"Laliana," a voice called, trying to wake me up. But any voice that threatened to take me from my first love, sleep, was insane and should never be listened to.

"Leave me alone," I muttered, burrowing my face into my warm pillow. I refused to wake up. Not when dreaming was so much better lately.

"Laliana," the voice called again. I pulled my pillow tighter against my face, enjoying the smell of citrus and the warmth against my skin. I froze, my eyes still shut as something familiar tickled at my subconscious.

Citrus? My pillow doesn't smell like that. And then suddenly it hit me. I wasn't clutching my pillow. It was too warm and too muscular... I forced my eyes open and looked up. I was clutching Aiden's waist. And even knowing that fact, it took me several seconds to let go. Oh my gosh, brain work. Let go of this guys well-toned body before you die of embarrassment.

I jumped back, and found myself laying in my bed, Aiden seated on the edge of it, looking down at me with a flustered expression. "Um... hi," he said, laughing.

I yanked up my blankets to my chin. "Hi?" I squeaked, forgetting how to sound like a human person. As always Laliana, smooth.

Aiden smiled widely, his eyes sparking with mischief. "You talk in your sleep."

I rubbed my eyes, trying to push away the grogginess and the desire to crawl under the covers and pretend Aiden wasn't sitting in my room.

"Why are you here?... In my room?" On my bed? My brain was screaming that last part so loud that I found it hard to form words beyond them. Aiden is in my room.

Aiden crossed his arms. "You passed out in the back of the limo." He held out a glass of water and I drank most of it in one gulp. "I brought you back here. Tate is out getting you something with electrolytes." He took the glass and put it down on my nightstand. "You are really dehydrated."

I pulled the blanket down slightly to see what I was wearing. "And why am I wearing last night's clothes?"

Aiden leaned in, searching my face, his deep blue eyes waking me up far faster than any shot of caffeine could. It was like a bolt of lightning, his eyes analyzing mine closely. Too close. I couldn't think with that little room. All I could see were his eyes. His perfect eyes demanded attention like nothing else in my life. "Do you really think I am the type of guy that would go into your closet, pick out new clothes for you and change you while you are unconscious?"

My face burned red and I shook my head. "No."

He leaned back, releasing me from my sudden paralysis, satisfied. "Good. I'll get you more water. Then you should get some sleep."

He stood up to leave, and if I had been more aware of myself, I would have let him walk out of the room. But I blamed how slowly my brain connects to the rest of my body when I wake up, because I reached up and grabbed his hand like it was my first instinct. Like it was a habit, a common practice. Like I had some kind of right to take his hand. I had clearly lost my mind. "Wait."

Aiden seemed to freeze, glued to the spot next to my bed. He turned and looked down at our hands, and then up to my face. "Yes?"

Flashes of the stalker filled my mind. His figure filling the alleyway, the notes he had written, the phone call he had made, and the message he had scrawled on my bathroom mirror. "I don't want to sleep."

Aiden sat back down on the edge of the bed, his face soft, his brows creasing with concern. "What happened? Carter?"

I shook my head and looked down, fully aware that his hand was still in mine. "I got a call... The stalker got my number." I felt Aiden's fingers tense under mine.

I looked up at him, scared. "I don't feel safe Aiden."

He removed his hand from my grip and took my hand in his, giving it a squeeze. "I won't let anything happen to you."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I know."

"Now, tell me what this stalker said to you."

As I told Aiden what the stalker said, I watched his face go from frustrated, to straight-up angry. "Summers, you shouldn't have agreed to his demand. He was probably bluffing."

I pulled my hand free from his and crossed my arms. "And what if he wasn't?"

"I'm protecting you," Aiden replied, his eyes flashing with anger. "It is not your job to protect me."

"I had to go out with someone else anyway. What does it matter who it is? It's all fake. None of it is real!" I glared back at him. "A few bad dates are fine if that means the people around me stay safe."

Aiden clenched his teeth, an unmovable, unflinching mountain of opinion. "But Decklan Blake should never be on that list."

The air left the room. The anger that radiated off of him was overwhelming, sending terror down my spine. "Why," I whispered.

