after tonight {{Cleo and Mitch}}

[sablesepulchre2]

THIS WAS WRITTEN BETWEEN DANI AND SABLE VIA GMAIL CHAT.




You look up to the sky
You long for something more, darling

[/b]

Mitch knocked on the door, brownies in hand, hoping that Cleo wasn't still talking to those girls.

Cleo was totally going to pass out but that was okay. Because this was hilarious. There was a knock at the door and she said goodbye, signing off the chat, before leaping up and rushing to the door . She pulled it open and beamed at him, "Miiiiitcchiieee!"

Mitch grinned, leaning in to give Cleo a kiss on the cheek. "Hey, babe." He held up a grocery bag, making a face at it. "I brought the brownies, but unfortunately they were all out of bananas and cupcakes." He entered the room, closing the door behind him. "Such a tragedy, I know." Mitch joked.

"Hiii," she chimed, giving him a quick hug before stepping back so he could enter the room. She laughed, quietly as her roomies were sleeping. "Brownies are all I wanted!" Cleo pointed to the beds and then back to the door. "I don't want to wake them up, doll. We should stargaze~!"

Mitch ducked his head down at the mention of room mates, acting as though they were in an old time spy movie. "C'mon, move quickly." He reached for the door again, pausing and turning back to Cleo before he did. "We need a blanket or a towel or something for outside. You know. Don't want to get our rears dirtied." Mitch quickly added to his comment. "By the ground."

Cleo snickered before hurrying to her bed and grabbing the blanket. She wrapped it around her shoulders like a cape and then returned to his side. "Onward!"

Creeping out the door, Mitch went into the brightly lit hall. Reaching out to take Cleo's hand after she checked the door lock, Mitch carefully pulled her towards the exit. They could go to the front lawns, but somehow that didn't seem as, hmm, romantic as it sounded. Especially since the street was right there.

Following him out of the room, Cleo locked the door before they headed down the hall and towards the doors. "Where are we going?" she whispered, though they really had no need to be sneaky now.

Reaching the doors, they went outside into the warm darkness. Mitch waited for Cleo to catch up before he continued. "Oh, i don't know." he said, placing a hand on her [upper] back as they walked. "I was thinking of that patch of green by the library. It seems like the appropriate place to eat brownies at."

Cleo did her best to keep up, occasionally tripping over her blanket-cape. Darn thing. "Oohhh, yeah! That's a good spot!" she exclaimed, now in step with him. It was strange, wandering around campus at night time. It was so quiet and empty.

Their voices were echoing around the courtyard as they passed from the dorm to the library. Mitch made a shshing motion, finger to his lips comedically. He hummed a bit, a soft tenor that echoed it's way around the space, smiling at the noise. "Beautiful night, isn't it?" It really was. Mitch wasn't just making conversation. The sky was clearer than the usual smog covered expanse that they saw during the daytime and a few airplane stars and flaming balls of gas dotted the sky.

Cleo nodded and started to put a finger to her lips before realizing both of her hands were occupied. And she didn't want to drop her blanket. So, she kept her grip on the blanket and listened as Mitch began to hum. Remembering the internet conversation , she wondered vaguely if he /could/ sing. She'd have to find out. "It's lovely," she agreed, inhaling deeply. Who knew New York could be okay?

They reached their destination - an unoccupied patch of turf shielded on one side by the library wall and the other with a few small trees. With a questioning look, Mitch reached for the blanket cape, taking it and spreading it out on the ground. "Shall we?" he said, gesturing to the spot and holding up the box of brownies.

Cleo reluctantly let him have the blanket. It was silly, of course, to want to keep it. She would have plenty of other opportunities to be childish. "We shall," she answered, sitting down criss-cross applesauce and leaning back on her hands. It was a bit cooler here, in the shade. Then Cleo remembered that Mitch had the brownies and she sat up straighter, suddenly excited for the sweet chocolate-y taste.

Mitch laughed, settling down next to her with a smile. "Someone's excited. All that talk of sweets get you craving some of your own?" He pulled out the brownies and a few napkins that he'd amazingly had the foresight to bring, handing one to Cleo. "Those girls were Izzy and... was it Rebecca?"

