Tuesday: Cheering Up Who: Cian and Ava Where: the Andersen house When: late evening
Cian couldn't remember ever being so stoned before. It had been all he could do to drive the Fiat onto the ferry without running into a post or possibly another car. The ride back to Eldritch had been spent mostly in a daze as he tried not to think about how much this past day had sucked. The fight with Liam, the brooding-while-trying-to-deny-he-was-brooding about Ava, the fucking rain and running into Jess at Walgreen's... really, the only thing redemptive about the past twenty-four hours had been the vast quantities of pot he'd smoked with the guys. They'd smoked and eaten an entire chocolate cake that Darren's mom had made to go with the family dinner later, then watched some stupid movie and smoked some more. The entire afternoon and early evening had gone pretty much like that.
The end result was that he was still down and didn't want to examine too deeply why that was. It was easier to just drive through the sheeting rain and fog and hope he didn't hit anything. Fortunately for both him and the Fiat, he didn't, and he pulled into his driveway and parked the car, then cut the engine and the lights and hoped that he didn't run into his parents on his way in. He was quite sure that he reeked of marijuana and that his eyes were as red as a weasel's, and there wasn't much he could do about either circumstance. Pulling up the hood of his sweatshirt, he got out of the car and plodded through the downpour, deciding to go in through the back patio entrance. It wasn't all that likely that either of his parents would be lurking in the rec room, after all.
Ava had been trying to call Cian for most of the day. Well, not most of it, since that would have made her feel totally clingy and desperate, but for a lot of it. They usually texted back and forth constantly when they weren't hanging out, and when he didn't answer her first, say, seven texts, she had called. And called. When she continually got Cian's voicemail, she had begun to worry.
So, being the good best friend that she was, Ava had driven over to Cian's house in the early evening to check on him. Only he wasn't home, apparently. His car was gone, and when she let herself into the house to make sure, his room was empty too. She knew it was silly, but she was bored, so she flopped herself down on his bed and began to flip through a magazine she found in his room - non-smutty thank god. She checked her phone every now and then, even tried to text him a couple more times. There was a nagging voice in the back of her head wondering if he was pissed at her for some reason, but they'd had a lot of fun on Sunday, so she couldn't imagine why he would be. Maybe he just left his phone somewhere before he left the house.
Eventually the magazine bored her and she ended up dozing off, despite telling herself she should probably just go home.
Cian paused in the hallway downstairs, glancing in the direction of the master bedroom suite. There was the faint sound of television from beneath its closed door, but nothing else. Most of the time, his parents went to bed pretty early, so he figured they were both tucked in for the night. Which hey, good for him. He toed his shoes off and picked them up, then headed up the stairs, which seemed much longer tonight than they usually did. He could only hope he didn't lose his balance and fall down them, because that'd sure as hell make some noise. Luckily, he didn't, and he was able to get the rest of the way to his room undetected.
He was mildly surprised to see Ava there; he hadn't noticed her car parked on the street in front of the house. Cian figured she had probably texted him a billion times; he hadn't even glanced at his phone, which he'd left in the car while he'd been at Darren's. She was probably pissed. Maybe it was a good thing she was asleep, he thought. He put his shoes down and yanked the sweatshirt he had on over his head, dumping it on the floor. Beneath it he had on a black t-shirt that had seen better days. It was thin and almost threadbare with a Chinese character rendered in red on the front; he thought it meant 'strength'. Something like that. It was his favorite shirt, though, and he'd wear it 'til it wore out.
Cian turned out the room light and let his eyes adjust. It wasn't entirely dark, since there was a nightlight in the attached bathroom. Listening to the rain was much better in the dark, he thought. Feeling a bit more comfortable physically, at least, he stretched out on the bed next to Ava and stared at the ceiling with a soft sigh.
