"No," he said, rolling over and ignoring me.
"Derek, it's almost 4 in the morning."
"Well, if your dad hasn't noticed you missing yet, I think it's safe to say he won't notice you for another couple hours," he reasoned, stubbornly refusing to get up.
"Okay, maybe my dad won't notice, but I think your dad might, and I don't think he'll be happy."
"Well, I'm not going to be very happy if you make me get out of bed at four in the morning."
"But Derek... I have to go home. Maybe Alex hasn't noticed me missing yet, but he will when morning comes."
He grumbled, still making no move to get up.
"Derek, come on. I have to go to the bathroom," I whined.
"So go," he said.
"But your dad's out there," I objected.
"He won't bite, Nikki."
I sighed, reluctantly pulling back the covers and getting out of bed. Then I chickened out, not wanting to have to face Mike ever, but especially not in my underwear in the middle of the night after sneaking out of his son's bed.
I decided that going to the bathroom simply wasn't that important, but just in case Mike hadn't spotted me yet and might for any reason open Derek's door, I pulled on Derek's discarded T-shirt and curled up beside him, closing my eyes and trying to go back to sleep for just a little bit longer.
When I woke up again, it was definitely brighter, and I grabbed Derek's phone, seeing that it read 8:52.
I shook Derek awake again, knowing he couldn't argue with me that late in the morning.
His eyes opened, and I was caught off guard, accidentally smiling at him. He looked so adorable when he was sleepy and just waking up. His hair was all messy, his chest was bare, and just looking at him made me want to cuddle with him some more.
But I couldn't cuddle, I had to get home before Alex actually grounded me.
Derek smiled sleepily, murmuring, "Hey, you're still here."
"Yeah, somebody wouldn't take me home," I accused.
"At 4 in the morning, no," he agreed.
"Well, that's fine, but it isn't 4 in the morning anymore, so will you take me home?"
"What time is it?" he asked, stretching and starting to sit up.
"It's 8:53," I told him.
His eyes widened, and he said, "What? Shit! Did my alarm go off?"
I watched in confusion as he jumped up off the bed. "No, I didn't hear it," I told him. "Why?"
"I have to be at work at nine," he said, grabbing clothes out of the bottom of his closet and throwing them on. "It takes me 15 minutes to get there. Shit," he said again, pulling a white T-shirt on.
"But... you have to take me home," I reminded him.
"I can't," he said, leaving his room to search for something.
I jumped off the bed, following after him. "What do you mean, you can't? Derek, I can't stay here! I have to work at eleven."
"I can't take you home, Nikki. I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm going to be late as it is."