Take Me Home: Sophi Part III

Take Me Home Sophi:  III

"Alright then," Christopher said, relieved that she was actually choosing to stay.  He promised himself in that moment that he wanted to do his best to keep her safe. "Are uh... are the burgers ok?" he asked her next, hoping to keep the mood light.
Sophi nodded, tearing a fresh piece of the burger away and eating it hungrily.  It was so strange not be able to speak but at the same time she still felt like she could communicate with this giant. She started to look around the room...if this giant had had a human before where was her cage?  Where was all of her stuff?  Finishing off the last of her burger she stood up to start walking around again.  She wanted nothing more than to understand the workings of this house if she was going to be staying here for the time being.
He figured she wouldn't want to be writing endlessly anymore, but he still wanted to know more about her. Making it easier, he decided to stick with yes or no questions. "So... did you have any friends back at the shelter?"
Sophi held up one finger to him and waved her hand around in a 'so-so' motion.  She wanted so badly to talk to him!  There were so many things that she wanted to say and explain since she had finally found a giant that seemed to give a shit.  He had only touched her once and that was certainly abnormal.  She then pointed back to the giant, as though asking him the same question.
"Eh, got a few. Tom for example, he's the one who sent you here actually," he said, leaning forward.  "I...I didn't really want another human in here.  Hell, I was afraid to get a simple pet after all that had happened with Kasey.  And the whole time Tom is always going 'what's the difference?', but I'm sorry.  There's no way that I could keep a human as a pet," he said, shaking his head.  He looked back up.   "Eh, sorry... kinda went off on a tangent there. Yeah, I've got a friend or two."
She nodded in response.  So that's why she was here.  Dr. Carr didn't even know that this was probably where she was going to end up.  The whole thing was just too strange.  A giant who didn't believe that humans were pets?  The whole concept caught her off guard and she turned around and stared at him with a strange look.  He wasn't a bad looking giant...despite the mistake he had made.  But...she had spent so long not trusting giants...hating them.  She furrowed her brow...confused by the whole thing.
Processing the information, he got an idea that might help her. "So judging by your reaction to giants in general, I'm guessing that your friend was a human?  Maybe I could bring him or her here. Give em a real home and you two could hang out."
Sophi shook her head.  She didn't know where she was and she certainly hadn't seen her in months.  But she couldn't tell him all that.  She couldn't tell him anything other than a few words here and there.  Rubbing the back of her neck, she felt stupid for pretending that she had a friend.  All the other humans hated her and the nekos were not a fan of her as well.  Turning away from him she walked towards the hall where the stairs were and looked up.  
How was she going to get around this house?
He turned and watched her head for the stairs, feeling a bit nervous. Even knowing about Kasey, he wasn't sure if he wanted her seeing her stuff.   "Um...if you want upstairs, I'm sorry to say but you'll need my help. If you're totally against that, I can just set up whatever you need down here. Sound good?"
Looking back at him, she tried to keep a straight face.  Despite it all, she still wanted her independence in this huge world around her.  Cracking her fingers, she jumped up onto the runner of the carpet, gripping it tightly and heaving herself onto the first step, and then the second, and then the 3rd and the 4th.  She took a deep breath, wiping her brow.  Damn this stupid giant world!  She sat down and took a break.
As he watched the human go up the stairs he bit his lip, unable to keep himself from worrying about her. Damn it, he'd forgotten what it was like to be living with someone so small yet so determined.  Standing up, he walked over and sat down in front of the stair case.  "I can understand wanting a bit of independence, but for something like this..." he looked up the stair case, "I think that asking for help is ok."
Sophi narrowed her eyes and stood up despite still being a bit tired.  She could do this!  Turning away from him in a huff she started to climb more stairs, barely making it as she came to the 9th.  She all but passed out but there were only four more left and she would be damned if that human had to help her!  She wasn't even sure why she wanted to get upstairs so badly at this point, it was more about her pride.  Taking the next step...she slipped a bit on the carpet and slammed onto the stair behind her on her back, screaming out with surprise but still no sound came.
