Here's another update, in case you guys missed the previous one ^^'

I do not own Pandora Hearts.

Please leave a review, it's reviews that keep my writing after all. I didn't get much feedback on the previous chapter which kind of upset me... .-.


"Don't touch me, you vile creature."


Oz gasped for air as he sat up straight in his bed, he was covered in a thin layer of sweat. He looked around his dark room, trying to remember where he was, it took him a good few minutes to comprehend he wasn't dreaming anymore. Yet the words still lingered inside his mind and left an awful taste in his mouth. He felt nauseous and longed for nothing more then to forget everything he had just dreamt, only he knew… knew that this wasn't just a dream. There was no way it could have been. It all seemed so real.

He felt like crying, he truly did. For the first time in years, the boy wanted to do nothing more then to cry and let it all out. Perhaps he'd feel a lot better if he'd just let down all of his walls, safe inside of the four walls of his own bedroom in the middle of the night, with only the shadows to see him break. Who was there to judge him then?

But instead, he took a few deep breaths and felt himself slowly calm down. This wasn't the first time after all that he woke up bathing in sweat and feeling utterly lost.

Gil

There was no way that what he had just seen could be true he told himself. Even though the dream felt all too real and looked like a memory, there was no way it could have been real.

It isn't real, it isn't real… he kept telling himself.

And yet… this wasn't the first dream he had of Victorian houses, of dukes and politics, of being locked up in a room… with no one to save him. He had dreamt so many times of mansions being on fire and people screaming, people clad in crimson cloaks pointing with accusing fingers at him.

But those had always been short, and they'd jump from one horror to another. While this dream had seemed like a scene cut out of a movie.

And he had been the main character; curled up in a ball, Oz had been much younger then he was now and something had finally pushed him closer to the edge. Most of his walls had crumpled down and there was barely anything left, but there was Gil; asking him what was wrong.

"Hey Gil… I wonder why father hates me now."

"Young master, if you feel that way why don't we just ask him?"

"No way!" he bit his lip and shut his eyes, trying to push the memory away, but no matter how hard he tried it wouldn't leave, "I'm frightened of the truth-" he had already known the truth.

He was heir to a great household, but a child nonetheless and the thought of being burdened with such a high responsibility without a parent to guide him was horrifying. But this is what made Oz realize they were just dreams, because there was no way anyone could live like that.

He stumbled out of his bed, not caring about the ruckus he caused as he got to the bathroom as fast as possible, the teen barely made it, he fell down on his knees and emptied his stomach in the toilet.

Behind him he could hear the sound of bare feet tapping against the tiled floor. He had just enough time to catch his breath before he threw up again… and again, until there was nothing left but stomach fluids.

"Oh sweety…" his mother sighed behind him, she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder to gently guide him away from the toilet, letting him lean onto her. She had kneeled down and was now at his eyelevel.

Oz had always hated the way she'd furrow her brow with worry whenever something bad happened to him, he had always hated how easily she worried about him. How worry could lead to stress, and how stress had a huge influence on her work.

He didn't pay much attention to his father who moved around the bathroom while his mother gently caressed his damp hair out of his face, "You have a fever, should we take you to the hospital?"

The blond shook his head, hospitals only carried terrible memories with them. And he refused to go back to them unless absolutely needed. He knew this fever would pass, just like the stress eventually.

"Sweety… this can't go on for much longer, have you taken your medicine?"

He couldn't remember, he remembered that after they dropped Echo off, he had watched a movie with his parents and had eventually gotten tired, he didn't know if he had remembered to take his pills or not. If he hadn't, he was now carrying the consequences.

"I don't know…" he finally admitted, "M'sorry."

"It's nothing to be sorry over," Peter smiled and gently ruffled his son's hair before handing him a cold glass with water, "let's go downstairs I'll prepare some tea,"

He met his father's gaze, and the young West felt himself calm down immediately. Because the father of his dreams looked nothing like the man sitting in front of him, he did not look at him as if he was filth. No, Peter's eyes were filled with love. He truly cared about his son.

He offered his father a weak smile back and nodded,

Peter nodded and headed downstairs while Helen stayed behind, making sure that he wouldn't fall and to check if the situation wasn't worse then they thought. The nightmares had once caused for him to end up in a hospital, he couldn't blame her for being worried.

"Would you like to talk about it?" she asked after a while,

She didn't push when he told her no, he knew there was no use in lying or trying to talk himself out of it, so that was all he could offer her as an answer. Instead he told her he'd take a quick shower and would then join Peter downstairs, "You should go back to sleep though, you have work tomorrow."

"I'm the owner of said job, I'm sure I can open a bit later if that means I get to make sure my son is alright."

"I'm fine,"

"Oh but you're not," she let out a dramatic sigh and pulled him in a tight embrace, "Just thinking about my poor baby being hurt makes me feel terribly distressed!"

