Of Bats And Bunnies
Slumber Party
Jasper/Alejandro x Ophelia (OC) anthology
-> Hurt/comfort, a bit of angst, implied religious and child abuse, anxiety/panic attack, but fluff and cuddles makes it all ok, he's still a vampire and she still doesn't know, let me know if I miss anything
AN: This is short and sweet and super fucking self indulgent. I will note that I stumbled upon this fic almost completely finished a few days ago and figured I'd ship it out so it's no longer on my plate.
Border made by @saradika-graphics
Ophelia arrived to the party late, the walk over being tricky with the weather starting to pick up as a massive storm was moving in. She rang the door bell, and braced herself for what was to come.
She wasn’t sure what to expect, never having a true sleepover before. Her therapist said she needed to get better about being around people for longer periods and thought the suggested sleepover would be a good way to curb her anxiety about sleeping around people. She knew it would be difficult, sleeping somewhere unfamiliar without Thacker, who couldn’t come due to the fact that his pen and such was a lot to bring to a party she was told to “pack light” for. (Even though he didn’t need the pen and didn’t need to sleep.)
The door swung open, Dylan’s round face lit up with excitement. “You made it!”
“Sorry I’m late, the wind made it tricky to get here,” Ophelia kept her voice quiet, not wanting to disrupt whatever anyone else was doing.
Dylan didn’t seem to mind. “Next time get an Uber or something,” he chuckled, “Just so I don’t find you kidnapped at some point.”
Ophelia gave him a small dry smile.
“Come on, everyone is in the basement, picking out what movie we’re watching.”
Dylan mentioned he’d invited a few friends from his classes to attend, going into great detail about them and their demeanors when he proposed this to her. He also said that Jasper would be there. As much as she struggles to admit it, that’s what prompted her actually show up.
And as she descended the stairs to the basement, she began to regret that decision. There were no windows, not even tiny ones you’d sometimes see in some houses. By the looks of things, the guests he invited practically moved in, their belongings strewn about the room. But not the entire room, the far corner caught her eye. Perfect.
“I noticed you didn’t bring a sleeping bag, so I’ll go upstairs and grab some blankets,” Dylan said. “Go ahead and pick a spot, and get as settled as you can.”
And with that he went back up the stairs. The eyes of the other party goers strayed to her, frozen and observational, like they were picking her apart psychologically.
This is to get better, she thought to herself before flashing a weak smile “We probably haven’t met before, I’m Ophelia.” She gave a small wave.
One guy gaped before blurting out, “Like, the recluse that Dylan hangs with?”
Not the worst she’s been called, she‘ll take it. “Yeah.”
“Oh.” He froze, continuing to stare at her. The room was silent as she moved to the corner, and began to maneuver her few items she brought. In truth, she had no idea what to bring, but she packed essentials and that was working. So far, so good.
Except there’re no windows. Why would people even want rooms with no windows?
“Are you going to keep rearranging your bag, or are you going to say hello?”
Ophelia nearly jumped fully off the ground, whipping around to see Jasper, trying to hide a smug look on his face, and failing. He had a small duffle bag slung around his shoulder, and was holding a rolled up sleeping bag under his arm.
Clearly he came prepared, she thought.
“Hey,” she spoke, trying to keep her voice from revealing how startled she was. “I’m sorry I didn’t hear you approach.”
He chuckled, a lulling darkness in the sound. “I wanted to surprise you, though I apologize for the fright.” He put his bag down, beginning to unroll his sleeping bag and set up his spot.
“If you want to sleep further in the room, you can. I know the corner is out of the way.”
“That’s exactly why I want it. Plus I get to sleep next to my sweet girl,” he croons, giving you a wink.
Ophelia feels her face erupt in warmth at the flirting and turns away, as Jasper chuckles behind her.
Ever since they had the conversation about dating in a more serious context, he’s really turned the charm up. Which was hard to believe considering how he was before, though when she brought that up he claimed it was the “bare minimum," leaving her to wonder if her definition of that phrase is wrong.
“Alright guys!” Dylan clapped once to get everyone’s attention. “It’s time to vote on a movie!”
The group moved to a separate room of the basement which hosted a large TV and a bunch of couches. Jasper took Ophelia’s hand and slipped between the others, choosing a seat off to the side, farthest from the door. As they sat, the rest of the group were debating.
“We gotta watch a scary movie, guys.”
“Which one, though? My vote is Scream.”
“I want to watch something that I haven’t seen before.”
Around and around it went. Until a movie was chosen.
Carrie.
Dylan flashed Ophelia a panicked glance. “I don’t know-“
“Like the King book?” Ophelia interrupted.
“Yeah! It’s got one of the most iconic horror scenes in the world,” a girl piped up.
Ophelia felt her phone buzz, confused to find a text from Dylan.
Dylan: I really don’t think this is a movie for you. It’s going to hit too close to home.
Ophelia: It’s fine, promise. My therapist says I need to challenge myself and it took them forever to pick this one.
Dylan: Ok, but I’ll leave the door open and the light on in the other room. If it gets too much, just leave.
