ELEVEN
Jonas is a bit disoriented when he wakes. Was he out for five minutes or five hours? He might be able to guess if he were staring at the sky, but he isn't anymore. Instead his cheek is pressing against his makeshift pillow, chin lolling toward the floor, pointing his gaze straight at—
Shit. So much for all the talk of not getting too close. She's practically in his arms at this point. Not quite, but close. Basically. Well, one of them. The other is sprawled out across the truck above her tucked head. But one is thrown over her, holding her against his chest. At least he hasn't fully curled around her, legs safely on his side of the truck, even if she's got one of his wrapped up with hers.
God, it's like— like the universe conspiring against him. Or for him, in a weird way that makes him feel guilty on the regular.
He takes in a breath to sigh, and immediately regrets it 'cause he's inundated with the sense of Other and she actually smells really nice. Nothing flowery, no fancy headache-inducing perfume, just sort of… clean? It's nice, whatever it is.
Which is bad. Or— not bad for her, just bad for him and his resolve, 'cause he was awfully sure of himself before he fell asleep and now his will is kind of a mess.
Jonas swallows hard, tries to distract himself from the girl cuddled up against him by rolling his head to look back up at the sky. It's dark.
Oh shit, it's dark.
He's not gonna risk jostling Alex and waking her up (because- well, she does need the sleep), but his outstretched arm manages to catch her discarded phone and click the screen on to catch the time.
7:31.
Whoops. Can't pass that for just bad traffic. He'll have run errands or something, or come up with some other lie.
His stomach growls.
Or dinner.
.
Alex doesn't bother lifting her head at first, because that's the most solid sleep she's gotten in a few days, and she's going to savor that if at all possible. Though once she's convinced herself that she has to get up at some point, she adjusts herself enough to push up onto her forearms. And then she's staring right at Jonas. Fuck. Okay, yeah, fuck.
From how it looked, he'd at least half wrapped himself around her in turn, which is both a problem and really really not a problem at the same time. Because if he'd done that in his sleep, then she's freaking out about nothing. But if he'd done that while he was awake… Aaah, no, stop. That's the second time within a few hours she's let her mind get away from her. He probably isn't even interested.
That doesn't stop Alex from staying where she is, instead reaching over to pluck her phone out of Jonas's hands and swipe it open to look at her messages. A few missed calls from Ren, a reminder from Nona to finish up a project, and her mom warning her that she won't be home until early in the morning. So nothing new.
"Looks like you knocked yourself out for a couple hours too." She grins that crooked grin of hers, nudging him. "Was I that hard to keep up with?"
.
She stirs, and he raises his head a little, mouth pulling into a half-amused grimace as the arm on his chest elbows him in the gut gently as she sits up, his own arm unwrapping and falling to his side. Their eyes meet for all of a second before they both look away, both look to Alex's phone as she takes it from him.
Jonas wonders if the heat on his neck is just going to be a constant reaction to her. Like an allergy. An Alex-gy. Oh god, he must still be half asleep.
He scrubs at his face for a second, taking in a deep breath, almost a yawn— and then he is yawning, his whole body stretching and bending, a slight smirk catching on his lips as his back arches enough to unbalance her. "You're a menace. Never should've brought you here."
Now that he's let go of her he can grab for his own phone wedged into his back pocket, swiping it open. A single message from his mom, asking him to pick up milk on the way home if he's out. Simple enough.
.
She yips a bit at being shoved off to the side, taking a hold of Jonas's torso again while letting out a strangled kind of laugh.
"Aw, c'mon! I can't be that bad, can I?" Alex glances over him again, just for the sake of getting a better grip. He's built well enough. Still too tall (her type), still lean muscled (also her type), and still a huge teddy bear (really her type, Jesus, what is she doing?). That wasn't a thought she would've associated with him before. Too late now.
.
Jonas is just going to ignore the way she grabs onto him - try to ignore, anyway, while being grateful that their light is all from the shitty camp light throwing shadows around them, illuminating her edges in sharp relief. He can blame the dark for the way his pupils dilate, the halo surrounding her. Her laugh is infectious, though. He's grinning crookedly right back at her. "The worst. And I've only known you for like a week."