Cleo nodded, taking the brownie from him carefully. If she dropped this, she'd be devastated. She took a bite and wiggled happily. "I love brownies," she said once she'd swallowed the first bite. "Izzy and Becky," she corrected. People were not to call Becky Rebecca. Cleo learned that when she had first met the girl.

"Ah, that's right." He took a bite of his own delicious treat, thankful that it wasn't banana flavored or anything. Mitch glanced over at Cleo and nearly laughed aloud. "Er, Cleo, you've got chocolate here," He indicated the side of his mouth, grinning. She did have crumbs of the brownie stuck to her - and it was entirely believable. How many relationships had been based on the fact that any food shared will automatically be stuck to the other's face? Taking a napkin in his hand, Mitch attempted to wipe away the crumbs. "There, much better."

Cleo took another bite and looked up and around, admiring the night sky. All she needed now was a shooting star. She hadn't been paying much attention (she was keeping an eye out on the sky) when Mitch spoke. Cleo looked, startled and mildly embarrassed. Before she could wipe the crumbs away, he had already taken care of it. "O-oh. Er, thanks," she muttered, trying to ignore the fact that she was blushing. Which rarely happened.

Even in the dim light, Mitch could see Cleo blush. It took him aback for a moment. It wasn't like he'd never seen a girl blush, quite the contrary. With Mitch's inflated ego and way with words it was far too easy. Something, though, about Cleo was different than any of the other girls he knew. Well, for one thing, she was the only girl who had made him blush. "You're welcome." Mitch mumbled, turning his face up to the sky in hopes that she wouldn't notice. Had Cleo always been this cute, and only now he was noticing it? Mitch cleared his throat and spoke again. "Perhaps we'll get to make a wish tonight." He checked his watch - it was nearly 1:00 AM, late because of the internet chat they'd had earlier. "At 1:11, maybe?"

Having finished her brownie, she folded the napkin neatly to keep the crumbs inside, then leaned back on her hands again, watching the sky for shooting stars. She kept telling herself to stop being so nervous but, for some reason, she couldn't help it. 1:11? Cleo was a firm believer in 11:11 and she didn't want to change that. "Or now!" she exclaimed, pointing quickly to the sky as a star crossed her vision. Cleo squeezed her eyes shut and wished.

Mitch glanced upwards, but returned his gaze back to Cleo as she made the wish. He wasn't particularly happy with what went on in tonight's psychotic chat, but he was glad it brought him here tonight. Mitch smiled softly as he watched Cleo make her wish. A moment's indecision passed before he decided to put his hand on hers, leaning back to look up at the stars as well.

After she felt like a minute had passed, Cleo opened her eyes, realizing she'd treated the shooting star like 11:11. Oh well. Wishes were good. She leaned forward slightly, yawning and trying to keep it a secret. She'd been thinking of something to say when Mitch's hand was on hers. Surprised, Cleo simply smiled, feeling as if the night couldn't get any better.

Cleo yawned, reminding Mitch that it was pretty late. "Tired of me yet?" He joked, squeezing Cleo's hand as he did. He hoped that she wasn't, especially since Mitch didn't want this night to end.

Cleo shook her head quickly, "No!" Because she wasn't. How could one get tired of Mitch? He was so much fun, so unpredictable. It was a nice change. "Just tired. . . in general?" she added, unsure of how she could put it. It was that interesting middle; the tired in an awake sort of away. Which probably only made sense to her.

Cleo's reaction made Mitch laugh hard and loud. When was the last time he laughed like this? He honestly couldn't remember. Mitch smiled, moving a strand of Cleo's hair out of her eyes before returning his hand to hers. "Well, wake up silly." Was he being too, what was the phrase, "touchy feely"? Mitch hoped not. He'd hate to scare Cleo off.

Cleo bit her lower lip, unsure if she'd said the right thing. Normally, the tired-awake stage meant laughing at everything, but she wasn't sure. Which was, again, rare. But his laughter was contagious and she was soon giggling as well. It was nice, spending time with him. Cleo blinked, surprised, before she smiled again and blew the loose strands of hair out of her face. "I'll try, hun," she answered, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Good." Mitch smiled again, then sighed, laying down on his back with his arms behind his head to look up at the sky as he did. "Such a good night to be outside." He commented, looking over at Cleo. "And tomorrow we're going to Disney world. What could be better?" Not much, in Mitch's opinion. Well, getting rid of all the events of tonight would be great, but unfortunately words couldn't be taken back. He frowned for a second, staring up at the sky as he did.

