Unveiled Awareness

The movie ended sometime after midnight.

Neither of them had been paying much attention to the final twenty minutes. The storm had worn itself into the walls of the apartment, and the quiet left behind felt almost louder than the rain had. Serena was still curled into the couch, the blanket around her legs, the last drowsiness of sleep clinging to her eyes. She had been fighting it, trying to stay awake, trying to keep her defenses up, but the steady drone of the storm, Adrian’s quiet presence, and her own bone-deep exhaustion had finally won.

Adrian stood first.