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Somnolence: A state of drowsiness or strong urge to fall asleep.
Fresh air is no joke. Sobering, calming, refreshing, really what can't it do. Especially a good chill night breeze to blow away all your troubled thoughts.
Meandering down the dimly lit street, you watch as your shadows stretch and fade one after the other under the warm glow of the street lamps. Everything has settled into a comfortable silence, aside from the wind rustling in the trees and blowing gently through your clothes and hair.
Where were you headed? You were headed somewhere, right? Of course you were, though night walks with no destination were certainly not off the table for you, but not tonight. No, you had plans to go to your quiet spot this evening.
You turn on to a small paved path that branches off the street, comforted by the familiar sight of the orange street-lamp-washed playground as you pass through the park. Shadow once again stretching as far as it can go beneath you, it fades into darkness as you reach the bridge at the edge of the light. Your quiet spot.
Eyes adjusting to the darker area, your steps sound like drum beats on the hollow metal as you walk to stand in the centre of the bridge. It's not very long, just enough to span the creek that runs around the park, but still enough to be fun to muse over. Though this still isn't your spot, you can never resist watching your fragile reflection ripple in the waters surface not too far below, leaning your forearms on the railing and allowing yourself to enjoy a movie moment.
But again, this still isn't why you're here. You right yourself, dusting the bit of railing rust off your sleeves and walking the rest of the way across the bridge. Turning around, you hug the outer side of the bridge now, easing yourself down the small but steep hill until you're on ground level with the creek. The best thing about this place was, because of how small the creek was, you could simply slide down the hill a small ways and duck under the bridge itself to find the ultimate waterside resting spot.
Large stone slabs on either side of the creek make almost picture perfect seats, tucked under the ends of the bridge to make little cozy alcoves on either side. Stray streetlight and moonlight shines through the slats above you, patterning the creek bed with hazy stripes, and providing just enough light to be able to enjoy the sight while still in relative darkness. Similarly, the babbling of the water is wonderfully soothing this close, stray crickets and grasses adding to an evening lullaby that no where else you've been has yet been able to top.
Hence why you come out here when you can't sleep.
You were tired sure, but nothing enough to act on, especially not with your stress levels, so you try and at least make good use of that time and feed your soul with that unmatched night creek ambiance. Letting out a contented sigh, you can feel some tension already leaving your muscles, and you gently lean your head against the bridge support nearest you.
You hear a faint crunching of stones in the distance. Probably just some wildlife. You've certainly seen some around here, raccoons and the like, so it wouldn't be unheard of.
No, it's getting closer, too loud and consistent to be wildlife now. You sit up, keeping quiet and hoping the passerby will,,, pass., by. Yes, the only drawback of your spot is it's inherent public nature, functioning as a bridge between a park and another block of suburbs, so you are interrupted on occasion, though not often when it's so late.
Hearing the footsteps continue to approach, you watch through the bridge slats attentively as you start to see a shadow form. Compared to the solid steps you made earlier these sound more hollow, echoing in the space underneath the bridge. The firm white soles (soft soled shoes don't make nearly as much noise) pass above you as any other late night walker would, and you relax again, content to remain unnoticed in this moment.
You swing your legs slightly on your rock seat, focusing your attention back to the ambience around you- *cr-shhhh*
The crunch and following slide over the rocky dirt hill to your right makes you jump, knocking your head against the bridge support you'd been leaning against a second ago. The dull metal 'dnnnn' rings out as you wince, rubbing your head sorely, but the pain starts to fade pretty quickly.
Physical wellbeing settled, you zone back in to your surroundings, and are suddenly face to face with a spiky haired blond, wearing somehow even spikier shades. His pale orange t-shirt and ripped black jeans don't quite fit the weather, but you suppose you're not one to judge, he seems quite content. Though you can't be entirely sure, considering the complete poker face you're getting from what's visible around his black triangle shades.
"Shit, sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I wasn't aware anyone else came down here." His words sound startled, but also still put together at the same time.
"Really depends on the night, no one usually does come down here, but it's fine," you stand, dusting a bit of dirt from the back of your pants, "I was just leaving, no worries." You smile, turning to duck out from under the bridge, when you hear the stranger take a step towards you.
"Wait, I don't mind, really. I moved into the neighbourhood a few days ago, just been exploring a bit, but trying to find places to meet people has been near impossible." He sounds a bit exasperated, and you start mulling over whether you want to humour him.
You turn back to face him again. "Not exactly gonna have much luck at this hour, but I can appreciate the effort." You chuckle lightly, and he rolls his head so you know he's rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, very funny..." He sits on the rock and turns his attention to the creek. You're intrigued by his vibe and decide to investigate further.
