>I feel a rumbling in my heart, or in my soul
>Or, just the bed vibrating
>Could be gas too, who knows man.
>Guess i'm awake now.
>I open my eyes to find two globes of green shining.
>The tableside light on behind her.
>She's been staring at me for however long
>Mapping me out like i did her.
>I wonder if her job as a cartographer is complete, or i should pretend to sleep just a little longer.
>But her eyes latch to mine
>She knows i'm awake.
>I don't know what time it is

>It doesn't matter
>I've still got one of my arms around her, the other fallen uselessly to my side
>Well, trying to be around her.
>She must have pulled me off to turn on the light
>That thought pangs against my psyche
>I explain it away
>Couldn't sleep maybe
>The room is still otherwise dark, so i know its not morning.
>But her eyes are still piercing me
>Looking through me, as if i'm not actually there.
>When i say we stayed like that, silent, for minutes.
>We did, real, full, minutes.
>Until she spoke
>"I don't believe you."

>Wow...
>I didn't know what to say
>That could be so many things
>So many fake girl questions, or circular logical lies
>But it wasn't
>I knew exactly what it was
>I didn't need to think it out
>There was only one statement in my mind
>She didn't believe what i told her earlier
>She didn't believe that i actually loved her.
>I don't know if that's a thing i can ever explain
>Because if there's one thing you can't ever prove to anyone when you're asked on the spot.
>It's that you love them
>Not without telling them a story.

>I was young
>Dumb
>Inexperienced
>And all i knew was media and television, anime and stories i had read.
>So i did what so many young men and women do when they're asked this question
>I confused emotional love, with physical love.
>I wrapped my arms around her and pulled raven close.
>I pressed one arm into her upper back, and the other hand against her buttocks
>Her chest to mine, her legs intertwined with my own
>I told her that i wasn't ever going to let her go.
>I told her that i would "Love" her all night
>I heavily implied sex, as if that was true love.
>[spoiler]But don't ever mistake those two anons.[/spoiler]
>[spoiler]Sex may be something you do with those you love, sex may be a way you reinforce the fact you love your partner.[/spoiler]
>[spoiler]But it is not the way you prove love.[/spoiler]
>[spoiler]Too many of us had made this mistake this sleepover, and i was the last[/spoiler]


>Her eyes glint with sadness
>And she struggles
>Pushing me off, pushing me away
>The only contact left, her hands on my chest, my hands on her shoulders.
>She had a look in her eyes i've rarely seen before
>But i recognized it
>Regret
>When she spoke, it was like a thousand blades, whispering across my flesh.
>"Those things we did... "
>She didn't even need to tell me
>Her tone had me hurting without another word
>But she didn't know that, so she continued.
>"I didn't... i wouldn't ever... i only did them"
>She's struggling to come up with the right words
>"For you... because you wanted them, because i wanted..."
>Stumbling over each one, each pair until she can find what she wants.
>"I wasn't ready"
>Those are the right words

>They hit me like they were the right words
>Like an invisible wall of force comes up between us
>Like we're no longer lying side by side, like the rain outside has stopped and i'm far away.
>But i still hear that voice
>Far off in the distance, as if it's yelling thousands of feet away.
>I make out little bits and pieces over that long distance
>"I gave you...."
>"Took it..."
>"....Threw it away"
>"Slept with..."
>"....Hurt me"
>But my ears focus for the last line
>"I can't take any of it back"


>It's rather clear
>I'm an Asshole
>A real football head
>The biggest fuckup the world has ever seen
>And i'm here pretending it's all good, all fine
>When its not
>She bared her heart and i crushed it, then came back expecting seconds.
>Really? she should get up out of the bed right now and leave
>Never to return
>And she tried, she shoved me off
>Tried to get up and leave
>But if there's one thing i'd learned this sleepover
>Out of everything
>I grabbed her arm, pulled her back
>Wrapped my arms around the struggling girl, and pulled her close.
>She was tense, shoving me away
>Struggling, kicking, but i wasn't going to let her go
>I just squeezed harder
>And i told her a story

Anons in the thread were treated to copy/pastes from the beginning of the story here. I'm sorry, stop throwing shoes at me.

>It was an epic tale
>With knights, dragons
>Ghosts, and demon dogs.
>Sinking ships and krakens
>Princesses that hid beauty behind armor, the visor only showing sparkling eyes of green.
>and a headstrong knight with that princess as his dear fighting companion.
>About the allure of sirens, the kreening call of mermaids.
>The talons of a harpy, and the battlecry of a true Valkyrie
>and the fall of that Valkyrie, by the errant swing of the knight's foolish sword.
>As he followed the harpy's alluring song.
>The story was far grander than the one you read today, engrossing, and meaningful.
>It was possibly the greatest story in the world.
>This is just a tribute.
>But the ending was the same
>The knight, finding his warrior princess dead, her armor in tatters and true beauty shining through, takes his own life.
>That's the story i told
>So that she would know


>And she did know now
>She had long since stopped struggling, listening to the sound of my voice.
>The calm ups and downs in the heroic tale.
>She knew the truth
>The reason i told her the story
>Because my life wasn't worth living if i ever made her go away.
>Sappy
>Cliche
>A shallow overused plot device indeed
>But it was true
>The only difference is that you watched it all unfold.
 >You understand why it was this way, why something so sappy and cliche came to be.
>Instead of an awkward one-liner in a romantic movie.
>And now she knew too.
>But it didn't really have the intended effect i wanted

