Keke stood, slightly fazed by the whole situation, eyes practically searching the crowd themselves for any sign of the man Ev was talking to. So many people went up to her afterward, it could really be anyone. And that just made him more anxious, as he became more and more awake with more and more alcohol in his system. He wasn’t drunk, but a few of those glasses left him slightly looser than before.
“Ev…?” he said softly, holding his helmet close to his chest as she walked for the door. Her words grazed right over him, his mind clearly elsewhere. But he snapped out of it, and before she could reply, he continued, “Ah— never mind. American Horror Story it is!”
Menek waved a last goodbye to the bartender, jogging to meet Evelyn outside the door.
"Wait wait wait." She sat sideways on the bike. "I know that tone of voice. Something is on your mind. I'm tired. So. Whatever is going on in that lovely little mind of yours. Lemme change into some PJs, and get that cup of tea you got me warmed up in the microwave, and we can talk about whatever is itching under your skin. Deal?" She held out her hand for a handshake, the other putting on the helmet and managing to clip it on tightly,which was a task that took a lot of practice.
(geeze didn't even comment on the quality of her show. How rude lol)
(my mans was getting there lmao)
“Totally not deal, but I’ll let you believe you won this conversation,” he said teasingly, shaking her hand while he tugged on his own helmet. With that, he hopped on the bike, leaning up against Ev’s back exasperatedly.
“And I’m tired, too. Even though it’s, like, morning for me,” he muttered. “How late are you staying up tonight? It’s my week for dishes so I was wondering how loud I can be. But if you’re too tuckered from being absolutely badass on stage, I can save it for tomorrow.”
"Oh c'mon Popcorn, I was not THAT bad ass. That was a pretty tame show actually but,thank you. And I didn't win at nothing,you ass. I just don't have the energy to sit here and have an important deep life talk right now. At least. Not until we got home." She finally straddled the bike,and this time turned on some Lofi music. She didn't sing like she did on the way to the show,and just settled into the seatbelt of icy cold comfort behind her, double checking turns for her and making sure she was safe. They got home and after she crammed of her stuff into her pockets she got up and headed upstairs, ready for a shower and that tea. So of course she showed,changed into a sweatshirt that was practically a dress on her, big grey sweats and some purple fuzzy socks,and then microwaved her tea. "Alright. Now that I've settled a bit more. What's on your mind, Shadow?" This was more an ironic name since she was called Sunny or Sunshine by him all the time,due to her name meaning First Light in Hebrew. He was the one to tell her that fact.
Menek strode into the apartment groggily, taking his helmet off and setting it on the counter. While Ev showered, he changed into a super baggy t-shirt of what looked to be from sometime in the 70’s, and a pair of sweats. If Ev was comfy, he decided he would be, too.
He sat on one of the kitchen stools when she walked back out, then migrated beside her when she began microwaving the tea.
“Every time you call me Shadow I just keep thinking of Sonic,” he mumbled, voice barely audible as he kicked his feet back and forth. He paused for a moment, voice broken by a short laugh. “—But that’s not what’s on my mind. I was just thinking, well, I guess it’s out of curiosity, but… who were you talking to? At the show tonight?”
He flicked his eyes over to watch her, unable to meet her gaze. “I mean, I didn’t know you’ve been talking to another guy since that last asshat. Who… Who’s the lucky man that you’ll supposedly never date?”
"He's this cold mystery. I've known him since…forever. He's my best friend really. We're suuuuper close. He's smart and handsome,a little bit oblivious to the world around him and bad with reading social cues but,oh well, so am I. We get along like two peas in a pod and I mean we're practically dating anyways. I'm wearing his giant ass sweatshirt right now." She meant that it was his sweatshirt she had stolen forever ago and then stretched it out to near dress size by putting her knees inside it way too often. "I know he doesn't have the same feelings for me or for anyone really. But. I've loved him for a very long time so. I thought he deserved a little appreciation. The universe is full of ironies. The one guy I want,I can't have. So I keep dating toxic guys who look like him in hopes of finding that same connection but I just get hurt. So. A bit at a loss." She said all of this oh so casually as she put tea and sugar in her tea and some ice to cool it down, talking between sips. "Also nice choice on the tea."
