"Stay... the night?" I echoed, Elias just humming in affirmation. "I... I can't, I mean, staying for dinner is one thing, but I don't want to inconvenience you and your family any further. I'll just... I'll just try calling roadside again, I doubt all the operators would still be busy."

"Alex, it's already late," Elias said, rubbing his damp arms. "Who knows how long it'll take for someone to come look at your car, let alone if they're able to fix it straight away - it looked pretty bad. Plus, it's storming out there, we were in the rain for a second and we're both soaked. It would be dangerous for you to drive as it is. Just stay over. Please."

"But your parents..."

"They won't mind," Elias said, mouth beginning to curl upwards. "Mum said you can come any time. This is any time. Plus, she'd say the same as me. It's dangerous for you to drive home now, even if your car didn't look like it's about to explode."

As I opened my mouth to retort, a loud burst of thunder boomed outside, the wind and rain battering at the windows violently. Sighing, I ran my fingers through my soggy hair, which now flopped over my eyes. 

"Is it really okay?" I asked weakly, Elias nodding and grabbing my wrist again, dragging me down the hall to his room. It was small and a little crowded, but neat and well-kept. All of the furniture seemed to be pushed end-to-end, the bookshelf neatly organised with a few rows of books and soccer trophies along the top, a few other sports medals dangling from the cut-out slats around the border. Pushed into the corner was Elias's bed, neatly made in blue and green striped bedding, with maybe one-too-many pillows shoved against the walls. 

There weren't any posters on the pale blue walls, unlike Xander's which were covered in cars and boobs - an interior design choice I quickly tore down. Here, there were a few family photos on his desk, and a pinned cork-board on the far side with random ticket stubs, boarding passes and post cards, likely from places Elias had been. 

"I'll grab you a towel and some dry clothes to change into," Elias said, looking me up and down once as I continued to drip onto his carpet like a wet dog. I was sure that I looked like a complete mess, my hair sticking flat to my scalp and clothes in disarray from the storm. The wet clothes were uncomfortable, white t-shirt clinging to my skin and beginning to grow chilly. 

"Thanks," I said gratefully as Elias handed me a loose T-shirt and some dark sweatpants, immediately tugging off my soaking T-shirt. 

"Um, do you have a bag for me to put my wet clothes in...?" I asked, Elias blinking for a second before nodding quickly. 

"Y-Yeah, I'll go and get you a bag. We... We can wash them in the morning before you leave. Um, just leave them on the floor for now and change into the dry clothes. I'll also tell my parents that you're staying, I'll be back soon," Elias said, whizzing past me and closing the door with a quiet click. 

"Okay," I said to myself in the emptiness of Elias's room, smiling at the way he was in such a rush to cater for his guest. He really was very considerate, Aubrey is one lucky girl. 

"Ugh, but why am I the one stuck in this situation?" I grumbled to myself as I shucked off my rain-soaked jeans and neatly dropped them by the foot of Elias's bed beside my T-shirt. "Why couldn't mother nature decide to mess with Aubrey instead. This would've been a great opportunity for her and Elias to get together, but noooo, he just gets stuck with this sack of abs made of bricks instead. Any dude would prefer to get stuck inside during a storm with their crush, not with the designated third wheel. That damned author, the second lead's misfortune never ends, huh?"

As I mumbled frustratedly to myself, I slipped on Elias's clothes, which smelled of his fabric softener - a clean and fresh scent. Luckily, Elias was roughly the same size as me, though his body was made of leaner muscle and slightly less bulky. The clothes he gave me were of a baggy fit, and hung comfortably on my body, far better than the sticky coldness of my own wet clothes. 

It was truly a shame that it was me in this situation, though. Unlike me, Aubrey would have looked adorable wearing Elias's clothes - if he saw her wearing this oversized shirt, red hair undone and cheeks flushed, Elias would definitely be a goner. Instead, he just gets this bag of dicks. Poor guy.

Picking up my clothes from the ground, I heard the door tentatively open from behind me, revealing the second lead once again.

"Are your parents okay with me staying over?" I asked, worried, Elias nodding with a gentle smile. 

"Yeah, they're glad you're not driving out in the storm. My dad also said he can take a look at your car in the morning to see if he can figure out the problem, otherwise you can try roadside assistance again then," Elias said, taking my wet clothes from me. "Mum said she was also gonna do the laundry in the morning, so don't worry about that either."

"Your parents are so nice," I said, sighing softly as I lowered myself onto the edge of Elias's bed. "Mine..."