Cleo watched as he laid back, a curious expression on her face. She listened carefully and then nodded. Disney was going to be /so/ much fun. She was so glad to have met Mitch, to have been on the computer at just the right time, to have had the guts to ask about it. Now she was going to freaking Disney World! Cleo fell back beside him, folding her hands together on her stomach. "It's going to be the best summer ever," she said with a determined sort of tone. Nothing would ruin it, she'd decided.

Mitch laughed quietly, still staring at the sky, trying to see the outline of the moon clearly. "It'll be great," He wondered to himself if he and Garrett would come to terms before the trip ended, or would their friendship still be in chaos by the end of the summer? "as long as Izzy and Becky don't try to marry us. I wouldn't put it past them to hire a pastor at Disney." Mitch smirked, turning to look at Cleo. "Be on the lookout, dearie."

Cleo laughed and turned to look at him. "Psh, a wedding in Disney World would be so fun, doll. But oooookay, I'll be careful," she snickered and looked back to the sky. It seemed the moon was appearing from behind some clouds because it got a bit brighter all of a sudden. Night time was the best time of the day.

Mitch just laid there for a while taking in all the sights and sounds. The sky was a deep blue, decorated with little dots of light with a haze of clouds (smog?) over it. He could still here the street traffic, but it was muffled by the crickets and the sound of the wind. And if Mitch listened really closely, he could hear Cleo breathing. Shaking his head and trying to stop being creepy, he cleared his throat, but he couldn't find anything to say. For the second time in his sad existence, Mitch was lost for words.

Cleo closed her eyes and willed herself to stay awake. It probably wasn't a good idea, closing her eyes, but she could barely keep them open anyway. She wouldn't fall asleep. There was a bit of a sugar rush going on. They'd always been a bit more extreme for her than they did for others. "Mitch," she murmured, assuming that talking would keep her awake. Cleo turned her head and forced her eyes open, giving him a tired sort of look. "I need more brownies."

Groaning, Mitch sat up slowly, retrieving a brownie from the box with care, making sure not to drop it. "Brownies, cupcakes, bananas. Are sweets really that important? Not that a banana's a sweet, but still." Mitch sat up, half facing Cleo, holding the brownie out with a devious smile. "You're sweet, did ya know that?"

Cleo answered with a tiny laugh. "Sweets are so important, darling." She propped herself up, resting her forearms on the blanket. He was still so far away (not really far away, but distance can be tricky to a sleep person, you know). Gahhh. "Miiiiitch," she whined, though she figured he wouldn't know why. She sat up some more until she was sitting up straight and took the brownie from him. "I know," she said, a bit to proudly before taking a tiny bite of the brownie. "Thank youuu~"

"You're welcome," Mitch murmured quietly. Cleo was pretty close to him, probably closer than she intended to be., and Mitch was having a hard time focusing on the conversation. She really was gorgeous - and she had a great personality to go with it. His eyes were getting heavier, from sleep deprivation or something else, he'd never know. Mitch gave a small smile; Cleo had a little brownie on her lip again. He brushed it off carefully, not able to avoid looking at her lips as he did. She was so close. A moment passed as Mitch tried to clear his mind and pass some kind of logical judgement, but he just couldn't focus. His hand lingered on her face, nearly cradling her chin, and Mitch gave in to the desire, leaning forwards quickly and kissing Cleo softly. Why couldn't every night be like tonight?

Brownies were delicious. Yum. Yuummm. Oh bother, she was so tired, her thoughts were being all random. She was glad Mitch wasn't telepathic. But how cool would that be? Cleo wanted to read minds. Fo'sho. What did that mean and where had she heard it? Some part of Cleo wanted to voice her thoughts to Mitch just to see what he would say but she was tired. And talking meant using energy. Right? She fought back another yawn and looked to him, to say she was ready for bed. Before she could say anything, though, he was brushing away more brownie crumbs (which she blushed at. . . again) and then he was kissing her. Wait. . . he was /kissing/ her. Cleo went from about-to-pass-out to wide awake. Shame on her, Cleo pulled back, just barely, as she was surprised.