It took Menek much too long to run that through his head, and even so, he did it a couple times. He could nearly see his heart causing his chest to twitch as it pounded, and he stayed as still as he could. Which was, to say, insanely still.
“I— Y— Wh—,” he began, but every word was cut off by a loss of what to say. It took him a good few moments to finally get his thoughts in order enough to give out an actual reply.
“Okay, so I know you. I know you play weird jokes. But I know this would not be one of them because I feel like you care about me too much to break my heart,” he replied— and this time, he was able to meet her eyes. “But on the flip side, if you are telling the truth, I’m so goddamn mad because I’m also in love with this one girl I’ve known forever. Who is currently wearing a very familiar sweatshirt. And unless she wants to kill me good when she goes out, or stay with an absolute hobo for eternity, nothing can happen.”
She blushed a bit and kissed his nose. "I choose staying with a hobo for eternity. Better then anyone else I've ever met." She giggled and headed over to the couch,plopped down,picked up the tv remote,and got Netflix started up. "Come lover!" She patted the couch next to her as she got the first season of AHS started.
Menek, mind clearly running just too slow, stayed standing there— utterly stunned. Every single voice was screaming inside his head. Every single person he had ever loved and yet lost, but Ev’s words seemed to shatter each one.
Even so, he couldn’t say he hated the way she was so casual. It left only one part of this awkward— aka, Menek himself. And even though his heart was beating like a malfunctioning jackhammer, and he felt so much colder than normal, he walked over and sat right down next to her.
“I do so not understand,” he replied, raising an eyebrow as he looked over to Ev. “You’re actually insane. I’m not turning you into a vampire. You’re not killing me. What’s the deal with this? I scream at you almost every day about how much this life sucks and I can’t love someone…. but good god I want to, and we’re both idiots.”
"Exactly. One. Opposites attract. Two. Maybe I could be your meaning? Be your life line you lost oh so long ago, that highwire excitement you're missing. And because we're already close friends there won't be awkward small talk and I mean people ask all the TIME if I'm dating you with the way I steal your clothes and give you kisses. I don't do that for anyone else. And we're both smartly dumb in different ways so we match up that way,and you're just so handsome and kind. And I'm already easy to love. Aren't I? Since you already know me really well, and we cuddle all the time so there's no ice to break in that sense. Just cute dates and counting the stars. Now then are you gonna keep doubting me or do I get to cuddle you and give you little kisses?" She huffed as she crossed her arms and looked at him,hitting pause on the show.
Menek was about to hold up a finger, but quieted when she continued talking. The way his heart made his shirt twitch with each beat kept him sort of tethered within his own jail of a mind, always internally questioning the what if..’s and but this..’s.
But something about the song lyrics kept pushing back out of the bars. Something about the way she talked so sure of herself and matter-of-factly. It made him want so bad to be impulsive and to just live in the moment, not worry about anything in the long run.
So he simply nodded, unable to hide the bright red tint to his face. “Okay, all good points, all good points. I mean, I didn’t need convincing on that part, really. I’ll … I’ll take it.”
He sighed, smile creeping slowly onto his face as he shook his head.
“You’re such a stupid charmer and I loathe it,” he said, voice seeped in sarcasm. “So… what does this mean? I’ve never really done this whole ‘together’ thing.”
"Oh hush you love the way I flirt. Well. We start off easy. Holding hands,cuddling, remembering my favorite food and you surprise me with it one day when I come back after a show. Flirt with the idea of romance, entertain it. And see if things get more serious." She kissed his cheek and pulled him into her arms. "Get over here icicle. Let me warm you up."
“Alright, sounds doable,” he replied, getting situated with his head resting on her shoulder. He looked almost like a puppy, just trying his best to curl up next to her.
