"Hey, Lea..."

"Go to sleep." A groan was a reply that Tom got from the top bunk.

"Okay, so- you know when you're laying flat on your back in bed?" Tom whispered.

"And trying to fall asleep when your cellmate keeps you up? I know the feeling..." A muffled response.

Tom rolled his tired eyes, "Well, have you ever gotten that feeling where your heart is beating so fast that it feels like your whole body is moving and like jerking around?"

"All I heard is jerk and I think you're being one by keeping me up." Lea sighed in the pitch-black room.

"It's such a weird feeling...almost like you're dreaming, right?" Tom inquired.

"Why are you in prison?" Lea sat up, stretching and leaning against the wall.

"That's a blunt question that you know the answer to?"

"No, Tom, I mean- listen to you, and-" Lea rubbed his eyes from under the shades he had just put on, despite the darkness, "Let me sum this up for you- you're a theatre major, you've been in theatre for all of high school, you're gay, you're not even the legal age of drinking, and you're going on about heartbeats- why are you in prison?"

Tom frowned, "I threw the wrong punch at the wrong guy."

"WHAT?"

Tom jumped at the loud shout that came from Lea, "Holy crap, what's wrong?"

In one jump, Lea leapt down from the top bunk and onto the floor, immediately falling back to flop down on the bottom bunk.

"oW-" Tom hissed as Lea's head landed on his stomach.

"This is a twin sized bed and it's technically mine, we're only switching tonight after all, so your stomach is my pillow right now." Lea stated.

"Whatever- why were you so surprised?"

"You admitted you were wrong."

Tom frowned, "What?"

"I Quote, I threw the wrong punch at the wrong guy."

Tom was quiet before cursing under his breath, "That's not what I meant-"

"But it is-"

"No, it isn't."

"You just don't know."

"I really think I do."

"Yeah?"

"Lea, shut up."

"...You feel bad, don't you?"

"What?" Tom scoffed.

"You feel bad."

"No, I don't." Tom defended.

Lea sat up, shaking his head, "Did you hear my reasoning for why I asked why you were in prison?"

"The stereotypical gay-theatre-guy ones? Yes." Tom sat up as well, leaning on his elbows.

"You weren't going to kill Virgil or Roman, Tom, not even really hurt them-"

"I don't want to hear those names." Tom hissed.

"Stop being dramatic- you're a kid, Tom."

Tom furrowed his brow, "What?"

"You're a kid, you're a kid who's made some bad decisions but you're a good kid." Lea shrugged.

"Oh yeah, because good kids end up in prison."

"You were charged for attempted murder." Lea pointed out.

"And?"

"You weren't trying to kill Roman." Lea added.

"I...of course I wasn't..."

"Because...you loved him." Lea nodded.

"Yeah but-"

"You were just defending what you thought was your right, your right to love, you did it in the worst way possible, but, think about it, about what you said, about how you threw the wrong punch at the wrong guy- you sure that guy wasn't you?" Lea looked back at Tom, not as if either of them could see the other with the darkness plus Lea's shades.

"What's...that supposed to mean?" Tom frowned in confusion.

"You feel guilty about hurting Virgil and you feel especially guilty about hurting Roman because, now don't interrupt because I know you want to but, you care about them both-"

Tom laughed, "Me? Care about Virgil? Now, that's rich!"

"Stop."

Tom shut up for whatever reason.

"It's not like you specifically care for Virgil...you care for everyone, Tom."

"What makes you so sure?"

"You talk about your little sister more than yourself...you care about people- you just use your fists over your own mind most of the time." Lea pointed out.

"What? I've literally gotten beat up here- how many times now? Because I've started a fight?"

"You're lying."

"What?" Tom chuckled in disbelief.

"You're lying to yourself, and them, and trying to lie to me too, however, you're just lying, you're lying about being tough and wanting to hurt people- you don't want to hurt people but you do because, like I said, you're a kid...and kids are insecure." Lea leaned back again so his head rested on Tom's stomach.

Tom was quiet for a few moments before responding, "How did you figure all this out without even knowing me before I got here?"

"I like to observe people...reflect...you know, whenever I can in my free time." Lea shrugged, "You're an open book- your pages are just a bit difficult to turn."

