Asleep

Vanessa comments on the British boy currently asleep on her shoulder


"Oh, Ferb is so cute!"

I blinked and looked down. There he was, the little kid who followed me like a puppy, asleep on my shoulder. He probably hadn't meant to fall into unconsciousness like that, but it was how it had happened. His parents were peering over the seat, watching him with a loving expression.

"I'm sorry if he's bothering you," his mother began to me.

"Oh no," I said. "It's fine, really."

I kinda liked the little kid. Sure, I thought it was weird that he had such a big crush on me—of course I knew about it—but he was still a good kid. His tousled green hair rested atop his sleeping head, falling over his closed eyelids. Ferb looked so peaceful, leaning against my shoulder. His breathing was deep and even, and I wondered what he was dreaming about.

Across the bus, my father was staring at Ferb's pet platypus. His parents had set the creature on the empty seat beside my dad, and he was convinced it was Perry the Platypus in disguise.

Well, of course it was. How many platypuses named Perry could there be? However, I let my dad debate with himself about it. I rather liked Perry, and I didn't want to give him away in front of his clearly clueless family.

"Hey," whispered a voice from behind. I twisted around to see the girl with the pink bow on her head. She was kneeling on her seat so she could talk to me easier, and her face was distraught. "How did you get him to do that?"

I blinked. "You mean Ferb? He fell asleep," I explained to her.

"No, not the sleeping part!" she cried. "The leaning on you part. How did you get him to do it?"

"I didn't tell him to do it," I told her. "He did it himself."

She scowled unhappily and cast her gaze to the sleeping boy beside her. I recognized him as Ferb's brother. He was leaning against the window with his mouth lolling open, sound asleep. A small line of drool was running from the corner of his mouth to his chin. Every breath fogged the window a little, and I could not imagine why the little girl would want that leaning on her.

As she gave up and sat back down, I turned forwards again. Ferb moved in his sleep. Blearily, he opened his eyes, looked up at me, and closed them again, this time wrapping his arms around mine as if I were his pillow. He curled up slightly, like he was cold, and fell back into the rhythmic breathing of sleep.

I sighed down at him. My arm was pleasantly warm from his heat, unlike when Johnny hugged me. Johnny was always cold, for some reason, and felt grimy. I'd never realized it before now, but I almost didn't like the way he touched me. At the moment, I was a little too content with Ferb's hold on me.

Well, I told myself, in a few years, age won't matter anymore. We'll see then.

*AN: So, I got bored, tried to write something tragic, and wound up with a bunch of cute little oneshots. Well, this was the only cute one. Thanks for clicking, reading, and reviewing!*