Under the Stars

7: Pancakes

The next morning, I woke up to find Stevien hogging the bed. I was pushed to the very edge of my bed with pillows pressed up against my back. Stevien had moved so much that most of my comforter was under him, leaving me with enough to just cover my hip. He still had on the blanket I covered him with, but most of that was hanging off the bed on the other side. I decided to get out of bed and head downstairs for some warm tea. I was glad that I wore my sweats to bed, but I was still a bit chilled. I found dad in the kitchen making pancakes.

"Good morning dad," I greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning sweetheart," he answered with a smile of his own. "You sure didn't look comfortable when I passed your room this morning. You must have good awareness when you sleep because I sure as heck would have fallen off the bed if I were sleeping that close to the edge."

"Haha, dad," I dryly laughed. "Yeah, I really wasn't comfortable, which is why I am down here. He is as heavy as a log. I couldn't get a single bit of the comforter out from under him. I got cold. Do you have any warm pancakes ready yet?" I asked ready for the warm sweetness of my dad's chocolate chip pancakes.

"The first batch is almost done, just another minute or so. Go ahead and grab plates and silverware and set them on the table. I have the tea kettle full of water ready to be heated. Would you like me to turn on the burner?"

"Yes, please," I answered as I pulled out three plates and three sets of silverware. I also grabbed two mugs. Dad already had his coffee made, so I refilled his cup while I waited for the pancakes to finish.

"It smells delicious dad," I exclaimed as my stomach began to growl.

"Thanks, sweetheart. Do you want to see if Stevien would like some?"

"Um sure," I said a little sad that I wouldn't get to eat the pancakes fresh off the skillet, but happily went to wake up my best friend anyway.

As I walked into my room, I realized he was talking. He must have been sleep-talking because it was very incoherent. I caught a few words here and there, so I just waited for him to stop talking before waking him. Suddenly, his words were clearer as he began to talk a little louder.

"El, please don't cry. I love you," he said in his sleep, making my heart skip a beat.

I desperately wanted it to true; that he loved me. So, I tried to ask him. I walked closer to the other side of the bed and got close enough to whisper to him.

"Do you mean it?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

"Stevien, do you mean it?" I asked again, leaning a little closer.

"Mmm...mmhmm..."

"Does that mean yes?"

...

"Stevien?" I asked a little louder.

What I received in response was a deafening snore. It scared me so much that I let out a small scream. That abruptly woke Stevien up from his snoring slumber. He looked like he was ready for whatever battle needed to be fought over the disturbance of his sleep. Glancing around the room, he found me clutching my chest, half terrified, half surprised. He quickly tried to scramble out of bed but had somehow wrapped himself in a cocoon of comforter and blanket. I tried so hard to catch him as he began to fall out of bed, to keep him from falling on the floor, but I only broke his fall in the end, as he took me down with him.

"What the heck El? What is going on?" He asked trying to figure out what was happening.

"Lottie? Is everything okay up there?" Dad hollered from the kitchen.

"Yeah, dad. Everything's fine," I hollered back, trying my best not to yell in Stevien's ear before answering him.

"I was coming to get you to see if you wanted some of dad's chocolate chip pancakes. I got close because you were talking quietly when you snored so loud it scared me. I screamed, you woke up, then tried to get up, and well, you fell on top of me when I was trying to catch you from falling. Which is where we are now. I guess I failed miserably at trying to catch you from falling," I said beginning to laugh a little at myself.

"Yes to the pancakes. I don't believe you. I don't sleep talk or snore. And yes. You definitely failed at catching me unless you meant to break my fall, in which case you succeeded at that perfectly," he said replying to each of my points.

"El?" He turned to me with a worried look. "What did I say?"

"Oh... Well... most of it was incoherent, there were random words that stood out, but it was just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo," I answered hoping and praying that he could not tell that I was withholding the complete truth.

"Good," he sighed with relief. "I was worried I would have said something embarrassing."

"Oh, come on Stevien. What do you have to be embarrassed about? Hmm? You are the star pupil in all our classes, the star soccer, basketball, and baseball player, and anything else you try to do, you succeed at, the very first time you try. Nothing is embarrassing about you, Stev. Nothing at all. Me on the other hand..." I closed my eyes briefly and looked away to continue. "I am a walking book of embarrassment. I trip over my own shadow, walk into solid walls and doors even though I know they are there, I often get so flustered that I cannot form coherent sentences, I am the last one invited to things if I am even invited at all, and to top it off, I had a panic attack at our junior prom. Talk about embarrassing. No, Stevien, you have nothing to be embarrassed about, except maybe calling me your friend," I replied.

I couldn't stop myself from verbally throwing up all of my insecurities on him. It was yet another thing for me to be embarrassed about.

Suddenly, I felt his fingers on my chin, slowly turning my face back to him.

"Eliotte Marie Romick, I will never be embarrassed to call you my best friend. Do you hear me? I mean it. You are the sincerest person I know. You are selfless and kindhearted. You put others' needs before your own. You always have my back, even when it is 100 percent my fault for us getting into trouble in the first place. I have never known anyone else who would do that, every...single...time. You are constantly saving my butt from my own stupidity and I don't know why because we both know I don't deserve it. But El, I will never be embarrassed to call you my friend. Now, how about we figure out how to un-cocoon me and get some of those delicious smelling pancakes," he said smiling down at me.

I nodded in agreement with a slight smile spreading across my quickly blushing face.

We headed downstairs to eat. It was a great morning after what seemed to be, at least partly, a terrible night. I was so thankful for what Stevien said to me. To have someone in your corner, to have your back, was such an amazing feeling. It felt like I had won the jackpot of friends. I could not believe that he told me he would never be embarrassed to call me his best friend. I was the lucky one in our friendship. I ate silently wondering what I did to deserve a friend as wonderful as Stevien.

Word count: 1319