FALLING FOR MR FROST

FROST POV

I couldn't sleep no matter how much I tried. Finally I sat up, frustrated because my mind kept reaching for memories that weren't there.

Running through dark woods, voices shouting, pain tearing through me, then nothing.

These half visions tormented me and every time I woke up empty. In the dreams I could remember what happened to me but once I woke up all traces of it was gone, and I would always be back to square one,

blank.

I stood and paced, restless, and decided to explore the small house I was in. Everywhere I went, everything was stacked neatly and very organized.

I was impressed.

There was a framed photo on one of his tidy shelves and I picked it up, studying it in the bright bulbs overhead. Jackson was with an older couple, his parents probably, all three of them smiling at whoever held the camera and Jackson looked younger there.

I set it down carefully and kept moving until  I found myself outside Jackson's bedroom door staring at him.

I know I shouldn't but my hand was already on the doorknob. I turned it slowly, praying that he would not wake up, I held my breath carefully as the door swung open without a sound and there he was.

He was asleep and curled on his side with one hand tucked under his pillow. His round glasses were on the nightstand, his brown hair was mussed and falling across his forehead. I couldn't make myself to look away, no matter how much I tried. I should close the door because standing here makes me look like a creep but I just...couldn't.

He looked peaceful in sleep with his plush lips parted slightly, looking so soft and warm, I immediately had this crazy urge to plant my own lips there and feel how it tastes like but I shook the thoughts off my head. I should actually get out of here before I do something insane.

I told myself I would  just check on him, just make sure he was safe and... breathing because somehow in the few hours since he'd found me, Jackson had become the only solid thing in my world and I was scared that I was going to lose him...too. I needed to know he was okay.

 I sat carefully on the edge of his bed, close enough to see the gentle rise and fall of his chest, close enough to count the faint freckles across his nose that I hadn't noticed before.

He was beautiful, a tiny thought sneaked into my head and I squashed it. After minutes of watching, no admiring him, I stood up to leave as my eyes were becoming heavy and finally sleep was pulling down on my eyelids.

 I lay down carefully on top of the covers, maintaining distance but close enough to feel his warmth and sleep dragged me under before I could stop it.

Lying with Jackson, surprisingly gave me a peaceful night, there were no nightmares or bleak memories, just peace and the steady sound of Jackson's breathing beside me.

I woke to light filtering through the curtains and sat up with a start. The surrounding around me was unfamiliar and it took Jackson's warm breathing beside me to remember how I got to this place.

When I turned to look at him, I found him staring at me, propped up on one elbow, his face both curious and amused at the same time. I had no idea that he was awake and I knew that this was not a pretty situation.

He'd left me in his couch and id walked into his room like a creep and slept on his bed without invitation. I should've apologized immediately but I couldn't look away from those brown eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said finally, my voice rough with sleep and embarrassment, "I needed to make sure that you were safe, I didn't mean to fall asleep."

It was a wack excuse and even I knew that, but he deserved the truth.

"You were checking on me?" His voice came out softer than I expected. He didn't look angry, he only stared at me in wonder.

"I know it's inappropriate, I'll go-" I started to rise.

"No," Jackson's hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, his fingers warm against my cold skin and heat shot up my arm where we touched. "I mean, it's fine, you just startled me."

We were still touching and neither of us wanted to pulled away.

"Jackson," I said, my eyes boring into his ."thank you, for everything, for saving me, for letting me stay, for not being afraid of me even though you probably should be."

"I'm not afraid of you," he whispered and I believed him.

My free hand lifted slowly, giving him time to pull away, but he didn't and my fingers brushed a strand of hair from his forehead. His breath hitched at my touch and I saw him jerk, but then his phone alarm blared from the nightstand, and we both jumped like we'd been caught doing something forbidden.

Jackson fumbled for his phone, he silenced it, but by the time he looked over to me I'd already stood.

"I think, I'll make coffee," I said and I left the room quickly. Even though there was a huge distance between him and I, my heart still thudded erratically in my chest.

I heard Jackson moving in his room, and I tried to focus on the coffee maker in the kitchen, trying to remember how he'd shown me last night but my hands were shaking and I couldn't get the filter to sit right.

When I looked up, he was standing in the doorway, watching me. When our eyes met, tension crackled between us.

Outside the storm kept raging, which meant we will trapped here together for how long I didn't know. Maybe that should've scared me but all I felt was relief because I wasn't ready to leave or ready to face whatever was waiting for me out there in the world. I had no idea how I would find my family or how I would survive without cash or a bank account. And, If I had one, I had no idea how I'd access it. So for now, I felt safe on this pocket of space where I did not have to think of so much.

I turned back to the coffee maker, finally getting the filter in place but not before I felt it, that flash of heat behind my eyes.

And I knew without looking that my eyes had flashed gold for just a second.

What am I?