Ava hadn't heard Cian walk in, or even move around, but somewhere in her hazy, sleep induced brain, she felt the mattress dip under his weight. Prying her eyes open, Ava caught a wift of some funky, yet familiar scent. The room was dark, but there was no mistaking that it was Cian laying there, staring up at the ceiling. "You smell," she groused, pushing up on her elbow and using her other hand to push her hair from her face and rub her eyes. "Like pot or something." He reeked of it actually. Which told Ava what he had been out doing, unless she had a cold or something and was totally wrong. "Where were you? I left like, a bazillion texts."
Cian snorted when she told him he smelled, but he figured he had, even after removing the sweatshirt he'd been wearing all day. "Sorry to offend your nose, princess," he grumbled right back at her. Damn, he was in such a fucked-up mood. The pot had taken some of the edge off, but he was still low and sour and crabby. It really wasn't fair to Ava, because she hadn't done anything. If she wanted to go to lunch with Liam, that was her business. "Went to Darren's to hang with the b-ball team," he said in reply to her question. "My phone was in the car." He conveniently didn't mention that he'd had it on silent, and she'd think that was weird that he hadn't had it with him, anyway. Like most teenagers, Cian was very rarely without his phone for any reason.
She wrinkled said offended nose and snorted at him. "And you guys sat around smoking pot or something?" Ava asked, not letting his obvious grouchy mood affect her. "Sounds like a productive way to spend the day." Not that she was one to talk. She had spent all day texting him and hanging out in his bedroom. That was even more lame, in her opinion. Ava did think it was weird that he would leave his phone in the car, given he always had his phone. But as long as he wasn't simply avoiding her, she was willing to let it go. She flopped back down on the pillow she had been laying on, turned on her side to face him. "Since you totally ditched me today, I went through all your things and hid your porn stash somewhere where I doubt you'll find it anytime soon. It felt like a just punishment at the time." Okay, she she hadn't, but he didn't know that.
"We ate cake and watched movies, too," Cian said, still staring at the ceiling. He laced his fingers together over his stomach, feeling sluggish and stupid. "It's summer. I don't gotta be productive." Summer was his favorite part of life, and had been ever since he'd started school at the age of five. He was about to protest that he so hadn't ditched her, but well... he actually had. If Liam hadn't told him all that stuff the previous night, he more than likely wouldn't have spent hours sitting up at Darren's, particularly without even mentioning to Ava where he was going to be. Liam and his big, fucking mouth. Cian finally turned his head to glance over at her when she told him she'd hidden his porn stash. "Right," he said, not sounding convinced. Hells yeah, he had one, and in it were some of the filthiest magazines known to man. His hiding spot, however, was not easily accessible and he knew she was bullshitting him.
They ate cake? Then yeah, they had been stoned. It was kind of amusing to think of the basketball team eating a bunch of cake together. Dumbasses. Ava stuck her tongue out at him in a childish gesture, thinking he could have at least pretended to be freaked out by the disappearing porn stash. If she could read his mind, then she'd know where it was, then she could totally hide it herself. But... as usual, there was nothing but silence coming from his mind. It was refreshing, unless he was irritating her and she wanted to know what was going on inside of his brain. "So if you had pot and cake today, why are you being so grouchy?" Ava asked, rolling onto her stomach and resting up on her elbows, looking down at him. "And don't say you're not, because I'm not stupid. I thought pot was supposed to make you feel groovy and instead you're being, like, monotone and staring at the ceiling all emo."
There were times when Cian was ready to get down on his knees and offer up thanks that Ava couldn't read his mind, and right now was one of them. His brain was a confused jumble, and he didn't think it would help either one of them if she'd known what he was thinking. If Ava'd really liked him like Liam said, there would have been more signs, right? Either there hadn't been any or he was completely oblivious. There were times when he felt like he didn't understand anyone... like Liam. Why would his friend have told him that he'd asked Ava out and then turned around and told him that Ava liked Cian? Or used to like him, or whatever. He totally didn't get that, but anyway. "I'm not emo," he grumbled. "I'm tired, and I don't feel great." That was an understatement; he felt like homemade shit right about now. "Ran into Jess at Walgreens on my way up," he added, thinking maybe that could be at least a partial excuse for why he was moody.
