The shock on Ivy’s face quickly twisted into a dark grimace as she stared at the man sleeping like he owned the bed... and her personal space.

"Sleepy head," she grumbled internally, her lips twitching. "How dare he sleep on my bed... and next to me?"

She had been trying very hard to stay away from this man. The strange sensations he stirred in her were unsettling, and frankly, suspicious. At this rate, she was convinced she would lose her sanity and get herself voluntarily admitted somewhere just to escape him.

"He cannot sleep here like that," she muttered, pushing herself up carefully while glaring at Xander.

Bad decision.

The moment she moved, his arm tightened around her waist, dragging her right back down. She landed flat on her back, completely caged under him.

"...."

Ivy blinked slowly, staring at the ceiling as if answers might be written there.

Then he spoke.

"First, look whose room it is."

His sleepy voice was low, rough, and annoyingly calm. Ivy’s eyes widened instantly. She turned her head, scanning the room, and then her gaze landed on the photo frame beside the bed.

Xander. And Leo.

Her soul quietly packed its bags and left her body.

Am I... in Xander’s bed?

Ivy felt like someone had slapped her across the face. Hard.

And to save whatever dignity she had left, Ivy froze. Completely still. Not breathing, not blinking, not existing.

Maybe if she stayed like this long enough, she would turn invisible.

Xander, who had kept his eyes closed until now, slowly opened them. The moment they fell on her, the corner of his lips curved upward.

He had no idea why he had pulled her closer in his sleep, but when he sensed she was about to kick him into the next dimension, he decided to speak first. Clearly.

"Now, how do you explain this?" he asked, watching her eyelashes flutter as she slowly came back to life.

He did not look away. Not even a little.

And when she finally shot him a glare, his smile only widened, as if he had just found his new favorite hobby.

Ivy, already drowning in secondhand embarrassment, refused to back down. She lifted her chin slightly, trying to look offended instead of... exposed.

But then her eyes betrayed her when they dropped to his lips, and just like that, her thoughts completely derailed.

She remembered sneaking into Aaron’s room. Sleeping beside Leo. Then waking up in the middle of the night and dragging herself back to her own room, half asleep. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

So how did she end up here?

Her mind reeled, and then it hit her, causing her eyes to widen the next moment.

So soft... She had mumbled in her sleep, snuggling closer to what she had assumed was a plushie.

Her brain replayed the memory with brutal clarity.

That "plushie" was Xander’s chest.

Ivy’s face turned ghostly pale as she let out a dry, disbelieving chuckle.

Great. Absolutely fantastic.

She had cuddled him willingly in her sleep; of all the ways to ruin her own life, this had to be the most embarrassing one yet.

Xander watched her cycle through shock, denial, realization, and finally—pure, silent horror.

Oh, he was absolutely not letting this go.

"So..." he drawled, his voice still thick with sleep but laced with amusement, "you break into my room in the middle of the night, crawl into my bed, and then—" his eyes flicked down briefly before returning to hers, "—use me as a pillow."

Ivy’s eye twitched.

"I did not break in," she snapped, still refusing to move, mostly because she was very aware of the arm still locked around her waist. "And I definitely did not use you as a pillow."

Xander raised a brow.

"Really?" he asked, his tone far too innocent to be trusted. "Because I distinctly remember someone mumbling something about ’so soft’ while aggressively hugging me."

Ivy sucked in a sharp breath.

"I do not aggressively hug people," she said stiffly.

"You drooled too."

"I DID NOT—"

She cut herself off, her eyes widening in horror as she clamped her mouth shut.

Xander’s grin turned wicked.

"Oh, so you’re not denying that part anymore."

Ivy felt even more embarrassed. At this point, she had no idea why she was still arguing with him when all she really needed to do was gather whatever courage she had left and run out of his room.

She immediately tried to sit up again.

Xander did not let her.

His arm tightened just slightly, not enough to hurt, but enough to make it very clear that her escape plan had already failed.

"Relax," he murmured, clearly enjoying this far too much. "You were the one clinging to me five minutes ago. I’m just returning the favor."

"I was asleep," she argued.

"And now you’re not," he replied smoothly.

Ivy opened her mouth, then closed it again.

Annoying. Infuriating. Unfair.

Her brain scrambled for a comeback, anything that could restore even a fraction of her dignity.

"This is still my bed," she said finally, forcing confidence into her voice.

Xander blinked once.

Then slowly turned his head toward the side table.

Toward the photo frame.

Then back at her.

Ivy followed his gaze.

And instantly regretted it.

"...I mean," she corrected weakly, "it could be my bed. Hypothetically."

Xander let out a quiet laugh.

"Of course," he said. "You just accidentally walked into the wrong room, climbed into the wrong bed, and hugged the wrong person."

"When you say it like that, it sounds bad."

"Oh?" he tilted his head slightly. "Is there a version where it sounds good?"

Ivy pressed her lips together, refusing to answer.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then—

BANG!!

"DADDY, OPEN THE DOOR! MOMMY IS NOT IN HER ROOM!"

"..."

Ivy froze; her soul, which had barely recovered earlier, quietly exited again.

She turned to Xander in slow motion, her eyes wide with horror.

"...Mommy?" she mouthed silently.

Xander looked at her and then at the door and then back at her. And for the first time since she woke up— he looked entertained.

"Well," he said casually, tightening his hold just a little as if this situation were not chaotic enough, "this should be interesting."