Chapter 40 Sleeping Together 2
Elaine sat in her room, her hands fidgeting nervously as anxiety prickled her nerves. She stared out at the view, watching as the sky darkened, the night creeping closerthe same night she and Allan would sleep together. Her unease was so obvious that Dana, noticing her pacing, asked, "Everything alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Elaine replied, forcing a smile.
Dana nodded and returned to her bed. Elaine hesitated, then admitted softly, "I won't be spending the night here."
"Huh?" Dana asked, frowning.
"Just tonight," Elaine clarified. "I'll stay with June and Gwen,I'll be back tomorrow morning."
Dana only nodded, returning to her own tasks. Immediately the clock struck nine, Elaine carefully gathered her things, feeling the weight of the coming hours.
At the entrance of the dorm, Allan stood waiting, silent as ever. Elaine approached and fell into step beside him, her nerves prickling.
"What's with the hurry?" he asked, eyeing the tools in her hands.
"I… it's just… night already and…" Elaine trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
"I'm certain you don't usually go to bed this early".
"well, I- it's different" she struggled to utter the words.
Allan gave no further response. After a brief pause, he simply said, "Fine, follow me."
She walked slightly behind him as they moved deeper into a shadowed part of the dome, the corners darker than the rest, almost unused. He pushed open a creaking door, revealing a room unlike any other everything covered in white sheets, dust settling thickly on every surface.
Elaine's eyes widened looking at the room that would pass for a haunted room. "What… what about your roommates?"
"I don't know, probably dead," Allan replied, his voice flat, his seriousness froze her. Slowly, he began pulling the sheets off the objects, revealing the dust-laden room beneath. Elaine set her belongings down, assisting in removing the sheets, folding them neatly while Allan threw the sheets carelessly aside.
He sat on the bed, resting against the headboard, while she remained frozen, similar toban ice pillar at the other end, not daring to move closer. His calm indifference gave her little choice, eventually, she stepped forward and seated herself at the opposite edge of the bed.
Realizing she had forgotten something, Elaine darted back to her bag and retrieved two books, she held one out. "For you," she said.
Allan glanced at the title, "The Picture of Dorian Gray". For the replacement of the one I tore earlier today," she said, politely.
He stared at the book for sometime, intentionally leaving her hands to ache as she continually held the book out, noticing her hands shaking as if ready to drop down, he decided to take the book.
Elaine set the book on the table beside him, opening the first page of Pride and Prejudice as she tucked the blanket over her knees. Her body was tense, every nerve on alert, and she couldn't stop jittering slightly. Allan noticed and, in a rare gesture of consideration, picked up his book, pretending to read though his attention was clearly elsewhere.
Meanwhile, in the deserted corners of the school, where the woods pressed thick and dark, Horace and Gwen walked quietly.
"Do you think it's a good idea for them to sleep together?" Horace asked, suspicion flickering in his eyes.
Gwen rolled her eyes. "I wonder what you're thinking about" she said flatly.
"Well, I wasn't thinking about anything," Horace replied, though the skepticism in his tone was evident.
"You know it's a serious matter to Allan, so don't use it to crack jokes " Gwen muttered, scowling.
Horace smirked. "So that means they'll be together for the next nine nights?"
"Yes, almost every day, actually, with her dreams coming even in the afternoon, they'll be spending most of their time together classes included," Gwen explained, her eyes distant as she thought of the task ahead.
"At least he would lay to sleep, it's been a while " Horace added also looking in a distance, but he's voice was laced with emotions similar to pity.
"Yh" Gwen agree with him for the first time.
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Elaine's nerves finally began to settle as she became absorbed in her book, but a sudden thud of Allan dropping his own book onto the side stool made her jerk her head up.
"There's something else to do before we sleep," he said, rising and moving closer to her, which made her body visible stiffen, her eyes widen.
"W-What are you doing?" she asked stammering, moving backwards.
Allan only rolled his eyes and sighed. "Give me your hand."
"Huh?"
"I need to mark you," he said, annoyed at her hesitation. "It's the phantom's mark, without it, I can't get into your subconscious."
Elaine swallowed, tentative. "So… do you always mark the person before being able to get into their subconscious state?"
"Not always," he said. "I usually go through memory, but yours isn't in your memory, I need access to your subconscious. That's the only way."
"Is it going to hurt?" she asked hoping it wouldn't.
"Yes" he answered almost immediately making her eyes widen. "It would hurt a lot, you should hold onto a pillow" he suggested.
Her gaze faltered as she extended her hand. Allan's index nail elongated sharply, piercing her wrist, sending a sting through her veins. He paused and looked at her face which was already contorting in pain even though he hadn't even began. He began piercing a circle on her skin, the pain so sharp that her muffled screams were caught by the pillow pressed to her mouth, her hands clutched his knee, squeezing tightly as tears ran down her face. He paused when he noticed the pain was already unbearable for her, he patted her wrist carefully.
"I'm almost done" he said in a soft and caring tone. She watched as he carved a cross on the middle of the circle, by the time he was done, he was sure she had pierced his skin through his sweat pants.
When he finished, he slit his finger, letting the blood drip into her open wound, then cleaned her hand with a cloth, patting her shoulder gently. She shivered, still reeling from the intensity of the pain.
"I-is it safe" she asked still trembling.
"What" he asked
"Y-you mixing your blood with mine". He chuckled lightly at her words which did make sense, at least to humans.
"Rest assured, it's one hundred percent safe".
Hours passed as she held a book in hand, watching the clock tick, until her eyes became heavy, welcoming sleep.
"Allan" she called in a dizzy tone." I'm about to sleep".
Allan laid beside her, holding her hand tightly where his mark rested, anchoring her to the moment. Her breathing steadied, and slowly, the tension of the day melted away. She was asleep.