Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Spoilers: No specifics, general BH knowledge.
As
he opened his eyes, blinking away sleep, Mitchell decided he was sure
of two things: one, it was definitely not morning yet, since the only
light filtering through his curtains was the dim light from the
streetlamp outside, and two, there was a ghost in his bed.
He sat
up slightly, squinting in the bad light. 'Annie?' He asked, voice
raspy from sleep.
The grey-clad ghost beside him turned, and he
could see the apologetic smile she gave him in the light that bounced
off her smooth face.
'Hey,' Was all she said in reply, and as his
eyes adjusted to the light he realised she wasn't actually in his
bed, she was in fact lying on top of the sheets on the side he wasn't
on, her head on the pillow next to his, her hands, fiddling with each
other, folded neatly across her stomach. The streetlight gave her,
from his point of view, a silver silhouette that made her seem all
the more a ghost, to him.
'Um...' He propped himself up on one
shoulder, running his hand through his tangled hair. 'Can I just
ask... Why are you on my bed?'
She seemed much more comfortable
with the situation than he was; she shrugged. 'Well, you said I
should at least try and sleep, and it was either here or George's.'
Seeing the look on his face, she went on. 'And don't even start about
the sofa. I've never been able to sleep on sofas. It's weird, I know,
but these things definitely follow on from life to death.'
He
just looked at her bizarrely; she could be quite strange when she
wanted to be.
'Right,' Was all he said, and she finally picked up
on his mood.
'I'm sorry, is this weird, me being here? Honestly,
I'm not trying to creep you out anything, I was just...' He imagined
the smile that painted her lips right now would mean she would be
blushing, were she alive. 'Lonely.' She finished. 'And I thought
maybe you were too.'
He had no reply to this; he didn't know
whether to be alarmed by this, a girl who could render him
speechless, something that didn't happen too often, or touched by her
care for him; instead, he paused for a second, deliberating, and she
internally cringed. Damn. She'd really done it now. But, instead of
telling her to leave or shifting to the very edge of the bed in a
subtle way of telling her to go away, instead he just lay back on the
bed and put one arm around her, holding her cold body closer to his.
Not objecting to such a move, Annie snuggled closer into him, curling
up beside him on the covers, resting her head on his chest.
'Hope
you don't mind,' She murmured, looking up at him with dark eyes,
seeing his droop with the call of sleep.
'Course not,' He mumbled
back, tightening his arm around her.
Annie contentedly closed her
eyes and, for the first time since her rather untimely death, fell
asleep.
Perfect, George thought angrily to himself; we're
going to be late. Again.
It was still early in the morning; the
birds in the street outside had only just commenced their melodious
calls and traffic was only just beginning to echo through some
distant streets, but George and Mitchell were due for the morning
shift. George had been up with the lark, as usual, but was surprised
not to see his housemate down with him.
Taking the stairs two at
a time George sprinted upstairs to Mitchell's door, and was about to
tap impatiently on the scruffy door, when it opened and Mitchell
darted out, quickly closing the door behind him.
George was
momentarily caught out. 'How did you-' He started, but Mitchell
interrupted.
'I heard you coming,' Was his impatient reply, his
expression reflecting his tone. 'Listen, I know what you're going to
say- remember, I switched my shift yesterday. I'm not due in for a
couple more hours.'
George did remember, now he came to think
about it. 'Oh. Yes. Care to tell me why, though?'
Mitchell
shifted uneasily on his feet, lowering his voice. 'I dunno, Graham
asked me if I could. I wasn't exactly going to say no to a couple
hours extra sleep, was I?'
George nodded, accepting this. 'Right.
I suppose I should be off then. I'll see you later, yeah?'
Mitchell
pursed his lips, stepping forward as if to cajole George towards the
stairs- suddenly, two things hit George at once. Firstly, Mitchell
really did seem eager for George to head off to work; more
specifically, away from his room. Secondly, Annie was nowhere to be
seen this morning- something he hadn't noticed due to him having been
in such a rush. A suspicious look crossed George's face.
'Yeah,
you should. I'll meet you there, we can come back together later.'
Mitchell replied.
'Hold on one second.'
Mitchell swallowed
visibly.
George's tone switched to one of false casualness. 'You,
er, seen Annie this morning?'
Mitchell shook his head, taking an
instinctive step back towards his door; defensive, almost.
There
was a pause in which both men regarded each other- then suddenly,
with more speed then Mitchell would have ever put past him, George
was diving for Mitchell's door. Mitchell made a valid attempt to stop
him, but George had already opened the door and was looking inside
before Mitchell could yank him back by the collar and slam the door
closed with as little sound as such an action could be performed.
George's mouth was hanging open- he had seen the girl curled up
on the covers looking more peaceful in sleep than he would have ever
imagined she could look; his focus swung back to Mitchell, and he
ignored the vehemently irate expression on his face.
