Chapter Text
Zoey isn’t exactly sure how she ended up in this situation. In fact, she isn’t even sure why she saved Mystery in the first place.
It all started while she was out for one of her nightly walks when she ran into a certain Saja Boy who was being chased by a horde of fans. Zoey, ever being the people-pleaser who puts-others-first kind of person that she is, pulled Mystery along with her as they ran away from the crazed fans.
“You sure were lucky I was there to get you out of that situation,” she had said to him.
However, luck may have been on his side, but it wasn’t on hers. The rain started pouring heavily and didn’t look like it would be stopping any time soon. To make matters worse, neither of them had an umbrella.
They agreed to take shelter in a nearby hotel for the night until the rain lightened up. But it seemed like fate kept playing tricks on them, and there was only one room left available and it only had one bed.
Which brings us to our current situation, Zoey sitting on the bed and Mystery watching the rain pour out the window like a curious puppy.
“You should take the bed, I’ll be fine on the floor,” she said nervously.
Mystery turned to her and shook his head. “You already saved me from the fans earlier. The least I can do is let you sleep on the bed.”
Zoey opened her mouth to speak, but Mystery cut her off and continued, “Besides, it would be improper to let a girl sleep on the floor.”
The black-haired girl faltered for a second. ‘And they say chivalry is dead,’ she thought to herself before replying, “It would hardly be right either to let you sleep on the floor? We can just share the bed if you want, I don’t mind.”
“The floor is fine with me.”
“But- ,” Zoey tried to argue further when Mystery picked up a pillow from the bed and laid on the floor.
‘It must be a demon trait to be stubborn,’ Zoey thought to herself as she recalled how similar Rumi was once she made up her mind.
She glanced at Mystery’s sleeping figure on the floor and wondered if he really was already asleep. Not like she could tell anyway, with his bangs covering his face.
‘He’s a demon. He’s probably used to the cold, right? But what if he’s just tolerating it to be nice to me? He must be shivering down there- Zoey, calm down. He made his choice, it’s not your problem anymore. You’ll wake up in the morning and he’ll probably be gone already-,’ even if she had put her head under the covers, her thoughts about Mystery kept racing.
She got up and grabbed a pillow and a blanket, fixing it on Mystery as she positioned herself beside him. As she was about to close her eyes, the Saja Boy beside her shifted as he muttered softly, “Zoey?”
Her heart began racing at the sound of her name on Mystery’s beautiful, perfectly dewy, symmetrical, shimmering lips. She couldn’t help but think about how delicately her name rolled off his tongue, how gentle it sounded when it came from him. She loved her name, but she began to love it more when she heard the Saja Boy say it.
She snapped out of her thoughts when Mystery called her name again.
“Ah um, the bed was a bit lumpy and it was a bit too big, see I’m just one person up there haha, and it was also kinda lonely and cold and uh- Um! What I mean to say is I think it would be better if we slept side by side since it would be warmer and um I don’t want you to be lonely on the floor, that’s all!” Zoey rambled as she tried to explain her own weirdly strung logic.
Mystery simply nodded at her, “Alright then.”
“O-okay. Goodnight,” she said before turning to the other side and drifting off to sleep.
Morning soon arrived and trails of sunlight seeped through the curtains, the golden rays warming Zoey’s feet. That had been one of her most comfortable slumbers ever, considering she was on the floor.
Zoey expected Mystery to have long been gone by now, but was greatly surprised to note that he was still asleep beside her.
She slowly opened her eyes and blinked the sleep away when she realized the position she was in. While they had fallen asleep facing opposite sides the night before, it seemed that they turned to each other and ended up hugging in their sleep.
Their legs were dangerously tangled together and their arms wrapped around each other, Zoey’s head pressed against Mystery’s chest. Her face burned as she realized how close they were. She could hear his heartbeat and wondered if he had been the one to pull her into his arms.
Slowly lifting her gaze to his face, she noticed how his hair cascaded across his features, framing them beautifully. The lavender locks dipped over his face, outlining the thin silhouette of his eyes and his nose. Though she had never seen the mystery of Mystery’s true face before, she thought about how gorgeous he looked, even through the layers he had over himself.
Zoey giggled to herself as she watched how serene he looked in his sleep. Mystery stirred awake and opened his eyes, greeted by the sight of a gentle face with big, round eyes.
“Good morning,” he whispered softly, just loud enough for the girl to hear.
Zoey was always attentive to people’s movements and habits, a knack she learned growing up, trying to read people from their actions. So when Mystery smiled slightly seeing Zoey, this did not go unnoticed. She also didn’t fail to notice how his pupils had dilated in gold irises when their eyes met.
“I- uh- um, good morning!” Zoey said in reply, unsure of what to say.
Should she mention how intimate their position was? Would that be rude? Should she ask him if he was the one who pulled them together in their sleep? What if he thought she was weird? Zoey wasn’t quite sure what to do, so she settled on asking Mystery how he had slept.
“Very well, thank you.”
“Oh um, that’s good to hear,” Zoey responded, glancing back down at their position, desperately trying to hint at it to Mystery.
Mystery’s eyes followed hers and soon he too was hyper aware of the not so distanced scene they were in.
Blood crept up Zoey’s face now that Mystery was fully conscious about their position.
“I- I’ll go get washed, then we can leave.” She began, trying to get up when a strong arm pulled her back down under the covers. Mystery tightened his grip on her and gently stroked her hair.
“Let’s just stay like this a while longer,” he said, intaking every little bit of Zoey that he could.
She smelled like candy and peppermint, her neatly tied buns all messy and out of place. Her make-up smudged in corners of her face but to the Saja Boy, she couldn’t look any more beautiful. Mystery couldn’t help but smile to himself knowing that he’s probably only one of the few people who get to see Zoey like this.
Time seemed to pass slowly, and if not for Zoey’s phone ringing with calls and messages from Bobby and the rest of Huntrix, the two could have stayed in that position forever.
Zoey shot up in a panic mumbling berating words to herself. She rushed to tie her shoes in place when she realized Mystery hadn’t moved an inch from where she left him. What’s more, a sad puppy pout was splayed across his face.
“Mystery, I’m really sorry but I have to go,” she tried to explain when Mystery just nodded in acknowledgement.
Before she could leave, Mystery spoke up – “When can I see you again?”
Walking back to him, Zoey planted a small kiss on the side of his jaw as she said, “Soon. I’ll see you around, Mystery.” And in a flash, Zoey was running out the room in a hurry.
It was a danger to be with that Huntrix girl, Mystery noted to himself. He was falling hard and fast. But he liked being around her anyway. His fingers brushed against the part of his face where Zoey’s lips had touched. He couldn’t wait for the next time Zoey’s lips touched him, and he hoped that the next time, it would be against his lips.