Paper Airplanes.

It was two in the morning. Liz was awake - still awake, lying on the living room sofa, and she couldn't sleep. Her boyfriend, Dan, was never this late home. He wasn't even this late home a month ago, on his twenty-second birthday. Liz wasn't worried, though; more annoyed that he hadn't even thought to call her. What makes it worse was that he hadn't given her a specific time, so he hadn't technically done anything wrong. The glowing red letters of the clock on the DVD player progressed slowly to 2:15, and then through 2:30, until finally, at 2:37 she heard the familiar click of a key being fumbled in a lock, then felt the cold air whoosh through the doorframe. She shut her eyes quickly, pretending to sleep. Dan slipped quietly through the door, and closed it so quietly, that Liz had to open one eye just to check if he had closed it at all. Dan was creeping through the flat, trying not to wake Liz up. 'Stupid idiot' she thought 'if he had any sense at all, he'd know I was still awake'. Liz heard the noisy bathroom fan start to screech and listened to Dan brushing his teeth, washing his face and using the toilet. He walked back into the living room after washing his hands and Liz felt his eyes burning into her until he went into the bedroom. He returned a few seconds later and placed a blanket over her. He kissed her cheek and she turned away.
'Sorry honey. Didn't know you were asleep' he said, as Liz opened her eyes 'Yeah, sorry I'm late. Lost track of time an' all.'
He reeked of booze but Liz overlooked this as Dan searched for eye contact with his girlfriend, but found simply a cold gaze. She stood up, dropping the blanket dramatically, and went into the bedroom without a word. She lay down silently and wrapped the covers around her. The blaze of the streetlight through the window lit up her beautiful, youthful features, and Dan closed the bedroom curtains. He stepped around them afterwards, and lit a cigarette.
'You'd better get to sleep, babe, you've got school in the morning' he said, the though about it for a while 'Oh no you don't it's Sunday today'
Dan chuckled drunkenly to himself, unaware that Liz wasn't amused. He climbed into bed after undressing, and snuggled his freezing body up to Liz, who was still fully clothed.
'You're not gonna sleep in your clothes, are you babe?' he whispered gently 'Here, let's get them off,'
Even though Dan meant no harm, when he reached for the zip on her skirt, Liz batted his hand away violently.
'Alright, I told you I was sorry' he said, hiccupping 'If you don't want me to sleep in the bed, I'll go sleep on the sofa.'
Dan left to the living room where he spent the remainder of the night.
Liz woke up at eight to hear Dan throwing up in the toilet. She walked to the toilet, and passed him a glass of water she had run and a flannel for his mouth.
'Shouldn't have drunk so much last night, silly me?' he laughed, trying to make light of the situation.
Liz just stared blankly at him and went to make breakfast, and after Dan had cleared up, they sat at the table.
'Mm, this is really nice.' Dan said 'I'm going to London with some mates later, do you wanna come?' he asked
Liz didn't respond.
'Liz? Answer me please'
Liz just looked at him, with the same expression she'd had for the last few days, that of a moody teenager stuck with a situation she couldn't handle. And, at 19, that's just what she was.
Dan nearly exploded with pent up rage 'You haven't said anything in damn near four days!'
He threw his head back frustrated.
Liz let him recover for a few seconds, grabbed her empty plate and then hurled it at the wall.
'You'd better watch your attitude, bitch'
Liz chucked on some clothes, brushed her hair and grabbed her coat.
'Going out?' Dan asked, sarcastically
Liz started to sob 'I...I...' she began, but retreated into noisy wailing.
Dan rushed around the breakfast counter to pull her into a strong hug. He ran his fingers through her hair comfortingly.
'It's okay,' he said, over the bouts of uncontrollable crying 'Ssssh. It's alright Lizzie. But we can't do anything about it until you tell me.'
Keeping a secret like she had was a big burden, but she couldn't let Dan know it. At least – not yet.
'It's nothing. I don't mean to be so upset I'm just stressed at school and stuff. I just had no idea what to do and I just couldn't bring myself to talk to you in case I just burst out crying with all this stress'
'C'mon hun, there's no need to be stressed, you're so bright. You'll ace everything, and even if you don't, you'll at least pass everything,'
'Thanks babe,' Liz said, wiping her eyes, pleased that he'd taken her excuse.
'So, are you coming or not?' Dan asked her, staring right into her eyes.
'No, I think I'll just stay at home.' She said. 'I love you Dan, you know that?'
'Yeah. I really do,' he said, kissing her gently.