something while I change?” I heard a not-suppressed-enough chuckle and the closing of the closet as he humored me. Knowing full well that he had to have seen me sans clothes in order to change me into my pajamas, I decided that pretending he hadn’t seen was the most diplomatic solution.

I scrounged around in my dresser for something decent to wear, turning up a pair of seldom-worn jeans and a faded pink shirt which pleasantly read I feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like I’ve just eaten a kitten. “Alright,” I announced, and heard the door open in response.

“Tasteful,” Azure commented.

When I hesitated at the door, he gently opened it for me, pulling me through with my arm that wasn’t ragged with bruises. That would probably need to be explained or covered, I realized. On an impulse, I tore back into my room and found a wristband (it stated: the only good language is a DEAD one.). I yanked it on and rejoined Azure just outside the door.

Description
“Libby, dear, are you awake?” I recognize Azure’s voice sounds elated. The surface I’m lying on is a lot softer than the floor I remember falling onto.

I nod the tiniest bit, rather than trying to actually say yes, and hear a sigh of relief as a light pressure extends itself to the cushion beside me. I blink weakly; barely able to focus on Azure’s head near my waist for the darkness of the room we’re in.
Testing my vocal chords, I whisper, “What happened, Azure?”

“Nothing happened, Libby. You passed out, and I took you back home.” I tried in vain to sit up, troubled by this.

“But Garrett…? And my mom—what did she say when you carried me into the house all out of it, Azure?” I could hear the mild hysterics in my voice, but I didn’t care.

“Hush, hush… don’t you dare worry about any of that, Libby. Your mother was out on an errand; your brother let me in. He promised not to call and tell her when I asked him.”

“Garrett? You didn’t fight him, did you? Please tell me that you didn’t, Azure.” I tried to look at him pleadingly, but he let his head remain out of good view.

He sighed in disbelief, “Do you think I would exchange blows with someone like him while you lay on the floor? Honestly, Libby, that’s ridiculous.”

I was relieved, and surprise to find that my concern bubbled not only over Azure, but also over Garrett. When had that happened? When he hurt my arm or when he coldly sent me away? That didn’t make much sense, but I tried not to dwell on the senseless.

“Good; and promise me that you won’t fight him.”

The silence lasted just a beat too long, “I promise,” he said to me, but I heard an almost breathless, “…just not in front of you…”

It wasn’t worth the argument that could have ensued. “What time is it?” I asked, not feeling like looking to the alarm clock’s glowing orange reading, much less facing the cute face on the clock itself.

“Nearly nine o’clock, but does it matter, really?” He stayed here that long while I slept? I wonder if Mama’s back yet.

“Not really,” I decided, “But I guess it’s late enough to just go to sleep for the night, right?”

Azure chuckled mutedly, finally bringing his head up from the bed, “Sure, dear, if you need an excuse like that to go to bed.”

“See you tomorrow,” I said, closing my eyes again. I felt his head hit the mattress mutedly again, but I did not protest.

The dream I saw that night was not particularly strange. The content was unexpected, however. The star of this dream was Garrett. He and I hiked over red rocks in the desert, and when I stumbled or fell, he would catch me with an impatient huff and a smile. Traversing the dry terrain was simple when Garrett would hold my hand, and we made haste to reach an unknown target. I suspected that the goal was indiscriminate because it really didn’t matter what we were questing for; the point was the questing itself.

I woke with a start, surprised by my own subconscious. Azure’s head still lay on the side of the comforter. He was breathing heavily, but no snores issued. As I watched, the breaths became slightly shallower, and finally, his eyes opened as well. He looked at me with a somewhat puzzled expression, but it was hard to judge past his content smile.

“Morning,” I managed.

Nodding, the puzzled look leaving his features, he responded, “And a good morning to you.”

This time, I looked to my digital clock rather than asking Azure for a reading, “It’s nearly eight… what day is it, today?”

“Saturday,” he answered loyally.

“Oh, good,” I allowed, sitting up, “But how are we going to explain you in my room through the night?”

Sheepishly, Azure shrugged, “I thought I might try a window-based route of escape.”

“Please don’t; you’ll break your ankles.”

“Then what do you suggest I tell your mother? ‘Yes, I stayed in your daughter’s room last night, but don’t worry, we didn’t do anything. I promise.’ While that’s the truth of it, the nature of teenagers’ parents won’t permit the circumstance slide by innocently.”

I agreed that my mother would not believe this story, no matter how true it was, “Maybe we tell her that… but then allow her to assume the wrong thing.”

“And that would be all right with you? For her to assume we had intercourse up here?”

I blushed, not really having thought it through. Mostly I was flushing because he’d used the word intercourse. Not that I expected Azure to be the type to say had sex or, heaven forbid, made love. Nonetheless, this really wasn’t what I meant to imply, but I couldn’t escape the crux of my idea.

“Um, I guess…”

“You’re not okay with that, really, Libby. Trust me, I know you’re not. Let’s put our heads together and come up with a more appropriate and also plausible solution.”
I hung my head in defeat, but also a relief that I couldn’t deny.

“Maybe if I explained the ‘She passed out, I came and stayed with her,’ bit, but then just told her that I also fell asleep… she could twist it if she wanted to, I suppose. But at least that’s true and sounds innocent…”

“Well, you are innocent.”

“And you aren’t?” he cocked his head to the side the tiniest bit, a curious smile playing on his face.

“I, for one, was prepared to lie and tell my mom that we’d had sex, Azure. That’s not particularly innocent,” I explained.

“Ha,” he shook his head, “If that’s your model of someone that’s not innocent, then I will definitely burn in some sort of hell… assuming that there is one for me. Haha.”

My not-quite-faded blush spread and renewed exponentially.

“Shall we go?” he offered, trying to ignore my obvious embarrassment. I was surprisingly not angry at this revelation; I wasn’t even disgusted, not in the slightest. When I discovered this side of my psyche, I scoffed at it and asked where it’d come from. It didn’t answer me, of course, but I still wondered. Was this new, or was it just some part of myself that had come with Azure?

I pushed back the comforter and sheets, disconcerted by my clothes: they were pajamas. My dirty uniform sat innocently in the hamper. My blush was already at critical mass, so I couldn’t really have gotten much more flustered. I decided not to mention it.

“Do you mind, like, hiding in my closet or something while I change?” I heard a not-suppressed-enough chuckle and the closing of the closet as he humored me. Knowing full well that he had to have seen me sans clothes in order to change me into my pajamas, I decided that pretending he hadn’t seen was the most diplomatic solution.

I scrounged around in my dresser for something decent to wear, turning up a pair of seldom-worn jeans and a faded pink shirt which pleasantly read I feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like I’ve just eaten a kitten. “Alright,” I announced, and heard the door open in response.

“Tasteful,” Azure commented.

When I hesitated at the door, he gently opened it for me, pulling me through with my arm that wasn’t ragged with bruises. That would probably need to be explained or covered, I realized. On an impulse, I tore back into my room and found a wristband (it stated: the only good language is a DEAD one.). I yanked it on and rejoined Azure just outside the door.