He had just closed his eyes when he heard it.
"Tuck tuck tuck"
His eyelids snapped open and he glanced around the room for the source of the voice.
"Toooeees"
He sat bolt upright, looking around again quickly.
"Don't freak out, its me"
"Me who?"
"Me, Beatrice."
She slid partially out from underneath his bed and he looked over the edge at her.
"How did you get in here?"
"Easy," she shrugged, pulling herself up to a standing position as she spoke.
"Sliding door on the porch, knocked right off the track. They all do."
"How long have you been hiding here?"
"Oh, don't worry, I closed my eyes while you put on your very colorful jammie's"
He stood, moving closer to her.
"Are you completely whacko?"
She had moved to his windowsill and was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, looking at him. Roy watched her, amazed that the moonlight could make her even more beautiful. He didn't know that was possible.
"I'm sorry.. It's just.. Things got kinda crazy back at home." Her voice faltered momentarily but she continued. "My dad and Lana, they got in this huge fight, and I mean huge. She threw a clock radio at his head, so I beaned her with a mango.. She went berserk."
His eyes changed, meeting hers sadly.
"I didn't know where else to go." She admitted, shrugging to avoid the sadness entering her voice. "I was gonna stay with Mullet, but he wasn't at the boatyard."
"If you want, you can stay here."
She halfway smiled at this. "Really?"
"Yeah, just as long as my parents don't check back in, or we'll both be in trouble." He teased lightly.
Standing, he picked up a pillow and a blanket. "You take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor."
"No way! I'm fine right here."
"Alright, suit yourself." He tossed her the bedding and moved his pillow to the end of his bed to watch her.
She sighed. "Hey, cowgirl?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm really glad.. That, um." She stopped, swallowing hard.
"I'm just gonna call you Roy from now on, if that's alright with you."
"And what's wrong with Ling Ho?"
She sat up and smacked him with the pillow as they laughed together.
"Ow!" He feigned injury
She was sitting just inches from his face. He smiled gently, letting their eyes meet. Beatrice leaned in slowly as he softly brushed her bangs out of her eyes with a rough hand. Their lips brushed before locking. The kiss lasted only seconds, but it was enough to leave the duo breathless.
Beatrice sat back on her knees and gazed at him. "I was just gonna say that, um.. I'm really glad you moved here.. You've been such a good friend to me and Mullet.."
Her eyes started to water and she squeezed them shut, trying not to cry.
"I just- I was really needing someone like you to just talk to, you know? My team.. They're great but they just.. They don't get it.."
He slid down onto the floor next to her, wrapping his arms around her. She turned, pressing her face into his neck, tears wetting his shirt. His hands rubbed circles into her back, relaxing her almost instantaneously. She silently cried into his shirt, embracing him tightly. After a good ten minutes or so, he could hear her breathing slow down and become steady. He smiled and pressed his lips to her forehead before gently laying her onto the makeshift bed and wrapping the blankets around her sleeping form.
"Goodnight, gorgeous" he murmured, climbing back onto his bed. He fell asleep with her on his mind, very content with the fact that she liked him back.