It was just past midnight when Greg woke up to a loud knock on his door. He blinked, groggy, rubbing his eyes, only to see Rodrick leaning against the doorframe with a devilish grin.

“Get up, little man,” Rodrick whispered, his voice low but urgent. “You’re gonna be late for your first day of school.”

Greg shot up in bed, panicked. “What?! Already?!”

Rodrick smirked, biting back a laugh as he watched Greg scramble around, pulling on his clothes and grabbing his backpack. The kid clattered down the stairs, only to find the house completely dark and quiet. No breakfast on the table. No parents awake. No Manny screaming about his blanket.

Confused, Greg marched back upstairs, muttering under his breath, and banged on Rodrick’s door. “Rodrick, this isn’t funny! The house is empty!”

No answer.

He banged louder. “Rodrick!”

Susan and Frank appeared in the hallway, both yawning and bleary-eyed. “Greg, what on earth are you doing up? It’s the middle of the night,” Susan said, pulling her robe tighter.

“But—Rodrick woke me up! He said school started today!” Greg insisted.

Frank frowned. “School doesn’t start for another week.”

Greg pointed at Rodrick’s door. “It was him! I swear!”

Susan sighed and gently opened the door, ready to scold her eldest son. Instead, she found Rodrick knocked out asleep… or so it looked. His messy hair was fanned across the pillow, his arm draped lazily around you. You were curled up beside him, looking peaceful in one of his oversized shirts, the faintest smirk tugging at your lips.

Susan blinked in surprise. “Greg, he’s asleep. With his girlfriend. Why would he wake up to bother you?”

Greg’s jaw dropped. “W-What?!”

“Go back to bed, honey,” Susan said firmly, already guiding him down the hall. “You must’ve dreamed it.”

Frank gave a short nod of agreement, clearly wanting nothing more than to crawl back under the covers. “Yeah, nightmare. Back to sleep.”

As they shuffled Greg away, Rodrick cracked one eye open, a grin tugging at his mouth. Under the blanket, he nudged you lightly with his elbow, whispering so only you could hear.

“Flawless execution.”

You covered your laugh with the blanket, whispering back, “Told you I could pull it off.”

Rodrick closed his eyes again, smug and satisfied. “Man, Greg is never living this down.”