Tom sighed, "And you're nothing short of a closed book."

Lea chuckled with a yawn, "Well...don't judge me by my cover...if that's all you can see right now."

Tom shook his head slowly, "You confuse me more and more with each passing day, Lea."

"Thanks." Lea smirked, "I'm glad I'm not letting anything slip." Lea glanced at Tom with a tired look that he could see the other reflected.

"Well, you're right about me feeling guilty...I'm not sure why- not at all- I mean, they got me to this wretched place, and they messed up my face like this...why do I feel guilty? Can you answer that?" Tom looked to the wall.

Lea yawned tiredly...feeling the room get darker, "You've...got a good heart...you shouldn't be here, it was a misunderstanding, however, you are here...it's as simple as that- and it can't be changed, it can be helped, the situation that is, but not changed...that being said, I know you from our time in this cell, and I know this is going to be a rough sentence for you if things keep up like this, and-"

"Hey, Lea..." Tom sat up to meet Lea's eyes, Lea noticing for the first time that Tom's eyes were a brilliant color.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you protect me?"

"That's a blunt question that you know the answer to?"

Tom rolled his eyes with a grin, flicking Lea's head, "Come on!"

"Hey!" Lea grinned before reaching up and flicking Tom on the nose, Tom responding in scrunching up his nose with a laugh before Lea sighed, "I'm not really sure myself."

"Yeah?"

"All I know is- if anything were to happen to you- I think that would worse than this life sentence..."

"Wh-what? Why?"

Lea flinched as he realized he'd used the wrong words, "Er- um- I just-" He groaned, "That came out wrong-"

"No, you're fine..."

Lea couldn't tell what tone that was, or if it was positive or negative, "...I can't hurt you?"

"What?"

"I'm not sure why, but I can't hurt you- and if someone else hurt you, that'd be because I couldn't protect you so that's just as bad as me hurting you?" Lea sounded unsure.

"But why can't you hurt me?"

"You're...not afraid of me...you don't hurt me, so I can't hurt you and...I think I l-"

"Why are you opening up to me?" Tom questioned.

"I...really don't know? I guess...because, you've opened up to me and- talking to someone my age...I haven't had that in a year now...it's nice..." Lea smiled, "And I can't stop myself?"

"From what?" Tom leaned forward.

Lea found himself stuck in Tom's gaze, "I...don't know.."

"I know though." Tom smiled, leaning forward until his lips were an inch away from Lea's.

Lea woke up with a gasp and a start, tensing up.

"Holy shit, calm down! You're going to give me a bruise!" Tom huffed, wincing from where Lea had slammed his head into his stomach after waking up.

Lea realized that the room was still completely dark and there would have been no way for him to actually see Tom, which made him realize he had been asleep...Lea caught his breath, squinting, but he was still on the bottom bunk with Tom- which left him with one question, "How much of that was real?"

"What?" Tom asked in confusion.

"I mean, when did our conversation end?"

"Something about you saying I shouldn't judge you by your cover if that's all I can see? I don't know, poetic shit, I guess?" Tom shrugged.

Lea sighed in relief, "Thank god."

"Why?"

"Nothing...just a nightmare is all."

Tom nodded, "We should have less nighttime chats- we're acting too much like stereotypical girls at a slumber-party...and this is a prison..."

"That might be true." Lea responded.

"You have so much personal shit on me...why do you keep protecting me? Like- at the cafeteria?"

Lea's heart pounded, "I...just cause, I don't want to be placed with a lame cellmate if you get beat up beyond repair and have to be isolated- which I'm surprised they haven't isolated me with my record? That too, don't want to do anything to the new cellmate- if I had to get one that is with you being absent, if you were- plus, you're pretty chill- but especially, with all the dirt I have on you, I know I'll be safe if you get some dirt on me." It's a god damn miracle I got time to think about this, or this could have gone so terrible...

"So...I'm essentially your...bitch?" Tom scoffed.

"Oh, nice summary, kiddo!"

"Oh god, don't have that be the next nickname..."

"Will do, snake kiddo."

"That wasn't even clever, Lea, and you know it."

Tom was right...if your heart beats fast enough- you feel like you're being jerked around.