Well, I doubt they'd even notice that I'm gone. Not that I'm actually their Xander, anyway.

But... I wonder what my real mum and dad are thinking right now... When was the last time I had seen them before I died? I can't even remember. It had to be long before Amber and I left for uni. 

Well, what does it matter now, anyway.

"Hey, you're soaking too," I said, gesturing to Elias's own dripping clothes. "You gotta dry off as well, or you're going to freeze and catch a cold."

"Right," Elias said, clearing his throat as he brushed past me to get to his wardrobe, pulling out another set of well-worn sweatpants and a hoodie. Elias glanced at me as he gripped the hem of his T-shirt, and I raised a brow, the boy averting his eyes and quickly pulling the shirt over his head, changing like the speed of the lightning outside. There was the flash of dark, smooth skin and the soft indentations of muscle, the boy was almost plastering himself to his wardrobe as he changed. I quickly got up, smiling apologetically. 

"Sorry, I'm taking up a lot of space here, I'm probably in the way," I murmured, the soccer captain shaking his head.

"No! No, you're not," Elias assured me, vaguely gesturing around his room. "I mean, I know my room isn't the biggest, but you're not in the way. Really."

"Liar," I laughed, slowly making my way to the door. 

"Wait, where are you going?" Elias asked, my hand pausing on the door handle.

"Um, to the couch? I was going to sleep there..." I said, confused. 

"You can't sleep on the couch, Alex," Elias said, frowning. 

"No, it's really fine. I have an uncanny ability to sleep anytime, anywhere," I said, grinning. "I could always crash in the pillow fort as well, to be honest."

"And sleep on the floor?" Elias scoffed, shaking his head and striding the two steps over to me, reaching out with his lean arm to close the half-opened door behind me, looking me in the eye. "You're not sleeping on the couch or on the floor, don't be crazy. Take my bed, I'll use the couch."

Elias's room was suddenly starting to feel very small indeed, the boy's hand splayed across the door behind me, almost trapping me in. 

He doesn't want his guest to sleep uncomfortably that badly? God, Elias, could you be any nicer?

"I'm not kicking you out of your own bed, Elias," I said, rolling my eyes as I crossed my arms. "It seems we're at an impasse, but there's an easy fix. If you don't mind my tendency to kick people when I sleep, we could always just share your bed."

Not the first time I've had to share a bed with someone, since Amber and I always shared a bed when we were kids. Hell, we shared a womb for nine months, and apparently even then I was a kicker. Plus, Elias and I are just two dudes, there's nothing weird about sharing a bed amongst friends. It would probably be awkward if it was any one else, I could never imagine sharing a bed with Jake, or any of Xander's rancid friends. Elias should be fine with it as well, anyway. If he was sharing it with Aubrey, on the other hand... Well, need I say more?

Elias was silent for a moment, before he dropped his hand from the door, letting out a short breath of a laugh.

"If I wake up on the floor, I'm suing," Elias said, making me laugh.

"I better get my lawyer ready, then."

Elias and I looked at each other, before sharing a bout of hushed laughter. Elias soon went to brush his teeth while I made do with a copious swish of mouthwash, lamenting over my lack of a toothbrush. It wasn't long before I was crawling into Elias's bed, taking the cramped side against the wall since I didn't want to trap Elias in his own bed, the boy climbing in beside me before switching off the lamp by his bedside.

Plunged into darkness, everything seemed to grow quiet. Even the storm outside had lessened to nothing more than a creak of wind against the walls, a slight whistle against the windows. The silence amplified the muted sounds of our breaths, Elias's a steady in and out, soft like his spoken voice. 

The two of us lay on our backs, a small distance between us in the double bed, but I could feel his warmth radiating beneath the shared blanket. It was almost comforting compared to the coldness of my lonely room back at Xander's house. 

"Hey, Elias?" I whispered into the night, the boy humming. 

"What is it?" Elias replied, and I could feel his gaze on the side of my face in the darkness.

"Mm, nothing important. Just wanted to say thank you," I said, reaching my elbow out to gently nudge him, a gesture that was becoming more and more familiar. 

The bed shook slightly as Elias laughed quietly, and I began to drift into the land of dreams, the events of the day catching up to me.

After a moment, Elias said something, but I couldn't hear his words over the fog of sleep. It sounded like goodnight, though. At least, I think it did. 

***

"Amber, Amber, oh my God, you have to read this part," I cackled, barrelling into my sister's room and flopping across her on the bed, shoving the iPad into her face. 

