I started writing this chapter back in March; like, I was writing it in junction with the Valentines chapters. At a word count of 1,451 words, I had considered this chapter done for months. It wasn't until I was writing the last chapter that this one had over 400 more words added (basically, the opening).
Thank you for reading!
Even though he couldn't see it, Anora was casting Ephemer all sorts of terrified looks. He didn't stop to so much look behind at her as he expertly led them around the dorms and to the fire escape.
"My dorm is on the tenth level." he explained to her, seemingly out of nowhere. "I've lived on campus so long that Ira found a loophole so I could live in the higher dorms even though I'm obviously not in the Tenth Year classes yet."
Anora didn't say anything, but her grip tightened around Ephemer's hand. She did casually wonder how often he used the fire escape, though, because he had them climb up and into the dorms without so much a squeak. He didn't even give her time to register what the hallways looked like before he brought the both of them to his room.
"Welcome to my room!" he declared once he had locked the door behind them. "I think the best part is the bay window. Not a lot of dorm rooms have 'em- they're usually reserved for those kids whose parents have way more money than they know what to do with."
Ephemer's pride was quickly squashed when he noticed her expression. "Anora?" he worryingly asked. "Are you okay?"
For a long time, Anora didn't answer. Her eyes were slowly looking over his room. Of course she noticed the bay window; after awhile, her feet started to walk her over to it. It didn't even quite register to her as she sat at the window and looked out. By now, the sun had disappeared over the horizon and led way to the first stars of the night. She didn't even see that Ephemer carefully took the seat next to her.
"Wow..." Anora marveled as she gazed up at the stars. Ephemer smiled. If he had the power to stop time, he would keep it at this moment. She looked so beautiful in her simple wonder.
"I love you," he sighed before he could stop himself. Anora paused, as if she wasn't sure she had heard him correctly, before turning her head to look at him. His smile was soft and his eyes were even softer. Making a conscious decision, Anora moved closer to Ephemer before giving him a firm kiss on his lips. Her fingers moved on their own, though, as they laced themselves around his neck.
Ephemer didn't fight it. He didn't want to fight it. Instead, he guided them both to stand. Anora pulled away from the kiss, confused, but Ephemer only offered her a gentle smile as he guided her away from the window.
. . .
When Ephemer woke up the next morning, his heart felt light and Anora was sleeping right beside him. As he placed a careful hand on her hip (not to wake her up, but more as a way to make sure she was really there), he had suddenly remembered that she decided to sleep in one of his shirts. It was an oversized cotton t-shirt that Aced had picked out for him two years ago, with some graphic on the front, but Ephemer didn't want to remember that at the moment. Instead, Ephemer kissed Anora's shoulder (wishing that it was her bare skin instead of the cotton sleeve) before he started to get out of bed.
Quietly, Ephemer started to gather his things for the shower, along with a fresh change of clothes. He made a point to lock his door on the way out- even if she wasn't still sleeping, there was no way Anora would randomly decide to just leave the dorm without some kind of exit strategy. He didn't even know how she'd react once she woke up and realized she was sleeping in his bed. For now, he just had to hold back his fears and let in all wash away in the shower.
Thankfully, it seemed that no one else in the dorm was awake. This meant that he could have the steamiest shower he could handle- he needed it to clear his thoughts of what had happened. As he placed his hand on the (admittedly kinda grimy) shower wall, a smile etched across Ephemer's lips. He peacefully closed his eyes as the warm water ran down his back. When was the last time he felt this… light? It was like the rest of the world no longer mattered- every time he thought of Anora, his heart only fluttered and his smile grew wider.
After about ten minutes of just standing there, Ephemer started to wash his body and rinse out his hair. Once he was sure he washed every part of his body, he turned the shower off and started to get dressed again. He still felt lightheaded as he made sure he had his things- he even tried to tell himself that it was from the shower now and not because he was still thinking of his friend. With every step taken back to his room, Ephemer could feel excitement growing in him; no one else but him knew that there was a girl in the Leopardus boy's dorms. Why did it feel so good to know that when he'd get in trouble the moment anyone found out?
When Ephemer got back into his room, he calmly closed the door and locked it back up. He looked over to his bed to see if Anora had waken up yet. Anora was still asleep, completely unaware that he had even left. Ephemer put his shower things back in his closet, then walked over to his friend. His smile returned as he brushed a small strand of hair away from her face. For a moment, he remained there, smiling like an idiot at his friend.
