"Demetri..." A small whisper breaks the silence in his room, tauntingly. He rolls over in bed covering his head with his pillow. He feels himself slipping back in to the land of dreams to escape the events of the day.
"Demetri, my son…" Another less threatening voice runs through his dreams.
"I know this voice…" He walks around through the fantasy he runs to every night. "Hello! Is anyone here?" He calls into the nothing.
"Demetri…" The small voice grows louder seeping through his dreams making the blue sky twist into bleak clouds swirling all about. He tosses over in the bed again. His dreams slowly become a nightmare, filled with stormy weather. Suddenly a crack of thunder shatters the quiet with the sound of a scream. "Demetri wake up!"
He shoots up in bed soaked in a cold sweat as he inhales the air deeply. He throws the blanket off to swing his feet over the side of the bed. Hoisting himself up off the bed slowly making his way to the bathroom of his hole in the wall accommodations. He accidentally slams the door in to the wall in search of the light switch. Flipping the light on as he reaches for the faucet to turn on the cold water. He cups his hands under the running water leaning down to repeatedly splash his face. Turning the water off as he places his hands on either side of the sink, to stare at the reflection in the mirror, before hanging his head. He can't shake the feeling that someone near and he can't see them. It's a bit unnerving. Swearing to himself as he still pants to catch his breath.
"Get out of my head. Get out of my head." He continually mutters to himself as he slowly heads back to bed. He sits on the side of the bed placing his head in his hands. "I don't want this." Whispering to himself as he falls back to bed and closes his eyes tight.
He opens his eyes slightly as the sun shines into the room. He rubs his eyes before giving them a chance to adjust to the light. He sits up still sifting through the stories in his head from the night before. The scenes play back like a bad play as he picks himself up off the bed to ruffle through the clothes pile on the floor. He filters through the top of the pile for a clean shirt setting it on the chair to replace the pants now in his hands. Undoing the pants before pulling them on one leg at a time and redoing the buttons. He reaches for the shirt as he hears a thudding noise against the wall. He frowns his brow, unsure of what the noise is. He opens the window slowly poking his head out to see a fit young man, not older than himself, kicking a football back and forth with the wall. He looks around to make sure no one is around watching him stare at the mesmeric man still chasing after the ball. The ball bounces off the wall just right to send it flying up towards the window, he ducks slightly to not be hit.
"Sorry friend!" The man calls up after getting the ball under control. He stands back up nervously smiling as he waves it off as nothing.
"N-n-no, it's not a problem." He swallows wondering if the nervousness in his voice was too obvious.
"I'm Xander." He gestures to himself as he smiles. "Do you play, friend?" he holds up the football.
"Demetri" he places his hand on his chest, shaking his head. "Uh, no I've never really played. Sorry."
"Demetri" Xander nods slowly. "And it's not a problem. You should come down sometime, I'll teach you." The grin on Xander's face spreads from ear to ear.
He nods, with a smile to match Xander's. "I'll do that sometime. I have to go to work today," his smile starts to fade as he realizes he'd rather spend time with Xander than go to work. "I will see if you're still out after?" He asks hoping that the answer is yes.
"Absolutely," Xander smiles, as the grin returns to his face. He nods in agreement nervously, waving his hand still holding on to his shirt. He unenthusiastically turns from the window pulling the shirt over his head to finish getting ready.