Octavius (WATTYS 2016)

part two | eight | pancakes

|| So sorry for the late update, AP tests are kicking my ass ||

I sit up in bed quickly, my heart beginning to pick up its pace slightly.

"Xander has never been this quiet for this long." I snap my head towards Octavius, who is groggily reaching out to pull me back to him. 

"Xander is staying with your father, they're having an 'abuelo y nieto' day." 

I stare at him in shock, his smooth and clear use of Spanish surprising me. 

"Did you swallow a Rosetta Stone?" I ask, coyly. He rolls his eyes, lifting a hand to lightly rub my back. I feel like a house-cat, getting the sudden urge to purr. 

"Very funny." He mumbles. "I've been reading up on my Español." 

"Que linda!" I squeal with a giggle, knowing full well that he has no clue what I just said. 

"Mhm, that too." He throws his head back into the pillow, causing his dark hair to drop out behind his head, curling into a sexy mess. 

"Hm, I like your hair like this." I whisper, leaning on his chest and running my fingers through the strands. "I wonder what you would look like if I braided it." 

His eyes go wide and he grabs both my wrists, a warning gaze in his expression. 

"I guess you'll never find out." 

"Come on." I tease, trying to wriggle out of his grip but his hold tightens, and I pout in frustration. 

We're silent for a moment, the only sound in the air is the sound of our breathing, slow and contented.  

That is, until the beast in my stomach decides to give out its rendition of a whale song. 

"Hungry?" Octavius asks, raising his eyebrow at my stomach. 

"How could you tell?" I ask sarcastically, and I jump up from the bed, grabbing a robe to wrap around my bare body. I turn back to see Octavius hasn't moved, and I frown slightly. 

"You coming?" I ask, gesturing towards the door. 

"Hm, I'm in the mood for breakfast in bed." He sighs, settling back into the bed. 

"Listen, this girl does not make breakfast for anyone she can't see." I raise an eyebrow defiantly. 

"And this guy doesn't feel like standing up naked when his little friend has decided to be perpendicular." He mimics my tone, but his words cause a deep blush to race to my cheeks. 

"Don't be too long." I call behind me as I step through the hall and towards the kitchen. 

I feel like I haven't lived in this wing, apart from our bedroom, Xander's room, and the kitchen. I haven't even asked Octavius about the paintings yet. The feel of the hardwood floor on my bare feet is entirely foreign, as if it is the first time I have stepped on it in years. 

I don't know what I was thinking, where my mind had gone. Who in their right mind would leave this, this beautiful home, with the beautiful art, and the most beautiful man? But that's just it, I wasn't in my right mind. Maybe I'm still not now. My mind is a roller coaster that goes up and down then down again and I'm still figuring out how that is even possible. 

I can't remember a time when my life wasn't one of two extremes: chaotic or blissful. All I want, all I need is that pause, that comma, that colon in the middle of one great run-on sentence, that break. A moment to breath and let myself settle like flecks in a snow globe. But even if I find that perfect setting, the moment when all the pieces fall together, I will always know that there is another shoe about to drop.