My amazingful reviewers: xXShadow-KissedXx, CaribbeanTrinidadian and lpwriter4life

Chapter 4: And Sleep, Just Sleep.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled quietly and chanced a look at Bill. My cheeks burnt red as I realized that he was wearing only a towel, his damp shirtless chest pressing against my arm as he hugged me. I could faintly feel his heart beating and it calmed me, even though my heart was racing at his lack of clothing.

"Don't be silly, are you alright?" I nodded and cleared my throat, inching away from his body. "Ok, I'm just going to quickly get dressed, then I'll be back." My head bobbed again as he let go of me and stood up. Furiously flapping my hand in front of my face, I willed the blushing to go away.

Moments later, he was back and sitting me down on the couch. I was thankful that he was wearing a pair of pants and a shirt now, my embarrassment had gone away completely… well except for crying in front of him. Twice. Not that he had known the first time.

"Would you like a glass of water?"

"Yes please." I nodded and, out of habit, checked my phone. It was 2am and there was still no sign of life from Alice. I started to wonder if maybe she was in trouble, then I chuckled at myself. Alice never got in trouble, she just liked to have a good time. The most accurate reason that she hadn't contacted me back was probably because she had either lost her phone, it had gone flat, or she had turned it off.

"There you go," Bill smiled sweetly as he handed me the glass. I smiled back as my thanks and took a sip. "I think it would be best if we talked about this in the morning, once we've had some sleep."

"I agree."

"So…" A silence grew between us as I fiddled with the cup, sipping every now and then. I glanced at Bill and noticed something.

"You look very different without makeup." The corners of his lips rose slightly into a smile.

"Good or bad?"

"Good… I'm not sure, you just look really different. Kind of normaler. Oh gosh that isn't a word um, you look less…"

"Fake?" His pierced eyebrow pulled upwards as he stared at me, a little confused.

"No, no. Less… celebrity." Bill nodded slowly, as though he was just agreeing to what I was saying, not actually understanding it. "I don't know, just forget about it? You look good with and without makeup." This time he nodded firmer, he knew what I meant.

"Ok. You look nice without makeup too."

"Thank you." I couldn't help but blush a little at the compliment. Before anything more could be said, a long yawn escaped Bill's mouth. "You're tired too?"

"Sure am. How about we get some sleep?" I nodded and placed the empty glass on the table. I felt bad for making Bill sleep on the couch but he wouldn't let me talk him out of it.

"Goodnight Pippa." He called across the darkened room.

"Goodnight Bill." I replied and snuggled down into the pillows, letting myself drift away.

Why am I shaking? It's not that cold. Wait, something's making me shake. Oh my gosh, is it an earthquake?

My eyes flew open to see that it wasn't an earthquake that was the cause of my shaking, it was Bill. He was leaning down over me with his hands on my shoulders and a concerned facial expression.

"What's going on?" I mumbled as my brain slowly started to function again. Bill's face softened, as well as his grip on my shoulders.

"You were having a nightmare." Almost as if he had pressed a button, the nightmare flooded my brain. Scenes flashed through my mind so fast that I could keep up with one, the dream kept skipping like a scratched DVD.

The hotel room door was being hit again, the wood straining to hold itself together against the angry thumps. I knew it was Tom, and I knew he wasn't going to be as forgiving this time.

I didn't need to look to the bathroom, I could sense that Bill wasn't anywhere near me or the hotel. It was just Tom and I. My eyes stayed glued on the door as it warped with every blow it received.

Suddenly, he was in front of me. Staring down at me with an evil flicker in his brown eyes and a playful smirk on his lips. I attempted to move away as his hand hovered towards me, but I couldn't. It was worse than before, I physically couldn't do anything at all. It felt like I was just a shell and the only thing I could do was watch the scene unfold before me.

"You're not crying this time." His dark, foreboding voice shocked me. His words shocked me even more. But I couldn't do anything to stop him, to push him away. "You will be soon."

I was lying on my back on the bed, my languid hands carelessly splayed either side of me, as were my legs. I wanted to scream, I wanted to kick and punch but my body wouldn't allow me. The sound of his jeans being unzipped was abnormally loud and chilling; almost like a warning of what was to come.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle." His face hovered above mine, smirking teasingly. I knew he was going to be anything but gentle. I didn't care, all I wanted was to get away. It didn't matter if he hurt me now, the damage was already done. I was already traumatized.

"Pippa! Pippa stop!" Bill urged, shaking my shoulders again.

"What?" My voice was distant and distracted, I was still focused on the nightmare. I honestly didn't want to remember the next part but my mind wanted to. In the back of my brain, there was a voice saying that I wanted to know because I was hoping that Bill would save me. I agreed with that voice.

