The Inconveniences of: nightmares

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Mai gasped, sitting up as fast as humanly possible as she awoke from a very distressful and uncomfortable sleep. Her eyes and cheeks were red and wet, indicating that she had been crying for quite some time. She ran a clammy hand through her hair with a sigh, her alert posture soon slumping.

Mai didn't want to go back to sleep. Maybe she could pull an all-nighter? Nah, she's not Naru…

She had dreams all of the time, of course. Weird ones, but nothing in the least bit frightening like this one. No, not like this time at all.

She massaged her temples, straightening things out in her head before she finally stood up.

This time it wasn't a dream, but a nightmare.

-

Naru awoke to the soft creak of his door being pushed open, but suspicious, his eyes remained closed. What was Mai doing up in the middle of the night, and coming into his room for that matter?

'She better know where the hell the bathroom was after living here for three freaking weeks,' Naru's face scrunched into a frustrated expression.

Her feet shuffled quietly across the hard wood floor until she had reached the side of her boss's bed. With a trembling sigh, she reached out to shake him gently, but was stopped by his tired voice.

"Why are you up so late, Mai?" he inquired. He craned his neck side-ways in order to get a better visual of the girl's shocked face. She gave a sigh of relief and smiled, much to Naru's confusion.

She motioned to the lamp on his bed-side table quietly. "Can I…?"

He nodded, wincing, though, as she turned it on.

Mai seemed to be acting stranger than usual, Naru noticed. The pale glow on Mai's face made her seem so fragile, like if he said any incorrect word, she'd break. Her fiery stubbornness had been doused; she was definitely scared or upset in some way. It also looked like she had been crying, but…why? She never whined about school or work, she did chores dutifully without complaint, and he knew (or hoped, at least) that Mai was perfectly healthy.

So then…

"What's wrong, Mai?" he asked, attempting to hide the concern in his voice. Of course he was concerned–his assistant was emotionally unstable which could obviously be a hindrance to her work, and to school.

He moved his legs over, leaving her space to sit, which she did so.

Her silence irked him, but Naru remained calm. His mom had taught him once when his brother was upset not to rush someone into telling you what the matter was. They'd eventually let it out.

The stayed quiet for the next few minutes until Mai finally opened her mouth. "I–I'm sorry or waking you up, Naru."

But when Mai stood to leave Naru became slightly angry. He wasn't going to let her barge in, wake him up, sit there for five minutes, and then walk off like nothing happened. She was going to tell him why she was upset, and she was going to tell him now. Screw what his mom said.

Naru caught Mai's arm in a vice grip, twisting her around to face him, and causing her to fall back on the bed. "N–Naru?!"

He glared down at her from his sitting position and said to her in a frustrated tone, "Answer my question: What's wrong?" He commanded her, leaving her speechless.

Knowing that there was no way she could get out of this now, Mai sighed, making herself comfortable on Naru's bed by lying down next to him. She looked him in the eye and said bluntly, "I had a nightmare."

A nightmare…?

Naru held back a sigh, knowing that this was kind of a big deal for his cute little assistant. He didn't want to make her even more upset than she already was, which was hard for someone with a personality like his. But after knowing her for a whole year, and living with her for three weeks. Naru knew how to calm her and push her buttons, and pushing her buttons was not on his list of to do things right now.

"What was it about?"

His query was meant to help her, not harm her, but when he asked the question it just seemed to make her even more troubled.

Naru mentally punched himself.

"Naru and Lin and everyone… they all died," she answered in a small voice. She closed her eyes tightly.

Astonished by Mai's words, Naru looked down in his lap. She had cried for him…no, not just him, for SPR. He cleared his head except of thoughts of Mai. How should he comfort her? Well, all he could tell her was what he actually knew on the subject of nightmares.

"Mai, a nightmare is just that–a nightmare. It's not real and will most likely never happen. Understand?" Naru said fluidly as if he were teaching a class. At his statement, Mai sighed, nodding slowly, her eyes still closed.

"Do you feel better now?"

But by the time he had asked if she were okay, the said girl was already fast asleep…in his bed.

-

The next morning:

Mai's eyes fluttered open as the orange rays of sun cast across her face. She threw her arms above her and arched her back in a stretch. Sitting up, she realized she wasn't in her own bed, but Naru's.

Now how could she have possibly fallen asleep in her boss's be–

Scenes from last night flashed through her head.

Hurriedly, Mai whipped her head around searching for Naru, but he was nowhere to be found (in his room, at least). She hastily threw the comforter off of her legs and jumped out of bed, running into the living room.

There he was on the uncomfortable couch still sleeping…probably with a broken back.

Mai flailed her arms in the air and looked at the clock on the wall.

"Crap, I'm late for school!"

-

Eh…crappy chapter. Sorry.

Next time on The Inconveniences…The inconveniences of Valentine's Day! Fun will ensue!