When Cleo pulled back, Mitch's mind snapped back to reality. What was he doing? Crap. He pulled away from Cleo, looking down at the ground, completely embarrassed. "Er. Sorry." Why, again, was he blushing? Twice in one night? And for something so inconsequential as a kiss. He'd kissed dozens of girls, why was this any different?

Cleo shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. One) why had she pulled away? Two) What was wrong with her? Three) Tell him it's not his fault! But she couldn't focus on just one of them and they were all muddled into something like 'why had wrong with his fault' which made /no/ sense at all, even to her sleep-deprived self. "N-no," she stuttered and cleared her throat. Cleo did /not/ stutter. "No. . ." she paused. "Nothing to be sorry for," she finished, a smile on her lips. Now that she had said something, Cleo realized that he had /kissed/ her. Which meant he, like, really liked her. . . right?

Where was all his confidence and arrogance now? Mitch thought sullenly to himself. There was something, though, something about Cleo that made him perfectly at ease. And when he kissed her, it was like every one else could just go away. This was so confusing. Did Mitch like her? Or was this just lust all over again? Things were going so well, what had possibly compelled him to kiss her? He'd screwed things up again, the second time that night that everything had fallen to pieces. Now Cleo probably wouldn't want to see him again, especially since- Wait, what did she say? Mitch swallowed the knot that had been forming in his throat, trying to speak coherently. "Sure? I mean, are you sure that was okay?"

Cleo, who thought her thoughts made sense now, wasn't so sure. What if he didn't really like her and she was going to look like an idiot? God, she really didn't want that. But that kiss, as short as it was, had been... electrifying. And she almost laughed because Mitch used 'sparky' as his im'ing username. Cleo moved around so that she was sitting beside him and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Sure. I'm positive," she answered, now unable to stop smiling. Her summer was already starting out as pretty darn perfect.

As Cleo laid her head on his shoulder, Mitch breathed a sigh of relief. Good, she wasn't angry at him for the kiss. And what a kiss it was. Short, but directly to the heart-pounding point. Mitch was still trying to calm down, trying to get his thoughts back focused on reality and not the cloud nine they'd just glimpsed. He slipped a hand around Cleo's waist, pulling her a little closer as he turned his head to touch against hers. "Today didn't turn out as such a bad day after all." Mitch's voice was a bit more rumble-y (was that even a word?) than usual, even though he was speaking quietly. "And tomorrow, I mean, today we go to the land of dreams and imagination." He laughed aloud, touching the side of his face to the top of Cleo's head. "and the land of long lines."

Cleo was trying to find a way to describe how she felt. It was sort of butterflies-in-her-stomach but also a fuzzy-warmth-throughout-her-entire-body. And, honestly, she was okay with both of these. Cleo snuggled closer to Mitch, barely noticing the change in his voice. All that mattered now was that they were here, together, and everything was okay."It was a brilliant day, love," she agreed, though she assumed she hadn't minded the internet conversation as much as he had. She was a girl, though; of course she liked talking about getting married! Cleo laughed, "long lines? We'll have to see about those fast passes. . ."

"If I'm right, Ga- Garrett was supposed to get the fast passes for the entire group." Mitch mentally shook himself. Stuttering? He'd thought that he was over the whole chat room conversation, but apparently not. Now they had to spend the rest of the day with these people - all thirty of them - and the large majority of the group knew about the fiasco earlier. Mitch glanced at his watch. 1:58 already. That means they had exactly [insert hours here] left before the plane took off. Which meant that sleep was in order. Somehow, Mitch was having a hard time picturing even moving from this spot right now. It was too perfect, a contrast to the chaos before. "Hopefully tomorrow won't be too crazy."

