Disclaimer: only Neria belongs to me. Sinedd and Rocket belong to Alphanim.

Nightmares

Neria was in front of Sinedd's apartment. She knocked. Once, twice… Nobody came to open the door. Fortunately, she had the keys. She was not supposed to have those. She entered the apartment. It was dark. No Sinedd in sight. Neria looked at her watch. 6 PM. Sinedd was certainly training with his new team. She frowned at this idea. Because in this team, there was him. Her rival.

No, not a rival. This word gave him too much credit.

A pastime. Merely a pastime.

As Sinedd was not here yet, she decided to cook a nice dinner for them. He would have the surprise.

9 PM. Rocket collapsed on his bed. At last, this day was over. He was exhausted. He closed his eyes and sunk into a deep sleep.

10 PM: Sinedd was not here yet. Neria had cooked her speciality especially for him. Duck breast with honey and apples. Now it was cold. She was more and more nervous. Where was he? She doubted he was still training. Maybe he was with someone else. Maybe he was with him. Jealousy crept into her heart.

Rocket woke up breathless. He stood up and went to the bathroom. He had made a very strange dream. He was… a girl. A very sexy one, according to the looks that were upon him. But still a girl. He threw some water on his face and looked at his own reflection in the mirror.

"My poor boy, you are officially crazy." He muttered to himself.

11 PM. Neria poured herself another glass of wine. She thought alcohol would help her to relax but she was wrong. She had already thrown her dish away, cursing Sinedd. She was so angry at him. She felt neglected. But behind her anger, there was her worst nightmare. The fear that Sinedd might leave her. Or worse, that he might fall in love with someone else.

With him?

She emptied her glass. She wanted to pour herself another glass but the bottle was empty. Furious, she threw the bottle against the wall. The bottle exploded. Neria sighed and took another bottle in the fridge.

She switched on the stereo system, hoping that some music would calm her nervousness.

Keep believe we're not the same

You have not experienced the pain

To see you kiss some other lips

While I'm drifting under the fist

That life offers, to the dreamers

Maybe I should be

Rocket tried to get to sleep. But he couldn't help but thought back over his dream, again and again. He was in a classy discothèque, the ambiance was somewhat sensual: the music, the lights… He was walking among the crowd, like in slow-motion. And all the eyes were on him. Or rather on her, as in this weird dream, he was a woman. A woman who was confident of her beauty and who walk proudly, like a queen. He feared no one. Not even her, Neria, who was in front of him. She was looking at him with jealousy. Rocket glared at her. Neria admitted her defeat and left, revealing Sinedd, sat at the bar. He was looking at him with a lustful gaze. Rocket moved towards him. They looked at each other for a moment. Then they kissed, a fierce, passionate kiss. The dream ended here.

I should be dancing, dancing, dancing

Until I fall between your lies

Dance and dancing, dancing

And then I fall between your lies

Neria was lying on the couch. She was definitely drunk. And, every now and then, she glanced at the clock. He was still not here.

"Where the fuck are you" she cried. She tightened her grip so much around the glass that it broke, cutting her palm. But she did not feel it, alcohol anesthetizing the pain of her hand. But not the one of her heart.

You're just a ghost

In the future that we've lost

You're just a name

Tattooed on someone else's hand

1 A.M, and Rocket could not sleep. His dream was disturbing him. And his male ego. He did not want to be a girl. He had never wanted to. Rocket shook his head. Of course this dream was not about his gender. He had often wondered if things could have been different, had he been a girl. The midfielder sighed. He doubted it. He would have been one girl among others. Sometimes, when he felt really bad, he wished he were her. Neria. Maybe the closest person to Sinedd, even closer than Artegor.

If only he had not followed him that night. If only…

I'm sure better on my own

Right in this shimmering hole

Neria was walking round and round, swearing to herself that Sinedd would pay for it. She was furious. Her hand was bleeding but she didn't give a damn.

"Who do you think you are, you bastard? Where are you? Having fun with your little boyfriend? While I'm doing all this for you! I… I… I'll make everything for you, but you, you don't care." She shouted to an imaginary Sinedd. "You don't care about anything, you're just a selfish idiot! You…"

She was interrupted by the noise of an opening door.

You're just a ghost and I am real

You're just a stone and I'm the wind

But it still burns, but it still kills

The future comes on sleeping pills

Sinedd was exhausted. He had stayed at the training room to improve his shoots. He set high standards for himself. Talent was not everything.

He entered the apartment and stopped. Neria was standing here. Her hand was bleeding and she looked daggers at him. His kitchen and living room were a mess.

"What the… What happened?" he asked.

"Here you are!" Neria exclaimed. "Finally, you got tired of your toy and you decided to come back!" She walked straight towards him and slapped him. "You bastard, you stupid, fucking bastard!" she started hitting his chest with her fist. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you…". Her anger exploded.

Sinedd did not understand what was happening. She was clearly drunk and looked hysterical. Her behavior was very unusual. She was always composed and she hid her emotions, especially in public. Even if they were just the two of us, she kept her composure, except when they had sex.

"I hate you, I hate you…" Neria cried before bursting into tears. Anger was replaced by a deep despair. She had stopped hitting and was now sobbing against his chest. She felt ridiculous. Acting like some poor girl in front of the man she loved, she had sunk really low. She was sure that Sinedd was laughing inside. He would not want her after that. It was over.

But, much to her surprise, he gently took her in his arms bride-style and put her down on the couch. He went to the bathroom and came back seconds after with antiseptic and bandage. He took her hurt hand with the greatest care and started nursing it.

Neria was looking at him intently. She was like hypnotized by his gestures. He was so gentle. Tears began to drop again.

I should dancing, dancing, dancing

Dance and fall between your lies

Dance and dancing, dancing

Till I fall between your lies

Sinedd was sat on the couch, Neria asleep in his arms. He had never seen her like that before. It hurt him, somehow, seeing her like that. He could not believe that all those tears were for him. He thought she was more detached than that. That she was with him just for fun. But obviously, there was more than met the eyes. He had been so blind.

Usually, he got rid of people when they started expressing deep feelings for him. It was not cruelty. It was just that those feelings scared him. Why? Why did they have feelings for him? For him! They were in love with him. But how? He was selfish (at least in appearance), arrogant, aggressive, violent… He was far from the perfect boyfriend. Those people really had weird tastes.

Dirt's in my eyes

But I won't cry

I killed the pain

That lived inside

Please walk away my devil's dove

It's been a while

I need to love

Sinedd sighed and looked at Neria. She had stopped crying but her jaws were black because of her mascara. She looked peaceful, sleeping against his chest. He stood up, still holding her. He went to his bedroom and put her down on the bed, carefully not to wake her up.

Hopefully, she would not remember that night. But he would. He planted a soft kiss on her lips then went to the kitchen, to erase the evidence of her fury and despair.

It's not the day that falls

"I'm sorry…"

It's the night that rises.

Voilà, chapter 9.

The song is called "Rise" sang by a French group called Aaron. You can read it while listening to the song (available on YouTube).

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