Instinct [TEMPORARILY ON HOLD]

You Must Face The Age of Not Believing II.

A/N: Here we go. The moment we've all been waiting for! I hope this chapter won't disappoint. I worked so hard on this, and I really wanted it to be just perfect. <3

***

I woke to the sound of the front door closing.

I had no idea how long was I unconscious, but I supposed it didn't matter. My racing thoughts were still swirling around in my head, and I suspected they would not have gone away, no matter the length of my nap.

I heard a soft murmur from the living room, and decided to ignore it. I stayed sprawled out on my stomach.

The footsteps passed my bed, and headed to the small bathroom. I heard the water turn on.

I kept my breathing even, though I knew that Alexander could hear me. A slight change of heartbeat, and he would've known that I was awake. There was no point in faking to be asleep with him around, but I did it anyways.

And he left me alone. For now.

After a few moments, there was a series of rustles - caused by movements around my bathroom - and still, I did not bother to look up. The running water stopped.

The next sound was perhaps the most unexpected of them all. I heard my hair dryer flip on, the loud blow of air screaming through the otherwise quiet apartment. Now that was absolutely outrageous.

Was Alexander putting his curls in in my bathroom??!

Suddenly, the blow drier turned off, and a moment later, something heavy landed on the bed, right next to me. His weight pushed the mattress down, making me slightly roll towards him. "Get off!" I groaned, no longer pretending to be oblivious to the madness around me.

He didn't listen. In fact, his large tongue licked the back of my head from the bottom to the top - leaving a bucket of drool behind.

"Demogorgon!!" I yelled, turning to face him. Of course, he already regretted his action, and was giving me the irresistible puppy eyes - from the floor.

I heard a chuckle from my bathroom door.

At last, I glanced up at Alexander, squinting to spot the difference in his hair between now and the time when he left the apartment some time ago. I saw none.

As if reading my thoughts, he pointed to my dog. "I washed and dried his paws." He explained, shrugging carelessly, as if washing a half-friend's dog's feet was the most normal thing in the world, and my two-year-old wolf-husky mix didn't hate baths with a passion.

Demo of course had no problem jumping into puddles in the park and chasing ducks around the lake... But when it came to a bath in the comfortable warm water at home - even with lush bubbles - it took me hours of begging to get him to comply.

Xander was looking at my lips, as if waiting for me to ask the obvious how.

I shook my head instead. It didn't matter how. There were much bigger hows that needed to be answered. And I've had no more patience left in me to keep wondering, and guessing. I needed to know.

"Sit down, Alexander." I said quietly, sitting up on my bed to make room for him.

His brows lifted slightly in amusement, before he started making his way towards me. "Alexander, huh? Am I in trouble, too?"

I couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped me. "I'm not sure yet." I admitted. "But I've some questions for you. A ton, actually."

He nodded, lowering himself onto my bed, right next to me. We were both resting our backs against the headboard, our bodies lying side by side, just a few feet apart. I felt a rush of heat on my skin from his close proximity, but with stone cold stubbornness, I fought it.