the house is loud.

audibly, yes, the house is loud: sheets of rain slam into the side of the house. the wind is howling like a wild animal. every gust makes the glass of the grand windows rattle in their panes. but the house is loud in other ways, too. annie feels distinctly watched.

it's like this: one second, she'd been wide awake, sliding into the back of a taxi. the driver was smoking, wearing an impressive scowl, and annie had been a little endeared by the open disdain on his wrinkled face. if she had been alone, she might've gotten to the bottom of the foul mood. annie was good for that sort of thing, the intricacies and dramas of people's lives, and she liked getting a peek into different lives. however, she wasn't alone. instead of conversation, annie had only offered the cabbie a cheerful hello and a hotel address as she got herself comfortable. she sat prim in the middle of the back seat, giving jason no other choice but to sit thigh to thigh with her.

they were off to the penthouse suite at the nicest hotel they'd found on the streets, annie's treat. she'd made a small fortune some time a few months ago, betting on the results of this years oscars, a show she'd already seen. "bit of an oldie coming up," said the jockey over the radio. annie smiled, slow and pleased, at the song that started. the thompson twins, hold me now. for her, the song had only come out last summer.

the cab lurched out into the street, shaking and groaning, pulled into a monotonous start-stop of weekend traffic. annie had slumped into jason's shoulder. the windows were open a crack, letting warm air filter in, and jason was warm too. he smelled familiar, like spring air, like a childhood memory. he'd maybe been talking, saying something, and annie hummed in response, her head turning into his t-shirt, more focused on the distant music. you say i'm a dreamer, we're two of a kind...

@outoft1me: "stay with me, okay? stay awake."