Coloring Outside the Lines

Chapter Twenty-Four

"SHAKE IT OUT, SHAKE IT OUT! SHAKE IT OUT, SHAKE IT OUT, OOOAAAH. AND IT'S HARD TO-"

I pick up my phone to stop the ringtone from continuing. I glance at the time and groan. I place the phone next to my ear.

"Hello?" I ask tiredly.

"Hey, Jor!"

I look down at my phone again. Of course it's Ray. Who else would be calling at this hour?

"Why are you calling me at three in the morning?" I demand, rubbing my eyelids.

I hear him sigh. "Look out your window."

I furrow my eyebrows and pause. "You're kidding me, right?"

Silence.

"No?" Ray answers after a moment.

I slowly get up and step my feet onto the floor. I wrap my arms around myself, attempting to keep warm. That's really hard when you were just cozy in your blanket. I take small steps towards the window before drawing back the curtains.

Sure enough, down in the backyard stands Ray. He's looking up at me, smiling.

"Oh my gosh," I mutter under my breath.

"Why hello, Jor," Ray yells up to me.

"Why don't you talk louder?" I call back. "Wake up the whole neighborhood, will you."

Ray laughs. "You should come down here."

He can't be serious. "Ray Pearson, this is the most cliché thing you could possibly do. When did you become so corny?"

"What can I say? I do love me some veggies," he shrugs.

I laugh. "Corn is a grain."

And with that, I grab a blanket before departing down to the yard.

Ray is sitting on the bench just outside the door. His eyes light up when he sees me. He stands up and pulls a hand from behind his back. He's holding a handful of roses and gives them to me. I sniff them and let out a sigh.

"Thank you," I smile. "They're beautiful."

I should have thought this through a little more. I came down here in pajama shorts, T-shirt, and a thin blanket I've had for years with no shoes and/or socks on. My feet are going numb so I go ahead and sit down on the bench where Ray just stood up from. I wrap my blanket around my feet in an attempt to make them warm.

Ray sits down next to me and wraps an arm around me, making me immediately feel warmer.

"So," I say. "You're here." He nods. "At three A.M." Another nod. "Any reasoning behind this arrival?"

"I couldn't fall asleep," he shrugs.

"So you decided to wake me up."

Ray grins. "But you're glad, anyways."

I roll my eyes. "How can you be so sure?"

He smirks at me. "Because you're desperately in love with me."

My eyes widen and my face flushes. "W-what? I... n-no, I-"

Ray laughs, letting his eyes fall closed. "I'm kidding, Jor. You're cute when you're all flustered."

I slap his arm away and scowl at him. "Jerk." I am immediately cold again, and really want his warmth around me again. Of course, I won't admit that.

He doesn't hesitate before grabbing me and pulling me back against him. I easily decide it's not worth it to move. Instead, I rest my head on his shoulder and let out a content sigh.