let me in | shirbert

chapter thirty seven ; reality can be wonderful

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"So I was thinking," Cole started in a casual tone as he tossed the pink beach ball back to me, "how would you feel if I asked you for a favour?"

Diana's naturally present smile stretched into a knowing grin as I threw the ball over to her as the final member of our little triangle, prompting me to raise my eyebrows in suspicion.

"Depends what the favour is," I replied coyly, playing with the sand between my toes as I watched Cole squirm under my observation.

Diana giggled, "this should be interesting," passing the ball onto Cole despite her eager gaze flicking between the two of us.

Our blonde friend gulped dramatically before letting the words tumble from his lips in a wild torrent. "Would it be completely awful and out of order for me to ask for you to possibly swap rooms with Billy? Just, it's the last night of our vacation and I wouldn't usually ask but I just really want to spend as much time with him as I can before we-" he trailed off bashfully, scratching at the back of his neck.

I hesitated momentarily, noting that both Cole and Diana seemed to have each sucked in a huge breath in anticipation for my explosive response.

However, as I tilted my head across to watch Gilbert messing about with Charlie and Jerry in the water, I was surprised to find that a small smile quirked on the tips of my lips instead at the prospect of sharing a room with Gilbert for the night. For the past week we'd only been growing closer, and I couldn't possibly deny that the night I accidentally fell asleep curled up against him was the best sleep I had had in a long time, completely void of nightmares.

So, to my own stubborn soul's horror, I simply replied with, "Of course I'll swap with Billy."

Cole dropped the beach ball in his excitement, squealing and sprinting over to embrace me. The force of his impact knocked me backwards so we lay there in the sand, hugging, until Diana lay on top of us teasingly and we couldn't manage the extra weight anymore.

I flicked through the pages of my now-completed book, the worn pages of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar protesting under my touch. Placing it gently on the dresser beside me, I glanced up to see Gilbert leave the bathroom, a mischievous grin flickering on his lips.

"What?" I asked uncertainly, throwing a pillow at him when he didn't reply quickly enough with a frustrated laugh, "what is it?!"

"I'm not too tired yet," The tall boy smirked, tugging on a navy jumper and making his way across our room to the door. He paused as his hand closed around the handle, smirking again as he glanced back to me still sitting on the bed. "Care to join me?" 

Without questioning the grinning boy further, I shoved my feet into my creased trainers and pulled on a jumper over my t.shirt, knowing that the breeze could get cold at night, following Gilbert who was already half way down the stairs.