𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐒

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖘𝖎𝖝𝖙𝖊𝖊𝖓

Dirty Dancing.

You must've had one hell of a persuasive argument because out of all twelve of the raunchy horror movies that Marko picked out, you were now all huddled together on the floor of the cave watching Dirty Dancing.

The room was completely dark save for the boxy television that sat crooked on the floor a few feet away. It was dented and Marko would occasionally have to walk up and punch the roof of it so the picture would show. Definitely not the latest model like you had been promised, but you were still happy to be out of the house. Out of Michael's hair and Sam's vampire shenanigans.

You broke open a package of Twizzlers in your lap and passed them out to the boys all around you. Seated in the middle of the ancient sofa with Paul's legs boxing in either side of your thighs, you alternated between braiding small strands of Dwayne's hair (who was seated on the floor in front of you) and twisting the brass rings on Paul's fingers.

Marko would reach over every so often from somewhere else on the couch and steal a few more Twizzlers than he had been offered. But you barely noticed.

David was sitting next to you, his arm cast over the back of the sofa. Sometimes you forgot he was there because of how silent he was. Laddie fell asleep pretty much immediately after the movie started and you haven't seen Star since she disappeared to put him to bed.

You've seen the alcoves where Star and Laddie slept. But what about the boys? Would it be rude to ask?

Waves crashed against the entrance of the cave. You were finally getting to your favorite scene in the movie – the one where Baby and Johnny practice the lift in the middle of the lake. Your eyelids were becoming increasingly heavy, but you needed to watch this part. You needed to.

How ironic that sleep chose to claim you now of all times. Where was this sudden sleepiness when your disturbing nightmares kept you awake all week long?

As if reading your mind, Paul readjusted his weight and encouraged you to lean into him even further. "Can I just stay here forever?" you mumbled through a lazy smile. You wouldn't object to spending the night if they let you. You could sleep in Star's room and walk back to the ranch in the morning.

Your playful little comment didn't go unnoticed by the boys, though. David sat up straight and you even felt Paul tense up underneath you.

"You mean that, princess? You wanna stay with us forever?"

"Mhm," you shrugged, too sleepy to keep your eyes open as you spoke. "You guys are cool 'n you haven't tried to kill me yet."

"Yet," Marko snickered and Paul kicked him in the shoulder. You smiled and barely opened your eyes to see Dwayne twisting around to shoot David a knowing look. The latter nodded solemnly and Dwayne scrambled to his feet, disappearing somewhere out of your line of sight.

Realizing that a nap in the cave was now off the agenda, you sat up and tried to rub the sleep from your eyes. Someone had shut the TV off—or it had finally given up on trying to work—and the only things keeping you from bathing in total darkness were the candles lined up against the stone walls.

You heard a familiar jangling of pins and chains as Dwayne marched back into the room with the ornate green bottle clutched tightly in his hands. He dragged his eyes away from the object to steal a glance at you before handing it over to David, who promptly bit off the cork and spit it over his shoulder.

"Thirsty?" he asked, already lowering the bottle down to your lips. It felt like everyone in the room was holding their breath as you took the bottle in both hands and cradled it in your arms. As a matter of fact, you were thirsty. Way more than you had been ten seconds ago.