Real

Brownies and Friends

Tessa’s POV

I woke up having no idea where I was. I was in a big bed, clothed in a too-large tee-shirt that I had never seen before along with what looked to be a pair of male boxers. Thankfully, I still had my underwear on. I looked around at my surroundings and realized I was in a dark blue bedroom. There were a couple of guitars hanging along the wall and a keyboard placed atop the dresser. There was a rack of what must have been a hundred CDs next to the bed I was in. On the other side of the bed, there was a bedside table that held and alarm clock, my phone, and a lamp. There were three doors; I was assuming there were the bathroom, closet, and exit.

I sat up in the bed and removed the covers, exposing myself to the cold along the way. I looked around the floor next to the bed. I shrieked, losing control of myself for a second before slapping a hand to cover my mouth. It was too late. Whoever was on the floor jumped awake, but hit their head on the CD rack and fell back. When I noticed that the person was Niall, I was so shocked I started laughing. He looked up and saw it was me who had screamed, and relaxed against his makeshift bed on the floor. He threw an arm over his eyes, as if to block out the minimal light in the room.

“Good morning to you, too.” He said in a grouchy tone. That made my mood change immediately. He’s mad at me? I’m the one who woke up in his bed in what looked to be Niall’s own clothes, not him! Wait, was he trying to kidnap and rape me? No, no, no. I started to hyperventilate. Every breath I took was hard to draw into my lungs. Niall quickly hopped up and jumped on the bed next to me once he noticed my ragged breathing.

“Hey, are you okay?” He looked concerned. “Come on, just breathe. It’s okay. Whatever it is, it’s okay.” He placed his hand on my abdomen. “Just concentrate on feeling your breath right here. Now breathe deeply, in and out.” His crystal blue eyes locked with mine, drawing me in and not letting me go. He was the lion and I was the lamb. His hand started moving up and down more smoothly as my breathing got more even. He started to gently rub when it got harder to breathe; he was silently encouraging me.

After a while, my breathing was clear; he removed his hand and our eyes unlocked for the first time since it happened. He moved to sit on the opposite side of the bed as me, and then locked eyes with me again. “Are you going to tell why you just had a panic attack, or am I going to have to guess?” He asked, and his tone was light, so I guessed he wasn’t mad. I’ve only had a panic attack once before, and that was the time…

I shivered at the memories. I didn’t want to tell him, so I replied with my own question. “Are you going to tell me why I woke up in your clothes? And in your bed?” I retorted saucily. He realized what the whole situation looked like and went into panic mode. His eyes grew as wide as saucers.

“No, no! It’s not like that, really! Nothing happened. At least between us. After the stuff at the party happened-“

I cut him off. “What, exactly, happened at the party?” I asked him angrily. “Stuff so bad I couldn’t just stay at Liam’s? You had to take me home without my knowledge? For all I know, you could be kidnapping me!”

Niall looked taken aback by my anger. “It’d be easier if you told me the last thing you could remember.” He said. His tone was calm again.