NIGHTMARES

The sugar skull girl yawned, placing her hand over her mouth to capture it. She heard once that if you didn't cover your mouth while you yawned, your soul could escape.

Ruby stretched out her limbs luxuriously and crawled into her canopy bed, tucking the pink covers up to her chin. Doom jumped lightly onto the bed and curled up next to Ruby, purring softly. Ruby stroked her black fur with a small grin, "Goodnight, Doom," she said. Reaching over to the bedside, she turned off the bed lamp and casted them into semi-darkness. Soon she was fast asleep.

Ruby began to dream. She saw her friends smiling faces as they at a delicious supper at the dining table. Iris gabbed about the tricks she was trying to teach her flying worm, Squib, using her hands to help them visualize the tricks. Poe perched himself on the top of Misery's chair, his legs crossed, chatting about his younger days and all the things he had done, whether they might be true or not. Misery picked at her plate, listening to the various conversations and adding her comments to each one in her sullen way. Frank and Len sat at the head of the table with their guitar in their lap, plucking a new tune and arguing over lyrics. Skull Boy discussed with Scaredy Bat about his newest project and ancestry theory, although Ruby couldn't exactly remember what that was. The dining room was brightly lit and had a happy atmosphere.

Then suddenly, Ruby noticed that she could see right through Iris. She put a hand on her shoulder and could feel nothing but air.

"Iris?" She asked. Iris didn't acknowledge her. She didn't seem to notice what was happening to her. Then she disappeared completely. The brightness in the room dropped a little.

"Where did Iris go?" She asked the members of the table. Neither of them seemed to notice that Iris had mysterious disappeared. Ruby's expression became puzzled. What was going on?

Now it was Frank and Len that had turned see through, and they didn't seem to regard their flimsy appearance as well. Within a matter of a few minutes, they had departed as quietly as Iris had, unnoticed by all except Ruby.

"Frank? Len?"

The brightness in the room dimmed a bit more. She looked over at Scaredy, who currently had a lucid look to him. When he vanished, the light in the room was bright as a light from a chandelier.

"Scardey?"

Her heart hammered in her chest and her mind ran wild with strange scenarios. What was going on? Where had they gone?

All who were left were Skull Boy, Misery, and Poe, who seemed undisturbed by the disappearance of half the table. They did, however, notice Ruby's reaction to it.

"Ruby?" Misery inquired, "Are you okay? You're looking a little pale,"

"She's always pale, Misery," Skull Boy reminded her.

Before she could answer, her breath hitched. The realness of Misery was slipping away as she turned crystalline. Ruby made a grab at her to keep her from fading, but alas she was gone, "Misery!"

Was it getting colder in here? The brightness dimmed even more and she felt a distinctive chilliness in the room.

"Do we need to call a doctor?" Poe suggested, "I could diagnose her right here all very well, but this looks too serious for me to handle."

"I'm sure she's fine," Skull Boy disagreed, "I think she just needs some rest,"

"Poe, look out!" Ruby cried.

Poe raised an eyebrow, looking at his surroundings, failing to regard the unexpected sheer that had accompanied him, "What? What?"

Before she could tell him what was wrong, the crow dissolved. The only light in the room now was a soft glow. She shivered from the cold as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"Ruby, why are you crying?" Skull Boy asked, taking her face in his hands. Ruby directed her amber eyes to look at him, and her heart shattered when she heeded that she couldn't feel the bones that made up his hands on her cheeks. She placed her on hands over his and felt nothing but her own skin.

"Don't leave me, Skull Boy!" She cried.

"What are you talking about?" He questioned, "I'm not going anywhere,"

And he was gone. The final bit of light had left with him, casting her into utter darkness. Even the moonlight had gone. She gazed desperately around the dining room, begging her friends to come back, for the light and warmth to return. It was so cold, the red head wouldn't be surprised if icicles sprung from the ceiling. She rubbed her arms to try and create friction, tears spilling down her pale cheeks, her shortened breath coming out in puffs.

She was alone.

Something was shaking her. Ruby opened her eyes, feeling the strong and fast beat of her frightened heart in her ear drums. She sat up quickly and blinked the sleep from her eyes before she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders and someone rubbing her back. When her vision cleared, she saw that it was Iris's hands on her shoulders and Len's hand that rubbed her back. Her friends surrounded her, all still in their night things, concerned expressions occupying their sleepy faces. The darkness of her room pressed in around them. Not even the moonlight shining through her heart skull window could brighten it. She started shivering again. The coldness had followed her. Iris retrieved a spare blanket and draped it around her shoulders. Her friends waited until she was warm enough to stop shivering, but the coldness contained itself in her bedroom.

"Are you alright, Ruby?" Len asked in a low voice.

"Yeah, we heard you scream," Frank added.

"Was it a nightmare?" Misery inquired.

Ruby gulped and plastered a fake smile on her lips, "I'm fine, guys. Thanks for checking on me. You can all go back to bed now,"

"You sure?" Iris questioned.

"I'm sure,"

They questioned her no further and left her room, all except Skull Boy. He stayed at the edge of her bed, examining her, his eyes narrowed.

"Don't believe me, do you?" she asked.

Skull Boy shook his head and perched on the edge of her bed beside her, "I was still up working on some blue prints, so I was the first to hear you scream. The rest came a while later," he rubbed the back of his skull, "You were twisting and writhing, Ruby, and you whimpered the whole time with an occasional shriek. That wasn't a normal nightmare,"

Ruby hung her head, adjusting with the blankets around her. It the absolutely worst thing that could happen to her: being alone all alone. They stayed in a moment of silence, confirming what Skull Boy had suspected.

"I'll be right back," he told her, beginning to walk out of her room.

"W-Where are you going?"

"Don't worry, I'll come back," he assured her. He exited the room, leaving Ruby to sit in her canopy bed, alone in the darkness. She pulled her knees up to her chest, tucking in the covers around her, shivering again. After what seemed like several long, terrifying hours - turning out to be two minutes - Skull Boy returned with a night light in his hands. He plugged it in across from her bed and flipped the switch. It emitted a soft, yellow glow that warmed the atmosphere instantly.

"What - ?"

"Whenever I get bad dreams, a night light always seems to help me," he answered, "I know there's moonlight and all, but it never seems to be enough, you know?"

Ruby nodded, understanding. Skull Boy made a move to leave again, "W-wait,"

"Yes?" He stopped.

"Don't l-leave, please," she stammered. She took deep, calming breaths and stated slowly, "I don't want to be alone right now. Please, just . . . stay until I'm asleep?"

A small grin formed on his lips and the skeleton nodded. He crawled into her bed, wrapping his arms around her. She pressed her face into his chest and closed her eyes, feeling his hand rub her back reassuringly.

"Goodnight, Ruby," he whispered.

When she woke up the next morning, his body still pressed against hers, apparently having fallen asleep.

"No nightmares?" he inquired.

She shook her head, grinning, "No nightmares,"