Cleo's expression was worried for a second. Why had he stuttered? It was so unlike Mitch to do so. Perhaps it had to do with what had happened earlier that night. Cleo looked up to him, watching his expression for a moment before he checked his watch. She peered at it and realized how little sleep she'd probably be getting. Cleo prayed that whoever she sat next to on the plane would let her sleep. "Well, good. Fast passes will make it all much easier." Cleo was still rather furious with Garrett, though, so she wasn't quite sure what she'd do when she saw him. Try not to murder him? Yeah. Cleo laughed and shook her head, "there are twenty plus people going, doll! It's gonna be crazy~"

"This is true. Oh, so very true." Unfortunately half of the group were people he did not particularly want to sit with on the plane. Not that Mitch didn't like them. It was just that he preferred to being sitting with other people, like Cleo. He made a face as something crossed his mind - Mitch was going to room with Garrett for the Disney trip, which was going to be VERY awkward. He tried to put the thought out of his mind, burying his face into Cleo's hair. "Who are you rooming with, beautiful?"

Cleo fought back another yawn and instead snickered quietly. He seemed more stressed than she did about the entire thing. Perhaps it was because his sister had planned it? Maybe because he work at MaWF and would have to do paperwork or something? Cleo wasn't sure but he seemed worried. Which was not okay with her. She'd have to make sure he was feeling better tomorrow/later in the day. "I'm rooming with. . . " Cleo paused, searching her tired mind for the answer. "Izzy, Christie, and Krystal," she finally answered, "and the room is /right/ by the pool which I'm so excited about~!" Cleo was psyched to be so near the pool and beaches in general. "What about you, handsome?"

Mitch yawned rather loudly, a lot louder than he'd intended. Man, he was tired. It felt like this day had been going on forever. Well, at least for Mitch, it was verging on forty-eight hours straight. He was sincerely hoping to be able to snag a window seat on the plane so that he could sleep on the way down. And he was hoping, no PRAYING, that his row mates on the plane would be considerate. Yeah, nah. That was probably not going to happen. "Mhm? I'm with Garrett." Not thinking very thoroughly, Mitch stretched, removing his arm from around Cleo, and laid back down on the blanket with his eyes closed. He could probably just fall asleep here - it was summer. Anyone who was leaving campus had already left, and those remaining were certainly not going to venture out of doors early in the morning. Mitch's mind wandered as he lay there quiet. He really did like Cleo, but after she pulled back so suddenly, he was afraid to push any farther.

"Ick," was all Cleo could say. After tonight, she pretty much had no nice things to say about the Beare. Grrrraawrr. Cleo fell for a second before catching herself. She gave him a annoyed look before laying down beside him. The tiredness was coming back and she was about ready to just fall asleep here. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if she did. Cleo yawned, stretching her arms up over her head before placing them on her stomach as she had earlier. "It's late," she stated, which was completely obvious but oh well. The silence was nice but she was Cleo. And she always had something to say.

Well, that was stupid. Mitch should have just stayed where he was, completely content, with Cleo under his arm. But, nooo, instead he had decided to be the ignorant fool that he was and move. That was pretty much a blatant fail on all accounts. With one fell swoop, Mitch had made the night go from wonderful to awkward. "Yeah... and getting later." He turned on his side, propping himself up on his elbow. "Excited?" Oh, what a conversationalist he was turning out to be.

Cleo, to tired (and lazy, maybe) to turn onto her side, simply turned her head to look at him. Now he was stating the obvious. What time was it , anyway? She didn't have a watch and she'd forgotten her phone in her room. "What time is it?" she asked, rolling over onto her side and then onto her stomach. "And excited for what?" she was more comfortable now. Somehow, laying on the ground (with just a blanket as a bed) on your back was not comfy.

Now they were both just tired. Mitch chuckled, leaning over to give a quick kiss to Cleo's forehead before responding. "I think it's time to go to bed." He stood up slowly, brushing bits of grass off of his clothes. "Not that I really want to leave. Even though I expect we'd enjoy every minute of the time, we'd regret it when leaving for the trip." He held out a hand to help Cleo up. "C'mon, girly."

Cleo let out a whiny moan and tried shaking her head before realizing she couldn't really, while lying here. "I don't wanna move," she mumbled, rolling onto her side and curling up. She peered up at him from the ground before sighing and forcing herself to sit up. Ahhh, she was gonna pass outttt. She held her hands up so he could pull her up because there was no way she'd be able to do anything other than what she already had.