'Oh my God,'
He positively squeaked at him.
Mitchell had reclaimed his stance
outside the door. 'Jesus would you keep it down, George?' He hissed.
'You- you-' He started, but Mitchell interrupted.
'I didn't
sleep with her, George.' He could tell what the other was thinking;
it was written all over his face.
'But she-'
'I didn't sleep
with her George,' He repeated, positively growling at him now.
'Then
why the hell is she in your bed!' He demanded, and Mitchell glared at
him once more in an attempt to tell him to keep his voice down.
'I
told her she needed to try and sleep, right? So, she decided to use
my bed. Honestly, that is all that happened. Now, will you please
keep your friggin' voice down! Let her sleep.'
George still
looked dubious. 'Yeah, I'm sure that was the only reason she picked
your room, your bed.' His face was positively flushed with the effort
of getting such words out. 'Even I'm not that blind, Mitchell. I'm
off, now. See you later.'
And with that, he was turning away, off
down the stairs again and was out the front door within the minute.
Mitchell turned back to his door as he heard the front door close
softly downstairs. With one tentative hand, he reached out to
re-enter the room, peering round the door first. An almost sad smile
crossed his face as he took in the ghost in there; Annie was now
awake, still curled up on his bed, still partially consumed by the
shadow of night as the only thing that was picked out by the dim
sunlight that managed to enter the shaded window was her two
sparkling eyes. A sweet, cautious smile awaited him as he fully
entered the room.
'Sorry if I woke you,' He said softly, moving
to sit on the end of the bed.
Annie sat up and hugged her knees.
'S'alright,' She replied, smiling more widely at him.
'You sleep
much?' He asked after a moment, one hand running through his hair as
it so often did. She compressed a smirk.
'Yeah, actually.'
His
eyes, all of a sudden, danced, obviously pleased his idea had come to
fruition. 'Dreams?'
She looked thoughtful, the ever-growing light
in the room picking up the line of her cheekbone as she tilted her
head slightly. 'Hmmm,' Was her non-commital reply.
He frowned,
shifting his weight further up the bed towards her as he leaned on
his side. She spoke, again, before him, though.
'How about
you?'
He dropped her gaze and just shrugged.
'You turn a lot
in your sleep, you know. You're really quite a restless sleeper, for
a member of the undead.' He smiled at this, looking back up to he
eye-level. 'I was worried,' She admitted, and the humour in the room
disappeared- it was her turn to look away. 'I thought you were having
a nightmare or something. I was...' She paused, searching for the
right word. 'Scared.'
He frowned at her, eyebrows creasing over
his nose. 'I'm sorry,' He murmured, and, almost in a reflex action,
moved up the bed to pull her into his arms, hugging her reassuringly,
pressing a kiss to her hair. 'I'm glad you tried,' He whispered, and
she nodded against his chest.
'Do you think George still thinks
we slept together?' She suddenly asked abruptly, and he instantly
tensed against her. So she'd heard everything. Great.
'Let him
think what he likes. He'll probably sulk around the hospital for a
couple of hours before realising he's being stupid. It'll all be fine
before you know it.'
Annie wasn't convinced, pushing back in his
arms slightly to look at him properly. 'Why would he suggest it,
anyway?'
Mitchell was beginning to become more than a little
uncomfortable with the situation; his eyes searched hers, yet all he
could find was a resounding innocence that made him want to cry and
laugh at the same time; she was an enigma to him, utterly and
resolutely.
'You know George and his imagination,' He was aware
his voice had dropped back to a startingly husky-sounding whisper.
She acted as if she hadn't heard him, it seemed; her piercing
eyes continued to search his, almost disconcertingly, and he was
suddenly all too aware of his arms tight around her body. He slacked
his grip, just a fraction, but it was enough for her to notice;
seemingly with startling speed, she was suddenly kissing him, one
hand on his cheek, her cool fingertips tingling against his stubbly
skin.
He was shocked, at first; the randomness of such an embrace
stalled him for a few seconds as he put two and two together; why it
was his bed she chose, why George had seemed so unconvinced, her
probing questions.... Within seconds he was kissing her back, and
suddenly, fuelled by his eager response, all innocence he had thought
he had seen in her was gone and she was pulling them both into a
kneeling position, pulling his body flush against hers as her other
hand found the small of his back.
One hand crept into her black
curls, tangled and matted slightly by sleep, the other sliding round
her waist as he met her feverish passion with just as fierce a
response, relishing in her cool lips and body as an oasis from the
normal burning blood and scorching bloodlust he had to face; he
wanted her as much as she was making it evident she wanted him.
The
only thing he found irritated him about this situation, he realised,
as he pushed her down flat onto the bed and began to trail kisses
down her neck, was that it had been George, of all people, who had
pointed this out to him.
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