"You were hyperventilating an-and you were screaming!" Bill looked frantic and scared. I inwardly scolded myself for being so dramatic.

"I-I'm sorry." I felt a little silly overall. But I couldn't stop myself having nightmares, even though I wanted to. Bill sighed shortly and closed his eyes for a second.

"It's ok, it's ok." He repeated it as though he was trying to convince himself.

"I really am sorry. I'm not like this at all. I haven't had nightmares since I was little. I guess they were just triggered by…" I stopped talking. It would have been silly to finish that sentence. I could tell that Bill was distressed over it.

"By Tom?" His brown eyes strayed away from me. I inhaled deeply and nodded my head.

"Yes, I think so." He bit his lip and a thoughtful look crossed his face.

"Do you think you'll be able to get back to sleep?" Hope was clear in his dark eyes, he wanted to sleep. I wanted to say yes so bad but the thought of staying awake all night on my own wasn't very welcoming.

"Uh, I don't know." Inhaling slowly, he took his hands from my shoulders and fiddled with the sheet.

"Would it help if I was to sleep next to you?" My eyes widened slightly. "N-not in that way, just next to you. So you know I'm here? To protect you." My heart skipped a beat as a cheesy smile formed on my face. I nodded and turned my head, trying to hide my smile by tucking a stray hair behind my ear.

"I think that would help." I answered quietly, afraid that my voice might crack. I really don't know why I was feeling so weird, it's not like I was in love with Bill. I think his kind offer just made me swoon, not the fact it came from Bill. Anyone could have said that and I would have reacted the same, right?

"Oh good, that couch was getting a bit hard anyway." A soft chuckle emitted from my mouth as I shuffled over a little for Bill. He jumped under the covers and got comfortable. "So… how do you want to do this?" I chewed my bottom lip in thought. I didn't want to seem rude by refusing to get close to him but on the other hand I didn't want to seem clingy or desperate.

"Um, whatever you're comfortable with." I shrugged my shoulders slightly as Bill sighed.

"Honestly, I'm comfortable with anything. Do you want me to hold you?" I could sense the restlessness in his voice. He was probably not in the mood for my shyness right now.

"That would be nice." I wasn't going to lie.

Bill nodded his head and moved a little closer, sliding an arm over my waist. The warmth of his body calmed my nerves and made me feel tired again. I could feel his warm breath on my shoulder as he started to snore quietly. He must have been really tired. I never thought that I would consider snoring cute, especially the way my dad carries on, but when Bill snored it was adorable. The awkwardness of spooning with Bill wore off as my brain slowly shut down again, letting me fall into a dreamless sleep.

That afternoon…

"Thank you for letting me sleep here, and thank you for helping me." I gave Bill a smile as I stood in the hallway outside his room.

We had woken up around 1pm and talked for an hour about last night and this morning. I had told him exactly what happened with Tom and he had promised to tell him off for me.

"It's the least I could do." He smiled back sweetly. "How long are you in Germany for?"

I inhaled and tipped my head to the side, trying to work out what day it was. My brain was still stuck in San Francisco time."It's Friday today, isn't it?" Bill swiftly nodded his head. "I go back to America tomorrow."

Bill's face dropped. "You can't stay any longer? I'd love to show you around Berlin."

"Oh I really wish I could but it's my brother's birthday Sunday and I promised him I'd be back for it. I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's ok, I understand. Tell him I said happy birthday." I could tell Bill was slightly disappointed and it made me feel nice to think that he actually wanted to spend some time with me.

"Um, how about you show me around today instead? If you're not busy, that is." His lips cracked into a giddy smile that made me smile as well.

"I'd love to!" It was like a firework had been set off inside him, he was suddenly jumpy and vibrant. Even though I had gotten about 13 hours sleep, I was still feeling a little sluggish.

"Ok, well I'll go and get dressed and then we can go. How long will you need to get sorted?" His face suddenly turned serious.

"Well I have to talk to Tom, and then getting ready… give me about an hour and then I'll come and get you from you're room. What's your number?"

"I'm in 223. I guess I'll see you in an hour?"

"You sure will." He flashed me an amazing smile. I had to restrain myself from grinning back at his enthusiasm, settling for a small smile instead.

When I got back to my room I was confronted with a very hungover and apologetic looking Alice.

"Oh my gosh Pippa, I'm so sorry. I got caught up talking to a bands manager and then I got drunk and then I dropped my phone in the toilet and I can't even remember his name and my head feels like… like it's literally going to split in two." So that's why she wouldn't answer my messages. I stayed silent and let her rant as I stepped inside our hotel room. "I'm stressing out because I dropped my phone in the toilet and now it doesn't work so I can't ring my boss, I can't ring your publicist to clear up all the rumors, I can't ring-"

"What rumors?" I turned around to face the frantic woman.