Making a pouting face, Mitch took Cleo's hands, pulling her off of the ground. "Poor Cleo, she's all alone with some handsome devil and she doesn't want to get up off of the ground." He kept her hand in his when she was standing, not wanting to let go, and grinned at Cleo. "What is the world coming to?"

Cleo laughed, leaning against him while also trying to stand on her own. "Such a handsome fellow," she agreed, nodding a couple of times. She smiled up at him, trying to find the right thing to say. "The world is ending," she joked before looking further up to the sky. She dragged her free hand through her hair and let out a slow sigh. "Thanks for tonight, Mitchie~"

Mitch put a hand lightly on her waist as she leaned against him. "Such a beautiful girl," he replied quietly, looking down at Cleo with a smile. What a way to end a strange night. "If the world is ending tonight," Mitch joked, pulling Cleo a little closer. "Then we'd better take advantage of it. And it's my pleasure to deliver post-midnight brownies to you."

Cleo stumbled just a little and blinked a couple of times before looking back to Mitch. Perhaps the best compliment she'd ever received. So simple. At the mention of the brownies, she looked down and searched for the bag in the darkness. "Don't forget those," she mumbled distractedly. "The world isn't /really/ ending, right?" she asked next, looking up to him with a slightly worried expression. Oh the thoughts of a sleep-deprived girl.

It was late, and that was the problem. Mitch was trying to be careful what he did, to not take advantage of Cleo while she wasn't thinking straight, but the attraction was still there, and he couldn't think of anything he wanted more than to steal another kiss. Absently, he nodded, looking for the bag of brownies as well, his mind not focused on the task at hand. "Of course not," Mitch said softly, trying not to be loud in the still night air. He found the bag of brownies and took them to Cleo, raising them up a little as he spoke. "Here's the goods." Fighting the urge was getting harder.

Cleo yawned and covered her mouth with her hand, squeezing her eyes shut. It was one of those really long yawns that nobody liked. If she didn't get back to her nice, cozy bed soon, she was just going to fall asleep here. Cleo looked to Mitch, rubbed her eyes, then stood on her tippy-toes, trying to grab the bag from him. While doing this, she tried to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. But her balance was way off and she ended up kissing his ear or something and she stumbled, grabbing onto his arm to keep from falling. "I'm tired," she whined for perhaps the fifth time that night.

They were already pretty close to Cleo's dorm building and pretty close to parting when Cleo attempted to give Mitch a quick peck on the cheek. He laughed at Cleo's fail, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer. "Try this." Mitch leaned down and gave her a true kiss, not anything that pathetic one from earlier. It was time for them both to leave, and if it was going to end, Mitch was going to make sure it ended with a bang.

Oh yay. She was almost to her nice, cozy bed. Which meant sleep and blankets and pillows. Cleo liked sleep. Able to walk on her own now, for some reason, Cleo was ready to lead the way to the dorm when Mitch grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close. Her cheeks must've been red for she knew she was blushing. . . /again/. Oh. Correcting her kiss was he? A tiny smirk spread across her lips before he was kissing her. No way was she pulling back this time. So she kissed back and, just as before, there was that electric sort of feeling. Like, bang!

Suddenly, Cleo was kissing him back, a very simple connection in reality, but it didn't feel like they were still in reality, did it? A spark of who knows what - emotion, love, lust? - passed between them, and Mitch tightened his grip, pulling Cleo just a little closer. Soon, it would be morning, and life would start again, but just for now, couldn't they stay like this forever? He kissed her again, a little softer this time.

Cleo was on Cloud 9. Which never really made sense to her but that didn't matter. Because it was where she was at. Of course she'd kissed other people but had there ever been this sort of connection? Had she ever felt like this? No. No, she had not. And it was such a brilliant change, so new and welcoming. Mitch was a breath of fresh air. Cleo stood on her tippy-toes and kissed him as she'd never kissed anybody else. Because, right about now?, here and now was all that mattered.

