☁️just a sleepy girl☁️

I turned onto my side, peeking out from beneath the pillow like the open mouth of a cave, and stared at the digital clock on my nightstand.

2:33 AM. It might as well be screaming the time at me the way my body jolted.

Then I heard the soft creak of the wood floor just outside my bedroom door. Despite being under the covers and a pillow, I froze.

Was that Harlow? That must be it, my alien roommate must be suffering from the same bout of sleeplessness and is currently walking back to their bedroom.

What in the world?

From beneath the pillow I watched as the bottom of my door cracked open, followed by the soft sound of careful footsteps.

It was easily Harlow, no one else would have the distinctly tinged skin that they do. A soft green and grey mixture I'd come to recognize. But...in my room? Why?

I shifted myself as though moving in my sleep, deciding to do something to maybe alert them to my half-roused state. Maybe if they thought I was close to waking, they would reconsider sneaking around my bedroom.

Harlow froze in the dark but within seconds was moving toward my laundry hamper.

After some rummaging, I heard a sniff.

There was more rummaging but I couldn't make anything out only able to see their feet. Deciding enough was enough, I removed the pillow from atop my head and sat up.

Harlow wasn't facing me entirely, leaning to either side I still couldn't tell just what they were doing.

Frustration getting the better of me, I reached over and turned on my bedside lamp quickly.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Harlow’s eyes, for a moment, were full of simple lust. Wanting.

But the second my voice broke the silence of the room, dread was all that could be found there.

I tried to wrap my brain around the fact that I’d come to find my alien roommate digging through my dirty laundry to sniff my underwear.

The panties dropped to the floor.

Relinquished as though it were unsafe to touch.

I moved to the end of my bed and glanced at the floor to ensure I was in fact, seeing what I thought that I was seeing. Harlow licked their lips nervously and shifted on their feet. But, to their credit, they did not flee the room. Intoxicated grey eyes swept over my body, the nightdress I’d chosen almost see-through in its sheerness. When their eyes made it back to mine, I could feel the flush in my cheeks.

“What are you doing?” My voice was lower now, softer. What Harlow was doing was quite clear, but a part of me wanted them to say it. To explain it. We’d been roommates for a year now, platonic and healthy roommates. When Harlow showed up in town it was a blessing for me. At the time I’d been working at the cafe down the street, serving sandwiches and filling coffee mugs day in and day out. There was a bulletin board with odd jobs and advertisements I found Harlow staring at one day. Turns out, he wasn’t sure how long he was staying and I was interested in my rent being cheaper.

I sat back on my feet in my bed and took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry…” they began quietly, “I have so much curiosity and the smell is…so good.”

NSFW

I turned onto my side, peeking out from beneath the pillow like the open mouth of a cave, and stared at the digital clock on my nightstand.

2:33 AM. It might as well be screaming the time at me the way my body jolted.

Then I heard the soft creak of the wood floor just outside my bedroom door. Despite being under the covers and a pillow, I froze.

Was that Harlow? That must be it, my alien roommate must be suffering from the same bout of sleeplessness and is currently walking back to their bedroom.

What in the world?

From beneath the pillow I watched as the bottom of my door cracked open, followed by the soft sound of careful footsteps.

It was easily Harlow, no one else would have the distinctly tinged skin that they do. A soft green and grey mixture I'd come to recognize. But...in my room? Why?

I shifted myself as though moving in my sleep, deciding to do something to maybe alert them to my half-roused state. Maybe if they thought I was close to waking, they would reconsider sneaking around my bedroom.

Harlow froze in the dark but within seconds was moving toward my laundry hamper.

After some rummaging, I heard a sniff.

There was more rummaging but I couldn't make anything out only able to see their feet. Deciding enough was enough, I removed the pillow from atop my head and sat up.

Harlow wasn't facing me entirely, leaning to either side I still couldn't tell just what they were doing.

Frustration getting the better of me, I reached over and turned on my bedside lamp quickly.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Harlow’s eyes, for a moment, were full of simple lust. Wanting.

But the second my voice broke the silence of the room, dread was all that could be found there.

I tried to wrap my brain around the fact that I’d come to find my alien roommate digging through my dirty laundry to sniff my underwear.

The panties dropped to the floor.

Relinquished as though it were unsafe to touch.

I moved to the end of my bed and glanced at the floor to ensure I was in fact, seeing what I thought that I was seeing. Harlow licked their lips nervously and shifted on their feet. But, to their credit, they did not flee the room. Intoxicated grey eyes swept over my body, the nightdress I’d chosen almost see-through in its sheerness. When their eyes made it back to mine, I could feel the flush in my cheeks.

“What are you doing?” My voice was lower now, softer. What Harlow was doing was quite clear, but a part of me wanted them to say it. To explain it. We’d been roommates for a year now, platonic and healthy roommates. When Harlow showed up in town it was a blessing for me. At the time I’d been working at the cafe down the street, serving sandwiches and filling coffee mugs day in and day out. There was a bulletin board with odd jobs and advertisements I found Harlow staring at one day. Turns out, he wasn’t sure how long he was staying and I was interested in my rent being cheaper.

I sat back on my feet in my bed and took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry…” they began quietly, “I have so much curiosity and the smell is…so good.”

Juniper had no idea where she'd ended up. She looked down at the blurry photo of large manor circled in the paper, and its real counterpart behind it. She held gently to the top of her hat, leaning back slightly to take in the buildings full stature.

The cab driver impatiently hold out her suitcase, waiting for her to take it off of his hands.

Juniper smiled sheepishly, quickly replacing the luggage in his hands with a tip, setting her bag at her feet as he takes off, back down the long winding road that led them here.

The sprawling manor looked vacant, but she knew it wasn't. She knew once she got close enough she would see it for what it really was...like she always did with seemingly empty things.

Juniper fumbled to hold onto her bag and take Mr. Chauncey's hand, "Yes, hello, it's so nice to finally put a face to the name."

He gave her a warm smile and gently pulled the suitcase from her grasp. "Why don't I show you to your living quarters and after you're settled we can take a tour and go over the specifics of the position?"

He gestured for her to follow him and she did, both of them heading up the dark wood stairs to the left of the warmly decorated foyer.

An unintelligible whisper followed her up the stairs from a room nearby and she quickened her pace.

"The house is split by level, the second floor is all guest rooms with a large shared bathroom. The third floor is where the staff that stay on the property live, myself included."

They briefly looked at the second floor before continuing to the third. It was minimally decorated, but the things that were there were vintage, clean, and gorgeous.

The room she would be staying in was just off the stairs. She noticed a spot on the door where a name plate had been removed, and only two small screw holes remained. They must have removed the one from the previous person that held her position.