It was just another night for everyone at Blackwell Academy, but the previous week's events had been anything but normal. It started with a girl by the name of Chloe Price being shot in the restrooms by Nathan Prescott, the son of Arcadia Bay's richest man. Once that had happened, and Nathan had been arrested, things started to get even stranger. The academy's photography teacher, Mr Jefferson, was arrested for torturing and murdering students in what he called his 'dark room', where he took photos of their 'dying innocence'. One of the girls he tortured, Kate Marsh, had attempted to kill herself, but was talked down from the rooftop by her friend Max Caulfield. After all of the investigations and commotions, things were finally settling down.

For Kate, this was all she had wanted. The past week had tested her faith as a Christian, with the abuse she initially received from a video posted online. She had been shunned by her church and her family, while most people at school had called her a slut. But after Max saved her life, she realised that her attempts at seeking forgiveness had been rewarded, as all the abuse and disloyalty came to an end. She spent a couple of days in a hospital, and once it was revealed that Jefferson had drugged her on the night the video was taken, her family and church gave her immediate support. This night was the first one that she had spent at the Academy since she tried to take her life, and her friends had given her so much support, with Dana giving her notes from class; Max helping her to study; even Victoria checked on how she was doing. Now, Kate was looking forward to finally being able to rest at the place that had become her home.

Unfortunately, something had changed while she had been gone, and it meant that peace would not be possible.

Not much longer after she had closed her eyes, she heard a loud, echoing scream of terror. Instantly, she got up and exited her dorm room. Looking around, she saw that most of the girls had also stepped out to see what the commotion was.

"What's going on?" Kate asked Juliet as she ran past.

"I think it's Max!" she replied. "Ever since the murder, she's been having nightmares, but she hasn't reacted as badly as this before!"

Kate didn't even ask as she also ran towards Max's room. When the girls reached her room, they found it was unlocked and Dana, Juliet and Kate all ran in. Lying on the bed, Max was gripping tightly onto her pillow, screaming loudly while tears streamed from her eyes. Everyone was clearly surprised by how badly she was reacting.

"Max?" Dana asked, gently shaking Max on the shoulder. "Max, it's me, Dana!" She looked at the other girls, concerned. "She can't hear me, she's caught in her nightmare or something like that. What should we do?"

The other girls started murmuring to each other, uncertain what to do. Kate, however, had her eyes fixed on Max, upset at seeing her friend so distraught. She blinked a couple of times, before she felt a sudden confidence. "We need to get Miss Grant," she explained. "She might be able to get through to her. Stella, Brooke, Alyssa, - go find her at once!" They nodded, before running off. She then turned to Victoria. "Victoria, do you have a tea set?"

"Uh, yeah, of course!" she replied, not certain what she was doing. "How does-"

"Taylor, Courtney- one of you help Victoria to make Max some tea, something that will settle her nerves. Meanwhile, one of you should get her a glass of water, just in case."

The three of them, even though they weren't sure how helpful it would be, went away. Dana and Juliet just looked at Max. Putting a hand against Max's forehead, Juliet noticed she was very warm. "She's burning up!" she told them. "We need to calm her down, or she'll just get worse."

Kate thought for a moment. "Help me sit her up." The two girls then gently lifted Max into a sitting position, while Kate wrapped an arm around her friend, resting Max's head on her shoulder. She could feel her friend shaking violently, so she began to hum something. It was a tune her mother had taught her, and had used any time that she was scared. While Kate hummed, Dana grabbed Max's hand and gently began to rub it comfortingly. As she continued to hum, she heard Max's screams gently subside, and her shaking slowly lessened. Kate smiled, and Dana and Juliet smiled at her. Victoria, Taylor and Courtney returned with the tea and water, as well as milk and sugar, and gently placed them on the desk.

We'll wait outside, Victoria mouthed, placing a hand on Kate's shoulder and giving a caring smile.

Kate smiled back. Okay, she mouthed back, thank you.

Victoria nodded, before she, Taylor and Courtney left. Looking back towards Max, Kate saw her weakly open her teary eyes. She looked around, a doe-eyed expression on her face, before she looked at Kate. "K-Kate?" she asked, still a little drowsy.

