I woke up to the sound of crashing and for a split second, I believed I was in a horror movie.

I couldn't make out what I was looking at for a few minutes as my eyes adjusted in the dark but my hand had a death grip on the closest thing next to me which happened to be my phone.

The lights flickered on and I recoiled instinctually while letting out a groan.

"Stop staring at me like that," Angelo grumbled. His hair stuck out wildly in different directions and he had one hand buried deep inside a bag of cracklin.

I was able to crack one eye open and saw there was a metal pot laying on the ground. "What the hell happened?"

"The pot fell when I was getting a snack." He bit down on a cracklin. "Just go back to sleep."

He didn't have to tell me twice. "Okay."

I tossed my phone back under my pillow and pulled the covers over my head to block as much light as possible.

A few moments passed and the silence was broken with a whimper. That was when I let out a loud sigh and sat up from my bed.

"I have class tomorrow, dude," I mumbled. "What's it going to take to get you to sleep?"

He let out another whimper and mumbled something under his breath. The back of my hand rubbed my eye as I attempted to decipher what he could've said. He didn't give any indication he was going to repeat what he said and I scratch my head.

"Do you know what helps you sleep?" I asked.

He could barely look me in the eye and his face began to turn red. I raised an eyebrow and waited for his answer.

"Maybe," he squeaked.

"What is it?"

He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Cuddles."

Whatever thoughts I had came to a screeching halt and I processed what he just said. "Cuddles?"

He nodded his head vigorously.

I stay silent for a few minutes, unsure of what to think of the situation. It's too late to be thinking.

"Um," Angelo spoke up. "Consider this part of your romance book writing?"

"Hah?" I grunted.

"Romance writing is about physical intimacy. Maybe this'll help. Like method acting but with writing."

I rubbed my eyes again with one hand and the other motioned him to come over. "Whatever. It'll just be for tonight."

Angelo quickly rinsed his hands before shutting off the lights without warning. A small groan escaped me and I slowly lowered my back onto my bed. Suddenly, I felt an elbow jab into my stomach and all the air in my lungs escaped through my nose.

"Sorry!"

I could feel Angelo's warm breath on my beck and his arms hesitantly wrapped around my torso. His head somehow found comfort on my shoulder and I laid there stiffly. There was a tremor to Angelo's body and I can tell he was still wide awake.

"Boo?"

"Yes?"

"Could you hug me back?"

Hesitantly, I rolled onto my side and put an arm around him. "Better?"

His muscles relaxed and I heard him sigh. "Yeah."

I suddenly felt very claustrophobic as there was very little room on a twin-sized bed and the wall grazed the top of my head with every small movement I made. I shut my eyes and attempted to force myself to sleep, trying to ignore how awkward my position felt.

"Is this inspiring you for your book?" Angelo asked suddenly.

I let out a dismissive grunt. It was way too warm for my liking and my body felt like it was shoved to the bottom of a student's bag during final exams.

"I don't know what that means." I could hear the confusion in Angelo's voice.

"It means 'go to sleep'."

There was another lapse of silence and Angelo's breathing was right next to my ear. Angelo rolled over a couple of times which lead to me being struck in the gut with an elbow which was followed by a whispered sorry.

"Boo?"

My patience was wearing thin. "Yes, Angelo?"

"How do you sleep after watching all those movies?"

"By closing my eyes."

"Don't you get freaked out?"

"No."

"How?"

"What do you want?" I let out an exasperated sigh. "You said cuddling would help you sleep."

"I just," Angelo shifted in the bed. "I can't imagine how you can go sleep not worrying about something grabbing your feet."

"Because they aren't all that evil most of the time. It also helps that they're fictional," I said. "If anything were to keep me up at night, it would be other things."

Angelo's body began to shake and turned my head in his direction but couldn't see what was going on in the dark. That was when a small giggle escaped.

"Sorry, that last sentence sounded dirty."

"You have got to be kidding me."

He let out a fit of laughter and it lasted for a few minutes. He eventually calmed down and I felt his body relax.

"Thanks, Boo. I needed that."

A corner of my mouth twitched but I quickly suppressed it even though he wouldn't have seen it in the dark. "You're welcome."