4:15 in the morning.
Still nighttime. It’s that time of the morning that has a weird feeling. The time when your brain goes wherever it wants to go — and JP’s brain had apparently decided to go straight to Nia.
He had waking up from a deep sleep.
The ceiling fan had its normal spin. His room was dark except for the light peeking through the sides of the curtains. He laid there for a minute doing nothing, and then — like always when he wake up and can’t go back to sleep at 4am — his hand found his phone.
He went straight to her photo.
Still 847 likes. That leg still up with her hand wrapped around her ankle with all the confidence in the world and knew it.
JP looked at it. Looked at the ceiling.
Looked at it again.
Then he started feeling the adrenaline flowing through and looked down at what was growing under the covers while he was looking at the picture. Soldier standing at attention like it had somewhere to be at 4-in-the-morning so adese solider.
He flipped the camera. Got the angle. Made sure it was good enough to be funny and obvious enough to say everything. The lump under the gray covers told the whole story without telling it.
He added the 🍆 emoji, the 😂😂🤣, and typed:
JP: Gm
Send
Then he laid the phone on his chest and stared back at the ceiling.
He figured she was sleep and he would wake up to either a response or a block but either way he would have his answer.
Thirty-seven seconds later — Ding.
JP’s eyebrows went up. He grabbed the phone.
Nia: 😩😭😂😂😂 WHY ARE YOU LIKE THAT.
JP: Good morning to you too.
Nia: It is not morning. It’s still considered as the middle of the night, JP
JP: 4:17am is technically morning.
Nia: Technically you need help
JP: 😂 But you responded in under a minute tho.
The typing bubble appeared. Stopped. He could feel her trying to find a comeback.
Nia: I was already up.
JP: Mm hm.
Nia: Don’t “mm hm” me
JP: What are you up thinking about at 4am, Nia?
Longer pause this time.
Nia: …Stuff. JP
JP: Ohh! Stuff. 🤔
Nia: Go back to sleep, JP 😭
JP: That’s kinda hard to do right now
Nia: 😭😭😭 YOU ARE SO STUPID
JP: 😂😂 Oh it’s funny uhh.
Nia: Unfortunately 😒❤️
He smiled at his phone in the dark like a happy, wide-awake, 4-in-the-morning fool.
JP: Come see me this weekend.
No emojis. No joke behind it. Just the ask, clean and straight.
The bubble appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again. He waited.
Nia: …What time?
JP set the phone down on his chest again and let out a slow breath up at the ceiling.
Some hours of the night were just different like that.