Forget-Me Not

Chapter 4

     "Well lovebirds, I have to get back home and get ready for work," Francis sighed dramatically as he collected his things and made his way to the door. Felt my face heat up. How could I be friends with such an annoying bastard? On the bright side, he was leaving, giving me some peace and quiet.

     "Don't mind him, Arthur," Ludwig said, "He just loves being a pain in the ass."

     Despite his collected words, he was just as much of a blushing mess as myself (if not worse). I let out a little laugh at our predicament which only made Ludwig blush harder. After regaining my composure, I remembered the books Francis left. I couldn't read them, but perhaps someone else could. I picked up one of the books titled Howl's Moving Castle and looked it over. I snuck a look over at Ludwig who appeared to be trying to get his breathing under control.

     "Uh...Ludwig?" I asked, my confidence draining, "Could you read to me?"

     "Oh...umm. Sure." He took the book from me and looked at the title. "Huh? Kiku has a movie titled this."

     I gave him a confused look. It must have slipped his mind that I kind of didn't know anyone anymore.

     Ludwig gave me a sheepish grin, realizing my gaze, " Sorry. Kiku's one of my best friends. He is one of yours too. He actually helped set us up."

     "Really?" I felt my cheeks heat up slightly.

     "Ja. Anyway, he has a really beautiful animated movie titled the same thing. I never realized there was also a book. Sorry for rambling a bit. Let's begin shall we?"

     With that, I settled into the uncomfortable hospital bed as Ludwig began to read. Although his voice was rough and his German accent thick, the deepness of it and the care in it was soothing. As he read, character names and plot lines seemed to come to me. As each chapter went by, I began recounting what would happen next. I really wanted to share this with Ludwig, but at the same time, I didn't want to risk spoiling it for him.

     "Why are you fidgeting?" Ludwig asked, his brow furrowed slightly.

     "Oh...ah...yes. Do you know if I've read this book before?"

     "I can't say for sure, but I'm pretty sure all these books are yours so I would imagine so. Why?"

     "I just...seem to remember this story slightly."

     "Oh," he simply said, though his eyes told a different story. They seem to become much more bright. He turned back to the book, pushing it closer to his face, most likely noticing my stare. He truly was strange, but not in a bad way (like Francis), it was sweet and, dare I say, cute.

     Halfway through the story, I found my gaze drifting to Ludwig's face. His pale blue eyes were fixated on the pages, only widening slightly at the exciting points. His lips moved slowly as he tried to annunciate all the words to the best of his ability. He was like a child honestly. Just a taller, more muscular child. And there I go obsessing over his appearance again.

     As we came to the end of the book, I felt my eyes grow heavy as I continued to listen to his voice. It was like the soft rumble of thunder. As the book came to an end, Ludwig's voice was distant and my mind was mostly blank. At some point, my eyes had closed and sleep was close. The last thing I felt was a slight pressure on my forehead and two words "Good night." 

Author's Note: Howl's Moving Castle is both one of my most favorite books and Studio Ghibli's film based off it is my absolute most favorite movie of all time. I highly recommend both! Anyway, thank you all for reading, voting and commenting. It truly means a lot.