ʏᴏᴜʀꜱ ᴛʀᴜʟʏ ‣ ᵇᵃᶜʰⁱʳᵃ ᵐᵉᵍᵘʳᵘ ˣ ᶠᵉᵐ!ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ... ᴀᴡᴋᴡᴀʀᴅ

...yes, you were sure of it.

There was something heavy holding you down, preventing you from moving...

Is this what they call sleep paralysis?!

No, wait, it can't be.

I've never experienced such a thing before, what is it? This strange heaviness on my body... why can't I move?

Frowning deeply, you pried your eyes open, almost closing them again immediately after the piercing ray of sunlight hit you.

... why does the curtain have to be open at that angle..?

Grumbling, you adjusted yourself with some(a lot) difficulty, trying to pull the blanket over your eyes.

Ah, but there was no blanket.

Opening your eyes once again, you squinted at the ceiling. You could hear someone snoring and mumbling words, but it almost sounded as if they were coming from you.

"Bachira?" You muttered, seeing the empty spot next to you where he should have been.

"hm!?" Eyes widening in shock, you almost choked at the sudden pressure on your stomach.

"Ba~ chira.. get off me..!"

"Oh! hehe oops! You were just too comfortable!" Bachira smiled down at you, rolling off your body to lie back on his bed.

Breathing out a relieved sigh, you closed your eyes again, the heaviness now gone from your body.

But that was a weird interaction.

You gazed up at the ceiling, only now noticing the glow in the dark star stickers plastered everywhere. Lifting up a hand, you reached out your arm, staring aimlessly at the star stickers in between the gaps of your fingers.

Unbeknownst to you, Bachira had been watching you the entire time as he lay on his side. The mischievous smile he had slowly dissipated when he realised you weren't going to say anything to him.

He was a little upset that you didn't pay him any mind but that feeling was soon replaced by a fluttering of his heart.

Bachira's gaze shifted from your hands to his star filled ceiling, then back to your hands again. This went on for a few more seconds before he abruptly jumped off his bed, startling you.

"What? What's wrong?" Your voice was a mix of confusion and worry as you watched Bachira shuffle about his room.

The crinkling of plastic filled the otherwise silent room. Bachira was sat on the floor with a shoe box full of miscellaneous items.

You pushed the blanket away, swinging your feet off the bed and walking over to the busy guy.

"What are you looking for all of a sudden?" You asked, kneeling down next to him.

...
...

"..." Looking at Bachira from the corners of your eyes when he didn't reply to you again, you now felt compelled to try and get his attention.

"AH!" You flinched back in shock as Bachira's arm shot up, holding something in his hands.

"Ah..?" A confused noise left your mouth before the item was held in front of your face.

"Here, you can have it! I knew I had some extras lying around!" Bachira grinned at you cheekily.

Taking the piece of plastic away from your face, you finally got a good look at what he had been so busy finding the entire time.

"Eh... more glow in the dark star stickers?" You mumbled quietly.

Bachira nodded his head energetically.

You looked up at his ceiling again, surely he didn't want you to paste more? Or was he asking you to put it in your room? But for what? So that the two of you had matching ceilings?

"You don't like it?" Bachira asked, a worried frown on his face. "You looked so pretty holding out your hand at the star just now, I thought you would like them."

"..." You opened your mouth to speak but quickly shut it again when you realised you were at a loss for words.

"You looked so pretty..."

A light smile played at your lips as his words replayed in your head. A giddy feeling in your heart as a coat of pink tainted your cheeks without your permission

"you looked so pretty..."

Was this the first time someone called you pretty? Of course not, you've been called that multiple times. Some people even said you were cute, or beautiful.

So then, why was there a hot sensation going through your body.. and why was your heart beating so fast??!

"Are you feeling sick again? Your face is a little red." Bachira hurriedly held your arm, trying to pull you up. "Come on, you should stay in my bed and rest. If you don't like the stickers-"

"-No, I love it!" You cut him off, free hand cuffing his wrist that was on your arm.

"I- uh- I mean, I like the stickers, thank you.." Fumbling over your words, you quickly let go of his wrist.

Bachira felt his own heart swell at your nervousness, he thought it was cute.

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11 May 2024