Laurens' P.O.V:
My heart began to beat a little faster at Alex's flirtatious comment, "Uh, yes, I do recall the notion." He began to laugh, "Relax Laurens, I'm only joking." Damn it. He continued, "Anything you have in mind?" You're always on my mind. Wait, that's not what he meant... "Not really, I'm just here to spend time with you. I'm good with doing whatever you'd like." I answered, smiling at the magnificent human being seated next to me. We decided to play it safe and watch a comedic movie while cuddling on the loveseat that was around the corner from the beds. Halfway through the movie, the sun began to drift beyond the horizon, leaving us in darkness. Alex began playing with my curly hair as I snuggled up next to him, breathing in his scent and unknowingly sending me into heaven. "Laurens..?" He whispered. I sleepily hummed a questionable tone, shifting to look into his beautiful brown eyes, illuminated by the TV screen.
He smiled, "I thought you might have fallen asleep. You're so cute when you're tired." I smiled and returned to my place intertwined with his body, drifting back into my land of dreams. Just before I completely slipped away, I felt Alex kiss my forehead before he turned off the TV, holding me protectively in his embrace. Suddenly there was a crash that woke me up. I shot up and looked around in the dark. Glancing at the clock, I saw that time had passed and it was now 2:48 in the morning. What the hell was that noise? Then it happened again, simultaneously casting a bright light throughout the room. Lightening and thunder...there must be a pretty big storm out there. But then I noticed something. Someone. Alex. He sat on the far end of the couch, sobbing into a pillow that he was clutching for dear life, whilst uncontrollably shaking.
The sight of him broke my heart, as I had no idea how long he'd been there without myself to consciously comfort him. "Alexander?" I reached out and stroked his hair, shifting closer to him. He slowly looked up at me, tears streaking down his cheeks from bloodshot eyes. "Oh, babe, what's wrong?" I pulled him close to my chest, allowing myself to be his new safety pillow. "Hey, hey, it's okay. It's alright, I'm here." I began calmly cooing as he continued crying, pausing only for a few hiccups in between the sobs. Each time the sky sent a new flood of light through the window, accompanied by a loud crash of thunder, the man in my arms would jump and bawl even more. And there was nothing I could do to help.
"Alex, you're alright, I won't let anything happen to you." I continued whispering while rocking him back and forth in my arms, occasionally kissing his forehead. "Come on, Alex, let's go." I crawled off the couch, waiting for him to follow me, which I quickly realized was not going to happen in his state. "Come on, I've got you." I said as I picked him up off the couch and cradled him in my arms, carrying him to the bedroom section of the dorm, carefully placing him under the covers before shutting the window blinds. He'd curled up into the blanket, searching for an escape from the storm. "Shh, I'm here. I'm right here. I won't let you go." I whispered as I moved myself under the covers, allowing him to curl up to me instead, sending an overbearing feeling of protection to surge throughout my body.
As the storm began to die down, Alex slowly returned from his state of paranoia. "Are you alright?" I whispered, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "J-John..." He managed to whimper through the sobs. "Yes, Alex. I'm here. I'm not leaving." I assured him, pulling his body closer to mine. "J-John. I-I'm s-so sorry." He shakily replied, hugging himself into my chest. I stroked his hair, "No, love, it's okay. Everything is alright. I'm here for you." I continued reassuring him as he calmed down. "John, I-I'm sorry. I'm t-terribly afraid of s-storms." He confessed, hiding his expression out of my view. "It's alright, I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe." I said as I held him tight, not daring to let him think otherwise.
"I-I love y-you John." He managed to whisper, with an apologetic glance. "I love you too, Alex. I won't let anything harm you. You're safe with me." I replied, intertwining our legs together, along with our arms wrapped around each other's torsos. As the storm drew on, we both fell asleep in the comfort of one another's contact. By the time morning came around, the storm had stopped, leaving only the sound of trickling water to be present in its place. I felt a stirring at my side and opened my eyes to see Alex frantically tossing around in the sheets, mumbling worried phrases in his sleep. "Wait...No...Hold on..." I reached out and lightly touched his arm, hoping to wake him from the nightmare. He jolted to consciousness, "WAIT- ...OH, Oh my God, Laurens."
Wrapping his arms around me, he collapsed into my hug, hesitantly speaking, "Laurens, I'm so incredibly sorry for this past night. I greatly appreciate your comfort...it helped me a lot, believe it or not. I'm usually alone during storms so no one has to witness...that..." I pulled him in tighter and kissed his forehead, "It's alright, I'll do whatever I can to help you. I promise I'll be there for you." I smiled at him, sincerely showing my concern. Leaning in, he tenderly kissed me a couple times and returned a smile, "Thank you, love." Slowly bringing up the sensitive subject, I asked, "If you don't mind my curiosity, why are you afraid of storms?"
He sighed, looking defeated, "When I was seventeen...a horrendous hurricane destroyed my hometown in the Caribbean. I had to watch people die all around me, and I couldn't do anything to help save them. Now, whenever there's a storm, I can't help but imagine all the helpless souls surrounding me, swept away to their deaths. I thought that I would have joined them soon enough in the afterlife, but my town raised funds for me to move here and pursue a proper education after my father left and my mother died. I survived. Throughout the suffering, I couldn't seem to die..."
"Alexander, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I wish I'd known, I could've helped before the storm had even begun." He waved away my concerns, "It's alright, I'll learn to cope with my scars. I just didn't want you to find out like that. I don't want to scare people away because I can't control my emotions." I ran my fingers through his hair and looked deep into his eyes, "Alex. I've said it before and I'll say it again. You're never going to scare me away. Okay?" He nervously returned my gaze, "Okay." After sharing another brief kiss, we relaxed against the bed and continued a normal morning discussion, while casually exchanging more flirtatious comments.