"S-Sophi!" Christopher walked up the few stairs and knelt down in front of her.  He wanted to take her up to see if she was ok but he knew that she'd only freak out more so he restrained himself.  "You... you ok?"
The girl rubbed her back as she stood up, wincing but more pissed because no sound came from her mouth when she screamed.  It was scary to think that if anything bad would happen to her, no one would hear her shout.  Her lower lip trembled with embarrassment for a moment and she turned away from Christopher before he could see it.  For some reason his concern infuriated her even more.  Gripping the carpet again she started to climb up but the pain in her back wouldn't let her continue.  Fuck it all! She screamed out in silence and leaned against the side of the stair.  She waved off the giant, hoping that he would leave her alone.
No such luck.
"I'm not just going to leave you up here after that," he said, a bit serious though still concerned.  "I mean you cracked your back pretty hard there.  At least let me help you down." He set his hand down, though a distance away from her.  He wanted it to be her choice, and he didn't want to scare her.
Angrily, Sophi shook her head, her face contorting a bit.  This was the part where she would have told him exactly where to stick that hand of his.  Like she was just going to crawl into his hand like some dog?!  Narrowing her eyes she turned away from him and despite the horrible pain screaming from her back, she somehow managed to make it to the 2nd floor.  
Wincing a bit she managed to smile a bit triumphantly and gave the finger to him.  That would show him alright!  She turned around and started to explore the upstairs part of the house.
Sighing and pulling his hand back, Christopher walked up the rest of the way to join her.  "Alright, you made it. You gonna swallow your pride when you feel like going back down?"   He asked, motioning to the stair case.
Sophi looked back over her shoulder, feeling his shadow behind her.  Shaking her head at him, she confirmed that her pride meant the world to her.  However, there was something kind of nice about him following her around to make sure that she was okay.  Not that she would ever admit that to him.  She noticed a shut door and pointed at it and looked up at Christopher with a confused face.
"That's my room," Christopher said, walking up to her, but not too close.  "Got some kind of personal stuff in there."  He was hoping that she'd drop the subject and walk away from it.  He was still concerned about her back, but he figured he'd find a way to deal with it later.
Sophi looked at the door.  Any time a giant told her not to do something, that only made her want to do it more.  Rubbing her back a bit, she turned to look at him, wondering if she could have something for it.  She wasn't used to getting hurt, but as she kept walking around she wondered if she bruised something.  She didn't have a pencil or paper with her so rubbed her forehead a bit, trying to think of how to get him to understand without coming across as needy.
"I knew that your back'd be bugging you after that fall," he said, noticing her rubbing it. Turning towards the stairs Christopher took the first couple steps before turning back to her. "Go ahead and explore, just keep where I'll be able to find you.  I don't want you getting hurt again." With that, he made his way down the stairs.
Sophi narrowed her eyes as he disappeared.  Like it mattered to him where she went!  Looking around she noticed a small hole on the side of the wall, it was blocked up but after walking up to it, she noticed that she could peel away just enough to slip inside.  It must have been the doorway that his last human used to get into his room.  She peeked inside, it didn't look any different than any other giant's bedroom that she had seen before, but she still felt a little intrusive going inside.  
Hesitating for only a moment she remembered that she didn't trust giants and easily slipped through the crack, going into Christopher's bedroom.  For the most part it was a completely normal bedroom for a guy. A bit messy in an organized chaos kind of way.  The one thing out of place though was on his bedside table. From what she could best see from there it looked like an old and withered version of the sort of cardboard box humans were delivered in.  Sophi tilted her head, trying to figure out why the human would keep such a thing.  From this angle she couldn't really get a good look at it but she definitely recognized the shape.  Frowning, she wondered why he was holding on to it.  She inwardly cursed because her back hurt too much to climb up the covers of his bed to find out but jumped when she heard loud footsteps coming up the stairs again. Quickly Sophi ran to the hole and through the crack only to find Christopher standing there with a red face.