"I'M BACK!" Tate shouted from the living room. "AND I BRING ENOUGH HEALTHY DRINKS TO HAVE YOU PEEING FOR WEEKS!"

Leave it to Tate to shatter all tension in a single second.

Aiden bolted back, away from me, and stood up. "You still hungry?"

I nodded.

"Pizza in here, or in the living room?"

...

Five minutes later, I had transformed into my original form, sporting a pair of sweatpants, a large flannel shirt, and was munching on a piece of pepperoni pizza while Tate flipped through Hulu, trying to find a movie to watch.

"No, too cry-inducing. No, watched it yesterday. No, too many explosions and not enough storyline. No, hate that actor. AH!" Tate shouted, landing on Anna and the Apocalypse. "That's it. I've found our movie!"

I stared at the screen, doubtful. "What is it about?"

Tate looked like he was going to start dancing. "Only one of the most UNDERRATED holiday movies of all time! It's a Christmas musical about a zombie apocalypse!" That piqued my interest. "Trust me. Pizza and a zombie movie are a match made in heaven."

Before Aiden or I could reply, Tate ushered me to the couch, with the box of pizza and motioned for Aiden to take the chair next to us. "Dude sit! I've been dying to show this one to you."

Aiden raised a brow. "Isn't this the movie where people dress up in penguin outfits and do a talent show?"

Tate waved his hand, a slice of pizza at risk of flying out of his fingers and hitting me in the face. "Irrelevant. Trust me. It's amazing."

Tate and I settled in on the love seat, like two best friends ready to take in the most amazing movie screening of their lives while Aiden continued to look irritated.

Aiden's last set of words filled my mind. But Decklan Blake should never be on that list.

But as the musical chaos on my television screen began, I let it go and allowed myself to get sucked into an evening of laughter.

Tate was the perfect person to watch a movie with when you wanted to forget how scared you were. He loved to heckle the characters, his commentary so animated, that it left me in tears of laughter. But the entire evening had left me exhausted, and as the final climax of the movie approached, I drifted off to sleep with the sound of Tate's laughter filling my ears.

Have you ever fallen asleep when a movie was on, and knew instantly when it the movie was over because of the silence that suddenly filled the room? That was what hit me as I came back into consciousness. Silence.

I was about to open my eyes when I heard Tate talking to Aiden in whispers. Curiosity won over and I kept my eyes shut, pretending to sleep as they continued.

"Did you find out why she passed out?"

"The stalker got her number," Aiden answered. "Between a call from him and the fact she hadn't eaten, I think it was too much."

"This is messed up. Who would stalk her? She's awesome," Tate replied.

"People get weird when others do well," Aiden answered. "They want to punish them for it."

There was a pause. "The stalker has an opinion on who she goes out with next."

Tate snorted, sounding irritated. "Seriously? Who?"

"Decklan Blake."

Tate swore. "Is he insane? Of course, he is. Why else would he be stalking her?" Tate hissed. "What do we do?"

"She already told Sanders. Looks like the arrangements are already being made."

"Are you going to try and stop it?" Tate pressed.

"No. That's not really in our job description. Our opinions don't matter."

"They do when it involves her safety," Tate countered.

"I won't let anything happen to her. If they go out, I'll keep a close eye on him," Aiden replied darkly.

"And if he does anything?"

"I'll make him wish he never agreed to go out with Summers or any other girl before her."

"Good. Even if it gets you fired, I think it's the right thing to do. Just make sure you scare the shit out of him if he tries."

"If I do get fired..." Aiden trailed off.

"Don't worry. I'll watch her if you do. You can trust me on that."

"I know."

A blanket was laid out on my shoulders, and I felt a hand brush several strands of hair out of my face in a tender gesture.

I had managed to curl up into a ball on the couch, taking up the space that Tate had vacated.

"Should we carry her to bed and head out?" Tate asked.

I winced, terrified of being left alone. Aiden's voice answered from right above me, clearly catching my sudden reaction. "No... I think I'll stay. She mentioned not wanting to be alone." My body relaxed slightly.

"Dude... you gotta sleep sometime—"

"I'll be fine," Aiden answered. "Take the night off Tate. I got it."

---

What's your favorite underrated movie?