Becoming the Luna

I end up sleeping the entire afternoon away and when I wake up the sun has already gone down so naturally, Yanis is gone too.

I roll off the unfamiliar bed, beelining to the bathroom, there's no doubt about it, I'm taking a shower. I get the craving to wear Virgil's shirt but I suck it up and wear a random top and sweatpants.

I'm not particularly hungry but I'm peckish so I find my way to the kitchen to get a fruit, preferably an apple. I hear a faint and familiar voice from a room that I'd passed by so naturally I take a couple steps back.

"How can you not see it?"  Virgil's voice says in frustration. "Shit! Why the fuck am I doing this again?"

"You're getting it all wrong V, Nicole isn't like that, she nearly hurt herself when Jade went missing and it got even worse when she was found dead." Dale says, totally believing his words.

"You're just letting her manipulate the guilt you feel."

"I'm not doing anything." He denies vehemently and I slip away not wanting to hear anymore.

What was that all about?

"Oh hey, Hayden?" I bump into Aunty Candy on my way to the kitchen. "I didn't expect to see you up so late, do you need something?"

"Yeah." I say sheepishly, still flustered over what I had heard just a moment ago. "I um, wanted an apple."

She blinks at this then realization dawns on her face. "Oh, you didn't make it to dinner, Shana said something like you were exhausted and we shouldn't disturb you."

She makes her way to the kitchens and I follow suit.

"Oh yeah." I mumble indistinctly, secretly thanking Shana for her foresight, I don't think I could have sat down at the same table with Virgil and Dale while trying to keep up a brave face in front of the rest of my family.

"Are you sure an apple would be enough for you?" She asks in worry, already going to bring out an entire bowl of green and red apples. "Just take this up to your room and snack on it, it's not like anyone else is going to want to eat then anyway." She tags on when it looks like I'm about to protest.

There's no way to convince my Aunt to let me just take one as I had originally planned to do I just take the bowl from her and mumble a quiet thanks. "Thanks Auntie."

I remember Yanis as I say this, because I would always add the Auntie to her name, he had taken to calling her 'Auntie' which exasperated my Aunt to no end.

As I make my way back I smile softly, Yanis had politely asked me to be his date to Shana's ball and she was at the background whisper yelling 'say yes' while waving streamers around.

I had been half asleep so I didn't have to think too much, when I get to the hallway where I had heard Virgil and Dale's voices I become cautious, I know ignoring the issue won't make it go away but that didn't mean I was ready to face them.

Luckily, I make it unscathed to my room and sit cross legged on the bed with the bowl of apple placed at the center of my legs, there's a tv on the far end of bed that I rarely ever use.

On a spur of the moment, I lurch off the bed to grab the remote and settle in to watch some reality TV show, the perfect distraction.

I don't know when I fall asleep but I wake up to worried voices murmuring above me.

I wink open an eye to see Yanis leaning over me with a worried expression in his pale gold eyes, his glasses are on his face again and I smile goofily at them.

"Are you okay, minou?" He asks in worry, wringing his arms like he doesn't know what to do with them.

I blink slowly, my brain still feels sluggish and apparently it seems like it's just Yanis so those other voices had been a figment of my imagination.

"Yani?" I drawl sleepily, flexing my fingers a bit, I still can't feel the rest of my body. "You're here early."

He rubs his neck at this. "It's not that early actually, it's past ten and Renee said I should come wake you up."

I blink again, even more slowly this time. "It's already ten?" I mumble drowsily. "Why are you so red, Yani?" I look up at him again.

He averts his face at my question and fiddles with his tie, adjusting his glasses even as his face gets redder. He's already dressed for the ball and he looks edible in his crisp white shirt and black pants.

"N-Nothing!" He exclaims quickly and my suspicions increase.

"Why can't you look at me then?" I ask distractedly, stretching a bit.

Wait! I blink in realization, did I really fall asleep with the bowl of apples?

I slowly turn my head to the side and come face to face with an apple, there's a half eaten one just a little far behind.

"I'm covered in apples, aren't I?" I ask dryly but Yanis still won't look at me. "That doesn't explain why you won't look at me, I've woken up covered in a lot of things before."

"Your um, your shirt?" He mumbles, eyes still averted, nervous hands twiddling with his tie.

I glance down and see that my shirt is bunched up around my neck and shoulders, leaving the rest of my upper body bare.

I glance up at him again. "What's wrong with my shirt?" I ask, my eyes twinkling.

He chokes a bit and fiddles with his tie again like enough air isn't getting in. "It's… it's… nevermind." He gulps.

I smirk slightly, it's nice to know that you can still affect people even though it's poor Yanis who looks like he's about to pass out.

I stretch again, very unnecessarily and peer up at him from beneath my lashes. "Could you help me up then, I can't feel my legs." I really can't, I don't know how long I spent watching ridiculous shows and munching on apples with my legs crossed but all of that acrobatics is coming back to bite me in the butt.

Yanis looks like he's about to pass out but he helps me up anyway, breathing easier when my shirt drops, and a wicked idea hits me.

I wrap my arms and legs around him like a koala and stare down at him. "Yani, could you help me out with something?" I ask sweetly, smiling wider when he gulps.

"Yes, but I feel like I'm going to regret it."