.
Alex has to drag herself up and over on top of him to reach her backpack and slide her phone back into the front pocket. "I mean, sure, maybe I can be. People here seem to think I'm the problem child of the town anyways, so."
No getting out of this for Jonas. He's attached now, and she's not one to let go of things. Especially if they just so happen to be a well-cut figure. She really needs to stop. Then again, does she want to? Nope. Not really.
.
An eyebrow cocks as she once more voluntarily puts herself awfully close to him. On top of him. He puts his hands on her waist more to steady her than anything else, though they do help him shift her away once she's gotten what she needs, even if his touch holds maybe a second longer than is strictly necessary. He can't tell if it's wishful thinking or if she really is sending mixed messages.
Based on everything she's done so far, he's willfully misinterpreting her actions. So, even if his gaze holds on once he lets go, he eventually looks away, as casually as he can manage.
He's already forgotten what she said. He was a little distracted.
"Should I be insulted that you're constantly falling asleep in my presence?" The thought occurs to him, and he can't stop himself before it's already said, with dry humor: "Really Alex, I feel like you're just trying to sleep with me." But he's cracked a grin, and is practically snickering.
.
Being offended was probably the opposite effect than how she'd think of it, but he isn't entirely wrong, in a sense. Her theory had panned out alright. So Alex winces slightly, kicks a foot up beside Jonas's, and starts her own brand of punchy rambling.
"Kind of? But not— not like that." Not yet.
.
"Once again; not sure if I should be complimented or insulted," Jonas murmurs wryly, though her initial kind of had shot his eyebrows straight up to his hairline.
.
"I have a running theory. Haven't tested it with other people, because I've mostly been avoiding sleep at all costs, but it works in this scenario. Sleeping close by you gets rid of the nightmares, and the dreams. Which just adds to the weirdness, really, but hey. Whatever works."
Whatever keeps Alex from keeling over in the middle of class again. That was more than enough attention for one lifetime, and she'd already halfway dealt with it, during some… choice moments in her very stupid career.
.
His fingers are drumming a haphazard pattern against his stomach as he looks at the sky, considering her words. Everything about the dreams, the— the visions, or whatever they are… it's just confusing. The smile fades to something more contemplative, turning the theory over in his mind.
There's an apology on his tongue, but he doesn't quite voice it. It's not like it'll do any good. He doesn't know any more about whatever the fuck this thing is than she does. Sorry you're haunted by weird nightmares just doesn't feel particularly satisfying. Instead he lets out a short, "Hm." Whatever works.
Jonas's head rolls sideways to look at her, brows pulled together in consideration. It's simple to think to offer some kind of… arrangement. But to contemplate the how is where it gets confusing. What would he even be offering? All he can think is some kind of weird nap/study date, but then the date word is getting in the way, and it's such a weird concept to present, and an awkward situation to propose, and… this is just kind of stupid, isn't it?
There's a beat of silence before he finally speaks. "Well." The word hangs in the air for a moment. At last, he lets out a low groan as he pulls himself into a seated position. "I'm about an hour late back from my class, and starving."
.
"Oh, shit, right." She'd nearly forgotten. Through this very hazardous series of butterfly effects, he's both missed his class, and missed his deadline for making things believable that he's actually been in said class. Which is mostly her fault. "Sorry for that."
Alex stretches herself out enough to crack her back, glancing over the emptied out housing development one last time before starting to climb out of the truck. But not before she fixes Jonas's hair to something at least a little bit more presentable.
.
Jonas is about to shrug it off, say 'eh, what can ya do,' but his attention is unwillingly pulled by that noise she makes - that breathy sound of exertion. Or maybe it's that combined with the way her body bows as she stretches. God, he needs a stern talking to.
She must not have noticed his surreptitious glance, or at least she makes no comment on it as she leans over his seated form to smooth his hair down. He finds himself watching her bemusedly, tempted to ask what she thinks she's doing, but biting his tongue because— well, it feels really nice, for all its brevity. Hands swat at hers but she's already pulling away, so it doesn't make much difference. "Thanks mom, I'm good."
