http://clampfix.fanworks.net/x-overs/sleeples.txt </head><body><pre> Sleepless Night Blues I shouldn't be here. But I am. Maybe when I wake up, this will all make sense. Maybe. "Hn? You're still awake?" "Sorry, didn't mean to disturb you." "Don't be silly. I usually wake up around this time. If you're going to be staying here, you'll get used to it." She smiled as she sauntered past me half-naked and half-asleep. "Exactly why do you wake up around this time?" "I take a lot of naps. I don't have to keep a nine to five sked, so I sleep when it's convenient. You should try it some time." I tried to sleep -- it's what I've been doing for a few hours now. But I just couldn't. I felt a slender arm wrap around my neck as a slight breeze brushed past my right ear. "Well if you aren't going to sleep, maybe you'd like to do something _else_ in bed?" A tempting offer, especially coming from her. "No offense, but I'd rather not." "Not in the mood or not interested?" she pressed on, digging her nails into my shoulder. "It's not like you haven't done it before. Not with me, of course," she giggled like a schoolgirl. "I appreciate you letting me stay here for the night, but don't you think you're being...more than hospitable?" "Naturally. I'm trying to seduce you." There was a time when I would've liked to be in this situation, but not now. Not after... "Hey, what's with the thoughtful expression? You like thinking about it more than actually doing it?" she teased. "Sempai, you're no fun. Most men would be thrilled to have a girl like me, ready, willing and able." "You don't have to call me sempai." "I know, but I don't think we know each other well enough for me to call you anything else." "But you're perfectly comfortable with trying to sleep with me." She's a very unusual girl, but if only half of what I know about her is true, I shouldn't be surprised. "Well, that's my job, isn't it?" "I didn't realize I was a customer." "You're not." She made a point of keeping me on my toes. Under the circumstances, it would seem rather pointless to expect anything else. "So, what did she say when you told her?" "She didn't take it very well." "And that's how you ended up here with me." "To be honest, I barely remembered you." "I was on one of the alumni committees. I was rather looking forward to meeting you." "And why was that?" "It was because of the time you were in Serbia. People actually thought you were dead, for a while." "It was nothing compared to your own brush with death, I'm sure." "I'd rather put it behind me." At that, she started to sound a bit somber. "You can't sleep because you're thinking about her again, aren't you?" She asked the question like she was my mother. "What if I am?" "You know it's not doing you any good. You made a decision that made it impossible to stay with her any longer. Thinking about it won't make you feel better. I _can_," she purred enticingly, shifting back to her preferred mode of interaction. "Look, I just need to sleep." "Then go to sleep. But I know you can't. Neither could I when I found out. But it's not such a big deal once you get used to it." She made it sound like some soap opera's cliffhanger. In a way it was, just on a grander scale. "How can you take it so lightly?" I inquired, letting a bit of my journalistic background seep into my question. "What are you so worried about?" She turned to me and smiled. "After all, it's only the End of the World."</pre><p><a href="./">Back</a></p><p><a href=http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=216><img border=0 alt="Donate towards our web hosting bill!" src=https://secure.newdream.net/donate1.gif></a></p></body></html>