Happy Thursday everyone! Hope you're all having a good day/night, and if not, I hope this brightens your day!
"Home, sweet home" Ashley said with a smile as she and Chris walked into her room. They had just finished eating lunch downstairs, and with her stomach full, the heat in her room keeping her warm, and the person she loved the most with her, Ashley was ready to settle down for a lazy afternoon. Chris lazily walked over to her bed and sat down on it while Ashley took out a pair of socks from her dresser to replace her current socks, which were wet with snow. The new pair of socks were mismatched, but fluffy and warm, making her feel even more comfortable. The brace on Chris' ankle was starting to annoy him, and since he was just as ready as Ashley to relax, he took it off as she plopped herself down in her beanbag chair.
As Chris got up and placed his ankle brace on the table across from him, Ashley curled in the squishy beanbag chair, about to take a book out of the large wooden bookcase that was adjacent to her. She expected Chris to lie down on her bed, but he walked over to her instead. He sat down next to her on the floor, trying to find a good spot to lean his head against the wall. Instead, Ashley stretched out her legs and patted them and Chris gave her a smile as he rested his head on her lap. He shuffled his head around a bit until he was comfortable, making Ashley smile. Everything was perfect.
"I was so scared that something would've happened to you when you went to find Josh" Ashley said as she played with Chris' hair, breaking the silence in the room. Even though Chris was in a somewhat sleepy state, he understood her. He was just as scared when he pointed that gun at himself, afraid that he was going to leave Ashley alone right after confessing his feelings for her.
"When the others went into the basement, I couldn't" Ashley continued. "I couldn't go somewhere safe knowing that you were probably in danger. Mike tried to urge me to go downstairs, but I wanted to make sure you got back safe". Chris smiled and felt his heart flutter slightly when she said that. She willingly put herself in danger to make sure he was alright. "When I heard that thing screaming, I got so scared that something actually happened to you. But when I saw you running towards the lodge, I had to help you, no matter what" Ashley admitted.
"I love you so much" she concluded, letting go of the bit of his hair she was playing with and wrapped her arms around Chris, giving him a quick hug. "I love you too" he responded genuinely, rolling his head over to rest easier in her lap. With a full stomach, being in a warm house, and resting comfortably in Ashley's arms, Chris felt his eyelids get heavy, and slowly drifted to sleep, content in her lap. Ashley smiled when she looked down to see Chris sleeping, a peaceful look on his face as she bent down to lightly kiss his cheek.
To make sure Chris wouldn't accidentally break his glasses while he was sleeping, Ashley carefully took them off and placed them on the table next to her. So as to not wake him up, she slowly stretched her right leg out and kicked one of her blankets off of her bed, bringing over to her. She draped the light blue blanket from her bed around Chris, making sure he was warm and snug. Ashley let out a content sigh, and upon making sure Chris was alright, she took out the Percy Jackson book she was reading from the bookcase, flipped to the page bookmarked, and began reading it.
Ashley was almost three quarters of the way through the book when Chris finally woke up. He stirred around in her lap, and when he blinked, everything around him was blurry.
"Ash?" Chris said, worried that something had happened. "Hey sleepyhead" she reassuringly responded, looking down at him with a smile. Chris looked up, and even though everything around him was blurry, he could make out Ashley's beautiful face. He smiled back at her and lifted his head up from her lap, blinking away his grogginess. Chris proceeded to yawn and stretch his arms, the blue blanket around his shoulders falling slightly. He smiled to himself. Ashley must have put it around him when he was sleeping to keep him warm.
As Chris finished stretching, Ashley reached over and took his glasses off her table, gingerly placing them back on him. "Better?" she asked with a smile, putting her Percy Jackson book back on its shelf.
"Yep, but I can still see how beautiful you are without my glasses" Chris responded, a smile on his face as well. Ashley blushed and reached over, kissing his cheek. He looked over at the clock and saw that it was already 1:48. "Wow, how long was I asleep?" Chris asked, taking Ashley's blanket off of his shoulders and folding it for her.
"Almost 2 hours. You must've been tired" Ashley said with a smile as she stretched her legs. "I felt comfortable and warm with the girl I love" Chris admitted as he stood up and carried the blue blanket to Ashley's bed, making her already pink cheeks turn a deeper shade. "Sorry about sleeping for so long though, it must have been uncomfortable sitting there for 2 hours" he said, sitting down on her bed. Ashley got up from the bean bag chair and walked over to Chris, sitting down next to him on her bed. She reached over and took his hand, lacing their fingers. "Every second I get to spend with you makes me the happiest girl in the world" Ashley said, giving him a warm smile.