Ava nudged his calf with her ankle. "Yeah, well, what do you expect when you smoke weed and then eat cake? With a bunch of stinky teenage boys?" She was thinking there was more going on there, but she just didn't know what it was. When he mentioned Jessica, however, some of it clicked into place. Running into Psycho Bitch would make anyone feel like crap. "That sucks," Ava said, grimacing as she usually did when Jessica's name was mentioned. "Was it awful? Did you tell her to bend over and stick her face up her butt?" Ava would have. Or would have at least seriously considered it. She had no idea why Cian broke up with Jessica, but Ava had heard enough of the girl's thoughts not to like her. And Cian was better off without her anyway.
Cian rolled onto his side and hooked his ankle over hers when she nudged him. "Yeah, yeah," he said, poking at the pillow beneath his head to prop it up some. Her question about Jessica raised a ghost of a smile on his face, at least. "She was buying tampons, and I told her it was too bad they didn't sell somethin' that could stop up her mouth. Then I told her I was about to go over and bang her sister. I thought she was gonna claw my eyes out." That had actually been kind of fun, in a demented and sick way. "I pretended I was buying rubbers to piss her off." Judiciously, he didn't share that Jess had asked him if he had to double and triple bag it so Ava could feel something when he fucked her. Jess was a bitch.
"Very mature," Ava said, but she was grinning and trying to hold back a giggle. Maybe if it had been anyone else but Jessica, she would have felt badly for them. But no, right now she was just amused. It was like she could imagine the whole thing in her head, the way it went down. "Nice move bringing Jordan into. I bet she would have loved to kick you in the balls for that one." She felt better that he was actually talking now and not grumbling his words anymore. "Kinda weird isn't it? How you can go from being totally into someone to wanting to do everything you can to piss them off?" She doubted it was very difficult to piss of Jessica Delaney, just like Ava was sure Jessica knew which buttons to push to set off Cian. If Ava didn't care about Cian so much, it might have been fun to watch them fight, but she'd rather Cian not have to talk to the other girl at all.
"That girl brings out my asshole side like nobody else," Cian said ruefully. "And I was actually holding my shopping basket in front of my 'nads. I know her too well." He still felt thick-headed and kind of stomach-churny from the pot and all the junk he'd eaten today, but overall, talking to Ava was helping him feel not quite so shitty. He relaxed a little, some of the tension draining from his body, his ankle still hooked over Ava's and one hand resting on his stomach, as if to soothe it. "Yeah, it is weird. When I think about her, I can't even remember the times we had fun, just her being a bitch." Jessica could be sweet, but it seemed like all too quickly she'd turned overly clingy and jealous, constantly harping about Ava and how Cian spent too much time with her. When she'd accused him of cheating on her with Ava, that had been it. Of course, he'd never told Ava the actual, nitty-gritty reason for their breakup.
"Ex-girlfriends have that special ability," Ava mused. Not that she had ever been an ex-girlfriend before, but she had seen it a ton of times at school. Exes had an uncanny knack for knowing how to get under each others skin better than anyone else. "I don't know why you stuck around with her for so long anyway." She could guess, but she didn't want to think about Cian's sex life at all thank you very much. Even thinking about Cian and Jessica doing anything generally made Ava feel nauseous and wanting to punch people. Or just Cian's balls to keep him from being able to get it up with her again. "Hopefully you won't have to run into her again. At least not until school." Ava could tell now that his eyes were kind of red, even in the dark. "Is that why you decided to get totally stoned and eat a bunch of cake? You could have just called me and we could have like, decorated Jessica's car with maxi-pads or something instead."
