Chapter 6: A Late Night.....

Chapter 6: A Late Night Encounter.

"Grrrrr… Stupid insomnia," Scarlett muttered after tossing and turning yet again. Huffing she punched the pillow and sat up. The flat was dead silent, no cars were passing, and the only noise was the quiet chirping of crickets outside. There wasn't an annoying light shining in her room.

Glaring, at nothing in particular, her hands rested in her lap as she played with her cuticle on her thumb. She didn't think her nap would have affected her sleep schedule that badly. Sighing, she reached over and grabbed her phone to check the time. She groaned as the screen temporarily blinded her and then looked again at the time.

2:18 a.m.

She rolled her eyes, falling backwards onto her pillow, her phone falling somewhere in the folds of the blanket. As she lay there, she tried to think of ways to fall asleep. All that popped into her head was sleep meds, exercise, alcohol, or calling her mom. She couldn't call earlier, as she had forgotten the nine hour time difference. It would be after eleven a.m. in L.A. right now, so her mom would be working or going to lunch. Shrugging, Scarlett rooted around in her covers till her hand hit something. She smiled and dialed the familiar number, and bit her lip as she held the phone to her ear.

It rang. Once. Twice. Three times. She was about to hang up, when halfway through the fourth ring someone picked up. "Hello?"

Scarlett smiled, "Hey mom." A gasp met her ears causing her to chuckle. "Scarlett! What took you so long to call me back?! I was starting to get worried!" She bit her lip as guilt washed over her, "I'm sorry Mom. Things here have just been going so fast. I meant to call you earlier but the time difference-"

"Scar….I told you I didn't care about the time difference. Just to call me!" Guilt weighed down on her, as she let her head drop and her eyes close. "I'm sorry Mom….."

Her mom sighed, "Well there's nothing we can do about that now. So how'd everything go?"

Scarlett smiled, "I got the job."

A squee/shriek emitted from the earpiece, causing Scarlett to laugh. "See? I told you! And you were fretting over nothing. So what's the band like?"

Her head snapped up. She didn't know how to respond. She had only really talked to them for about half an hour. "Uh….they seem nice. Definitely my type of music, it seems. I haven't gotten to listen to it yet. They've been really nice to me." She chuckled, then paused, "Well, four of them have been nice. One just has been….strange."

"Strange, how?'

"I don't know. He just stares at me before he asked about my father, and my lip. But then, he turned nice," she sighed, "I don't know. He seems nice. One of the other guys says that I have to talk to him. Don't know how well that will go."

A sigh met her ears, "Well I guess you just have to put up with it. So where are you staying? Have you thought about housing?"

Scarlett blushed. This wasn't something she had talked about before. She had expected to come over and find a place; not be staying with three of the band members. "Well….sort of."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it was brought up at lunch today, and one of them suggested that I stay with them at their flat." The silence that followed made Scarlett uncomfortable. "It's only temporary. It's kind of a trial thing. I'm staying for at least a few nights, to see how things go between the guys. If I'm okay with it, I can move in. I'd be doing the cooking, and helping with the cleaning on top of the make-up. None of them can cook, and when I mentioned it, they asked me to stay for a few days, just as a test."

When the silence continued, Scarlett bit her thumbnail, waiting. Finally, her mother heaved a sigh, "I guess that's fine. I just don't know how I feel about you staying with just guys though. How many are in the house?"

"Only three. The other two live together I believe."

"Okay. Everyone here has been asking about you. Now I can finally tell them. I'm so proud of you honey."

"Thanks mom. I'll be coming back in few days to get some clothes and other stuff. Maybe we can go out and have lunch or dinner, depending on the time I get there."

"Sure honey. So, how are you settling into the time cha- …..Wait….What time is it there?!?!"

Scarlett mentally winced and face-palmed at her mistake. "Uhhhh… its 2:32 a.m. here….." she trailed off.

A huff emitted from the receiver, "Scar, you should be sleeping. Why are you awake?"

She shrugged, forgetting her mom couldn't see her, "I slept a little on the plane and sort of....took a five hour nap when I got to the flat." Her mother heaved a long sigh. "I know mom. I've been trying to sleep. I've been in bed for three hours now," she sighed as she flopped back onto her pillow.

"Well, I slipped some Tylenol PM into your carry-on bag before we left the house. I thought you would need it." Scarlett smiled, "Thanks mom. I'll let you go so you can grab some lunch. I'll call you later."

"Okay. Love you Scar."

