Sleepover

I couldn't stop looking at Dani in the soft glow of the t.v. She looked so pretty, smiling, her new hair brushing her shoulders whenever she moved. Her pale skin glowed. I wished I had the courage to tell her how I felt. I remembered kindergarten, the day I met her. I was playing baseball with my friends, when she and Dylan showed up.

           "Can we play?" She'd asked me. We'd agreed. After a brief argument, Dani was pitcher. For a five year old, she was really good. Then we got put in the same room for naptime. And now we were best friends. After the movie, Dani went to go refill our popcorn. Dylan turned to me.

           "So, when were you going to tell me about your crush on Dani?"

           "I-I - How did you know?"

           "Dude. The look on your face when she showed us her new haircut? Priceless."

    “Was it really that obvious?” I asked.

    “Not to Dani, don’t worry.”

    “Thank god. You can’t tell her, ok?”

    “Seriously? Do you know how hard it is to hide things from her? Never mind the fact that I’m her twin.” It was true. Dani had a way of knowing when you were keeping something from her.

    “Please, Dylan.”

    “Ok, I’ll try.” Just then, Dani walked in with the popcorn.

    “Everything okay?” See what I mean? She can just read people so easily.

           "Yeah. Sam was just telling me a funny story about baseball. Speaking of which,what was up with you making eyes at that pitcher guy earlier?" My heart sank. I remembered it all too well. Dani blushed.

           "His name is Jack. And I was not 'making eyes' at him!"

           "Mmm-hmm." Dylan said, winking at me. Then he pretended to be Jack, flexing his biceps and grunting. Much as it hurt, I played along. I pretended to be Dani, placing my hands underneath my chin and batting my eyes. She blushed even worse.

           "Can you two stop being so immature!?" Ouch. I stopped immediately. Dani rolled her eyes, and pressed play. Dylan grinned at me. I rolled my eyes. Dani fell asleep halfway through the movie. It was only about eight, but it had been a long week. With a sigh, I sat down next to her on the floor, resting my head against the bed. I closed my eyes.

    The next morning, I woke up at around eight. Startled, I noticed Dani’s hand, resting on top of mine. We were both laying in such a way that my ankle overlapped hers. Her head was on my shoulder. I couldn’t move without waking her. But if she woke up, and we were still like this . . . I made up my mind. I gently placed her head on the pillow on the ground. I lifted my ankle from hers. But I left her hand on mine, afraid that if I moved it she would wake up. I then lay back down and tried to go back to sleep.

    “Sleep well?” Dylan asked. My eyes flew open.

    “H-How long have you been awake?”

    “Long enough to hear you saying Dani’s name in your sleep. And I saw you wake up.” I rolled my eyes.

    “Well, I’m going back to sleep.”

    “Good luck with that...” Gritting my teeth, I closed my eyes, and actually fell asleep.

                    Dylan

    I sat on my bed, and waited. I didn’t have to wait long. Dani’s eyes flickered open, and took note of her hand on Sam’s, their once more overlapping ankles, and the fact that they were facing each other, heads almost touching. She hastily sat up, cheeks red, and disentangled herself from him.

    “Good morning . . .” I said. “Sleep well?”  I never knew it was possible for human cheeks to be that red. I swear, if she was any redder, she’d be a tomato.

    “Shut up, Dylan.” She said furiously.

    “So you didn’t sleep well.” I said, winking. She blushed even more.

    “Oh, don’t give me an innuendo. I’m really not in the mood. I’ve got a massive headache.” She groaned. I climbed down, and placed my hand on her forehead.

    “You do feel a little hot. Hold on a sec.” I grabbed the thermometer from the bathroom, rinsed it off, and ran back. “Here. You know what to do.”  She put it under her tongue. When it beeped, I checked it. 100.7. Not good. She handed the thermometer to me.

    “Here. You check. If I’m sick, you probably are too.” I did. Sure enough, 100.9

    “What about Sam?” She asked.

    “Good point. Ugh, I’m starting to see what you mean about the headache.”

    “Nausea, too. We probably have the flu.”she said. She gently shook Sam’s shoulder.