"Yes, you do," Cian said when Ava told him she didn't know why he'd stuck with Jess for so long. He'd never gone into detail with her about his sexual exploits-- she might be his best friend, but she wasn't one of the guys, so he couldn't do that-- but she had to know that Cian and Jessica had spent a lot of their time together banging each other and doing other fun things of that nature. She wasn't any type of dummy. "Should've dumped her a couple months before I did." But he'd been weak, and Jess was hot... and that was that. He shrugged a shoulder, letting his eyes fall closed a little. "I was gonna go get stoned anyway before I saw her," he said, which was the absolute truth. "An' by the time you could've ridden the ferry over to help trash her car, she would've been gone already." It felt like a struggle to get that many consecutive words out of his mouth, and he huffed out a sigh. "'Preciate the thought though."
"The sex couldn't have been that great," Ava grumbled. Enough to put up with someone you didn't even like? Jessica Delaney was too much of a bitch to be that bloody fantastic, right? Pfft. She poked him in the chest when she realized he was probably gonna pass out soon from the stupid weed. "You know, if I had known you were off getting stoned, I would have just stayed home, or found someone else to hang out with." She was trying not to be grouchy but talking about Jessica tended to do that to her, especially when there was implications of Cian slash Jessica sex. And her irritation at that only made her irritated that Cian got to go out and get high with a bunch of friends without her. And eat cake.
Cian's mood began to take a downturn again when Ava started to sound pissy. He needed to remember that it was never a good idea to talk about Jessica-- not that he really wanted to talk about her all that much, but he'd been trying to hint at why his mood was so fucked-up. Jessica wasn't even the half of it, but he couldn't really explain what was, not to Ava and not even to himself. Which sucked all the way around. When she poked him, his hand shot up to wrap around her fingers. "Quit," he said, but without the usual attitude he might've normally taken. His voice was very soft, and it sounded more discouraged than anything. His eyes were fully open again, but he tipped his face down so she couldn't really see his expression. Of course, it was dark, which helped with that a lot.
Ava was beginning to wonder if maybe Jessica tapped into more than Cian's 'asshole' side. Maybe he was really upset about the whole dumping thing, despite his constant 'psycho bitch' remarks. They had gone out for awhile, after all, and maybe one couldn't turn off feelings that easily. Maybe he was burying them all underneath false bravado about being glad she was gone and all that. Ava wondered if she was overthinking it, but her hand relaxed in his and she sighed. "You know... if you're upset over Jessica, you can tell me. It's not like I'm going to call you an idiot or anything." Even if she secretly thought he was in regards to that whole relationship. "You're acting all weird, and I doubt it's just the pot." She had been friends with him long enough to recognize his moods, good, bad and very bad.
"I know," Cian said. "I was upset for like, the night after I dumped her, and then I was over it." That was more than any of his other friends had gotten. To them he'd presented the front of fuck her, she was a bitch anyway. Over it! "I'm just not having a good day, and seein' her made it worse." Liam had told him absolutely not to tell Ava what he'd said, and he had to agree. He didn't like keeping things from his best friend, but it would just make things weird. And clearly if she had liked him or whatever, she didn't anymore if she'd accepted a lunch date with Liam. He sighed again, his eyes fixed somewhere in the vicinity of her collarbone, his fingers opening and resting over her hand, keeping it pressed to his chest without really realizing what he was doing.
"Why were you having a bad day?" Ava frowned, since she assumed if he was feeling crappy, he would text or call her. He was the first one she always called when she was pissy, or feeling down. Then again, he had a ton more friends than she did, so he had more options. If he was having a bad day, seeing Jessica and then smoking pot certainly wouldn't have helped. Her gaze flickered down to her hand pressed against his chest. It was an affectionate gesture, and a purely platonic one, at least one his part. It sort of made her pulse jump, but it seemed a lot of things did that lately. "Is everything okay?" He had been in such a good mood on Sunday, so this was disconcerting, at least to Ava. Anytime he was feeling like crap, she felt protective enough to want to cheer him up immediately and tell whoever caused him to feel like crap to eff off.
