Hate Me

The Rumors

making the bed- Olivia Rodrigo
"And I'm playing the victim so well in my head."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Ni-ki walks over to the hotel thermostat, pushing a few buttons. Uncomfortably, Cassidy slips under the covers in the cold dark, watching his movements. What a strange Monday.

"I checked, and the weather is gonna be even worse tomorrow. I can bring you home," He explains. She scoffs.

"So all of this was for nothing?"

"Yup," He says simply in spite of Cassidy's annoyance, walking over to the bed. He pulls up the soft covers and lays lightly inside them, placing his head on the pillow. They both stare at the ceiling, unable to even attempt to sleep due to the rather strange conditions. Luckily, the bed is large and they have quite some distance between them.

"What even got you in to all this stuff?" She asks suddenly, turning to Ni-ki. She's always been curious how he's only seventeen but is involved with everything he does, she's just never had the courage to ask. And tonight, with how intimate this bed situation seems to be, there could be no better time. Ni-ki doesn't look at her, he continues to look up, but his eyes soften ever so slightly.

"That's a long story."

"We have all night," At this, Ni-ki finally turns around, facing Cassidy. Her face is gentle, open to whatever he has to offer. He sighs.

"Well, I guess I never really 'got into' it. It's always been here. The business, our clients. My dad said it's been going for generations, illegally selling to our clients for so long until it became impossible to beat us." Cassidy raises a brow. She never considered that this would be a family thing. She encourages him to go on.

"I haven't always lived here, I-" He stops himself, shaking his head.

"What? Keep going," She says. He shakes his head again. Maybe he's not that comfortable with her yet, just maybe. Or maybe, he's already shown how comfortable he is with her by telling her this. Maybe, maybe nobody knows. Maybe to her, it didn't seem like much, but to him it meant everything.

"Thank you for telling me," She says lightly in a caring voice. She doesn't know why, but she has this deep sense of empathy towards him. Just talking about his family seemed to make him shakey, nervous. She's happy he can get that vulnerable around her, even if she doesn't know much more than she did about him before. He looks back at her, and seeing her warm smile, he almost breaks into one himself. But, he stops himself.

It was a small conversation, but she feels like she understands him so much more. Not when it comes to him and his background, but emotionally. She understands him.

Ni-ki turns over, as does Cassidy, opposite of each other. They're both satisfied with how the conversation ended. Taking one last yawn, she closes her eyes.

She tries everything to get herself to sleep, but nothing seems to work. Her eyes keep fluttering open, peeking at the clock that seems to move in slow motion. Ni-ki seems to not be able to sleep as well, because he's moving around a lot.

It's insanely cold, and she feels herself shivering. She holds herself closer, wrapping her arms around her body to try and gain some heat. The heavy covers aren't enough, and she feels herself getting colder and it's getting harder to sleep.

Suddenly, almost making her jump, she feels strong arms wrapping around her waist. They pull her closer, causing her to squish against Ni-ki's body. He holds her close, his body heat warming her immediately. Any other time, she would hate this, but now she doesn't care. She's warm.

Plus, the way he's cuddling her, holding her, she feels safe. His touch is comforting, and she feels as if nothing can hurt her. With this, she can finally fall asleep.