    “Dani.” He mumbled, then “Dani?” She nodded.

           “Hold on a second. I just need to check your temperature.” She placed the thermometer underneath his tongue. When she took it out, it read 102.4. She groaned.

    “I’ll go get mom.” I said. But the second I stood up, I was overcome by a sudden wave of nausea that brought me back to my knees.

    “Ohh.” I groaned. Dani sighed.

    “I’ll go.” She stood up. She stumbled a bit, nauseous and dizzy. But she made it to mom’s door. She was back in a second.

    “Get in bed, you two.” She said.

    “Ummm, you mean three?” Dani said.

    “Right.” Said mom, looking a bit flustered. “Umm, Sam, Dani’s bed. You two, Dylan’s bed.” Needless to say, we didn’t argue. (By the way, Dani’s editing this, so if it doesn’t sound like me, that’s why.) Sam recovered first. We all spent the week out sick. Sam stayed with us, since he couldn’t go home in his condition, and our parents were extremely close. But he was mostly recovered first. We watched a lot of t.v and enjoyed each others company as best we could. But we were pretty sick. I remember waking up in the middle of the night being freezing, and putting on six blankets. I woke up an hour later roasting. Dani had it the worst. She took tylenol as often as she could. Her head hurt and her stomach hurt. She had a bucket next to her bed, so she didn’t need to crawl to the bathroom to throw up. Sam spent a lot of time next to her bed. He checked her forehead multiple times, and sat soothing her when she was throwing up. I joined him, since we shared a bed. She stayed in bed until sunday. Mom wouldn’t even think of letting her go to school on monday, but she wasn’t confined to bed. I took the chance and talked to Sam.

    “So how long have you had a crush on Dani?” I asked him on the way to school. He mumbled something I couldn’t hear.”What?”

    “About two years.”

    “Really.”

    “Ok, fine. Four.”

    “When did you realize?”

    “You remember that day when we were in fourth grade, and Dani lost her ball, so she ran out into the road to get it?”

    “And she almost got hit by the truck?”

    “Yes. I guess that’s when I realized that . . . That I couldn’t lose her.”

    “Awwww.” His cheeks were crimson.

           "Oh, shut up." He said. The day passed without incident,until sometime during french class. Suddenly,I was really hot, and dizzy. And it was all i could do to not pass out. I turned to Sam.

           "Something happened to Dani." I texted my mom, and she told me to walk home. Sam came too. Oh well. French was next to last period anyways. When we came home, Mom was crouched over Dani, who was lying on the grass motionless. Sam gasped. I didn't blame him. She was lying so still.One arm was outstretched, as if to grab the tennis ball lying a few feet away. The other hand had a baseball glove. I understood immediately. She had been throwing the ball at the garage door, then fielding it when it bounced back. The idiot. She had a fever! Together, me mom and Sam took her into the house, laying her on the couch. Cally was the next to come home, then Thom and Ash. Together we waited.

                 "She's gonna be okay." Mom said. Dani's eyelids flickered.

                 "Dani?" Sam, who was sitting on the floor beside the couch,holding her hand, asked. "Can you hear us?"

                  "Sam? Mom? Dylan?" Then she saw everyone else in the room. "What happened?"

                  "You got dehydrated. You shouldn't have been playing sports. I told you to be careful." Mom said.

                  "You idiot." Sam said quietly. Everyone froze. "Why would you do that? Why? Do you have any idea how much we all care about you? How much it hurts m-us if something happens to you? Dani, how could you do this to us? How could you be so incredibly stupid?" He was yelling by then. Sam clearly regretted this outburst. There were silent tears streaming down Dani's face. To fully understand this, you have to realize that Dani is really tough. The last time I saw her cry was when she broke her arm falling out of a tree when we were eight.

                   "I-im s-s-sorry. I-i didn't r-r-realize. I just wanted to do something. I was stupid, you're right." Sam wrapped his arms around her

                   "Hey. Its okay. I shouldn't have yelled. I'm sorry. You just scared us, Dani. Promise me you won't ever do anything like that ever again."

                   "I promise." There was a moment of silence, then everyone crowded in for a massive group hug.