>Even the greatest stories forget details
>Or maybe i just told it badly
>Because she was crying, and i never wanted that
>She squirmed one arm free, and slapped me across my face
>And she told me, malice in her voice
>That she wished the knight had gone through with it both times.
>That i never should have come through the door
>That she should have cut deeper
>And i wasn't alright with that
>I wasn't sad, or depressed for her
>I was angry that she could say those things
>She wasn't talking sense, like i needed to slap her to make her understand
>So i grabbed her cheek to stop her moving and brought back my hand
>But i didn't, i froze
>Her eyes locked on my upright fist
>and she spoke a matter-of-factly tone.
>"You can hit me."
>"I deserve it"

>But it was empty, meaningless
>Like a little girl repeating the words her father had told her time and time again.
>So i didn't
>I lowered my hand and brought it back around her
>and hugged
>and squeezed
>and didn't let go
>For what must have been an hour
>Our breath relaxed, but not deep and peaceful, both still fully awake.
>I learned many things over this tale and one of them was to wait for her to talk first.
>Very important, never forget it.
>So i did
>And eventually she spoke
>It was soft, a whisper to my ear.
>"I'll forgive you, if you forgive me"

>Its a deal
>Our hug changes to match the decision.
>From a normal embrace, to a lover's intertwinement.
>There is no difference between the two in position, angle or intensity of the hug.
>What changes is how relaxed the participants are, both calm, completely and finally at peace
>With no unwilling and tense muscles, or bodies to match.
>We both lost all tension, and relaxed finally.
>Drifted off into a peaceful slumber, in one another's arms.
>But that would be the dream world
>We relaxed sure, held on for another 10 minutes
>But her stomach grumbled.
>And we weren't very tired.

>So i let go and sat up
>And she did too
>But her hand found mine, not the other way around
>Moved out of bed, stood up and we were off
>Raven led me to the door, to the hallway
>We had another tiptoe adventure
>Avoided all the creaky boards even in the pitch darkness. Stumbled over soft pillowy things in the hallway, but never stubbed our toes once
>Never hit the sound landmines we did the night before
>She's still beautiful in the moonlight
>Her hair's not even a mess this time.
>But we cross the entire house, end up in the kitchen.

>Lights go on, Fridge is opened
>We share soup, and the extra leftover french toast.
>We're smiling, i hear a laugh as she deflects my fork from the last slice of apple.
>Its strained, but real
>It's lovely, i hadn't heard her laugh what felt like far too long.
>And we filled up on our delicious midnight feast.
>Or whatever time it was, it didn't matter.
>We put the plates in the sink, the clatter echoing through the house.
>No need to be silent really, who would care if we woke them up.
>We're hand in hand again, arm in arm.
>To the living room
>To the couch
>She hands me a controller
>Turns on the TV

>We end up sitting, arm and arm still intertwined on the couch.
>Just enjoying one another's company
>And playing video games
>Just the two of us
>I tell her to jump for the ledge.
>We can make it if we try.
>Throw down some blocks
>Building castles in the sky
>There was truthfully in my mind. No way i would have rather spent that last night of the sleepover than this.
>And it was how we spent it, hours later found by glasses.
>The early bird.
>We were both peacefully asleep
>Arm in arm, leaning against one another.
>Controllers still in hand
>It's a shame she turned off the console
>We didn't save.

>The morning of that day was a mess.
>Cereal was the breakfast of choice, nobody wanted to cook.
>We didn't even all eat at the same time. Blondie and Raven were never even in the same room.
>There was enough blood throughout the house to make an animated blood golem or something.
>So we had to clean all that up
>Hide the water damage as well as we could in the bathroom (it wasn't really that bad)
>Pick up every set of clothes in the house we had brought and toss them in the dryer.
>Load after load
>I must have handled every girl's pair of underwear atleast three times. All the pairs.
>Floors are swept, beds are made, clothes and sheets folded.
>It was like that scene from Snow White, where all the birds are picking up things and flying around tweeting at one another.
>Except none of the girls were talking much.
>I think everyone was angry, or busy or simply mellowed out.
>But that's just what the day after a sleepover is like, that's how they all end.
>Then that dreaded part came
>The phone calls to parents
>We were rather worried raven's mom would get scared.

>Explaining my injuries
>Raven's injuries
>The bloodstained (Some of it) clothes
>Head wounds
>Strangle marks
>That bruise on my back
>Yeah we were fucked.
>We lucked out there
>Raven's mom was busy, her stepdad was at work.
>We didn't bother begging or pleading with her.
>We could hitch a ride with someone else, or stay longer.

>No, i was done with the sleepover
>Don't worry anons, it ends here.
>So was raven, we made a call
>Packed up our things, everything we remembered bringing
>goodbyes were said.
>well between most everyone, Blondie didn't seem to be around.
>She didn't want to say goodbye, i could understand.
>I had broken her heart, it wasn't going to be easy to get her to talk to me again
>But i would try next time we were at school
>So raven and i walked to the door.
>And we left the house hand in hand.
>Walking down the path, and whistling for the waiting cab.

>But when it came near
>Raven noticed the license plate said "fresh"
>There were dice in the mirror
>If anything, we could say this experience was rare
>But i thought i'd forget it, we're going home to raven's house in Bel-air.
>Pulled up to her house, not worried about being late
>Yelled to the cabby "Yo holmes, smell you later!"
>Looked at our kingdom, we were finally there.
>To sit on our throne, as the prince and princess of Bel-Air.
>[spoiler]I shit you not, that's where we used to live[/spoiler]
>But we didn't notice.
>behind us, peeking out of the trunk.
>was a blonde haired girl
>Three bloody scratches down her cheek
>And a knife in her hand.