Because I don't want you to date Liam? Yeah, that would go over well. It was an odd sensation to have a secret from a telepath, but then it had always been like that with Ava. He wondered if it drove her crazy, not being able to know what he was thinking sometimes. She'd always said that it was refreshing, that he was soothing in the sense that he wasn't barraging her with thoughts... but then he could hide things from her too. Not that he generally did that, but he was just as happy that she wasn't privy to some of his more embarrassing thoughts. "Yeah, everything's okay," he said. "I just woke up feeling crappy, you know how that happens sometimes?" That was the absolute truth. He didn't have to say why he'd started the day with a black cloud over his head, right? And he didn't feel as if he could tell her he'd fought with Liam, because then she might connect the dots and realize that Liam must have let something slip. Which, God, the guy had a big mouth! He'd as much as said he wasn't supposed to tell Cian what he had, but he'd done it anyway.
He scooted closer to her, wanting comfort but not knowing how to ask for it. "I'm sorry," he said. "For being a jerk and not answering your texts or anything." That had been incredibly rude of him, and he knew it. He just hadn't been able to deal, and so he'd avoided.
"You weren't a jerk," Ava said, since in her mind, that was the truth. She didn't think he'd avoided her on purpose. He was just in a bad mood, and was keeping it from affecting Ava. She smiled at him, pulling his leg closer to her with her foot that was hooked over his. She could tell he was feeling down, and there was in fact, that need to make him feel better bubbling quickly to the surface. "And I'm sorry you had such a shitty day. If it makes you feel any better, I was totally bored without you." And since she could, and felt comfortable about it, she shifted and brought her hand up from his chest to push some of his hair from his forehead. "Tomorrow will be better though. There's that marina party, if you wanna go with me. Then we still have Vapor this week, right? Do you want me to like, do a little jig for you right now? Sing a song? Or should I just shut up so you can sleep?" She figured a good night's rest would probably make him feel a lot better.
Even with as gloomy as he still felt, Cian had to smile. There was no one who could make him feel better like Ava could. "Yeah, we'll go to the marina party, and I'm s'posed to pick up our fake IDs tomorrow." There were all kinds of possibilities when one had a fake ID. "But I don't want you to do a jig, as hysterical as that might be, 'cause that'd mean you had to get up." She'd shifted her position to push his hair back, and he took that opportunity to loop his arm around her. It was a bit chilly in here; his father was every bit the Danish spartan, and he kept the temperature in the house cooler than both Cian and his mom preferred. Being this close to Ava felt nice, and if he could stir his lazy ass to snag the blanket that was folded across the foot of the bed and pull it over them, it would feel even better. "Sorry," he said belatedly, his tone a little sheepish. "I know I still stink. You're gonna get a contact high."
It was so much nicer when Cian was in a good mood, and even that small smile she managed to draw from him was ten times better than no smile at all. And it made her feel really stupidly warm and tingly inside when he implied that he didn't want her to get up, even if it was to make an ass of herself for his benefit. All the worries about Jessica and Cian's mood started to dissipate though, when he put his arm around her. It was okay if he never saw her as more than a friend, because it was at times like this that she wouldn't trade what they had for anything else. He was still her best friend, and Ava wasn't going to lose that. "That's okay," Ava said with a faint smile. "You could smell like monkey's butt and I'd still put up with you. Besides, if I get a contact high, at least I'll find everything hilarious for the next few hours, right?"
Yes, this was much better. Cian heaved himself up enough to snag the end of the blanket and dragged it up over them, then replaced his arm where it had been. "It's freezin' in here," he complained, getting himself comfortably settled again. "Either hilarious or you'll end up being a mopey ass," he said. "And how would you know what monkey butt smells like?" Conversations like these reminded him of being in seventh grade again, when things had seemed so much less complicated all the way around. Really the only thing he'd ever had to worry about then was his schoolwork and the fact that he sucked at both math and reading comprehension. Now he had that along with other shit. But for right now, at least, he wanted to put the problems out of his mind and just enjoy Ava being here with him when he felt lousy. They'd been friends for so long that if his mom did happen to peek in-- which she most likely wouldn't-- she wouldn't think anything of Cian and Ava huddled together under a blanket on his bed.