Mitch reached up and put a hand on Cleo's face lightly, pulling away from the kiss with reluctance. He smiled as he looked down into her eyes, brushing a piece of stray hair away from her face. "It's time for me to go, I've got to pack before I go to sleep." With a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, Mitch pulled away. "Goodnight, Cleo."

Cleo wasn’t exactly ready for the kiss to end, but if Mitch was, fine. Because she was going to float away on wings of happiness if this continued. Or something. He was so cute. She landed back on her feet, looking up at him. She frowned a little, unusual for her. Cleo was almost always smiling. But he was right. She had to finish packing and she needed at least a few hours of sleep if she was going to survive the plane ride to Disney. “Okay,” she murmured the smile back and that warm-fuzzy-electric feeling still keeping her wide awake. Cleo hugged him back before stepping towards the dorm building. “Night, Mitchie~”

Give me your right hand, I think I understand
Follow me and you will never have to wish again

[/b][/color]

[sablesepulchre2]

As Mitch made his way back to his own dorm, up the stairs, creeping into his room quietly as to not disturb his roommate, there were a lot of things on his mind. For starters, not tripping over the pile of laundry on the floor and avoiding stubbing his toe on the bed frame and making general noise in the stillness of the dark room as he changed clothes for the night.

What had actually happened tonight?

Garrett had abandoned him. He'd lost his temper at a druggie and a near-prostitute. He'd said some cruel things to his friend. Been a bitch and a jackass to everyone he came in contact with. Was declared engaged to Cleo by two high schoolers. And of course Garrett had to come in at the exact wrong moment. Mitch had been angry, frustrated, ready to just call it quits and screw the whole Disney trip over, then in strolls Cleo Everett - cute, upbeat, ready to conquer the world - and about to make him fall head over heels.

That's right. Mitch Sawyer, the lady-killer, heart-breaker player, was in love. At least he thought so. It wasn't just the misguided emotions or blatant sexuality of lust, and it wasn't a minor high-school crush. It was something different. A lot different. Cleo kept popping to the front of his mind, showing up with a smile even when there was no reason to think of her, reminding Mitch to cheer up.

In the dark, a small smile crept to his face at the thought of her, and Mitch sighed. There was no doubting it. Love. He closed his eyes, trying to grasp at what sleep he could get before the morning, the shadow of a kiss remaining on his lips.

Love. What would happen now?

[CLEO EVERETT]

What had just happened? Cleo, half-asleep, was trying to process how tonight had happened. There was that internet chat room with Izzy and Becky ranting on about cupcakes and bananas. They were planning a wedding, her and Mitch's wedding? Garrett, jerk, was assuming all sorts of things. It had been crazy and, though a lot of it caused her immeasurable stress, was fun in general. She had that conversation to thank for her late night with Mitch. For the brownies and night sky and shooting stars and amazing kisses. Cleo unlocked the door and slipped into the room, quietly closing the door behind her. Petal and Connie still slept, thank goodness. Becky and Izzy were going to interrogate her eventually and she much preferred for it to just be the two of them. She crept around the dorm, changing into her pajamas and organizing her part of the room. Cleo slid into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin, a permanent smile on her lips. She still felt all tingly and nice. WAIT. AH. NO! They’d left her blanket! Cleo sat up and frowned into the darkness. The sudden movement made her more tired and she laid back down. It would be there tomorrow.

The grin returned and she closed her eyes, reliving the night. Mitch was so different. He wasn’t like the other guys she’d flirted with or, on some rare occasion, gone out with. He was a breath of fresh air, he was change. Cleo had never been a big fan of change but this was interesting. It was good. She yawned and rolled onto her side, curling up and trying to clear her thoughts. Thinking never helped her fall asleep. Well. Maybe it would tonight. Because these thoughts weren’t going anywhere, anyway. Mitch was going to be on her mind until she fell asleep and probably when she woke up. Oh my. What about Disney? She was never going to get to sleep! Cleo turned onto her back and looked up at the ceiling, breathing evenly and trying to figure out if counting sheep would help. It wasn’t going too. Closing her eyes, Cleo had a vivid image of the sky she’d just been admiring. Oh. Much better. So, with the stars to lull her to sleep and a smile to remind her of the night, Cleo finally got some well needed rest.