Sleepover

The scratching of graphite against paper is a tune you’ve come to memorize, even enjoy as late nights provide the much needed quiet and solitude that allows space for your creativity to thrive. The people around you have plenty to say about your poor sleeping habits, but you can’t exactly help it if an idea for a garment comes to you as the sun dips below the horizon. In the long history of  great creatives, “good health” doesn’t exactly rank high on their list of priorities, so you figure you’re on par to opening that high end fashion brand one day. 

A gentle rasp against your front door reminds you to straighten your back. It’s 1AM—there’s only one person that would come over unannounced at this hour.

“Hey,” you hear Soojin’s voice from the other side of the door. Through the peephole, you notice a pillow in her hand and her comfortable outfit consisting of an oversized band tee and pajama pants with pumpkins all over.

“Uh, hey, what are you doing here?” you ask, opening the door.

She nervously shifts her gaze from side to side, avoiding your eyes entirely. “Well, I was in the neighborhood and—”

“Carrying a pillow?”

A hint of pink forms on her cheeks like blooming sakuras. “...Yes. Anyways, I thought I’d stop by and visit a friend.”

“It’s one in the morning, what if I was sleeping?”

“You? Asleep?” she scoffs. “I think hell would freeze before that would happen.”

Your eyes roll into the back of your head as her regular cocky attitude shines through. “Yeah yeah, whatever. Come in.”

Soojin’s grin widens as she skips into your apartment like she’s done plenty of times before, her gaze immediately gravitating towards the messy pile of sketches on your desk. “What’cha working on this time?”

“Just an idea for a dress I had,” you say, tidying up around your apartment. She shoots you a familiar impish look that always precedes an increasingly annoying line she likes to repeat.

“If you ever needed a model—”

“I know, Soojin,” you groan. “You’ll be the first person I call, alright?”

“Just making sure,” she chuckles at your expense, plopping herself onto your coach.

“Why are you really here?” you ask. That same nervous expression pops up on her face, an obvious tell whenever she doesn’t want to reveal the truth.

“I told you already, I was in the neighborhood and wanted to visit you.” She clutches her pillow closer to her chest, her gaze glued to the ground. “That’s all.”

You sigh. “You live a good half an hour from me, and that’s the best lie you could think of?” you quip, raising an eyebrow at her. All that gets you is a solid smack to the back of your head that knocks a few of your screws loose.

“I’m not lying!”

“Alright, damn!” you exclaim, clutching the back of your head in pain. The room falls into a tense silence as she huffs into her pillow.

Lies were so commonplace on Soojin’s tongue, as normal as butter on toast. You’ve come to expect every other word out of her mouth to be laced with some kind of half-truth, all dolled up to hide the cracks underneath. You can’t help but wonder why she keeps you around if all she does is play make believe with you.

“...Sorry for hitting you,” she murmurs, her tone uncharacteristically somber.

“Yeah, whatever,” you mutter, plopping down onto the couch.

“I, uh…” Her shoulders rise and fall as a heavy breath falls from her lips. “I wasn’t just in the neighborhood.”

“Yeah?” You glance towards her, curiosity piqued.

“Y-yeah, um… God, this is gonna sound so stupid.”

“Hey,” you utter gently, meeting her eyes. “It’s fine. Are you alright?”

She sighs. “Promise me that you’re not gonna laugh.”

Your heartbeat echoes with anticipation, crescendoing in your chest. “Um, alright, I won’t laugh.”

“Promise me,” she scowls, shooting fire with her eyes.

“O-okay, I promise,” you gulp nervously. “What’s wrong?”

“I, uh…” Soojin shoves her face into her pillow, muffling her voice. “Ifhadnighmar.”

“Huh?”

She huffs in annoyance before spewing, “I had a nightmare! There, I said it! Look at me, a grown ass woman with a nightmare! Whoopty-fucking-doo!”

You shrink in your seat from her outburst, but despite it all, you can’t help but feel grateful. Her eyes were on you the whole time she was yelling. She didn’t lie to you.

“Hey, it happens, what can you do?” You stand up from your seat and stretch out your back, a bout of exhaustion hitting you as the muscles in your lower back relax. “You’re free to crash on the couch if you want—”

“W-wait!” Soojin grabs onto your arm, her eyes wide in panic. “I… Nevermind. Sorry.”

For how much she lies, it’s a wonder how easy it is to read her. She’s like an open book written in a language that you can only partially understand. Sure, it takes a while to completely get her, but all that time and effort is worth it in the end.

“Eh, my room is too far, you mind if I stay on the couch with you?” you ask with a grin.

The corners of her lips lift into a sly smile, but her eyes betray her true feelings as they beam at you with appreciation. “Hm, fine. I don’t usually let guys sleep with me until the second date, but I’m willing to make an exception just this one time.”

“Oh god, if this is your idea of a first date, then we desperately need to find you a better taste in men,” you chuckle, molding your body into the space next to her. Soojin smacks your face with her pillow before laying on top of you.

“Whatever,” she huffs, shifting her body into a comfortable position. You begin to push her off, but decide against it as the warmth of her body sends you towards a peaceful slumber. A gentle pressure on your cheek is the last thing you feel before succumbing to your own exhaustion.