Ashley scooted over in her bed and laid back in it, resting her head on her pillow. "I, uh, do you want me to sit somewhere else? Seeing how it's your bed, I don't want to, you know, make you feel uncomfortable or anything" Chris nervously said, his face turning red. He didn't want to lie down with her and make her feel uncomfortable or make things awkward.
Ashley smiled at Chris' nervousness. He was such a gentleman. "I promise you're not going to make me uncomfortable" she said, patting the space next to her. Chris gave her a small smile in response and scooted over to lie down next to her. Since there was only one pillow on her bed, Ashley scooted over to leave Chris some pillow space to rest on. He comfortably settled his head down on her pillow, their heads to face each other. Ashley reached over and grabbed Chris' hand, lacing her fingers with his. The two of them turned their heads to face each other, bright smiles on their faces.
"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" Chris jokingly asked, looking into her green eyes. Ashley blushed and picked her head off her pillow and rested on Chris' chest, prompting Chris to wrap her up in his arms. She felt so safe and comfortable when she was with him.
"It came up a few times" Ashley jokingly responded, reaching up to play with one of the drawstrings on Chris' hoodie. The two of them rested comfortably in each other's arms, the occasional car passing by outside being the only noise they heard. As Ashley played with the hoodie's drawstring, Chris looked around her room, spotting her pair of red ice skates in the corner.
"Hey Ash" Chris began, a smile coming to his face as the idea came to him. "Mhmm" she hummed in response, still playing with the gray drawstring. "I think I wanna go ice skating with you next week" he continued, and looked down to see Ashley's face brighten.
"Really?" she cheerfully asked, ceasing her playing with his hoodie to look up at him. The smile on Chris' face grew larger when he heard the excitement in Ashley's voice. "Well, I'd have to order some skates online and you'd need to teach me, but yeah, I wanna go skating with you" he concluded.
"I've got your back as long as you have mine" Ashley responded with a smile, reaching up and giving him a quick peck. Chris smiled back. He remembered trying to be brave for her when he said that, even though he was just as scared as she was.
"You were right by the way, about the gang still being friends" Ashley said as she rested her head back on Chris' chest. "Yeah, I'm glad we're all still friends" he responded, and the two of them rested on Ashley's bed in blissful silence, enjoying the comfort that came with being in each other's arms. Chris craned his neck to his right to see the clock on Ashley's desk read 1:53. He made a mental note to himself that he had to leave around 3:30 so he could start practicing with Sam for Ashley's surprise on Valentine's Day. Although if Ashley wanted him to stay, he definitely would cancel his plans to practice with Sam. Chris didn't want to be mean to Sam, but Ashley meant everything to him.
The two of them rested in each other's arms for a few more minutes, safe and comfortable with each other. "Wanna watch Netflix or a movie or something?" Ashley asked, turning her head upwards to look at Chris. He smiled down at her and replied "Sure", unwrapping his arms around her. Ashley climbed over him and got off her bed, walking over to her desk to retrieve her laptop. As she carried her laptop back to her bed, Chris sat up in it cross legged and rested against the wall it was next to. Ashley climbed back into the bed with him, sitting cross legged as well and placed her laptop off to the side. A confused look came upon Chris' face, but it immediately turned to a smile when she took a blanket off her bed and draped it over the both of them. Chris readjusted the blanket, making sure that Ashley was warm. She smiled at Chris and reached up to kiss his cheek, making him smile as well.
Ashley reached over for her laptop and placed it between the two of them, opening up the lid. She opened up a new tab and logged into her Netflix account, where they were greeted by her homepage. Chris smiled when he read the area titled "Recently viewed" which comprised of Finding Nemo, Parks and Recreation, Ratatouille, and The Office among various other shows and movies. Most of those movies they watched together when waiting for their friends, or in between classes when they had time, or whenever they were together and felt like watching something.
"Wanna watch Parks and Rec? We're only on season 3 I think" Ashley asked as she turned to face Chris. "Sounds good to me" he replied, although he didn't mind at all what they watched. Just being with Ashley made him happy. She turned back to her laptop's screen and moused over to the Parks and Recreation icon, clicking on it to bring up the next episode. After a few seconds of loading, the screen came to life with the episode and Ashley made it fullscreen for them. She pulled the sleeves of her sweater over her hands and placed them in her lap, adding to the comfort factor of the already cozy bed. Ashley then leaned over and rested her head on Chris' shoulder, prompting him to look over at her and smile. He kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her closer to him. Ashley smiled as well, and the two of them happily watched the show, content in each other's arms.
Thanks for reading this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it, and I'll see ya all on Tuesday!