"Yeah, the ones of you and what's-his-name. You know, the one you left the party with last night?" My eyes widened. What could they have said about Bill and I?

"Bill?" She nodded and rubbed her forehead. "What are they saying? Is it bad?"

"It's nothing too major. Actually, I think you'll be surprised by some of the comments." My eyebrows surged together in confusion as she sat me down in front of her laptop. A website was open and it had a picture of Bill and I leaving the after party. The corners of my lips tugged upwards as I stared at the photo. They had captured one of me smiling up at Bill as he held my hand. Honestly, if I was a complete stranger and came across this photo, I would probably assume that we were a couple. Of course, the website was enforcing that idea as well.

"Gosh, that photo makes it look like we're together." I said distantly as I eyeballed the photo meticulously.

"Well are you?" My eyes left the picture and glanced at Alice who had her arms crossed.

"No. We just talked a lot at the party and he offered to give me a ride back here. And then when someone wouldn't answer their phone, he was kind enough to offer for me to stay the night." The brunette rolled her eyes.

"That's not fair, I dropped it in the toilet!" I just gave her a look. "Anyway, read the comments." I did as I was told and scrolled down the page. Of course there were the expected 'She's such a slut.' and 'Bill is mine!' comments but what surprised me were the amount of people who weren't being nasty.

'Aw they are so cute together!'

'Oh my God, they are holding hands! How cute!'

'Her smile is adorable, so is her dress.'

I just blinked at the screen dumbly for a minute. Were they really complimenting me? Most of them appeared to be Tokio Hotel fans, which shocked me even more. I was fully prepared for a photo of us together to be leaked and I knew I was in for a grilling from their devoted followers, but this was just weird. Of course, I wasn't expecting them all to be horrible people, but I really wasn't expecting the majority of them to be so… supportive.

"We aren't even together." I mumbled as I continued to read. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Alice move her weight from one foot to the other.

"It looks like you got on well with each other, how did it go when you went back to his room?" The tone of her voice suggested that she thought something had happened between us. I peeled my eyes away from the screen and looked at her.

"We talked. While I waited for you to call back." I replied bitterly. Ok, so I was using that as my excuse, even though it really wasn't valid.

"Really? You just talked the whole time?" I took a deep breath and nodded, deciding it would be best to leave out the information about Tom. Knowing Alice, she would try to press charges against him or something radical like that. "Well I guess it would be silly to expect anything else of you."

"Correct."

"Because you're far too responsible for any of that… shenanigans." I gave her a smile and nodded again, standing up from the seat.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and get ready." Alice's eyebrow quirked.

"For?"

"Bill offered to show me around Berlin." I couldn't hide the smug tone in my voice.

"Ahh." She remarked, her head tilting upwards in a half nod. I knew she was skeptical.

"It's just a friendly gesture." I reminded as I removed my earrings and walked towards the bathroom.

"Oh yes, the paparazzi are definitely going to agree with you there." She shot back sarcastically before sitting back down at her computer. I rolled my eyes as I turned on the shower. I knew Alice was right though; they were going to have a field day with this.

"Does this look ok?" I held my arms out and turned slowly in front of Alice. She nodded approvingly at my black wide-leg pants and blue and white polka dot ruffle top. However, her mouth pulled into a frown at my ballet flats.

"After last night, you need all the practice you can get in high heels and a field trip is just the right occasion."

"It's not a field trip Alice," I muttered as I trudged behind her to my suitcase where she proceeded to find a pair of heels for me. "And it's going to kill my feet walking around in… those." She held a pair of black, strappy wedges out for me. The look on my face said everything; I didn't want to wear those at all.

"Come on, put them on!" She urged and I took them, kicking my flats off with a sigh. "Plus, they give you extra height. That Bill guy is super tall."

"6'2 to be exact." Her blue eyes widened a little as I carefully slipped the shoes on. I really didn't feel right wearing them and I knew I was going to pay for it later. "Right." I exhaled quickly as I stood up straight and grabbed my jacket and purse.

"Much better." Alice grinned. "Smile properly for once yeah? You look really nice when you show your teeth."

"Alice." I said in a warning tone. She backed off a little. "You are so massaging my feet tonight."

A smile lit up her face as she threw her arms around me. "Have fun with Bill."

I apologize if this chapter didn't flow very well but, it's 1:12am here and I'm kinda falling asleep so yeah, forgive me?

Reviews would be lovely :)