"But yeah I get it, not exactly much to do around here unless you're in high school or are some kind of religious." You lean against the bridge support now, still not crazy about the idea of just sitting down next to a complete stranger.
"Sounds about right... yeah now that you mention it, I did see a good few churches when I was walking through town, how many even-, is this just normal for around here?"
"Six. Six fuckin churches in town, and no absolutely not, is abhorrent how many churches we have, truly." You laugh, reciting one of the stupidest fun facts you know about your town, and the stranger lets out a small chuckle, a gentle smile resting on his face.
"I suppose bridges will have to suffice then." He turns to look up at you, his smile small, but warm like the midday sun. "And I guess if this is the place for it then I'd better introduce myself, huh. Nice to meet you, I'm Dirk." He offers his name, making no request for yours but asking the question all the same, silently allowing you to make your decision. There was still a voice in the back of your head that told you to leave, but by now it was hardly audible.
You sit down next to the less strange stranger, still enough room for you to have a bit of space between each other, and you finally look at him eye to eye. "I'm (Y/n), nice to meet you too Dirk."
"Hell yeah." Dirk bobs his head in the smallest celebratory movement you've ever seen someone make, before he turns back towards the creek.
"Oh yeah, this a thrilling accomplishment?" You chuckle, kicking a bit at the stones beneath your feet.
"Absolutely. My bro's been on my ass about making an irl friend now that we've moved. Doesn't apply to him of course since he's 'got a boyfriend' or whatever the fuck, but I guess he's got a point." Dirk recounts, shrugging and pulling his legs up to sit cross-legged.
"Pff- what so he's had a friend quota on you since you got here? A mandatory friend quest of sorts? He sounds like a blast." You let out a restrained laugh, mind slowly populating with more and more questions from the small amount you've learned about the new resident.
"I mean he is the fuckin greatest but that's besides the point- I think he just wants me to get out more, 'cause I am quite prone to spending... long stretches of time in my room." Dirk chuckles lightly, but you can tell his heart isn't really in it. You shrug, smile widening as you look over at him.
"Hey man, when the hyperfixation hits it's just fuckin go time, that's all there is to it. Anyone who says otherwise, I don't know, cope seethe mald I guess." Dirk lets out a real laugh this time, shoulders visibly relaxing along with his overall posture, settling comfortably back into his small smile.
"Exactly, someone fucking gets it." Dirk emphasizes with his hands dramatically, aimed nowhere in particular. "Who am I to reject genius inspiration when it arrives? No one. I'd be negative one person, and then I'd cease to exist, because that's not possible and neither is the refusal of the fuckin brain blast." He nods contentedly, and you catch a glimmer behind his shades as he glances over at you without moving his head, but you only see it for an instant. You figure it's enough to warrant chasing your curiosity though.
"I can appreciate a sporadically inspired creative, but I feel like that'd get a lot harder when you're basically blind half the time, can you see anything through those shades while it's this dark out?" You ask as innocently as you can, not wanting to make him uncomfortable but no longer able to resist asking, so you hope he'll just refuse to answer if he doesn't want to.
"Oh these?" Dirk readjusts his shades nonchalantly. "Nah, I'm used to it, it's part of the look. Beauty is pain as they say. Not anymore of course, but when I was younger yeah, beauty was definitely pain... If beauty is slamming into all the walls in your house for a while." He smirks slightly, turning to look at you proper this time. "Is your curiosity sated? Or do you have more musings about the mysterious stranger?"
Your breath catches in your throat, and you can't help but break into anxiously surprised laughter, covering your mouth and staring at the creek while you recover. You're not, like, flustered, but shit he got you dead to rights. You've been talking for all of, what, five minutes? And you're already curious to know so much about him?
"Fuck I didn't actually think I'd land that what the hell, that was supposed to be a bit, like of course it makes sense you'd have more questions about someone you just met." Dirk restrains his laughter enough to talk, shifting audibly next to you, but he sounds,,, also flustered?
"Didn't think you'd land that?? It's the middle of the night, we're shooting the shit under a bridge after we just met, and I'm already asking a bunch of questions after only a few minutes. That was the cleanest snipe of a callout I've ever gotten from someone who barely knows me. 'Didn't think you'd land it' my ass..." You retort, kicking at the stones beneath your feet in his direction, and Dirk lets out a sigh.
"What other way is there to meet people other than asking them questions? You're being unfair to yourself here, really." He's calmed down quickly, back to his composed chill state.
You roll your eyes, turning back to look at him, though you can't lie you are a bit relieved.
"If you say so. You have questions about me then?" You push the focus of conversation back on him simply for your peace of mind, if only for a momentary break.
"Of course, hell I mean you said it yourself, we're meeting under a bridge, in the middle of the night, and I found you just sitting out here. It'd be weirder if I didn't have any questions about that." Dirk raises his eyebrows at you, sounding quite amused.