Ava snorted when he laid back down, thankful for the blanket. It was summer, but Cian's house was always chilly. Probably due to the size or something. She snuggled under the blanket, bringing it up to her chin before grinning. "Because I've smelled you when you've played sports and haven't showered... I always imagined that's what monkey butt smelled like. Or maybe monkey butt would smell like bananas," Ava mused, "I don't know. But either way...the point is, you could smell totally awful and I'd still like you. Which you better appreciate, because I don't know many girls who would say that and mean it." She nudged him under the blanket with her foot playfully. "And you know, I would probably be like... one of those stoned girls who cracked up for about an hour, then I'd be a major bitch face." Sort of like when she drank! Which wasn't all that often.
"Bananas." Somehow that struck Cian as hilarious, and he snickered. "That wouldn't be so bad. It's probably more like... sweat and fur? Ew. I'm getting reminded of why I never liked to go to zoos." He reached his free hand up to tug the blanket over the back of his own neck and then nudged her back with his own socked foot. "I do appreciate it. Who else would let me get this close to them when I smell like a marijuana farm?" Cannabis. Whatever that plant was called that pot came from. "You never smoked any, did you?" he asked, thinking that he'd surely remember if she had. "We should do that sometime. It can be kinda cool when you're not in a shitty mood, 'cause then it makes you all gloomy." As had been illustrated by his behavior this evening. At least he felt better now, if still stoned out of his head. He'd have a major headache to deal with in the morning.
"Bananas, and sweaty butt fur. Awesome... yeah, that's totally you right now," Ava snickered. It didn't bother her that much that Cian smelled like pot. Maybe it did at first, but there were worst things to smell like, right? Or maybe she had on her Cian-blinders. "I've never had any, no... if I had, you'd certainly know about it... heck, if I had, it would have probably been with you." Who else was she going to smoke pot with? Jenny? So doubtful. "We'll do it the next time you're in a really good mood... sullen Cian brings me down," she teased. Though it wasn't really a sincere tease, since he did bring her down sometimes. Only when she didn't know how to cheer him up. "But you're gonna feel like poop in the morning, aren't you? Think you'll be up for going to the mainland for the party?"
Sweaty butt fur. Man, she really had a way with words. Maybe it was just the residual effects of the pot, but that struck him as funny, and he snorted laughter until he had to turn his head and bury his face in the pillow for a few seconds. "That settles it," he said. "I'm gonna score some pot next time I get the chance. Can you picture us both stoned? That'd be the funniest thing ever. And," he added, brightening, "my parents're going on their trip Friday. Something else to be happy about." He was getting warm and comfortable now, and the sound of the rain beating on the roof overhead was close to musical, and very soothing. "I'll be all right," he said when she asked him if he'd be up to going over to the marina party. "I'll take some excedrin, and it's not 'til evening, anyway." He wasn't one to miss any social event that was offered, considering that there wasn't much to do on the island usually.
His laughter seemed to be contagious, because she had to lift the blanket over her mouth to stifle her own giggles. It was nice to know that they were seniors and could still act like they were in middle school. She never felt like she had be a responsible, mature teenager with Cian. She could be as stupid as she wanted, which was just awesome. "Get some for when your parents are gone, that way I can stay over and not go home bitchy bitch face," Ava suggested, once her laughter died down. Her mom never cared much if Ava stayed at Cian's, as long as it wasn't a school night. Her dad might have issues with it, but Ava and her mom totally out weighed her dad in terms of female power. "If you show up tomorrow grumpy gus, I'm going to totally kick your butt. I expect to see smiling, bouncy Cian on my doorstep. You are picking me up, right?"
