Hello one and all! It's me with another "Vicious" story! Before we get started, let's just go over a couple of things.
*I do not own "Vicious" or any of its characters.
**I only own my OC, Meghan, who is played by Hailee Steinfeld.
***I apologize in advance if anyone becomes OOC.
I hope you all enjoy yourselves!
Sweat. Sweat that seemed to cover his entire body.
That's the first thing Ash noticed as he jumped up from his bed.
The next thing he noticed were the odd shapes that his dorm room furniture made in the dark. His dorm. That's where I am, he thought to himself. Of course. Once he realized this he began to calm down a little. He became even more at ease when he saw that whatever happened with him didn't wake up his roommate. (A very heavy sleeper, his roommate was.)
He then turned to his nightstand where his small digital clock read 3:41am.
Jesus. He rubbed his eyes as he plopped backwards onto his pillow. Another nightmare.
He always had a problem with nightmares. They weren't always the same but they surely ended the same. He would wake up screaming his head off and wailing like a baby in bed for an hour or so. If he was lucky he would have someone (specifically a girlfriend) there to comfort him through the ordeal until it was all over and he lulled back to sleep. But unfortunately for him he had no one at the moment to help him.
Well, that wasn't necessarily true.
He had Meghan, his girlfriend of nearly three months. Ash always found himself wondering how he ever managed to land someone like her. She was sweet and funny and smart. Overall she was a beautiful person, inside and out. Which is exactly why Ash decided to keep his nightmares a secret from her. Ash was so afraid that if he did tell her about his problem, she would get scared and leave him. He didn't want to risk losing such a great girl. Therefore, he decided to deal with this on his own.
About a week later, he regretted his choice.
It was just Ash in the dorm at the time (his roommate was off visiting family for the weekend). He was doing just fine during the first few hours of sleep. Suddenly, everything in his mind started to get dark. Very dark. Every image and sound that rang through his mind came out so horrifying and gruesome that he screamed with so much passion.
His cry woke him up with a start. His breathing was ragged and he was drenched with his own sweat. He whipped his head around the empty room like a lost deer. His head was spinning at an alarming rate and he didn't have the slightest idea of what to do. His eyes rapidly landed on his phone. He snatched it from his stand and scrolled through his contacts. It took him all of ten seconds to find the name he wanted, needed, and press the call button. His heartbeat showed no signs of slowing down as he waited for the person to pick up the phone.
"Hello?" he finally heard the female voice answer in a tired tone.
"Meghan! Oh thank God! You gotta help me! I was just-"
"Ash? Wh-What? Wait! Slow down okay? What's wrong?"
Through thick tears Ash told her everything. He told her about the nightmare that had woken him up. He confessed about the nightmares that he'd been having ever since he was a kid. Every so often he would hear Meghan shush and coo him, saying that everything was okay. She stayed on the line with him until he was too spent from his talking and laid his head back on his pillow. He could still hear her as he closed his eyes for a moment.
He woke up to the sound of his alarm clock buzzing. It read 7:00am. He groggily moved his arm up to shut it off and noticed that his phone was wedged deep into the crook of his neck. He picked it up to see if anyone was there. Nothing. He then placed it back in its original spot and looked around. The sun was barely poking its light in through the blinds, casting a small illumination throughout the still empty room. Nothing looked out of place or different. As he was going through his inspection in his head the events of the night seemed to flood back to him. The nightmare. The call. The confession.
Ash knew what needed to happen next.
As fast as he could, he got dressed and dashed downstairs to meet Meghan at their usual spot.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before," Ash said to Meghan in a quiet voice.
They were sitting down at their regular table in the library. Ash had spent the last half hour talking with Meghan, explaining to her all that he should've told her earlier. He knew he was repeating a lot of what he said the other night but now was his chance to say it more coherently. After he finished and apologized for the umpteenth time, he waited with baited breath at what Meghan would say.
For a while she stayed silent. Ash didn't know if that scared him more than the nightmares or not. A thousand thoughts ran through his mind. She's scared. She knows she can't handle this. She's gonna leave. I knew this was gonna happen! I knew it! Why did I have to tell her? Why did I have to call her?!
Finally, once several tantalizing minutes had passed, Meghan leaned in, cupped Ash's face, and placed her lips on his. He didn't respond at first (obviosuly because of shock at the gesture). But Meghan didn't retreat. She just continued to kiss him with all the love she had for him. After a few seconds he melted into her lips and kissed her back. He could feel her mouth turn up into a smile at the accomplishment.
They soon let go of each other, giving each other a moment to breathe. Meghan kept her hand against his cheek while she whispered, "I love you, Ash. And I will always be here for you. I don't want you to feel like you have to keep things from me. You can tell me anything and I will still love you. And if you have any more nightmares you can talk to me about them. I don't care how late or early it is. I will be there for you when you need me."
It was one of the most moving things Ash had ever heard in his entire life.
"I love you, too," was all that he could say in return. It was all that Meghan needed to hear.
From that day on, Ash made sure to keep Meghan in mind the next time he had a nightmare. Whenever it became too much, whenever it rocked him so hard and terrified him to his core, he would pick up the phone and call Meghan. She would always be there on the other side, listening intently to him as he talked and cried and breathed harshly. She would remind him to breathe and tell him that it was over and he didn't have to worry. It didn't matter what time it was or how long they were on the phone, neither one of them would hang up. They would just keep their phones next to each other's ears until Ash drifted back off to sleep and Meghan followed suit.
The next day they would meet up and talk about it some more over coffee, provided by Ash because he figured it was the least he could do to pay back such an amazing person who was willing to deal with him and his nightmares.
Like it? I hope so! Review it? Please do! Read some of my other stories? YES YES YES! :-)