She had been caught.
Damn it.
He was so surprised to see her coming out of what he THOUGHT was a properly sealed door, he nearly dropped the small baggy of ice he'd gotten for her back.  He took a moment to compose himself and sighed, "So you saw it?"
Sophi held up her hands in defense, shaking her head.  She knew this part of the drill...lie...lie out the teeth to keep safe.  Piss off the giants but know when you've gone too far.  She saw the ice bag in his hands and immediately felt ashamed, a rare feeling for her.  Lowering her head, she felt bad for betraying a giant's trust.  Fuck...fuck this was bad.  He was actually worried about her...and she…
She looked up at him with worried eyes.
Sighing, he knelt down and held out the hand with the ice bag in it.  "Here.  You can lie on it and I'll show you what's in there," he said, nodding towards his room.  She'd already seen it, but considering her back she probably couldn't climb up to see what was IN the box.  In Christopher's mind, she'd already seen it, so why not just show her what it is?
Sophi stared up at him and motioned for him to set the bag down.  There was no way she was going to walk up to him.  This giant was making her more confused by the moment.  One minute he wouldn't let her in the room and now he was?  She nodded towards the room, unable to hide her curiosity.  Just what was he hiding in there?
He didn't move his hand, deciding to let logic break through this time. "I'm assuming you were only able to see the box because of your back.  You might as well see what's in it, but you can't do that without my help. It'd kill two birds with one stone if you just lie against the ice bag, and I'll show you what's inside."
She frowned...remaining stubborn.  Turning away she marched right back to the tiny door and squeezed her way through and decided to wait for him there.  She would rather die than be in the hand of a giant who let one die...she didn't trust giants to begin with.  Crossing her arms, she stomped up to the bed and waited for him to follow her.
Following behind her, he walked in and set the ice bag beside her.  He had a feeling that she wouldn't let him hold her this early, but he had to try. Christopher sat down in front of her, grabbing the box and setting it down delicately between them. Inside was an old human backpack, a journal of some sort, and some random clothes. "These were... these were her things."
Tilting her head to the side, Sophi approached the box slowly.  She watched the giant with worried eyes but hoped that this wasn't a trick to grab her.  He hadn't yet so she wanted to believe him...but she had trusted giants many, many years ago.  Hmmm...not good.  Still watching him, she stood on her tip toes to look over the rim of the box.
He leaned back against the side table, trying to put distance between them. She clearly was still uncomfortable, but he did hope to change that over time. He was almost nervous though about her touching anything in the box, considering them fairly special to him.
She wasn't sure what to say to him...not that she could say anything.  Stepping back away from the box, she rubbed her back not only because it still stung but because she was so confused.  She pointed at the box, and then held her arms out in a 'why' motion, hoping he would understand her question.
It took him a moment to process what she meant by the motion. On the bright side, he'd be a wiz at charades soon enough. "I... I keep this stuff in memory of her. I just wanted something to remember her by, and this is how she left her stuff... before it happened."
Sophi nodded.  She was surprised that he understood her so easily.  But it still felt so wrong to be this way.  He was a giant and yet he didn't have the same look in his eyes as the others did.  The way he looked at the box it was like he had lost a friend and not just a pet.  Frowning...she walked over to the ice bag and sat on it like a bean bag chair.  Surprised at the chill, she unwrapped her scarf and set it on the bag to absorb some of the cold and leaned against it.
He nodded towards her sitting on the bag, relieved to see her using it.  "That helping any?"  Even with Kasey on his mind, he wanted to make sure Sophi was ok.  That fall looked nasty.  He didn't know how these humans did it sometimes.  How would he live in a world that was so big and still manage to act the way that Kasey or Sophi did?  They were amazing in his eyes.
