Never Gonna Leave This Bed
Hi everybody! (Hi Dr. Nick!) I come bearing gifts of a month before Christmas cheer! This story is named after the song of the same name by Maroon 5, but thankfully it doesn't really have the same mood. It's more in line with my story That's Not My Name, in that they're about the same format. I'd like to thank themessofadreamer ( HeyThereDelena on Twitter) for helping me with the musical information regarding one of my favorite songs, 'Two Notes And A Beat' by The Lonely Forest. You should totally check her out (and maybe me as well, SuperGravyMan). Anyway, let's get on with it, shall we?
Disclaimer: There's a Seether album called Disclaimer. I don't own that, and I certainly don't own anything here, nor am I making any profit off of it. I mean, if you wanted to pay me for it, I wouldn't say no, but I don't see that happening any time soon.
For children, sleep is something that simply must be done to get back to play time. For teenagers and adults, it tends to be a luxury that is to be treasured above all else. No matter your age, there comes a time when you wish you would never have to leave your bed. Alex Russo's life contained five of these such moments.
The first time it happened, she was only ten years old. Young Alex woke up that December morning and looked out the window beside her bed to find the ground absolutely covered in giant mounds of snow that had fallen the night before. She shivered at the cold, wrapping herself back up in her comforter and flipping on the television she'd just managed to get in her room. Scrolling along the bottom of the morning news was that wonderful list of school closings she hoped for every morning, and she cheered as best as she could without removing her arms from the blanket when she noticed her school on the special list.
Alex quickly rolled over, wrapping herself tighter in the blankets. She could hear the wind whistling outside of her window. It was more than likely that, barring any interruption, the young Russo would have fallen asleep for the rest of the morning. Unfortunately for the tired young girl, her best friend chose that very moment to burst through her door yelling "Alex! Snow day!"
She poked her head up, giggling at her friend's antics. "I saw, Mitchie, that's why I was still sleeping."
"Sleeping?" The other girl cocked her head slightly. "But there's no school! We have the whole day to play together!" Mitchie hopped on the bed, crawling onto Alex and bouncing up and down. "Wake up, silly!"
There's usually not much to do in an apartment without going outside, but kids can find fun anywhere. And so it was that the rest of the day found the girls doing everything from making a block city over the entire floor to getting told off for turning Alex's bedroom into a makeshift mini golf course. Eventually though, Mitchie was forced to go home, as school was back on for the next day, and so the first of the times passed.
The next time wasn't until four years later. Alex had tried to go to school, but after just a few hours had to call her mother from the office and request a ride home. She was just too sick, and her coughing was starting to disrupt her classes.
When they got back home, Alex was quickly tucked into bed and wrapped into as many blankets as could be found.
"You just get some rest and I'll make you some soup, how does that sound sweetie?" Her mother asked, rubbing her overly warm forehead. Alex just nodded weakly, tossing and turning as she left the room.
It was unsurprising when, not long after the school day ended, there was a knocking on the door, and she opened it to find her daughter's best friend on the other side. "Hi Mitchie," she smiled, "you're here to visit Alex? She's resting up in her room."
"Thanks Mrs. Russo! I'll try not to wake her up." She turned to run up the stairs.
"Oh! Before you go, would you mind taking her some soup? I can make you a bowl too."
Mitchie's smile grew to face-eating size as she saw the large pot of soup on the counter. "Of course I can! I love your soup! I... I mean, I'm sure Alex will love your soup."
She chuckled softly. "You girls enjoy. Just try not to get too close to her, all right? We don't want you getting sick as well." Mitchie was already halfway up the stairs with the soup by the time she finished, shouting back an 'of course Mrs. Russo!' over her shoulder.
It was unsurprising when she snuck up the stairs herself a couple hours later to collect the dishes and found the two girls huddled together, asleep in Alex's bed. She simply smiled, shook her head, and headed back downstairs with the two bowls, and it was equally unsurprising a week later when Mitchie's mother came across nearly the same scene at her house. Those two never could stay away from each other for long.
Alex still doesn't like to talk about the third time it happened. It was just two years after the previous one, and sixteen-year-old Alex was crying in the new bed she'd finally gotten. The sun had gone down on the warm summer night a few hours ago, but she hadn't paid it any attention. She'd been wrapped up in the covers since arriving home from the bonfire she'd gone to that night.