"Perfect," Cian said. If they were going to smoke some pot and get rowdy here, it'd be awesome to have his parents gone so they wouldn't have to worry about making noise or whatever. "I'll make sure I get some by next week, if not before then." He wasn't anticipating any problems with that. He could always just go to Darren's; that guy always knew where to get drugs. "I can't promise I'll bounce, 'cause that might look kind of gay, but I'll be in a good mood." He was already well on his way there already despite the fuzzy-headed stoned feeling. "Yeah, I'll pick you up about four-thirty, a quarter to." He knew the marina party started at six, and there might be lines for the ferry. Better to get a decent start.
"Awesome." Ava smiled, feeling ten times better. She couldn't even really remember why she'd gone through a brief grouchy phase anyway... well, she did remember, but it didn't seem that important now. "And don't worry, you can bounce in front of me all you want. You just can't bounce in front of your guy friends, 'cause then it would be gay. But... if you don't wanna bounce, then just be happy. I'll settle for that." She stretched under the blanket, hoping she didn't have to go home anytime soon. Maybe once he fell asleep and started snoring she'd ditch out. "Four thirty sounds great. I'll be ready to go. It better be fun, and not lame." She wrinkled her nose. "And if anyone is there I don't like, I'm gonna have to resist pushing people into the water." Namely, Jessica.
"If it's lame, we'll leave and go do something else," Cian said with a shrug. Seemed simple enough to him. "Or just poke around the marina." It was a big place, and he kinda liked watching the boats and the water, although he might not have admitted that to just anyone. He tried to keep up the jock front he had going with most people... but of course, Ava wasn't most people. He smirked and then sighed, readjusting himself as she stretched, keeping that one arm over her almost possessively. He wasn't keen on her going anywhere, and he was glad she didn't seem to be making any moves to get up and leave. "I'd love to see you push someone into the water," he said idly, his eyes blinking closed. "That'd rock."
"Okay." She grinned and wondered how long it would be before he started snoring. Ava knew she could close her eyes and doze off for awhile too, since she'd already done so before he got home. But right now, she was more interested in watching him. At least she could get away with it without him knowing. "You're totally falling asleep," she said. She scooted closer and closed her eyes. "Are stoned dreams as good as non-stoned ones?"
"Mm-hmm," Cian agreed when she said he was falling asleep. There wasn't much way he was going to be able to keep from it. He'd gotten comfortable and warm, and he was hoarding his favorite person in the world beneath his blanket with him... plus, he'd slept like shit the night before. Partially due to thoughts about said favorite person, but anyway. He wasn't going to dwell on that now. It took him a few seconds to be able to think coherently enough to answer her question, but he finally said, "Weirder. If I dream at all when I'm stoned. Last time there were garden gnomes in the pool, and that stupid friggin' Charley the unicorn from YouTube was in my dream, too." He grinned, still without opening his eyes.
Garden gnomes and unicorns. Wow. Ava grinned, opening her eyes just enough to look at him before they slipped shut again. "Sounds awesome... I bet you dream about dancing tampons tonight." Why not, given his run in with Jessica. Might as well make the encounter worthwhile with a funny dream. "Go to sleep," she instructed, snuggling up next to him. She would nap for awhile before she had to drive home. Thank goodness she didn't live too far from him. "I promise I won't write anything offensive on your forehead while you're passed out."
"You're mean," Cian mumbled, but he didn't sound as if he really meant it. He was too sleepy and too comfortable to argue with her, anyway. She was warm and soft and it was raining outside, and the combination of those things was sending him rapidly toward unconsciousness. He pressed his cheek against the top of her head, inhaling the fragrant scent of her hair and then exhaling a sigh that segued into slower, deeper breathing. Usually it took him a few minutes to fall asleep, but not this time. He was there almost immediately.
She smiled softly when she felt his breathing even into sleep. They had slept in the same bed a ton of times, and almost every single time he was long gone before she was. But that was okay. She was comfortable, and happy, even if he smelled like marijuana. Sometimes she thought he was a total idiot... in the most affectionate way possible. Ava sighed a tiny bit before scooting closer against him and letting herself drift away for awhile.