"It's okay," she replied, gently rubbing Max's arm, "you're okay now. It was just a nightmare."

"B-but… Chloe…" The tears began to stream again, so Kate pulled her closer into the hug. "Oh, God… Chloe…"

"Shh… there, there… it's okay now."

At that moment, the girls turned to see Miss Grant, the school's science teacher, had arrived. "Max?" she asked, sitting down on the chair at the desk in front of the girls. "I came as soon as they found me. Is everything okay?"

"I-I think so… now, at least…" Max sighed, putting a hand to her head. "It just felt so… real… it was the moment that Chloe was… was…"

Kate gently smiled again. "It's okay. It's over now, nothing can happen."

Dana stood up. "You were starting to burn up, so Victoria, Taylor and Courtney got you some water and some tea." She walked over to the desk and handed Max the glass of water. "Here."

"Thank you." Max gently took a sip, before placing the glass back down. "That helps."

"Do you want some of the tea, Max?" Max nodded. "Do you want milk or sugar with it?"

"A little milk, no sugar." Dana prepared the drink, and handed it to Max. Taking a sip, she smiled. "That's good."

"Apparently, these nightmares have happened for a while, but they got worse tonight," Miss Grant explained what the girls had told her when they found her. "Is that true?" Max weakly nodded. "Okay. Well, in that case, I think that seeing someone may prove helpful. Could you come and find me tomorrow morning?" Again, she nodded. "Okay, Max. Now, I'm going to head back, so I can arrange this. If anything else happens, just get one of the girls to find me." She stood up. "Okay. Goodnight, girls."

"Goodnight, Miss Grant." As Miss Grant left, Kate turned back to Max, smiling as she saw her drink some more tea. "Are you okay now, Max?"

"I'm doing better now," she replied. "Thank you, Kate."

"Don't thank me. I didn't do much. It's the others you should thank."

"Don't be modest, Kate!" Dana argued. "You did so much to help tonight! Without you, we wouldn't have known what to do! You sent the girls to get Miss Grant, you asked Victoria, Taylor and Courtney to get her something to drink, and you managed to calm her down, and wake her from the nightmare. It's like you're her guardian angel or something."

"Yeah, Kate!" Juliet said in agreement, getting a murmur from the crowd outside saying the same thing. She placed a head against Max's forehead. "Your help even managed to stop her from burning up! You should be really proud." She then lightly yawned into her hand. "Listen, I think I'm going to go back to bed." She gave Max a hug, telling Max "we love you, sweetie," before leaving. The girls outside all said similar things as they left.

Dana, as she stood up, noticed Kate wasn't moving. "Kate?" She asked. "Are you going to go back to bed?"

Kate shook her head. "I'm going to stay to make sure she gets to sleep okay. You go, I'll be fine."

Smiling, Dana gave both girls a hug. "Goodnight, you two."

Once she had gone, Kate smiled at Max. "Wasn't that nice of them? They all helped out, they were really worried for you."

"Really?" Kate nodded. "Wow. I can't believe it. A week ago, most of them might not have even gotten out of bed to see what was wrong." The two of them laughed at this, before Max lightly yawned. "I think I should get some sleep now."

"Would you prefer to stay alone, or would you like me to spend the night here with you?"

"No, that's okay. I don't want to keep you from getting sleep. I think I'll be okay here alone."

"Okay." She stood up, allowing Max to lie down in her bed. Once she was comfortable, and had closed her eyes, Kate tucked her in to make sure she was comfortable, and saw Max lightly smile in her sleep. She gently grabbed Max's hand, patting it lightly, before she kneeled down, and held her hands in prayer.

"Father, thank you for giving me the strength to help Max tonight. You sent her to save me, my guardian angel, and you restored my faith and hope. I promise that I will watch over Max whenever she needs it, like she has done for me. Amen."

She let go of Max's hand and stood up, before gently walking towards the door. She stepped through the doorway, turned back with a smile, and whispered "goodnight, Max," before closing the door and returning to her room.

THE END