Pillow

Devon only questioned him once when he stood up to make popcorn. He didn't give her a definite answer, afraid it would tickle her curiosity. Devon was like a child. He didn't want her following him around.

He planned to cook popcorn, after all. She might think it was fireworks and cause a disaster in the kitchen.

While Lewis transferred the popcorn to a bowl, he stopped. His gaze on the popcorn, blinking as he pursed his lips in a thin line.

'Is this normal?' He asked internally.

Obviously, it was not.

Lewis never used his precious hands in this sort of things. Although he could cook, those were rare occasions he did for himself.

But now he was just doing this for her. She wasn't even asking. He just did it on his own.

"I'm just happy that you're here to take care of me!"

Suddenly, those words hovered over his head, along with the image of her bright smile. As soon as it appeared in his head, Lewis slowly closed his eyes and sighed helplessly.

'I'm just taking care of her because I can't let anything bad happen to her. Who else would I sleep with if…?'

Sleep.

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Lewis suddenly snapped his eyes open.

"Sleep with…." He muttered under his breath.

His entire body stiffened. He couldn't move a muscle temporarily, and he could only blink.

Now that he thought about it, his struggles wouldn't stop here. Later, he'd still share a bed with her. Share a bed… because the reason he was here was because of that.

The reason they were together in the FIRST PLACE was because of that.

How could he forget?

Lewis never had this dilemma before. His only problem was his sleep itself. Not the people around him. He had slept with a sleep physician present before.

But that therapy didn't last long. It was only effective in the first week, but after that, his problems returned.

He had gone through many therapies and treatment for this problem. He had taken pills, alcohols, and had suffocated himself from burning incense just to fall asleep. But none of them last long, nor they were as effective as his solution right now.

Devon was the most effective sleeping pill. Even after months of sleeping beside her, her effects never wore off.

But now Lewis was in a predicament.

His heart would beat frantically, as if it would explode every time she came close. How could he sleep with her now?

In retrospect, since he had only seen her like a pillow that would be normally be around the bed, he never felt awkward. Whether they held hands or snuggled, she's only a pillow!

A pillow!

A pillow who breathed and could walk around. Sometimes, spew nonsense just to tease him.

Now, that pillow had let itself known that she's a woman. His mind already registered his sleep companion as a human of the opposite gender.

"I guess, I'll skip tonight." He sighed, shaking his head.

This problem made his head throb. He couldn't believe that a day would come he would volunteer to skip sleep.

'Whatever.' He clicked his tongue, picked up the bowl of popcorn, and walked back to the living area where she was.

As he came close to where she was, her laughters grew distinct. Lewis clenched his teeth until he arrived in the living area.

His eyes immediately searched for her. Devon was laughing, engrossed in the cartoon she was watching. It was as if she wasn't worried sick earlier.

A sigh slipped past his lips. 'What's worse is that I'm the only one struggling.'

A second later, Devon sensed his presence. She turned her head to him and smiled from ear to ear.

"Oh! My friend! Come!" she invited enthusiastically, patting the vacant space beside her.

'I dislike this.' He muttered internally, keeping a poker face as he went and placed the popcorn beside her.

"Eat this while you watch." Lewis informed her, picking up the phone afterward.

"What's this?" Curious, Devon picked up a piece of popcorn and raised it to her eye level. Like a jeweler appraisal who assessed its value.

"Something to eat. Try it."

Devon looked up, blinking innocently. She said nothing and just nodded. As instructed, Devon shoved the popcorn inside her mouth.

For reasons unknown, Lewis fixed his eyes on her lips. He witnessed how her lips parted, her tongue showing out a little, and how the popcorn entered her mouth.

His jaw slight fell open.

"Mhmm!" As she ate the popcorn, her face brightened up in surprise. "It melts in the mouth!"

Devon exclaimed excitedly as she picked up another popcorn. Unbeknownst to her, someone just witnessed his inner peace crumble down right before his eyes.

"My friend, try it!" Ignorant as she was, Devon stretched her arms to him.

Without a second hesitation, she shot the popcorn inside his mouth, as it was slightly open. Her gesture snapped him back, urging him to act out of instinct.

Before she could retrieve her hand, Lewis bit her finger lightly. His eyes on her.

"My… friend?" Surprised, Devon's eyes slightly widened as her finger was stuck between his teeth.

'Was that not allowed? Did I offend him?' She wondered, staring at the glints flickering across his naturally sharp eyes.

Slowly, Lewis let her go. "Don't do that again. It's dangerous."

He warned, as he drew away with his phone in his hands. Lewis then glanced at her, who was a little taken aback by his action.

'She's driving me crazy.' Lewis grumbled internally as he walked towards the balcony for some fresh air.

What she did was something truly dangerous.

He didn't mean to bite her finger. It was out of instinct. Fortunately, he realized his actions immediately.

While Lewis walked away, Devon frowned as she gazed down. Her eyes instantly fell on the finger he bit. It wasn't painful, but she could still feel his teeth biting into it.

'That's strange…' She whispered inwardly, caressing her finger with her thumb. Devon then placed her palm across her chest.

'Why did my heart skip a beat?'