//------------------------------//
// Late Nights 
// Story: Journal of Occasional Nonsensicality 
// by Acryliks 
//------------------------------//

“Zzzzzzz...”

“...”

“Zzzzzzz...”

“...”

“...Zzzzz-”

Bing bing!

“...huh... wha...?”

I blinked a few times, trying to clear my blurry vision. I glanced over at my night stand to see the time.

2:17 AM.

“...what the fu...” I thought aloud. Reaching over, I picked up my phone and clicked the power button.

“...ah!”

Turns out that turning on your phone when it's at full brightness in the dark is bad for your eyes. I spent the next few seconds blind, waiting for my vision to come back.

Once it did, I picked up my phone again. Quickly turning down the brightness, I opened the most recent text that I had gotten.

1 New Message: Vinyl 

“...what could she possibly want at this time?” I snapped.

2:15 AM: hey daniel... are you awake?

2:19 AM: Well I am now.

2:19 AM: did I wake you up? sorry...

2:19 AM: Whatever... what’s up?

2:20 AM: i dont know, i guess i just wanted someone to talk to

2:20 AM: Is there something specific?

There was a long moment before I received another text.

2:22 AM: i really want to tell someone that i like them... but i cant

2:22 AM: And why not?

2:23 AM: its a fucking stupid reason

2:23 AM: It probably isn’t. Are you afraid of what their answer is going to be?

2:23 AM: yep

2:24 AM: Well that’s not a stupid reason. That’s natural. What’s not natural is if you let that fear of rejection stop you from making progress with the person that you like.

2:24 AM: leave it to you to come up with something logical like that, huh? haha

2:25 AM: What do you want? An illogical answer?

2:25 AM: how about a less impersonal one?

I thought for a moment.

Less impersonal? Hm.

2:26 AM: I guess... just go to them and tell them how you feel. Is that the most cliche answer possible? Yes, but is it what you need to do? I think so. Come on, you’re Vinyl Scratch! Not some filly who’s afraid of getting their feelings hurt. I know you can do this!

2:27 AM: simple as that, huh?

2:27 AM: As simple as that.

2:28 AM: alright... on an unrelated note, what are you doing this morning? do you want to go out for breakfast?

2:28 AM: Sure, sounds great. Where do you want to go?

2:28 AM: i dont know, i’ll come by your place and we can go from there, okay? 9 work?

2:29 AM: Sure thing. I’m going to get some sleep before then. Goodnight Vinyl.

2:29 AM: goodnight

Setting my phone back on my nightstand, I flopped onto my back, preparing to go back to sleep. My mind drifted between who the mystery man could have been. Vinyl had a lot of industry contacts, but none that I could think of that she frequently talked about.

Before long, my sleep had caught back up to me, and for the rest of the night, I dreamed about what to have for breakfast in the morning.