Sophi jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, growing alert again and quickly nodded her head.  The ice did feel good; she was going to have a pretty bad bruise on her back after a fall like that.  It was okay though...nothing that she couldn't handle.  And she would never let the giant know just how painful it was.
Christopher decided to look back at the box after making sure that Sophi was alright.  Sighing, he reached in and picked up the human sized book, looking at it for a second before setting it back in the box.  He wanted nothing more than to read it, he did.  He just couldn't bring himself to invade her privacy even if she had passed so long ago.
Sophi looked up as Christopher picked up the object and then set it down again.  Wincing as she stood up, she walked with a slight limp because her back hurt but looked back in the box and then back at him.  Pointing at the book, she looked at him with question.
"It was her journal," he explained.  "I saw her writing in it almost every night. I've wanted to read what's in it for so long... but even with her gone, I can't bring myself to invade her privacy."
Her eyes widened...'really?' she mouthed to him looking at the book with obvious interest.
He nodded.  "Yeah... why the surprise? It was hers not mine, I shouldn't even want to read it."
'Yes...but...' she started to say but then remembered that no words were actually coming out of her mouth and she turned away from him, more pissed off than ever. The one chance she had to talk to a decent giant and her fucking voice had been stolen.  Angrily she kicked the box, feeling bad about hitting it, but frustrated about not being able to talk to him.
He stopped himself from snapping at her, simply pulling the box a few inches away from her.  "Don't, Sophi," he said simply. Really, he didn't even want her around this stuff, let alone touching it but he thought that maybe Sophi would understand how much she meant to him.
So much for that.  He rolled his eyes and watched for her reaction.
She winced back at what she considered a tone with bite to it, surprised that he had gone from so soft to so scary at once.  Her lower lip trembled, the entire scene hitting her at once.  
The dead human.
The giant.
Having no voice.
The pain in her back.  
It was too much.  
Sniffing loudly she jerked away from him and ran to the furthest corner under his bed and sat down.  It was no use...he may have been kind but he would never be kind to her like he was to the one before.  She couldn't compete.
"Hey, wait!" Christopher called, mentally kicking himself. Considering her views it probably seemed like he was snapping at her instead of simply informing her.  He moved the box aside and laid down on his stomach, looking under the bed for her. "Sophi, please I didn't mean to snap. Will you please come back out?  You know that I'm not going to grab you.  I never would."
She wanted to shout at him to leave her alone but all she could do was pull herself deeper into the corner.  It was dusty under there and she sneezed, causing her back to hurt but she didn't care.  Reaching down, she picked up a dime and threw it towards him.  She just wanted to be left alone!  She hated it here!  A tear ran down her cheek and she angrily brushed it away.  She couldn't do anything...she sat down and faced the wall...this sucked.
He hated seeing her so hurt, so afraid.  It killed him, knowing he was probably the cause for most of it.  He just wanted to help her, comfort her. Tentatively he got an idea and reached out slowly towards where she was sitting. "I'm not going to grab you," he assured her once more, before gently running his knuckle down her arm in what he hoped was a comforting manner.
Sophi couldn't help but flinch, but she was too tired to run away.  What was the point?  She wiped her nose on her sleeve, refusing to look at him but she didn't move away from him either.  There was something that was comforting about the gesture, he could have easily grabbed her even hiding under the bed, but he didn't.  That had to mean something right? She covered her face with her hands and let the tears come...if he wanted to judge her for that...fine...she was too tired to be a bitch at the moment.
Christopher continued to gentle run his knuckle up and down her arm, resting his head on his other arm and let her cry it out. It took him a moment to realize she was crying in the first place because there was no sound, but he decided not to say anything once the realization came to him. She hadn't moved away so he was hoping that meant he was helping somehow. It was clear she must have been holding all this in for a while, so the best thing to just be quiet for a moment and give her time.  He wondered if she had ever been allowed to show an emotion like this before.