Ophelia: Ok I will
With that the movie was chosen.
Ophelia hated how right he was. It did hit close to home. Every line from Carrie’s mother was familiar to her on some level. It all was just… so much. Combined with the bullying it was even worse.
When it came to the climax, this poor girl drenched in pig blood killing people, Ophelia felt like she wasn’t really in the room anymore. Disassociation, her therapist’s voice ringing in her mind.
Jasper had spent the last few minutes of the movie rubbing her shoulder in a comforting motion, and Ophelia tried to keep focus on it to stay grounded.
Eventually the whole thing ends, and the others chitter excitedly about what they just watched. Ophelia worked to steady her breathing a bit, taking long deep breaths to ground herself.
“What did you think, love?” Jasper asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
“I-it was a lot.”
“We could have lef-” He whispered.
“No it’s fine. I wanted to stay.” She knows her voice gave her away, but she quickly turned to pay attention to the others in the room, avoiding eye contact with Jasper.
After some time of talking, with even Ophelia chiming in on certain subjects though briefly, the group felt it time for bed.
———————————————————
Ophelia was certain she never truly slept, just wavered in between consciousness and sleep as thoughts came and went, spiraling all around. But a large boom of thunder left her wide awake.
With no windows to gauge what was going on, Ophelia was terrified. She tried to collect herself, but couldn’t get herself to calm down.
Scenes of the movie, moments of her childhood, stormy nights of the past all flooded into her mind. Her mantra of “it’s over now” doing nothing to soothe the rampage in her mind.
It all feels real, like she’s there again. Her chest tightens and she tries desperately not to sob, keeping her sniffles as quiet as possible.
Apparently not quiet enough.
“Ophelia?” Jasper whispers. Then the glow of a phone as he held it up between them to see her. “Oh sweetie.”
“I-I’m sorry, I d-didn’t mean t-to wake you,” she forces out, keeping her voice low.
“No no, baby. You’re ok. If anything I want you to wake me up when this happens.” His voice is soft, unendingly soft. Ophelia hears him unzip his sleeping bad a bit and the rustle of fabric. “What do you need from me? What can I do?”
Ophelia tries to take a moment to think, but it’s hard with her thoughts racing, her breathing hard, and another crack of thunder booming out.
“Can you hold me?” She whimpers, and god she sounds pathetic. Like a child afraid of a little thunder.
Pathetic heretic girl.
“Of course,” he replies, voice still soft as silk. Before he moves, though, Ophelia crawls to him. The idea of being cocooned in a sleeping bag felt comforting right now.
He makes space without question, and when she’s tucked in beside him, he wraps her up in his arms and rests his forehead on hers.
“It’ll all pass, baby.” He whispers, placing a light kiss on her cheek. “It’ll all pass and I’ll be right here the whole time.”
Another roll of thunder caused her to shiver, and his embrace tightened. “I’m not usually scared of storms,” she whispered.
“It’s ok, sweetie. Don’t worry about it, just sleep.” Jasper started singing, though Ophelia didn’t pay much attention to the lyrics. She tucked herself into him, trying to block out the world. Between Jasper’s voice and his hand rubbing her back, Ophelia eventually dozed off.
———————————————————
Jasper was never more thankful to be a lighter sleeper (granted he didn’t need sleep as much.) If Ophelia needed him, he wanted to be there for her, not sleeping through it all. But the nerves that were frayed during the storm didn’t blow away by morning.
Cause when Jasper awoke to Dylan right next to where he and Ophelia were sleeping, Jasper nearly torn his leg off. Bastard was lucky Jasper had restraint.
“Is looming over us completely necessary?” Jasper groaned, faking awaking from deeper sleep.
“I just was seeing if she was actually asleep or humoring you,” Dylan responded not quiet enough for Jasper’s liking.
“She’s asleep and I would like her to stay that way till she’s ready to wake up,” Jasper hisses.
Dylan raised his hands in defense. “Trust, I’m with you on that, but seeing her asleep in your sleeping bag is a shock. She’s a bit of a shy sleeper.”
“Shy?”
“Yeah, like she doesn’t like sleeping in front of others. It’s a bit of a sore spot, she actually won’t even doze off unless she feels completely safe or she’s so exhausted she just…passes out. Probably shouldn’t be breaking bestie confidentiality to tell you this but I’m glad for her. She needs more people on her side.” Dylan looks at Ophelia’s sleeping face with a fond look.
“Anyways you’ve got a sleeping beauty to cuddle and I’ve got breakfast to cook.” With that, Dylan walks away just as Jasper feels Ophelia start to stir.
He drops his head so his mouth is close to her ear. “Go back to sleep, bunny.”
A groggy groan is her greeting, followed by a weak “What time is it?”
“Too early for you to be up,” he hums. “But around 6 for an actual answer.”
“It is too early,” she huffs, before burying herself in his chest. It takes no time at all for her to return back to the land of dreams.
And even as everyone else starts waking up and going upstairs to eat, Jasper stays and holds her as the morning passes them by.