"So, you went to watch the stars together, again, and he felt so at peace that he fell asleep next to you?" Lara asked. 

"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds a lot more romantic than it was," I responded, shrugging. 

"He was wearing your hoodie when he had his own in his truck. He wanted to wear your clothes," Lara continued. My phone pinged, and I grabbed it, thankful for a way out of this conversation. It was Jackson. 

"Jackson wants to come over earlier today, around two, to beat the storm," I explained, feeling a small blush creep onto my cheeks. 

"Wait. Not only is he coming over on the weekend, but he is coming over in this awful weather? I was planning on leaving in an hour so I could get home before the storm starts," Lara exclaimed. I shrugged, looking down at my food. "He likes you, Marco."

"He's just coming over to work on the project. It's not like that," I responded. Lara gave me a smirk. "What's that face for?" I asked

"You should make a move," Lara suggested. 

"What? Lara, no! I don't want to scare him off," I replied. Lara threw her arms up. We finished eating our pancakes, then Lara left to go home before the storm started. I ran up to my room to tidy things up. 

I turned on my LED lights and set the color to purple. Green didn't seem quite right, blue was not the vibe I wanted, and red seemed too intense. Purple was soft and welcoming. I got our snacks set up and even ordered us pizza. The storm was supposed to be bad, and we wouldn't be able to cook anything if the power went out. Maybe we would be able to watch a movie or play a game. 

I went ahead and pulled out my favorite candles, a stick lighter, and a flashlight in case the power went out. The pizza arrived, and I carried it to my room, setting it on my bed. Shortly after, the doorbell rang again. It was Jackson. He was wearing my hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. He looked cute. I checked the time. It was 1:30. He was here thirty minutes early. 

"You're just in time. Come on," I said, leading him to my room. He looked around my room at the lights, then at the snacks. "I thought the lights fit the weather," I said nervously. Purple was his color. He looked good under the lights. 

"I like it," He said, sitting on my bed. I sat next to him, getting comfortable. "Let's hurry and finish this project," Jackson continued. I nodded. It took us only twenty minutes to read over the slides, practice presenting, and submit the project. 

The weather had picked up, and we could hear thunder in the distance. "Can I stay here for a little longer? I don't want to get out in this storm," Jackson asked. The storm was supposed to only get worse as the night went on. If he waited, there was no way he would be able to leave. 

"Sure, but I would pull your truck into the garage while the storm is going on," I responded. Jackson agreed, and we went downstairs to go outside. It had started to rain. "Let's run on three," I said, counting down. 

We ran to his truck, and I leaped into the passenger side. We were both laughing. "Oh, fuck. I forgot to open the garage door," I laughed. Jackson turned to face me. 

"How do you forget to do the main thing we came out here for?" Jackson laughed. I shrugged. "Well, what do we do now?" 

"Hold on. I'll call my mom to open it," I replied, pulling out my phone. I called my mom, quickly explained what was happening, and then hung up. "Now, we wait," I shrugged. Jackson laughed, shaking his head. He turned his car on, turning on the windshield wipers. The rain was getting worse. 

Thunder boomed loudly, and I jumped. Jackson gently grabbed my arm. "Are you okay? Are you scared of thunder?" He asked. My face turned red. 

"I'm fine. I'm not scared of thunder. It just caught me off guard," I explained. He let go of my arm. "Are you scared of thunder?" I asked. He blushed. His face was undeniably red. I'm not sure why he blushed at that of all things. 

"No, thunder doesn't scare me at all," He responded. As if to prove his point, thunder boomed again, and he did not react. The sound of the garage door opening pulled us both out of our thoughts. 

"You can pull behind my car. I'm not leaving anytime soon," I said, pointing at my car. He carefully pulled into the garage, and we climbed out of his truck. My mom was standing in the garage watching us. 

"Jackson, are you staying the night? I don't want either of you out in this weather. They just issued a tornado watch for our area, and other areas are in a tornado warning. It's dangerous to leave right now," My mom asked. I blushed at the idea of Jackson staying the night. He turned to face me. 

"I have extra clothes and shower stuff in my truck for when I go to the gym. Is it okay with you if I stay?" Jackson asked. I nodded. He wanted to stay with me. 

We went back up to my room and sat on my bed. "Are you really okay with me staying tonight?" He asked. His voice was soft, and he sounded nervous. 

"Of course. My bed is big enough for the both of us," I responded. It was hard to tell under the purple light, but I could swear he was blushing. "Do you want to watch a movie, or play a video game, or something?" I asked. We ended up picking a movie so that we could have our hands free while we eat. We ended up finding an interesting-looking horror movie. Halfway through the movie, a clown popped up, and I jumped you.

"I might not be scared of thunder, but clowns are terrifying," I hissed. Jackson scooted closer to me so that our arms were touching. 

"I agree with you on that," Jackson whispered, flinching at another jumpscare. I leaned further into him. so that our arms were pressed against each other. After watching the horror movie, I put our leftover pizza in the kitchen and moved our snacks to my desk. We were in the middle of picking a comedic movie when thunder boomed, and the power went out. 

Jackson gripped my hand. It was pitch black in my room. "Amazing timing," Jackson hissed. We shouldn't have watched a horror movie before a storm. I squeezed his hand. 

"I'm going to grab a flashlight and light a few candles," I whispered, pulling my hand away from him. He didn't respond. I stumbled around in the dark before finding the flashlight and turning it on. Jackson's eyes were screwed shut. "Can you hold this flashlight for me?" I asked. He opened his eyes and took the flashlight, so I could light the candles. I picked three of the same scent. "Is lavender and mint okay?" I asked. He nodded. "Are you afraid of the dark?" I asked. 

"After watching a horror movie, who wouldn't be afraid of the dark?" He hissed. I finished lighting the three candles, then went to join him on the bed. He lay down and stared up at the ceiling. I left him alone, scrolling on my phone. When I looked back at him, he was asleep. It was only 5, but I left him alone.