They finished their cupcakes, Levi gathered the takeout containers and the cupcake box, and while he left to throw them out, Renna sat on the end of the bed, watching the movie.

When he returned, he glanced at the tv and said, "Do we really have to watch this crap?"

Renna bit her lip and scrunched her shoulders up to her ears, making her look small. "I like it."

"Of course you do," he said, flopping down on the bed and grabbing the remote. "If we're going to watch a movie, we're gonna watch something actually good."

Without consulting Renna, he backed out of the movie and returned to the Netflix homepage. She watched him scroll through the different movie categories and recommendations. He paused on a few, clicked on a couple to read the description, but kept searching.

When he stopped on a movie called "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" she waited for him to keep moving along, but her heart sank instead as he hit play and the movie began.

She looked back at him. "No."

"Why not?" He shuffled back on the bed until his back hit the headboard, and made himself comfortable. "It's good. I watched it last week. You'll love it, I promise."

I doubt it. No. I know, for a fact, I won't. Renna hated horror. Couldn't even stand to watch the trailers. She knew she wouldn't enjoy this movie or the time it would take for it to end, but she didn't argue.

Levi patted the bed next to him, and Renna reluctantly moved to sit beside him. They held hands between them, and Renna looked at that from the corner of her eye instead of watching the movie.

She glanced up at the screen at the wrong time and a scare gave her a jolt of fear. Levi chuckled a little at her frightful jump and lifted his hand—still holding her hand—over her head and around her shoulders, and pulled her into him. "It's just a movie. Nothing to be worried about."

Her eyes couldn't be forced to look at the screen after that. She tried to look elsewhere but could still see the movie in her peripherals. So, she shut her eyes and rested her head on Levi's chest so he couldn't see her.

The creepy music kept her from drifting off to sleep. I hate this. So much. Why did we have to watch a horror movie? There are millions of better movies to watch. Ones that won't give me nightmares. Why couldn't we watch one of those?

She focused on her breath. To keep her mind away from the terrifying scenes. In. Deep. Pause. Out through the mouth. In. Through the nose. Hold. Release it. In. Pause. Out.

She never noticed Levi speaking until he shifted and asked, "Are you asleep?"

Opening her eyes, she looked up at him. "Huh?"

He smiled. "Alright. Time for bed."

Renna got up to brush her teeth and Levi followed but went to the toilet first. Levi walked into the bathroom as Renna finished up.

Back in the bedroom, Renna took the remote and chose a movie to watch to go to bed. She climbed in under the covers and settled down to sleep.

Levi shut the door and turned out the light. "I thought we were going to bed."

"We are."

"Alright."

Renna focused on the characters, waiting to see what would happen next. In a flash, the screen turned black, plunging the room into darkness. Levi placed the remote on bedside table.

"Can't we play it for just a little bit?" Renna whispered into the dark.

"We don't need it." She heard him settling down into the bed, pulling the covers up. "We're going to bed, aren't we?"

"Yeah, but I—it's—I can't—I want it on just for a little longer. Please." She wanted something playing. She almost needed it. Sound in the background while she drifted off to sleep. It helped her relax. To sleep.

"Why?" he groaned. "Just go to sleep?"

"I can't...I..."

"Come here." He rolled and threw his arm over her legs.

Accepting defeat, she shuffled down and lay down. She snuggled into him and he pulled her in close. Warmth spread between them. She was immensely aware of his bare chest.

She would prefer his shirt on. The exposed skin made her a little uncomfortable. But she was okay with it. It's not that big of a deal. Maybe it's just uncomfortable after their testing of the limits.

She focused on her breath. The feel. Cold air in. Warm air out. The sound. The slowness. She used it to draw her attention away from the silence.

After minutes, Levi's light snores filled the room.

Renna willed herself to sleep. Knew she would have to wake up early for work the next morning. But the longer she lay there, the less tired she became.

Minutes, or hours, passed and she still couldn't sleep. Holding her breath, hoping he wouldn't wake, she began to untangle herself from Levi.

With a sigh, he finished the job by rolling over, letting her go. She waited for him to settle, then she found and grabbed her phone, and felt her way through the darkness to the door.

If she continued to lie in the dark with nothing but Levi's breathing to listen to, she would go mad. She decided to find something to do for a moment and try to sleep later. Drink some water. Watch some tv on the couch. Play games on her phone. If she were at her home, and couldn't sleep, she would consider baking something simple, but she didn't think she could do that here.

She expected darkness on the other side of the door, so was surprised with the light coming from down the hall.

Quietly, she padded towards the kitchen area. The tv glowed bright, showing a bright colourful video game. The light illuminated Jensen's blue hair like a silver lining of a cloud. The sound of buttons and thumb pads clicking was all that could be heard. No volume came from the Tv.

☆