After a few more minutes Sophi finally felt a little bit better.  Her face grew red when she realized how weak she was and gently pushed Christopher's hand away so she could stand up.  Pushing the dust off her to the floor she motioned for Christopher to move away so she could come out from under the bed without having to get too close to him.  He pulled his hand back and nodded, sitting up and scooting back a few feet. He was hoping after a bit of crying she'd be a bit more open to him... well as open as she could be without being able to speak.
Looking up at Christopher she walked past him and out in to the halls.  Pointing down the stairs, she signaled that she was going to start heading back down and sat on the edge of the first stair to hop down.
He sat the box back on the side table and picked up the ice bag, walking back over to her. He crouched down in front of her.  "I'm only going to ask once, and then I'll leave you be.  But you're back is hurting after already falling on these stairs once, so will you please let me help you down?" He finished by setting his hand down beside her.
She looked up at him and then down at his hand.  For a moment it looked like she was going to slide...and then she opened her mouth to say something but she remembered that she couldn't talk.  How did she keep forgetting that?  Sighing deeply, she touched her back, wincing at the pain from her own finger.  Finally...she gave a small nod...ashamed that it had come to this.  She walked to his hand and climbed on, her face red with embarrassment and anger.
"It's just this once, I'll never even touch you again if you don't want me to," he said, a bit hurt by her expression. He lifted her up slowly, walking down the stairs carefully so as not to jostle her.  He walked into the living room, setting her down by the couch and setting the ice bag beside her.  He then grabbed a small cushion from the couch and set it down beside her as well.
Sophi took her hat off and shook out her shaggy red hair and nodded in response to him.  It was probably for the best that he helped her down the stairs but she still didn't' like the idea of putting her life in the hands of giants.  It scared her to no end but she couldn't tell him that.  Sighing, she leaned against the ice bag as the cool surface hit her back which honestly felt like it was on fire.  She looked up at Christopher and motioned a writing sign, hoping he would understand that wanted to tell him something with the pencil and paper.
He nodded, walking around the couch and grabbing the paper and lead she'd left behind. He set them down beside her before backing away again, giving her space.
She was a little surprised at how careful he was being around her...she found herself looking at his hands more and more...more with curiosity than with fear.  Shaking her head at her own stupid thoughts...she wrote down...DO YOU HAVE A MIRROR?' and held it up to him.
"A mirror... sure, one second," he stood up and walked out of the living room. Heading into the bathroom, he grabbed an old circular mirror that was just a bit taller than a human. He returned, propping the mirror up against the couch cushion for her. "This work?"
She nodded.  Mouthing 'thanks' to him.  She wanted to check on her back...check to see if there was a bruise.  When she saw that Christopher was still watching her she motioned for him to turn around.
He blushed, realizing what she needed the mirror for.  "S-Sorry!" He quickly turned away, staring at a wall. That was another thing he'd forgotten, what it was like to live with a woman.
When Sophi went to check, she was a little surprised at what she saw.  Damnit...she hissed in her head when she saw how bad it was.  The giant was right...it was a pretty bad fall.  Setting her shirt back in place she looked up at Christopher who was still turned around.  Surprised at her own action, she walked to the edge of the couch and lightly tugged on his shirt to get his attention.  Why wasn't she able to treat him like the others?  With the way she was acting, it was almost as though they were equal.  Huffily she stood there and waited for him to turn around, shaking the thoughts from her mind.
He jumped a bit, not expecting her to actually make contact with him. He was half expecting to try turning around and accidentally seeing her topless. He took a moment before turning around to scoot away from her first. He then turned to her, a bit concerned. "Is it bad?"
She waved her hand at him in a 'so-so' motion.  Honestly she was a bit surprised how bad it was.  It...it wouldn't hurt to show him right?  Her face grew hot at the thought...but he was supposed to be her damn owner if nothing else.  She pointed at her back and then at him before writing on a piece of paper…DO YOU WANT TO SEE?  And held it up to him, her face still bright pink.