.
Alex grabs her backpack to sling into the passenger seat again. She can walk home if he needs her to, but he'd talked about getting food… He isn't the only hungry person in the area at the moment. It had been another one of those mornings where Alex hadn't gotten out on time, and so she didn't have her usual lunch, or wallet to get another one.
Huh. Maybe that was another reason for her fainting spell? It's not like she's used to taking care of herself. Usually, she just gets yelled at by her mom to go and eat something. Before the whole… Before, Michael did it. Her family had kept her somewhat on the straight and narrow. Now, there isn't a whole lot of family left.
.
Jonas takes a moment to stash the emergency light back in the toolbox, locking it back up, before grabbing his own bag and climbing out to join her in the cab. It's not too dark, just past sunset, but he switches on the headlights anyway as the truck rumbles to life. "So is the grocery store on Ford the closest? I can drop you home before I go."
.
Alex starts to nod, and then pauses just a minute. "No, I think there's another one somewhere on Sedgefield, but I'm not too sure. I know there's a diner around there though. Got great biscuits."
God, biscuits would be good right now. So would bacon. Really any food at all, seeing as she hasn't eaten anything since breakfast. A really light breakfast. What had it been, toast and strawberries? Something fast as she'd headed out the door. But the offer she has in mind is extended tentatively to Jonas, like he's going to smack her hand away from the last cookie. "Maybe we could… go sometime? I mean, you said you needed to eat, and I basically haven't eaten, so…?"
That might be too much, laying it on too thick. Jesus she's bad at this. Last time she'd even thought of having a relationship was in middle school, and that hadn't gone anywhere, ever. Mostly because Alex never had the guts to ask. "Ah, nevermind, you're probably sick of me huh?"
.
Jonas can't help the small laugh at her comment, shooting Alex an incredulous look. Diner biscuits, huh? He's done graveyard shift trips to McDonald's before, and the 10:55 last minute stop at Burgerville, but hasn't seen a honest-to-God diner since the old summer trips to Missouri. They almost feel like a legend.
His eyes flick immediately back to the road at her meandering invitation, headlights sweeping around the cul-de-sac as he turns them around. He's avoiding looking at her, hoping she doesn't notice the slight furrow of his brow, trying very hard not to overthink the offer. "So by some time you mean… now?" The intention had been for some sort of charmingly offhanded - maybe slightly teasing - aside. Instead it comes out as merely a clarification. He pushes aside the urge to stare, to analyze her intention, to study what exactly she means and what what she means means in the grander scheme of things, and instead cracks a joke. "Hey, if you're buying, I could get used to this arrangement. Sleep with me, then buy me dinner. A little backwards, but I guess I'm a cheap date." Not that this is a date. It's a joke. Ha. So funny.
.
"Hey, if you're willing to stop off at my house for like two minutes so I can grab my wallet off the counter? I'll buy. My treat, for forcing you to deal with my whole-" Alex waves her hands around a bit, grimacing, "-freak out thing earlier. And forcing you to cuddle with me, I guess. That seemed to be a perk, though."
She's only half joking when she knocks Jonas's shoulder with the back of her hand. It doesn't have to be right now, if he doesn't want to, but hey; he'd been the one to offer getting food in the first place. Only right that she should pay for it since he's had the will to deal with her this long.
.
"I mean, you were the one taking the risk. Should really be more worried about me accidentally crushing you, let's be real." Jonas isn't quite smirking, poking fun at something that isn't even an accurate point because she's not that short, but she was the one calling him too fuckin' tall earlier, and he's gonna harp on about it because it's something he can beat her out on with literally no effort on his part. "Tiny girl. Weensie kiddo." He reaches a hand over to pat her on the head with a malicious grin as they exit the development and get back on the road.
Notes: Sorry for the longer breaks between chapters lately (also this is kinda a short one, whoops), been busy with stuff. Hope you enjoyed this li'l bb. Idiots in mutual pining; my favorite of all the tropes. ^^