She was warm against me, curled into my side like she'd been built to fit there. My arm rested around her shoulders, hand absently brushing through her hair. The quiet stretched, but it wasn't the kind of silence that demanded filling—it just sat there, soft and steady, like breathing.
I could've stayed like that for hours.
But responsibility had to ruin it.
"Val," I said after a while, low enough that it almost sounded like a sigh.
"Yeah?" she murmured, not moving.
I hesitated for a second, then went for it. "Since we didn't go to school today, we should probably study."
She groaned immediately, long and dramatic, and shoved her face deeper into my shirt like that would block the words out. "Nooo."
I tried again, firmer. "Val."
Her reply came in a babyish whine, deliberately exaggerated. "I wanna stay like this."
I hadn't expected that. A smile tugged at my mouth before I could stop it.