Christopher blushed at the idea.  "O-Only if you think I need to," he said, scratching the back of his head nervously. He couldn't picture that sort of thing; hell Kasey had never let her see injuries like that.
She nodded knowingly and walked back to the couch to sit down.  She didn't really think too much of it...Eres had always...her eyes widened and she sat up.  Eres!  Maybe Eres could give her a shot to get her voice back!  She jumped up from the couch and looked at Christopher with wide eyes wincing only slightly at the movement.
"W-what?" He asked, surprised at her sudden movement. This was the most excited he'd seen her since she showed up here, so he couldn't hold back his curiosity. "What is it?"
She dove over the paper and started to scribble.  THERE'S ONE GIANT THAT MAY HAVE THE ANTEDOTE.  HE VOLUTEERS AT THE SHELTER.
His eyes widened and he smiled, looking down at her after he read it.  "So then... you could get your voice back?" he asked, feeling almost as excited as her. He couldn't deny, he did kind of like having her here.  And he really wanted to hear her voice now.
IF HE'S THERE HE MAY...she paused writing for a moment.  She remembered how Eres had acted when she left.  He hadn't even tried to help her, in fact he was the one that held her down so Dr. Carr could give her the shot.  She stopped writing as the entire scene came back to her.  ACTUALLY...I'M NOT SURE she wrote, scratching the back of her head HE WAS THE ONE THAT HELD ME DOWN WHILE I GOT THE SHOT.
Christopher read it through, his smile fading as well. He wanted to hear her talk, sure.  But if she didn't trust this guy.  "Well... I'll leave it up to you then. If you think we should try to talk to him."
She thought about how little Eres had done to help her and she shrugged.  Looking up at Christopher, she couldn't help a bit of her vulnerability show because if there was one giant she thought she could trust it was Eres.  What a crock that had been.  YOU KNOW WHAT she wrote JUST FORGET ABOUT IT FOR NOW.  I DON'T MIND WRITING.  MAYBE WE CAN TRY TO CALL IN A FEW DAYS OR SOMETHING.
He nodded, letting her make the call on this.  "Alright.  I won't call him until you say I should," he said before leaning back on the front of the couch, still sitting on the floor a couple feet from her.  "So, is there anything you'd like to do before the night is over? Or do you want to just head to bed?"
She was already writing so she stopped and looked up at him.  For some reason she felt the need to defend herself.  YOU KNOW she wrote I'M ACTUALLY A PRETTY TOUGH HUMAN.  I'M NOT USUALLY LIKE THIS and slid the paper towards where he was sitting.
"Yeah, I figured as much actually from how you were acting.  Most humans wouldn't be ballsy enough to knife a giant after diving off a window," Christopher chuckled right before suddenly remembered her knife and leaned to the side and pulling the tiny knife from his pocket. He offered it back to her. "Sorry, I'd almost forgotten about this. I promised you could have it back after you gave me a chance, and you have."
Sophi took up the knife and pocketed it not realizing how close she was to him.  Blushing slightly, she backed up again and sat with her paper.  I DON'T TRUST GIANTS...BUT I AM SORRY ABOUT THAT she quickly wrote out I KNOW THAT SOME GIANTS PUNISH THEIR HUMANS.
He grimaced, shaking his head.  "I want you to know this now; I'm not 'punishing' you for anything.  When I told you not to kick Kasey's box before?  That's about as firm as I'm probably going to get with you," he admitted.
SORRY FOR THAT TOO she wrote out.  Pausing, she realized that she was having an actual conversation with giant that wasn't terrible.  It was strange to her but it wasn't as though it was bad.  She snuck a look over at Christopher and couldn't shake that strange feeling.  
MAYBE WE SHOULD GET TO BED she offered before she could talk to him anymore.  It was strange not to hate a giant wholeheartedly.
