Under The Moonlight

Chapter 7

"There's a rerun of your favourite show on television tonight and I want to watch it with you."

I threw a wet pant at Raven's face. 

"Could you stop entering my room like a creep? There's a door out front. Use it! You're going to give me a heart attack at this rate." 

He tutted and threw me a towel. We had gotten caught in the rain a few minutes away from home and we were both soaked. Raven had gone home after ruffling my dripping wet hair, again a comforting gesture, and I went to mine.

"There's no fun in that, is there? It's fun to see you jump in the air when I call out to you. I'm also searching for more creative ways to sneak up on you."

Rubbing the towel vigourously on my damp head, I replied.

"You're getting creepier by the day Raven. I won't hesitate to lock the windows."

Raven flopped on my bed and pouted as if the very thought of me locking my window was a crime. I gave him a disgusted look and he sighed. 

"I'm going to make popcorn. Cheese flavour okay with you?" 

"Yeah, yeah. I'm down for anything." 

He jumped out the window after giving a  mock salute and I returned a lopsided smile. 

"Also, use the door!"

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I tried to steal a nacho from the bowl my dad was holding only to get my hand smacked.

"Get you own nachos! These are mine!"

"You're behaving like a kid, dad. It's just one nacho! Also where's mom?"

"She's gone to Kate's for the night. Girl's night or something."

Kate was mom's best friend. They knew each other from when they could barely talk and were inseparable. They spoke to each other every other day without fail and when Kate moved back from Texas, mom would go over to her place once a month. 'Husband purge' they called it. 

As close as they were, I had never been able to get along with her son, Zach. He was easily the most insufferable person I had met. He would come of as charming at first, suck you in and then his mask would fade. Zach was rotten inside out. But that was another story.

"Cool. Guess we're ordering in then today." 

"Pizza okay with you?"

"Yeah. Also, order one extra pizza. Raven's coming over. Series marathon tonight for the both of us."

"Sure kiddo." Dad replied when the doorbell rang. Raven was standing out there in the  nearly freezing weather in a pair of shorts and a tee. Sometimes I doubted the intelligence of the guy. 

"Well hello there, Rudolf. I thought that you didn't know how to use the door seeing how you enter my son's room through the window every morning."

Raven turned even more red, if that were possible. To be honest, I could feel my face heat up as well. Why did my dad saying that make it seem more inappropriate than it actually was? 

"Sorry sir. I guess I wont be doing that again so freely. I'll try my best not to get caught next time."

Dad guffawed and I choked on my own saliva. The urge to throw something at him increased exponentially when he winked at me right after saying that. The little brat was trying to rile me up and I knew better than to fall for his tactics. I was not going to get anymore agitated than I already was.

He sat towards my left, popcorn in one hand and my dad sat on the large beanbag in the corner. And like that, our night had begun.

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Raven's head was against my shoulder as he slept, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.
It was almost two in the morning and he had fallen asleep somewhere in between. He had dark circles beneath his eyes and a hint of a stubble forming near his jaw. It never dawned on me how tired he must be from all the activities he was taking part in. If he was not in a meeting, he would be studying for the daily review that advanced classes had. 

He also had a tutor who arrived within fifteen minutes of us reaching home and I recently learnt that his phone would be confiscated during the time period of the tutor's stay. He would be locked up in his room after the tutor left and would have to learn about business from his head. Just hearing his schedule had made me want to throw up. Again, I was immensely grateful for having parents like mine. 

Trying not to wake him up, I gently laid his head by the arm rest in search of a pillow and a blanket. He was up by the time I was back, trying to adjust to darkness. He then looked around for my dad who had left during the start of the next season of the show. 

"I'm sorry for falling asleep." He said softly, still partially out of it. If given a chance, he would be back in dreamland within seconds. 

He laid his head back on me the moment I sat down. We were unnaturally comfortable with being in each other's personal space so when he leaned his body against mine, I did not flinch.

"What happened with Laurie? You seemed out of it after the conversation with her." His voice was muffled.

"She asked me out on a date." He hummed in response, prompting me to continue.

"I said yes. That I would try to get to know her."

"Do you really want that? With Laurie" He was looking at me now, gauging my reaction. 

"I have to Raven."  I had to. Normal was all I needed. He lifted his arm, still groggy from sleep and reached for my head but his hand landed on my cheek.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, Seb. Not with this. Don't let your thoughts get to you."

He patted my cheek again, slowly drifting off to sleep and I followed him soon after, my head filled with his warm words.