So apparently midnight is a big deal

[pheromonecoffee]

Who: Matthias and Phillip
What: Echo shenanigans involving the approaching full moon
When: Midnight, Thursday into Friday
Where: Matt's room

11:57.

The worst thing about changing schools, Matt thinks as he gets up from his desk, stretching, is the fact that the curriculum can just be totally different. Trigonometry can switch with Calculus, British literature with American, Physics with Biology. This left him far behind in some subjects and boringly ahead in others. It's late, now, and he has to get up early to do a few chores for his aunt, so he's going to regret staying up tomorrow. But, in the end, he had to if he had any hopes of passing his next test.

11:58.

His clock glows green as he discards his day clothes in favor of pajamas, switching off the light and stifling a yawn. He notes, for a minute, that the moon is almost full, recalling a lesson at his old school about the appearance of the moon in its various cycles. Then he realizes he's thinking too much about science and not enough about sleep.

11:59.

He can officially say he went to bed on Thursday, at least, he thinks as he pulls the blankets off his bed. He knows his aunt will ask if she sees him tired tomorrow. He doesn't want to bother with that. As for now, he's exhausted, and he closes his eyes to sleep...

Comments

[darkhourdear]

As the clock strikes twelve, Matt might feel a sudden weight at the end of his bed,

Phillip, in contrast to the older boy, had been asleep for several hours. He's still in elementary school, after all, with a designated bedtime. So he barely noticed that the moon was really big tonight, and he hadn't been up to witness eleven, much less midnight. And he certainly doesn't notice that he's no longer curled up under the pale yellow sheets in his room, instead laying in his striped pajamas on top of someone else's bed in a completely different house.

[pheromonecoffee]

So far as he is aware, his aunt has no animals that would cause a sudden weight in his bed. Nor, he thinks, was there anyone or anything in his room before he went to sleep. Well, shit. This seems like the beginning of an Asian horror film.

He's hesitant to sit up and look around simply because, well, it seems like the beginning of an Asian horror film and he's not too excited to be haunted by a ghost he doesn't even know about. So as he scans the bed and notices the kid neighbor, he's somewhat relieved. And then really confused.

But, he remembers, this is somewhat similar to that echo. Even if Phillip is asleep. Poor kid getting dragged into this... Matt nudges him.

"Hey. Hey, you teleported." That's incredibly sensitive.

[darkhourdear]

Phillip mutters in his sleep a little, stirring. "S'still dark..." he says, before his eyes land on Matt. Then he also looks really confused. The boy sits up, rubbing at his eyes sleepily. "Matt...? Why're you in my room?"

Yeah, he hasn't actually noticed the change in location yet. He's lucky he could figure out who was there. He's never up at this time of night.

[pheromonecoffee]

"I'm not. You're in mine." All in all, somehow, this is not the weirdest thing to happen to him in Locke City to date. On one hand he feels incredibly creepy. On the other, he's glad that Phillip wound up half asleep in his room because this could have ended disastrously on other terms.

"I know it's late. But you should wake up."

[darkhourdear]

"Huh?" It takes a minute for Phillip's very tired brain to process what's going on, but a look around the room helps with that. "But... how did I get here? I was in my room. I know I was." This is so weird.

[pheromonecoffee]

"I think you teleported." That is a great way to explain this, right? It's the only way to explain it. He leans forward to prop his chin in his hand, examining the kid. "It might have something to do with the Pharos thing."

[darkhourdear]

"I guess..." He did only have memories of talking to the girl in her room, after all. But this presents a problem. "How do I get back? I don't have a key, and I don't know how to teleport back.]

[pheromonecoffee]

"You don't?" Matt does not want to be painted as a kidnapper. That would be bad, he is pretty sure. But he thinks.

"Do you guys have any unlocked windows?"

[darkhourdear]

"Um..." Phillip has to think about this. "Maybe Alexandria's. I think she likes to sleep with it open."

[pheromonecoffee]

"... Think you can get in through there?" If he can sneak him through the house first, anyway. Without getting caught because this is a weird thing to be caught doing.

[darkhourdear]

"Her room's upstairs." So they'd need a ladder. Not something they can really find at midnight...

[pheromonecoffee]

"There's a ladder in my uncle's shed, but that's... probably not safe." He frowns. This is a problem.

[darkhourdear]

"Yeah..." Hm... "Maybe if I hope really hard, I'll go back to my room?" It's worth a shot, anyway.

[pheromonecoffee]

"Yeah, just... concentrate." It's as good an idea as any. Maybe if not, they could say he was sleepwalking and Matt saw him out the window...

[darkhourdear]

Phillip nods, squeezing his eyes shut tight and thinking about his room. He focused on it really, really hard for what felt like forever... but in reality it was only a minute or too.

"Did I do it?" he asks, opening on eye and seeing Matt. "Oh. I guess not."

[pheromonecoffee]

"Not quite." Matt considers the options, frowning. Phillip could stay here tonight, but it would probably end in him getting arrested. They could knock on the door, but it would also probably end with him getting arrested.

That's not what he wants. "Do you know why you can teleport into my room?"

[darkhourdear]

Phillip shakes his head. "I didn't even know I could do it. And I was sleeping." He wasn't even having a weird dream.

Though... hm. "In those Echos, I think I disappeared from the room at some point. Maybe it'll happen?"

[pheromonecoffee]

Matt considers this. It's a good try, but they can't wait too long. What if his parents wake up and find him missing?

"Is there anything you remember specifically doing in them, before you disappeared?"

[darkhourdear]

Phillip thinks very hard for a moment, before shaking his head sadly. "No. Nothing I can really place."

[pheromonecoffee]

"... I guess we can still wait for a little before we call your parents." He sighs. He's going to be tired tomorrow--they both are. Kids need sleep.

"Do you want something to drink?" He can at least offer to make him comfortable as he slips out of bed.

[darkhourdear]

Phillip's already tired. He doesn't really want to be up... maybe if he goes back to sleep he'll wake up in his room?

"Can I have some water?" He usually had some by his bed, but... he's not there anymore.

[pheromonecoffee]

He grabs a blanket from a chair to put over Phillip's shoulders. "Just try not to teleport somewhere strange while I'm gone."

[darkhourdear]

Phillip nods, pulling the blanket around him as he sits quietly on Matt's bed. ...At least until the older boy leaves, and then he's going to look around a bit. He doesn't get to go into older kid's rooms a lot... Alexandria usually kicks him out. So he's curious!