Pyromantic

Naps in Questionable Places

You stifled a yawn as you walked from your car to the dark windowed building. It was actually quite early for you to get up on a Sunday [noon], and considering the shift you worked at Grillby's last night, you were quite tired.

Last night's shift wasn't too bad, but, it had been a bit of a hassle, as you had yet to fully adjust to the work schedule.You felt like you were back in high school, up all night studying and getting work done, just to wake up a few hours later and be expected to perform at your best.

You thought that maybe the cold air that was currently making you shiver through your hoodie and long sleeved shirt would wake you up a bit more, but, no such luck, as all it did was make you more drowsy.

Today, Sunday, would be the day where you and your friends would be getting together for Escape the Room , a group activity where you all had to work together to find clues, solve puzzles, and, eventually, get out of the room, all within a time limit. You had wanted to do it ever since you heard that there was going to be a site for it in your dull little town. You had gushed and gushed to Vunde and Ezra about the place, going on and on about the different rooms they had and the themes, you were so excited that at one point Vunde had threatened to duct tape your mouth shut if you did not stop talking about it. You were very surprised and touched when she had then brought up the idea to go and do it with your new friends.

You finally made it up to the blacked out window panes of the front doors, paused for a moment, checking the hours of operation. They should be open...

You tried the door.

It swung right open.

"N-nice," You chattered through your teeth. You stepped into the building's vestibule. It was very dark, both sets of doors being blacked out. The door behind you shut, so you used your phone's flashlight to light up the area. "Huh?"

You held the light up to a sign on the inner doors. It showed a clock with movable hands. They were in the 1:45 position. 'Out to lunch!' read below in a cheery font.

Looking at your phone, you saw that the time was 12:42.

You could wait an hour, you thought, sitting down on a conveniently placed bench, the only other thing in the room than the sign. It really was quite dark though, in the vestibule, which you guessed was why there was a lack of reading material or side attractions that were usually located in other business' vestibules.

The sound of the wind outside rushing against the door was soothing. You could feel yourself slipping into a sleepy haze... No! It wouldn't be really safe to fall asleep here, alone. You had to keep yourself awake while you waited for the others. You clicked off your phone's flashlight, pulling out your lighter instead. You flicked it on, watching the flame for a moment.

You released your thumb, letting the flame go out.

You did this a few times, but it wasn't really quite enjoyable. You stopped, putting your lighter back, and checked your phone again. 12:45.

You sighed, slumping against the wall. You opened up your phone, opening some social media apps, closing them when nothing interesting caught your attention and half of the pages wouldn't load, due to your poor reception. None of your offline games seemed to be very fun either...

You quickly grew bored, and rather lonely, in the dark vestibule.

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12:56. Another sigh.

You weren't exactly one for patience, that was Vunde, and you couldn't do very much aside from think in the dark, but, you didn't quite like where your thoughts might lead. If the past few nights of restlessness had been any indication, your mind had begun to wander into some darker areas, ones you didn't wish to revisit.

The outside set of doors jostled, and a streak of light came into the space. Your eyes stung a bit from the change.

A fiery face peered in.

"Hello?" Grillby said, though you guessed he didn't see you yet.

"Hey!" You said, your voice a bit too eager in your own ears. You flushed as he turned towards you. "Ah, um, I mean, hello, Grillby."

"Good afternoon, [y/n]," He greeted you, stepping into the room the rest of the way, allowing the door to shut behind him. "What are you doing in here?" You pointed towards the sign on the inside doors, which he read, a hand coming up to rest on his chin. "Oh."

"Yeah," You agreed. "And currently, the time is... 1:02." You sighed again. This hour was just dragging on by.

"Well, I suppose we can wait together. How long have you been here?" Grillby asked, sitting beside you. He gave a steady radiation of heat, one you found made your eyelids droop. He actually lit up the dark room, his flames giving a soft crackle every few moments.

"Only about 15 minutes or so, I think?" You answered, fighting back a yawn. It'd be pretty rude to just fall asleep while he was there.

"Oh," he said, slipping into silence afterwards.

That really didn't help, though, as you could feel your eyelids weighing heavier and heavier. You really should have gone to bed sooner last night... You stifled another yawn, listening to the crackle of Grillby's flames, plus the rush of the wind against the outside doors.

You just felt so comfortable.

Failing to keep your eyes open any longer, you told yourself you would only close them for a bit...

*Grillby POV*

I was beginning to question the ethics of this establishment when I felt a soft weight on my shoulder. Looking over, I saw that [y/n] had fallen asleep, her eyes closed and breathing steading, and her cheek, resting on my shoulder.

I felt the panic and heat rise inside of me. I couldn't form a coherent thought, and, well, I couldn't very well move ; that would wake her up, which would have been quite rude. She must have been really tired, especially after last night's shift... I only needed a bit of rest, as I had gotten into the habit of late nights and early mornings, but, [y/n], had only just started, plus this week must've been rather stressful for her...

The thoughts going through my head are too contradictory... On one hand, this is really nice, and I want to enjoy every second as though they lasted a lifetime... on the other, she most likely has no idea that this is happening, and it could be bad...

I could scream from my thoughts. If only I could turn them off, and just, not think, for, perhaps, five minutes or so.

I decided to do just that, sighing as I relaxed against the wall. I must have jostled her head a tad, for she shifted, a soft noise coming from her. My heart leaped up to my throat.

'Stop, cut that out, right now, Grillby.'

I closed my eyes, focusing on not focusing. I breathed deeply, picking up on some small meditation techniques I learned on how to stay calm, to keep myself in check.

'Deep breath in.... Deep breath out... in.... Out...'

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Kl-click!