“I never understand how warm you are,” he mumbled, voice muffled by his own shirt. “But now that the invitation’s open, I am absolutely going to leech off of you for warmth. Not that I didn’t do that before but now I know it’s more on the table. In that case, thank you kindly.”
"Yeah yeah you're welcome." She pulled herself into his lap and wrapped both of them up in a huge fluffy blanket before hitting play on the movie. Her heart,even though she had been playing it casual,was having a drum solo in her chest and with his hand sort of draped over that area, his wrist touching where her heart is, there is no doubt that he could feel it. So she just hid in his neck and took a few deep breaths , taking him in and enjoying his company. "Also I am not always warm. I'm always cold and when I am warm you steal it from me. Dumbie." She peppered his cheek on little butterfly kisses though with a smile.
“You kidding?” Menek muttered, letting out a faint laugh as he tucked his other hand into a fold of the blanket. “A metal grate in a snowstorm has a higher temperature than me. Honestly, you feel like an oven at any given time.”
His eyes flickered back up to the TV, but it was clear his true attention was elsewhere. His own heart beat fast normally, to the point where he could feel it, and he always knew human hearts were different. Even so, now that he could feel Ev’s heart following suit, it was somewhat comforting to see the symmetry. He was never alone in his existential struggle, and Ev just solidified that fact.
((I already love these two sooooo much))
Evelyn couldn't stop giving him kisses. She really wanted to land her lips on his but didn't feel like pressuring him. Eventually she laid out on his chest and snuggled in,her arms around his waist under his shirt before she ended up taking off his shirt and snuggling in closer,a happy soft smile on her face as she put her head right over his heart. Then she did a strange thing. After a few moments she started to tap out a beat on his leg,very softly, over and over again. And this wasn't a drum beat either, one could tell.
((Dude same— the banter is phenomenal))
Even though the night was cold, with the late winter breeze blowing shamelessly through a cracked-open window, Menek was as content as ever. Even with his shirt tossed off to the side, the pale light from the TV making him look about as tan as a piece of paper.
His skin wasn’t like that of a human. It not only looked different but felt that way, too. It wasn’t cold like ice was cold— it was cold like a wall in an abandoned house. And, while he joked about himself feeling like a corpse, it was far from that. It was almost like someone had put him in the fridge for just a little too long. Honestly, that was the best Menek could describe it.
So he spent generally the most amount of time worrying about it he was comfortable enough, but every time Ev kissed him it felt like nothing could ever be wrong with the world. He had never understood when people described that in movies, but for now, it felt oddly real.
And then, his attention was snagged on her little morse-code-like tapping. After a few moments of memorization, he moved his free hand to tap on her side, trying his best to follow the beat she set up. Because, why not?
"Do you know what I'm tapping out?" She asked as the beat lowered in time to his heartbeat, all pressed up against him. She had grabbed a second blanket from under the couch and after fluffing it out, spread it on top of her. Her heart had stopped it's mini drum solo as she relaxed. (Also because I'm a cheesehead their first kiss is gonna be at sunrise.)
(that’s totally cheese but i’m here for it)
“My.. heartbeat?” he asked, head tilting slightly to the side. His voice was softer than normal— quieter, for sure, but with a rasp of contentedness he very rarely had.
Menek was one of those people that, if he focused, he could actually feel and/or see his heart causing his chest to twitch. And, although it had calmed down from that previous hammering, he could still tell.
Although, perhaps that was just his mind being all sappy, and the fact that he thought that was romantic. After all, Evelyn was a musician, so tapping to his heart like a bpm was adorable in his eyes.
"Correct!" She kissed his cheek and kept drumming. "Hey wanna risk your life tomorrow? We can watch the sunrise in the morning." Her attention was as far away from the show as possible, her eyes completely fixated on him, studying his features.
“You’re such a cheese ball,” he said, unable to keep from smiling. It was calmer though, quite the equanimous grin that suited his melodic voice well. As Ev talked, he could feel her words reverberating throughout her chest, and it brought that odd sense of comfort.