"How hard am I going to cringe on a scale of 'sex-without-condoms' to 'orgasm-without-foreplay'?" Amber asked, plucking her earphones out with a grin. Flipping her tangled mousy hair over her shoulder, my sister raised a brow. 

"Oh, it's probably about 'anal-without-lube' level cringe," I said after a thought, Amber clearing her throat before she began reading the passage of 'Say No to Bad Boys' that I had given her.

"Okay, which part did you want me to read? Ah, right, here... Ahem. 'Aubrey could feel the thundering of her heart, racing through her ribcage like a stampede...' Wait, wait, wait, no, this is already so bad, this is beyond 'anal-without-lube', Lex! Why is her heart going on a safari and shit?"

"I know, right?!" I guffawed, rolling on the bed and kicking my legs as I tried to physically dispel the cringe from deep within. "And the next part, I got it memorised. 'Xander's scent engulfed her, a tsunami of deep masculine musk that made her skin tingle all over. She couldn't help but press herself closer to her boyfriend's chest, his arms latching around her, keeping her a prisoner with his love. With how close they were pressed together, their souls were one.'"

"Oh no, and it keeps going," Amber groaned, but her fingers kept scrolling, deeply engrossed in the novel. "'Aubrey's heart picked up once again, a rapid thump-thump-thump, unrelenting. She let out a gasp as Xander's hand on her lower back dipped downwards, down, down, down'."

"Am I doing Aubrey's voice?" I asked, Amber smirking with a nod. Coughing to prepare my throat, I pitched it high and tried to hold back my hysterics. "X-Xander, you're... you're awake, aren't you?'"

"Of course I am, kitten," Amber said in the deepest voice she could muster, though her voice cracked halfway through as she physically cringed. "'I've been awake down there for a long time too'... Oh noooooo! No, no, no, you lied to me, Lex! I'm dying from the cringe, ew, no, no, no, no, no!"

"'I've been awake down there' is the best line from this chapter, oh my Lord,"  I hiccuped as I tried to control my laughter, Amber dropping her head to my shoulder as she, too, tried to stifle the hysterics erupting from her mouth.

"Oh, man. I have yet to like someone enough for them to make my heart do some safari gymnastics," Amber said, rolling her eyes. "And if that ever happened, I'd be sending myself to a doctor because that doesn't seem healthy."

"Amen, Ambs," I said, rolling onto my back to stare up at the ceiling. Strangely, the familiar white paint of my sister's bedroom was slowly beginning to crumble, morphing into a pale blue shade that was  somehow familiar. 

"Hey, Lex, have you met someone who makes your heart do that?" Amber's voice asked, and I blinked.

Have I...

Wait, this wasn't how this conversation went back then... 

Ah, right. This is a memory... A dream... Isn't it?

Because I'm not here any more. I'm there.

Amber's image began to fade as she nodded with a smile, flicking my forehead gently. 

"Yeah, so you gotta wake up now, Lex."

***

It was in that purgatory between consciousness and sleep that I had the thought, 'God, I'm really comfortable right now, I never want to move, ever'. I melted into the mattress, back slightly curled with my head tilted into the sheets slightly, soft and warm. A light breeze fanned across the crown of my head, and my hands snugly gripped onto some warm fabric that smelled like clean fabric softener mixed with the remnants of a light-scented cologne.

Huh, that smells nice...

Breathing deeply, I let out a groan as consciousness began to grip me more tightly, grumbling incoherently as I snuggled into the warmth to try and evade waking a little longer. 

That smell... that's not one of Xander's colognes?

It's familiar... But... Isn't it...

Wait.

My green eyes flew open, the haze of sleep completely disappearing. Immediately, I was granted the view of soft cotton and a sliver of an exposed collar bone. My hands froze from where they were holding onto the sleeve of Elias's hoodie, and I suddenly realised the kind of position we were in. Our arms were between us, but I was holding onto the soccer captain's sleeve tightly, almost as if I was trying to pull us closer and keep him tethered to me. My head was nearly tucked under his chin, cotton tickling my nose, and I internally screamed.

Ohhh my Godddd, what the Hell am I doing?!

I frantically rolled across the bed until my back hit the wall, the mattress bouncing with my movements. Elias's face scrunched up for a brief moment as he mumbled incoherently, rolling slightly so he invaded the warm patch of bedding I had just vacated. 

"Oh my God," I whispered to myself, carefully sitting up and plastering myself against the wall, watching Elias carefully. The boy seemed to still be asleep, thankfully, his nose twitching with little snuffling sounds as his curly hair flopped over his forehead. 