Christopher nodded and standing up he walked towards the door frame of the living room. "I went ahead and set that pillow down for you. I'll come up with a more... well bed like bed later, ok?"
She nodded in response and pointed upstairs where he was heading.
He held his hands up.  "Alright, I'm going," he said, sighing and getting ready to go.
Damnit!  Sophi hissed to herself.  Of course this would be the one time that he misunderstood what she was saying!!  She started to move the paper around to get his attention with the swishing sound it made
He turned his attention back to her, confused.  "Hm? What is it?" He asked, taking a couple steps toward her and crouching down to look at her more directly.  Christopher felt a little bad when he saw her flinch back slightly.
Sophi meanwhile, was surprised that he had heard her in the first place.  Holding up one finger to signal him to wait, she scribbled on her paper...YOU SLEEP UPSTAIRS RIGHT?
Well, yeah. You saw my room. Why?" He asked her.  He couldn't figure out for the life of him why she wanted to know or even cared.
Why did she ask him something so stupid?  Of course he slept upstairs where his room was!  Opening her mouth to say something, she clamped it shut and waved him off.  SORRY, NOTHING, she wrote out.  GOOD NIGHT.  She climbed up onto the pillow and settled against it, sinking into the fabric slightly.
He shrugged, standing back up, "Do you want something for a blanket?"  Despite everything that had happened, Christopher wanted to make sure she was taken care of properly before heading upstairs where he couldn't help or see her.
Sophi nodded, suddenly realizing how large the house was.  It was a bit lonely to be so out in the open.  She was usually in a cage at night and though she hated it, she knew she was safe in there usually.  Now...she was out in the open for anyone to see.  She didn't want to explain to Christopher because he would have probably laughed at him, so she rolled away from him, leaving Christopher to look at her a bit puzzled.
Maybe the middle of the living room wasn't where she'd like to sleep. "Would you like someplace different to sleep? I don't imagine you're too comfortable out here."
She shook her head hard enough for him to see.  She could always move someplace else after he was gone.  Waving him off, she hoped that he would just leave.  She had been so weak in front of him already and to admit that she was scared to sleep alone, well that would basically mean she was a complete fraud.   She gripped the pillow a bit closer and tried to close her eyes.
Watching her turn away, Christopher stood there a moment, debating in his head. It was obvious she wasn't comfortable there, but she just wouldn't admit it.  He made a final decision in his head, crouching down and lifting up the pillow along with her before making his way upstairs. "It's alright;" he tried to assure her, keeping his voice low.  "I just had a feeling you wouldn't want to sleep out here."
She jumped up with surprise, not able to shout out but still gasping in her own head.  He...he didn't pick her up...he was still being respectful.  She looked up at him for a moment and then immediately looked away.  She hated feeling embarrassed about her lack of size in the past, but this wasn't the same feeling.  She sat completely still on the pillow as he went upstairs, keeping a death grip on the fabric so she wouldn't tumble off.
Making sure to keep the pillow level as he went up the stairs, he also walked slowly so as not to jostle her.  He walked into his room, scooting Kasey's box aside and setting the pillow and Sophi down on his table. He then walked across his room, pulling a small pillow case out of the closet and setting it over her as a blanket, "This ok?"
Sophi's eyes were wide with surprise but she couldn't help nodding...in complete shock.  Pulling the 'blanket' up to her face, she snuggled deeper into the pillow, surprised at what a difference still being near him made.  She looked up at him...and actually smiled a bit.  'Good night' she mouthed to him and blushed again before hiding her face under the blanket so he couldn't catch it.  It only took a few moments before she was asleep...all but dead to the world because she was so tired.
"Night, Sophi," He smiled at her, glad she was finally relaxing. Once he was sure she was asleep, he got into his pajama pants and an old baggy shirt, climbing into bed and lying facing her.  He fell asleep pretty easily, relieved at what a difference only one day had made.