"Jack!!"

"Give me the blankets!"

"You jerk!" I grunted as he ripped the comforter away from me. Shivering from the insta-cold, I turned over and glared at him through the darkness. Of course, within the darkness it was difficult to tell if I was really glaring at him or just his half-filled hamper of dirty clothes. "Why did you steal my blankets?"

"Uhm, excuse me," he replied matter-of-factly. "They're mine."

"Yeah," I admitted. Sitting up on the bed and turning towards him, I debated: "But you loaned them to me."

"And now they out-lived their use for you." Jack returned smugly. "And now they're mine again." Wrapping himself up in the blanket he had just stolen, he chuckled and fell down onto his own bed.

"You ass." I grumbled. To that, I was supplied only with a much more arrogant series of laughs. Looking around me for a weapon, my adjusted-to-the-dark eyes fell upon the pillow. Feeling a mischievous and vengeful smirk snaking across my lips, I reached out my hand and clutched the corner of the pillow. With his back to me (warmly wrapped up in blankets), I tip-toed over to his side of the room. "Jaaaaaack," I sing-songed to him as I stood in stillness over his bed; the pillow raised over my head in preparation for attack.

"Go away." Jack's voice mumbled through the blankets that covered, not only his entire body, but half his face as well. "I'm sleeping."

"Bah!" Losing sight of the need to keep my patience and attack at the opportune moment, I threw the pillow down on him. Shocking him, he jumped at the onslaught.

"Hey!"

"You deserved it!" I retorted, sticking out my tongue like an obnoxious little child. Trying to catch him off guard, I abandoned the pillow and took a hold of the blanket. Tugging at it, I did my best to fight against him and get it back. He defended himself for a little while until he realized that all my attention was being focused on retrieving the stolen blankets; and not the pillow that was left on the floor.

"Whoopee! I pillow!" Jack smiled, letting go of his hold of the blankets. Catching me off guard, I stumbled backwards several feet as I held the comforter once again in my hand. Lunging for the pillow. Jack grabbed it and held it possessively against his chest. Glaring at me, he hissed like Gollum from Lord of the Rings as he said, "My precious... my sweet precious pillow..."

"Well, who cares?" I jeered, collecting the blankets around me once again before laying down on his ex-roommate's bed. "I have the blanket."

"But no pillow." He pointed out happily.

"I don't need one." I replied. He looked disappointed when he realized he hadn't won.

Smug once more, I snuggled up inside the blanket and closed my eyes in search of sleep. It was well after one a.m. and the rest of the dorm was completely silent; albeit the one or two kids that wandered down the hallways every hour or so. In Jack's room, it was silent for a while before I heard him get up from his bed. Sighing heavily, I closed my eyes tighter in hopes that he just wanted to gather his blankets and pillows up to settle down for sleep.

Yet my hopes were entirely misguided when I felt the weight on the bed shift.

"Oh, no." I groaned.

"Get up." Jack said.

Pulling the blanket over my head, I groaned. "Leave me alone."

"Get uuuuup...!" Jack repeated, putting his arms on my side and shaking my body back and forth to keep me from falling asleep. Eventually I lost my patience. Ripping the blankets off my head, I glared at him.
"What are you doing?" I snapped.

Jack smiled. "I'm bored!" He chirped.

"THEN GO TO BED!" I screamed at him.

"But I'm booooored." He whined. Growling beneath my breath, I searched the floor through the dim hallway light that shown through the cracks of the doorframe. Interested, Jack inquired, "What're you doin'?"

"I'm looking for something to hit you with." I grumbled.

He laughed. "I doubt you could find anything."

"Something big enough to knock you out..." I continued.

"I don't have anything." Jack stated happily.

"You're room's a mess." I responded. "You have to have SOMETHING. Well... something other than your computer."

"Not my laptop!" He gasped in horror.

Trying to stay calm, I muttered, "Then get off my bed."

"It's not your bed," he pointed out. "It's my bed. I'm just letting you use it."

"Get off!" I shouted, kicking him (literally) off the mattress.

"Okay, okay," Jack muttered, giving in. Gathering his own blankets and pillows(along with the one he stole from me) up from the floor, he settled down into his own separate bed.

Silence finally fell throughout the room. Any mild annoyance I might have felt on Jack's behalf slowly started to evacuate my body. More at peace and relaxed, I felt sleep gently settle in. And right before I slipped off into slumber land, I heard Jack's voice echo once more throughout the room.

"I love you, Amanda."

I winced and growled. Despite everything, though, I couldn't help but laugh. "I love you, Jack." I returned. "Now, if you don't shut the hell up, I'll throw you out into the hallway."

"But it's my room!" He protested.

"Won't stop me." I replied.

And for the rest of the night, silence dominated.