Pressing my hand against my chest, I felt the rapid thumping of my heart beat, letting out a shaky breath.

"Hey, Lex, have you met someone who makes your heart do that?"

"Hah?!" I blurted out to myself, Elias shifting in his sleep at the noise. 

Wait, wait, wait, why the fuck is your heart doing this, Lex?!

I gripped the blanket as I looked at Elias, sleep-mussed and bathed in the slither of gold coming from the sun behind the curtains. Well, that's the image of a second lead for sure.  I sighed quietly, rubbing my face tiredly with my hands.

No, no, this makes sense. After that dream, and suddenly waking up to the second lead's face in the morning, that's a perfectly normal physiological reaction to surprise. Unlike Xander, I'm not used to waking up next to other people, it was just the surprise of seeing someone else there.

Obviously.

Waking up a bit more, I carefully climbed off Elias's bed, careful not to wake him, and quickly darted to the bathroom down the hall. I splashed my face with some cold water, running my fingers through my unruly tufts of platinum blonde hair to tame it, and briefly rinsed my mouth with some mouthwash. 

"See, your heart's already back to normal," I spoke to my reflection in the mirror, green eyes peering back at me calmly. "Totally, completely normal."

A knock on the door made me jump, hip bumping into the side of the bathroom counter and making me grunt in pain. 

"Alex? You okay?" Elias's voice called from outside, rough with and tinged with concern.

"I'm fine!" I pushed out, the sound thin and pinched, rubbing my definitely-bruised hip bone. Opening the door to reveal Elias standing there, I saw that the boy was rubbing the back of his neck with heavy lidded eyes, as if he were still half-asleep on his feet. His rumpled hoodie and bedhead made me suddenly laugh, Elias giving me a quizzical look.

"Nothing, nothing. Dude, did you sleep at all last night? You seem half asleep," I teased, Elias staying silent, making me pause, smile slowly dropping from my lips. "Wait... I didn't keep you up, did I? Oh my God, I'm so sorry if I kicked you. I did warn you, but I didn't think I was bad enough to keep you from sleeping. You should've just kicked me off the bed, seriously - I probably would've slept through it."

"No!" Elias said quickly, suddenly looking far more alert. "No, I slept fine. I'm just not a... morning person."

"That's very true," an amused voice called from down the hall, revealing Annika with a laundry basket resting on her hip. "Trying to wake this one up on a weekend before noon is a feat in itself, so I'm surprised he's up and about right now considering it's only 10. Ah, but good morning, Alex. Your clothes have just finished drying."

"Thanks so much," I said, grabbing my clothes from Annika. "Um, and sorry for staying over so suddenly."

"Don't worry about it," Annika said, patting my shoulder. "And I hope it's alright, but my husband took a quick look at your car this morning. I'm not too good with the car lingo, but something about a minor issue with coolant. My husband just tightened a few things, so he said it should be alright. Considering how Elias told me that it looked like your car was going to blow up last night, I guess we're lucky it was something so minor. I'd still see a mechanic just in case, though."

"You're a lifesaver," I sighed, Annika chuckling. "I'll probably head home once I change. Thanks again."

"Mm, sure! Just leave those clothes you're wearing with Eli, and I'll see you next time, Alex," Annika said, walking past and patting Elias on the shoulder once before continuing with her housework. Once she left, I quickly ducked back into Elias's room and changed, neatly folding the second lead's clothes. 

"You're going?" Elias asked when he returned to his room, leaning against the doorframe. 

"Yeah, I should probably get home. Parents, homework, you know the drill," I said, Elias nodding, taking the folded clothes from me, fingers brushing the back of my hand.

Thump.

"See you on Monday, then," Elias said, smiling softly.

Thump.

"Mm. Yeah, see you on Monday," I replied.

That's so strange. Why do such simple words make me feel so happy?

It may be cringe-level 'anal-without-lube', but I guess the power of friendship is a force to be reckoned with, huh.

A/N: Don't worry, folks - Lex will get there one day. But... that day just isn't today. Also, happy Lunar New Year for all of you who celebrate it - wishing everyone a prosperous, safe and healthy year of the ox! <3

And here's the meme of the week, courtesy of the wonderful honeybeebq once again - it's a work of art:

Quite a few people have sent me some wonderful memes, I'll be adding them to future chapters every now and then :) Feel free to send more! Thanks for all the laughs, loves x