That was where she had come across her boyfriend, well, ex-boyfriend now, trying to eat another girl's face. She shook at the memory, half shuddering at the disgusting picture it made in her mind and the other half still sad at having lost him, shaking out a few more tears.
Not long after that was when Mitchie quietly opened the door to her best friend's bedroom, glancing behind her to be sure she hadn't woken anyone else on her way in. She hurried to the bed, attempting to unwrap Alex from her blanket cocoon at least a little. Once she found the other girl's head, she re-wrapped her up with her arms in the tightest hug she could manage.
"Mitch...can't...br-breathe." Alex squeaked out, and she sheepishly backed off a bit.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm just sorry I took so long getting here. I just had to stop and deal with something on the way."
"You beat him up, didn't you?
"He had it coming!" Mitchie raised her hands in surrender as Alex rolled her eyes, though she did give her first small smile of the night.
Suddenly the other girl was hugging her, murmuring "Thanks for being such a good friend, Mitch."
"Any time, Alex. Nobody deserves what he did. That despicable little..."
"You already beat him up! I think you've done enough this time!" Alex chuckled, holding Mitchie out a little to stare at her like she was crazy.
"All right, all right." Mitchie nodded, "It's enough. For this time, at least. But if he ever even comes near you again, just let me know, alright? I will end him."
19-year-old Alex was in much the same state on a different bed, this time in her new dorm room. Her roommate was gone to classes again, for what had to be at least the second...third? It'd been a few days since she'd bothered to move or do things like check the date. She was too distraught to think of mundane things like that, she'd just kissed her best friend and ran away. At first, her mind had been unable to think anything beyond 'why would I do that now?' and 'she's going to hate me now, I just know it'. Although really it was pointless to think on why she'd done it, that was obvious. Her best friend was perfect, and beautiful, and all sorts of wonderful things she shouldn't have noticed and fallen in love with.
"Alex?" Came a voice, Mitchie's head poking around the door to join it soon after. "Are you in there?"
"Mitch?" Alex lifted her head. "What are you doing here? And why do you have your guitar?"
"Look, Alex, ever since...what happened a few days ago, I've been thinking, and I just couldn't find the words for what I really wanted to say to you... until I wrote you a song."
Alex's eyes grew. "You wrote a whole song? But you've only had that thing for a couple months."
Mitchie sat down on the edge of her bed, starting to strum softly. "Yeah, well, all I really need is two notes and a beat to sing to you my heart. Or at least, it's a great place to start. I mean, I don't really have the beat or anything at the moment, that's when a whole band is playing it, but... I did have a great muse."
"Mitchie..."
"Alex, just listen. Please." She picked up her pace with the instrument, starting to sing.
"Oh last night I dreamt a magnificent thing,
I held you close, I heard you sing.
Your voice was what I'd always wanted in a woman.
I know you say he's good to you, and I'm sure he is,
but darling he's all you'll ever know,
unless you trust your heart and let yourself grow.
If your skin was the ocean I'd sprint to your shore.
I'd wade in your shallows, alleviate my core.
If your hair was the fir tree all hollow inside,
with peace I would slumber.
Gripping this pen,
cliff over water,
envisioning drums in rhythmic salute.
Poetry craftwork is tough I won't bother,
but pull simple rhymes from the dirt,
who'd refute?
All I really need are two notes and a beat.
All I really need are two notes and a beat
to sing to you my heart, it's a great place to start.
D to a G,
swift as a bird.
muscles remembering, artless, absurd,
and modest attempts at creating a mood
with these thin metal strings my affection construed.
Gripping this pen,
cliff over water,
envisioning drums.
Poetry craftwork is tough I won't bother
but pull simple rhymes...
All I really need are two notes and a beat.
All I really need are two notes and a beat
to sing to you my heart, it's a great place to start..."
"Mitchie, that was..."
"I know, Alex, I know." She leaned down to meet her friend in their second kiss, and this time, no one ran away afterward.
22-year-old Alex Russo woke in a bed that was not her own, wearing nothing but the sheet. She rolled over and smiled at the still sleeping form of her best friend and now, her new wife.
Mitchie's eyes fluttered open slowly, and she murmured. "What're you thinking, all smiley like that?"
"Just how lucky I am to be here, and how I never wanna leave this bed."
"Well," Mitchie rolled on top of her, "that can be arranged."
Now you have an interesting option that doesn't come along very often. You have the option to cross the border into the magical land of reviews, and all you must do is write something in the box below and push a button. See you on the other side. -SGM-