Eventually, Ephemer had the idea of getting breakfast and decided to act upon it. Once more, he left his room, locked the door behind him, then started to make his way to the cafeteria. It was still early enough that most students weren't even up yet. Good. Ephemer didn't need anyone wondering why he was getting enough food for two.
Ephemer hummed on his way back. Seriously, when was the last time he felt this happy? As he came back into his room for the second time that morning, he immediately tried to see if Anora was awake yet. At first glance, he assumed she was still asleep. He soon realized that her eyes were open, staring up at the ceiling and holding the covers close to her chest as if she couldn't believe she had woken up in reality.
"I brought some breakfast." he announced, making Anora jump as little. "Hope you don't mind- I grabbed a bit of everything."
Anora watched as he moved over to his bedside table to place the tray of food. He then turned to her, gesturing at the food, and said,
"Bon appétit, my bright light."
Not quite to his surprise, Anora lazily looked at the food, then at him, before throwing the covers back over her head. "I don't wanna get up." she groaned. "Your bed is nice..."
"But I'm not in it." Ephemer replied with a smirk before he could stop himself. Anora tried to move the covers even further over her head from second hand embarrassment- her face was red enough that you could almost see it through the sheet.
Ephemer sat down on her side of the bed, one leg actually on the bed and the other dangling off. He playfully tried to pull the covers off of her as he said, "I didn't keep you up too late, did I?"
Anora finally took the covers off of her head so she could smile at him. "No." she mused. "It was perfect."
A moment of relief washed over him. "Good." he sighed. "Good, good, good."
His friend laughed at him as she started to get snug again. A small silence filled the air between them then, but they didn't mind it. Then Anora remembered something so important that she immediately sat up straight in urgency.
"I need to get back to my dorm."
Ephemer recoiled a little. Sure, he knew that getting Anora back to her dorm was an inevitability, but did they have to do it now?
"At least eat something?" Ephemer then suggested. "It's not like I can put everything back where I got it without getting some weird looks."
But the conflicting look Anora gave him was the only answer he needed.
"Take some with you?" he then asked, trying very hard not to sound disappointed. Anora thought it over for a minute before giving an agreeing nod. She then started to get off the bed.
A cold chill ran up Anora's spine as her foot touched the cold floor. It was then that she suddenly realized that she wasn't wearing her clothes from last night. With a jolt, Anora looked around the room for her clothes- why were they scattered to different areas of the room?! Momentarily forgetting that Ephemer was still in the room, Anora quickly located her leggings and started to put them back on. She then quickly tried to locate her dress with little luck. She nearly jumped when Ephemer put a hand on her shoulder; Anora spun around to find that her dress was in his hands.
"You can keep the shirt." Ephemer sheepishly smiled. "It looks better on you than it ever did on me."
Anora looked up at him, her eyes growing wide and her face starting to flush a light pink. She averted her gaze as she took her dress back from him. Together, they found the rest of Anora's scattered clothing and found a bag for her to carry some food back with her. They reconvened at his door.
"Alright," Ephemer told her, laying out the game plan. "It's still early enough that not a lot of people will be awake. Especially not in the boys' dorms. The tricky part will be when we get to your dorm- I'm not trying to stereotype here, but Vulpes girls are usually up earlier than in most other dorms. Do you have your bedroom key with you?"
Anora gave a nod, showing him the key.
"Good. Keep it close to you; once we get to your dorm, we'll have to move quickly up the stairwell. Once I give the all clear, we go straight to your dorm as quickly and as quietly as possible. Alright?"
Anora gave him a determined expression as she gave a firm nod of her head. Ephemer nodded back. He opened his door slightly, to make sure no one was in the halls, before he gestured for Anora to go ahead of him. She didn't need to be told twice, darting out of his room and into the hallway. Ephemer quickly shut his door behind him then quickly caught up to her- he took her hand and together they fled down the stairwell and out of the boys' dorms.
They were making rather good time as Ephemer led them down the less taken paths around the dorms. As the rounded the corner of the main building, Ephemer stopped so suddenly that Anora bumped into him.
"Jiminy Cricket." Ephemer cursed as he forced him and Anora behind a pillar. At her confused expression, he explained, "Ira's coming this way."