"Love you too, mom. Bye." She hit the end-call button and threw it into the folds of her comforter. Climbing out of the uncomfortable bed, she found her carry-on and rummaged around inside it. After about a minute of searching, she located the little bottle, popped the cap, and shook two pills out. Sealing and tossing it back in her bag, she tiptoed to her door, opening it slowly to find the hallway dark and a small light coming from the kitchen. Opening the door fully, she stepped towards the kitchen, looking back down the hall at the others doors. Intent and focused on remaining quiet, she didn't look up in time before she ran into something solid.

Whipping her head around, she looked straight into a man's chest; a chest with coloring on the right side and a scar on the other. Gulping, she raised her eyes till they met Yu's face. Biting her lip, she began trying to come up with an apology, "Umm….sorry. I was just going to get some water."

She went to side-step around him, but was caught by surprise when his hand grasped her upper arm. Gasping, she turned to stare at his face. He wasn't looking at her. In fact, he wasn't looking at anything in particular. His eyes seemed glazed over, but he looked awake. Was he sleepwalking?

Before anything else could run through her mind, Scarlett was pulled forward into his arms, which he wrapped around her. She was just about to open her mouth to scream at him. Suddenly, his right hand reached the back of her head and pulled her forward. Her eyes grew wide as his lips softly touched hers. Shocked, Scarlett just stood there not knowing what to do. If she tried to wake him, Yu could be violent. Sleepwalkers are just like that. If she didn't, lord knows how long they would be standing like this.

At first she began to relax into him, but her brain finally kicked in, she raised her hands to his chest and began pushing him back, but to no avail. After about twenty seconds of pushing, she pulled her head back away from his lips and slapped him hard across the face. Once his arms were off of her, she took a few steps back and just stared at him.

Yu's eyelids fluttered a few times. He seemed confused as he took in his surroundings. She looked around the hall, making sure her eyes were anywhere but on him. "Uhhh….." Yu said as he reached up to rub his head, "What happened? Why am I out here?"

Scarlett just shrugged, "I don't know. You were out here before I came out, I think." He reached up and rubbed his cheek, "Why does my face hurt?"

She blushed and looked away, "Oh. Uh… I tripped and you caught me and I accidently hit you," she lied.

"Oh. Well, you're welcome I guess. I don't remember leaving my room."

She nodded, "You were sort of sleepwalking." He groaned and turned away. "What?" she chuckled.

"Nothing. It's just kind of embarrassing. What are you doing up anyways? What time is it?"

"Oh. It's about 2:40 a.m. and I couldn't sleep so I was on my way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. So I can take some sleep meds." Yu nodded and walked to the kitchen. Scarlett slowly followed, watching. He walked to a cabinet and pulled out two small glasses, and proceeded to fill them from the water filter on the fridge. She leaned against the doorframe and continued watching, curious. He turned back to her, handing her one of the glasses. "Having trouble sleeping?" he asked walking to the island and leaning back against it.

She shrugged, "Must just be jet lag. What about you?"

He shrugged as well. "Sometimes, but it doesn't happen often. Sorry you had to experience it on your first night. Hopefully this won't mess up your decision of staying or going."

She shook her head, "I don't think it will."

He chuckled, "Good. I'd hate to have Strify and Kiro jumping all over me if I scared you away." It was her turn to giggle and she looked at the glass in her hands.

"They don't have to worry about it. I like them. They're nice. I haven't met many people like that."

He nodded and looked away, rubbing the back of his head, "By the way, I'm sorry for earlier, at the diner. I shouldn't have been nosey. If you had wanted to tell us, you would have. Sorry."

She shook her head, "It's ok. It happens all the time. I guess I've just gotten use to it by now."

"Well you shouldn't have to be. It's your privacy. It should be respected. I'm sorry I tried to invade it."

She nodded, "Apology accepted." She looked up and smiled at him. He returned it and downed his water and walked over to the fridge to fill it up again. She popped the pills into her mouth and downed her water. After placing it in the sink, she walked back to the door but stopped in the doorway. Turning to Yu, she asked, "Do you want some Tylenol PM? It helps me sleep. Maybe it'll help you."

He nodded, "Sure. It couldn't hurt." She skipped back to her room and pulled the little bottle out of her carry-on. As she walked to the door, she popped the cap and shook two more pills into her hand. "Here you go." She held them out and waited. He smiled and took the pills, his hands barely touching her. Just enough to feel the shock it sent through her fingertips.

"Well…. I guess I'll see you in the morning," she whispered.

"Yeah, sleep tight," he whispered back as she shut the door.

Thoughts and the events of the past ten minutes raced through her mind. Shaking her head, she walked back to her bed. She didn't need these thoughts right now. What she needed was sleep. Rescuing her phone from her covers, she placed it on her bedside table. Diving under the blankets, she cleared her mind and meditated, till she slowly drifted off into a soundless sleep.