You,, guess he has a point actually yeah, that makes a lot of sense. You let out another relieved breath, and you suddenly start to feel the sleepy setting in on you. Must've been the mini adrenaline kick that took the rest of your energy. Such unfortunate timing of course.
"Alright, I have a tame one for you then. You use Discord?" You can't help but smirk, pawing at your pockets for your phone, confident at this point that he is actually as invested as you are in this budding friendship, and the chill vibes are mutual. It still feels like it should be embarassing though, like asking if someone has a number you can text.
Dirk pulls out his phone, the glow of his screen throwing shadows all over the underside of the bridge, and finally giving you a good look at his face with the new light source.
His face is one step from sharp. Like clean line art, his jawline is pronounced but smooth. The bridge of his nose is smattered with pale freckles, and he has two light scars; one very faint that seems to encircle his neck, and another running across his left temple, stopping at his brow and notching it just slightly.
Said brow scrunches behind Dirk's glasses momentarily, before he turns to you, holding out his phone, open palm implying you should take it. "I'm not bothering spelling out my whole user, knock yourself out." His phone is open to the "add friend" text box on discord, and your eyebrows jump up involuntarily.
"That bad huh? C'mon, you gotta have a bit more faith than that in my spelling and vocab." You retort, barely managing to restrain yourself from exiting the text box to see what his username is, but you realize that would also mean seeing all his dms and servers, and that would be a Bad idea, so you type in your username and resign yourself to seeing his in a few seconds.
"I'm not judging anything, I really just can't be fuckin bothered. It's too long to care." He shrugs as you pass his phone back. You switch to your own and check your friend requests.
"TimaeusTestified." You pause for a second. You were gonna keep arguing that it couldn't be that bad but... "Yeah alright that's a bit of a mouthful, you win this one." You shake your head, surprised he wasn't bullshitting you, and accept his friend request.
"See? Can't make me out to be a dick quite so soon." Dirk smirks, and you roll your eyes. A yawn forces itself from your mouth, and you quickly cover it, stretching slightly in the process. Dirk leans back on his palms, joining you in a small stretch. "Am I that boring already, tired you out?"
You finish your yawn and bat your hand in his direction. "No you shit fuck-" Dirk chokes on a laugh, "I came out here cause I couldn't sleep. Like I said, this isn't a regular occurrence of mine, any other day I'd be in bed right now." You finish with one last vague gesture, and Dirk laughs through his coughs to clear his throat.
"That makes sense," Dirk gets out a last cough, "it is quite late. Don't let me keep you from getting home." He sits up, dusting off his palms, that bullshit pokerface composure returning. You think you're starting to learn him though.
"You're not keeping me from anything, though I should probably get home soon. Glad you've enjoyed hanging out though." You smirk, and Dirk raises his eyebrows from behind his shades.
"To be fair, I wouldn't still be here if I hadn't been enjoying myself, so I feel like that's a pretty easy call to make." He waves off your accuracy, but you take it as a win. "Though once you've gotten some sleep maybe I can give you the tour of casa Strider, since you're so eager to hang out more."
"Your words, not mine!" You chime in, standing with a grin. "And I could show you my place too, hell I could just show you around town if you'd like. There's a secret forest clearing north of main if you know where to look, tucked in the middle of suburbia and everything." You can't help but smirk a bit, getting to buff your knowledge of your hometown again, but you're sure it mostly looks goofy considering how tired you've become.
"Sounds like a place you take people to murder them. I am so fucking in." Dirks response surprises you with his level of enthusiasm, but he does make an excellent point. He stands, and the still air beneath the bridge has never felt more comfortable.
Stones crunch beneath your feet as you both turn and climb back up to the bridge, streetlamp bright at the edge of your vision. Dirk leans on the bridge railing, smile contented, and in the light above the bridge you can see his goosebumps- he's been cold this whole time, the idiot.
"Message me when you're home safe? So I know you're not asleep on the sidewalk somewhere?" His tone is casual but the words are everything but.
"Please, I'm five minutes from here, I'll be fine. You message me, so I know you're not an ice cube on someone's lawn." You joke, but you know the smile on your face gives you away.
"I'm not cold (Y/n)! The breeze is just a little stronger up here, this is nothing. Go get some sleep." He retorts, smile widening as he waves you off again.
"Sure, sure, alright. G'night Dirk, talk in a few." You wave back to him, turning away as he calls back a goodnight in kind, walking across the bridge to the other neighbourhood.
Stepping back into the orange light, the night breeze feels a bit chillier than it did before. Though, it's a lot more likely you just didn't realize how cold it'd gotten, but who could blame you. Some conversations just feel warmer than most.