“Also, hell yeah. I’ve seen a sunrise once before,” he continued, laughing softly. “Like… a few hundred years ago. I had scars for days. But who cares? Might as well try it again.”
"Maybe so but this is all new to you so. I wanna give you the best. Cheese and all. Now then you have to keep me awake, or wake me up at 5 am and deal with my grumpy sleepy cuddly ass so we can actually catch the sunrise." She said with a grin, then jumping at a loud sound that sounded from the show. She relaxed though once she realized it was the show and hid her face in his neck,where she continued her barrage of kisses.
“Why, thank you,” he said, feeling goosebumps along the lengths of his back as she nuzzled into his neck. “That’s truly appreciated. And I would totally make you coffee but I know you hate it. Which is kinda lame, ‘cuz coffee is half of what keeps me sane. You’re the other half.”
Menek wrapped his arms around her again, still having that relatively dopey grin across his face. It took a lot to get him to a point like this— all soft words and goofy smiles— but Evelyn seemed to have no trouble with it.
“But hey, if you wanna sleep, go ahead. I can carry you to the roof and die while you’re unconscious,” he continued, squinting at his words as he heard them out of context.
"Nooo I don't want my baby to die." She said all pouty, the nickname slipping off of her lips as she pressed herself tight to him. "And coffee is NASTY. Can't tell me otherwise. But energy drinks? Especially Bang? That's an addiction." She yawned. "Promise to wake me up? And that I can sleep on your icicle ass?" She said softly, burying her face into him.
“I hate energy drinks, so I guess we’re even,” he replied, wrinkling his nose. “Bang is like drinking straight creatine infused with caffeine.”
He bobbed his head lightly, soon having his cheek rest atop Ev’s head. “But okay, okay, I’ll wake you up. And you’re staying on this couch if you fall asleep. I’d carry you to your bed but there’s no way I could watch AHS by myself again. Just ‘cuz I am a stereotypical monster doesn’t mean I’m not scared of other ones.”
"Just…turn it off. Come to bed with me." She began to dose off and soon was asleep. Her whole body relaxed against his chest, becoming more dead weight then anything but her warmth spread all over him, a soft smile on her face as she shuffled around a bit more before finally passing out.
“You’re high if you think I can sleep right now,” he cooed quietly. “It’s like… noon for me. And I can never take naps, you know that. Or else I can’t chill with you in the daytime. But— alright. If you insist.”
He very carefully reached for the remote, watching as the TV flickered off and all light that was left was the moon through the window. Keke wrapped Ev up in all the blankets, trying his best to walk steadily to her room and set her cautiously on her bed.
He shuffled to his own room for just a moment, picking up his favorite book he had been reading for the fourth time, and heading back over to crawl onto Ev’s bed with her. Luckily, he could read pretty well in the dark, so he just laid there, reading, enjoying the company.
She dreamed of happy things, only waking up when he left but falling back asleep when she was in his arms again. She felt safe here, which was weird. Really, she always had. In almost no time 4:30 rolled around and it'd take a half hour to get Evelyn to wake up and bother to get out of bed, as she lay there peacefully in the moonlight, it softly accenting all the little features of her face.
“Eeeeeeeeeeevvvv,” Menek hummed, glancing from the clock back to the sleeping lump of blankets. “Hey, Sunny. Time to go get burnt to a crisp, wanna join?”
He set his book down on the bedside table, smiling sweetly to himself as his eyes danced over Ev’s face. He held up a hand tentatively, resting it on her shoulder and rocking her lightly. “Wake up. You promised me a sunrise, you gorgeous dipshit.”
He could see his heart making his chest do those little twitches again, as he felt the urge to give her one of those little kisses she always gave him. Instead he thought better of it, slipping off the bed to go grab his shirt from the couch again. He walked back in, glancing up to her speaker system.
“Heeey,” he sang, tugging his shirt back on. “If you don’t wake up, I’m blasting you outta bed with your own punk playlist.~”