He chuckled in amusement, knowing that Helen was only trying to cheer him up. The blonde winked at her son and finally got up to get a clean pair of pajamas for him.

She returned in a short time and handed him the new clothes before she joined her husband downstairs.

Oz took a cold shower, his skin felt like it was on fire. Taking a shower helped, it helped him clear his thoughts. He fell almost completely better when he finally went downstairs only to find his mother had made her special hot cacao with whipped cream and small pieces of marshmallows.

"Don't get used to it though," she reminded him with a kind smile,

"I don't think anyone could ever get used to your this." Peter protested, he took a seat next to the his son, "Now son, I need you to know nightmares can be unpleasant, but they're nothing to be worried about, 'cuz you see I once dreamt of kissing a toad and turning into one myself, and believe me when I tell you…" and his father was off to tell him one of his many unbelievable stories, neither Helen nor Oz had it in them to stop him though. Because no matter how ridiculous the story, Peter always had a way of making it interesting, no matter what the topic. So they listened, with half amused smiles on their faces and only the light of a few candles to illuminate their faces.

Somewhere in the background, the clock read three in the morning, and none of that mattered. For them time had stopped.


When he went back to bed, he dreamt of a sunny day, holding the much smaller hand of a younger sister as he watched a casket slowly getting lowered into the ground. When he looked up, he saw the father that had called him vile look at the new grave with sadness and rage.

He couldn't read what was written on the grey stone, that's how he knew it was just a dream, people can't read in them. And yet... he somehow knew, what it said;

here lies Rachel Vesalius, loving mother of Oz & Aida Vesalius, wife of Zai Vesalius. May the four angels watch over her.

His mother- they were burying his mother.

And again, the blond woke up bathing in his own sweat. This time he could see the sun slowly rising, telling him that a new day had come. Oz let out a soft and pitiful sound, wishing that the dreams would just stop.

He knew what had triggered them, but wasn't so sure if he was willing to sacrifice said reason if that meant he would no longer have these dreams.


Oz returned after a complete week of absence. Alice had warned him that things might be a bit chaotic. It was only when Oz was gone from school that people started to realize just how much they relied on him, students relied on him for his notes and his knowledge, they knew he'd always be there for them if they needed help. Teachers knew him as the student who always had all of his stuff with him and knew the answers to almost every question they asked. The newspaper club relied on him for pictures and if Aida was too busy, they'd go to him for help with their articles.

And to his friends… Oz was the center of the group, the one who always knew how to keep a conversation going, the one who made you feel better about yourself because no matter what you talked about, he always showed you genuine interest.

So of course when the blond returned to school, it was no wonder that people swarmed around him like bees around their queen.

Teachers told him they were glad he finally got better, he got ten different notes from the same class and students offered to go over the topic with him if he needed help.

But what pleased him the most was joining Elliot and Leo's side, unlike everyone else, they barely looked up from their conversation. While it was obvious that the two had missed him, they weren't the type to overwhelm him with questions. Leo offered Oz a kind smile as a way of greeting, the same one he offered the teen every morning, and Elliot nodded.

And then there was Gil, as soon as the raven had noticed his presence he had albeit run towards him.

"You're back!"

"Seems like it," the blond joked, one eyebrow raised in amusement.

"A-ah yeah, I mean, of course you're back, O-otherwise you wouldn't be here?" the older teen let out a nervous laugh, behind the raven stood Break. He kept an eye on them while keeping a safe distance between them, and when Oz met the albino's gaze, a shill ran down his spine. Knowing all too well why Break had decided to tag along with the raven instead of remaining by Sharon and Reim their sides.

His phone buzzed in the pocket of his pants.

Oz barely paid attention to Gil who kept on rambling, probably making the situation even more awkward for himself. Usually the young West would have made fun of him for it, but now all he focused on was the text message he had received.

-12.30pm. library- Break

"….wants us to sing Taylor Swift, can you believe it- oi, Oz are you listening?"

"h-huh?"

Elliot seemed close to punching him,

"A-ah sorry," he laughed, "I must have spaced out, what were you talking about?"

"About the winter ball, the principal asked us to perform, remember?"

He nodded, so Elliot continued, "He let the students vote which songs we had to play and the list has Taylor Swift on it."

"Elliot's favorite performer," Leo added with a sly smirk

To which the Nightray snapped, "Shut-up Leo, you know it's not!"

"She totally is, you're just too ashamed to admit it." Oz exchanged an evil grin with Leo, and the teasing began. Until Elliot was a flustered muttering mess. The bell rang which led to an end of the poor teen's suffering.

And while Oz headed to his class, Gilbert stayed behind, watching his retreating back, he kept gazing at him until the crowd made him disappear.

"You're worried." Break noted,

To which Gil nodded, unsure if he could rely on his voice. For a moment, he had been scared that Oz would ignore him. But he had greeted him like any other time and had acted like nothing had happened. So his fear must have been for naught?

Somehow, that didn't sound so convincing.