27 Intoxication

"Ah..." Leo lay slumped at his bed in exhaustion. He had been patrolling and attending to student's matters right until before bedtime. Someone else was using the shower stalls and the longer he waited, the more reluctant he would not want to wake up again.

The door slid open and he immediately sat up straight. He did not want to show himself in an embarrassing posture. Luna entered with her hair still wet from the shower, donning a simple t-shirt and shorts.

"The showers are available now," she said. The showers were less packed now that most of the students and teacher advisors had taken their bath according to the schedule. Nevertheless, in this carriage, some rooms were occupied by other travellers.

"Alright, thanks," Leo gathered his toiletries kit and the towel provided by the train before making way to the end of the carriage.

The shower stall was cramped, slightly larger than one meter by one meter with a similarly wide dressing room.

He realised that the shower had a hot water supply, much to his joy. He had never travelled on a sleeper train before. Drenched in the warm rain, he suddenly remembered that Luna was sharing a room with him to his embarrassment.

'What do I do? What do I do?' His mind pranced frantically. He wasn't thinking straight anymore.

With one slap on both of his cheeks, he refreshed himself and turned off the shower. He would only need to do his usual daily routine with the only exception of another person.

'Why am I even so caught up with this?' He wondered. The walk back to the room was easy with most of the passengers had retreated to their rooms and the corridor lights had dimmed to facilitate the night snooze.

Upon entering the room, he saw Luna swaying drowsily in a sitting position.

'She should sleep properly,' Leo smiled and shook his head. As he went to wake her up, he realised she wasn't sleeping. Her face was flushed red and she was muttering to herself in a dazed state.

"Oh… Leo, you're backkk. Welcomee backkk!" She hollered to him, slurring her words.

"What happened to you? Are you drunk?" He asked. He looked around and found several paper wrappings on the small counter. Beside them were scattered pieces of chocolates given by Elma earlier. He took one and tried it.

"This is some strong bourbon chocolates," he coughed after trying one. 'How many did she take?' He wondered.

She crept slowly and took another piece before Leo stopped her.

"You have way too many. That's enough, alright?"

"But I haven't had enoughhhh. A few moreeee!" She struggled against him.

"Look at you. You're drunk!"

"I'm not drunk!" She declared loudly before returning to her drowsy state. "In that case, then…"

All of a sudden, she tugged his hand hard and he fell crashing down to his bunk. Luna still held his arms tightly and giggled. Both of them lying next to each other, their gazes matched each other.

"You have to stick with me! Teehee," she said childishly.

"Uh, I think you should have some water," he tried to break free from her grasps and reached for a bottle of water but she pulled him back down, crashing into the wall.

'Oh crap, I hope I did not disturb some of the other travellers.' If someone files a complaint, it would be the end of any school excursions for the foreseeable future and he would not want to be responsible for it.

Luna looked at him doe-eyed. "Are you leaving me? Do you hate me?"

His heart skipped a beat. 'She's so cute!' He exclaimed in his heart. "I do not hate you and I'm not leaving you. I'm just going to get some water for you. I'll come back very quickly."

Still, her grasps did not loosen. "No, I prohibit you from leaving. Stay with me."

Leo gave a sigh and relented. "Fine, I will not go. In that case, you should go to sleep. It's been a long day and you need some rest."

"Only if you accompany me," she commanded, patting the space on the bed beside her.

"I-I don't think it's appropriate to do this," he tried to look away. 'Sylvia is going to tie me up to a concrete block and drop me into the ocean if I do that.'

"By the way, the bunk is too small for both of us. I'll go and sleep in your bunk. No worries, I would still be only centimetres away from you," he continued.

"No! I want you here!" She threw her tantrums and pummeled his chest. "I will not sleep unless you're here with me!"

"Alright, alright. I'll be with you," he yielded and slept beside her. 'I'll leave after she sleeps, I guess.'

The single-bed forced them to lie close together with their bodies touching each other. Leo felt her warm breath and his body felt hot from the awkward position. She looked at him warmly with her rosy cheeks. The room was illuminated by the silver streaks of light from the large window. Tonight, the full moon unveiled itself in its entirety.

His heart pummeled hard in his chest. Who knew just sleeping next to someone could produce such adrenaline?

She looked at him briefly before looking down again. "It's not polite to stare too much…" She smiled again and touched his nose with her right hand. "Stay with me, ok?"

Eventually, her eyelids slowly closed into slumber, much relaxed now compared to her earlier unruly self. A composure Leo was used to see but not when she was asleep though. Still another side of her he got to see. He felt he got a lot closer from their brief interaction compared to the few weeks they've met.

'My time to go then,' Leo tried to wake up but her hands still clutched at him tightly.

"I'm… scared, you know. I'm terrified… of the darkness, alone," Luna mumbled in her sleep, a streak of tears like a gem slid down her face, pathing a lonesome trail. "Don't… leave me."

Leo stopped. He knew the weight of the burdens she held. How much time does she have left? How scary to know that your time is limited?

"I'm sorry," he muttered silently as he lied back down. With his right hand, he wiped off her tears and brushed the stray fringes of her hair off her face.

"Sleep well. I'll be here with you until you leave," he wished as he too succumbed to Hypnos while his hand held hers closely.