It wasn't supposed to be anything like this.

Nothing like this.

Jade was an idiot.

An incredibly smart person, sure.

An absolute genius.

But an idiot when it came to his personality.

He was arrogant, abrasive, sarcastic, and painfully self-centered. The kind of man who always had to have the last word, who insisted he was the smartest person in every room and usually wasn't shy about reminding everyone else of it. He had an answer for everything, an opinion on everyone, and a talent for getting under people's skin within seconds of opening his mouth.

An idiot.

And yet, despite every opinion you'd ever had of him, despite every argument, every sarcastic remark, and every eye roll he'd earned from you, it had still happened.

Now he was sprawled across your bed, completely naked beneath the tangled sheets, snoring obnoxiously loud. Every deep breath rattled through the quiet room, somehow managing to be even more irritating now that you were awake enough to notice it. It was uneven too, interrupted every so often by a faint snort before settling back into a steady rhythm.

His back was turned toward you, shoulders rising and falling with each slow breath. Thin red scratches trailed across his tan skin, standing out just enough to make it painfully obvious how they'd gotten there. A few dark bruises were already beginning to bloom along his shoulder blade, matching the faint ache lingering throughout your own body.

His messy black curls were scattered over your pillow, sticking out in every direction as if he hadn't a single care in the world.

Morning light slipped through the curtains, painting soft golden stripes across the room and illuminating the mess left behind. Your clothes were strewn across the floor alongside his, mixed together in an untidy pile that silently documented every terrible decision made the night before.

God.

How had you let this happen?

You squeezed your eyes shut for a brief second, hoping that when you opened them again he'd be gone and this would all turn out to be some bizarre dream brought on by too much stress.

No such luck.

Somewhere between the dread, embarrassment, and growing regret, Jade finally started to wake up.

He shifted beneath the sheets with a quiet groan, stretching one arm lazily before letting out a long yawn.

"Jesus..."

He mumbled, his voice rough with sleep, his back still turned toward you.