Ch. 4 - Sleepy

The sun was hot and bright on the lake , but the air washing over the area in frequent bursts made the temperature ideal and comforting . Her hand moved gently and the small violin resting on her shoulder played cheerfully in the air to match the environment , shifting to a more somber , soft melody when what was in her head made it to her wrists .

It had been a week or so , the two college students had decided to house the alien out of fear for his safety and pure curiousity they hoped wouldn't be the end of them . The bright-eyed boy seemed innocent enough and had quickly adjusted to the Earth , Luna trying to keep him inside as much as she could because of the weird looks he would get from the average pedestrian whenever they made any small excursion to the store or otherwise while Raya tirelessly tried to persuade Luna to let him go out more often , which is probably why he left the house at all . She wanted him to experience everything the small city had to offer , too , but she found his safety more important . He couldn't get back to his home if he was captured by the government or sold on the Black Market .

She let her arm lower , her violin leaving her shoulder as she looked out at the lake , imagining him floating in the lake and wading his way over to where she stood on the grass . Sighing with clear conscious and seeping relief , she turned and made her way back towards the apartment building .

When she walked in , small black case hanging in her hands , the two sitting on the couch didn't seem to notice as they laughed about something or other -- the TV being used as white noise for their converstion . A lingering push on her chest started up , somehow making her mind less clear and analytically focused than usual . The door shut more loudly than it opened , now gaining her the attention of Cor then Raya .

Somehow , Cor smiled more sincerely and happily up at the girl who'd just walked in , and she could tell that she was getting a special sort of smile just for her . It dissipated any stinging discomfort in her chest , replacing it with the tightness and pulsing of warmth that spread throughout her . Her head was still not 100% there , and she shook it a few times in an attempt to think of something to say . Raya's face as she looked to Cor's -- hints of defeat and sadness loosening her mouth and drooping her eyes -- had an additional sobering effect that helped Luna conjure up some words .

" Hey , what've you two been doing ? "

Much to Raya's more obvious dismay , Cor stood and walked up to Luna and placed a hand on Luna's wrist as he started his excited explanation of the new things Raya had described for him . It already hurt from how long and how intensely she played her instrument , but under his touch it seemed to burn .

After he finished explaining what he had been taught and the humor of it all , the two now sitting on kitchen stools at the counter with Raya cosigning and additonally explaining while leaning against the fridge , Cor reached up and traced along the edges of Luna's rugged case .

" Where did you go ? And what's this , why did you take this ? "

She laughed lowly , following Cor's fingers.

" This is my violin , I go out to play by the lake sometimes . "

Cor seemed to understand the concept , but not entirely so Luna pulled the instrument out and handed it to him . An uneasy grasp on the violin held it to Cor's chest as he cradled it like a child. Raya and Luna exchanged a look , then quiet laughter as Cor drowned the violin in compliments -- ranging from the smoothness of it's texture to it's smell . Luna didn't even know her violin had an smell . Maybe it was her smell .

Cor looked up at her , one of those terrible looks that could mean he was confirming her thoughts or that he was just looking at her and she didn't know which , but Raya walked over and grabbed it from his hands , breaking their eye contact before Luna could analyze for anymore facial cues .

" I haven't held a violin for a while , either . They're pretty nice . Simple , but nice . " Raya quickly laid it on the counter in front of Luna before walking over to the front door and bending to pick up a backpack that had been previously tossed to the floor upon entry .

" Gotta' go to class now , " displeasure and reluctance were obvious on her face for a moment before she grabbed the door handle and smiled , " See you two later . "

The soft click of the door sounded as Luna met Cor's eyes again . Luna did her nervous half-squint half-smile .

" So . "

Cor's return smile was warm and gentle and so pretty , eyebrow raised to complete a questioning look .

" So ? "

" Want to watch some more TV ? "

Cor nodded sure , so they made their way over to the couch and sat comfortably -- comfortably being sprawled across each other , Cor sitting leaning against the arm rest of the couch as Luna sat leaning against his chest . Luna didn't realize until she was listening closely to his heartbeat that this wasn't a normal thing to do -- this was a couple thing . They'd gotten so close so fast , and none of it felt out of the ordinary to her until she really thought about it . It was so strange but felt so natural , and it had only been about a week .

" Cor , do you think we're too close ? "

She lifted her head to look into his eyes despite knowing it gave him a passageway into her thoughts , and Cor responded in a slow , unsure way .

" ... No ? Why ? "

" Because , I wouldn't do anything like this unless someone was my boyfriend or something , isn't it weird ? "

Cor looked into her eyes deeply , a small quirk in his mouth giving way to his confusion .

" Am I your boyfriend , then ? "

Luna's face heated and her mind ran in circles . She ducked her head back to his chest and tried to calm her heart for a bit while Cor still sat confused. She knew he didn't understand the concept of boyfriend and girlfriend , but dang if he wasn't going to try and make her have a heart attack while he did .

" Don't say stuff like that . "

It was silent for a bit , soft breathes and TV laughs being the only sound radiating through the room until Cor spoke .

" Does Raya not like you ? "

Luna's interest perked while her senses dimmed . Her eyes were glued to the TV screen , barely watching through her heavy eyelids and still somehow managing to sensibly continue the conversation .

" I think she's fine with me , why ? "

Cor's breath stayed constant as her's slowed , and he sighed before continuing .

" She gets these bad thoughts whenever she looks at you , even though she tries to push them back . I don't think she means to have them , I just think -- "

Luna's head got heavy on his chest and he peered around the hair blocking her face to see her lips loosely parted and her eyes gently closed , her eyelashes curling along the top of her cheeks . She was pretty to him , provenly trustworthy , and he felt now that he'd gotten the help he needed he wished he'd never got it . Never kissed her .