@-----

Laying on his sleeping bag, James began to think some more. Was there anything that he
had done to do this to her? He scrolled through a list in his mind. The only thing that he
could think of was his lack of thinking in advance... Could all of those misfortunes really be
the cause? He decided to wait until later to determine the cause; all he wanted to do now was
sleep.

All of a sudden he heard a faint sound floating in the quiet night air. He tuned in his
senses just enough to find out where it was coming from: the still figure beside him.

"Jessie?"

"Yes?"

"Is that you humming?"

"Mmm hmm."

"It's a very pretty song... What is it?"

She rolled over on to her side, now facing him. James, although not very close, could
feel her warm breath on his cheek. He closed his eyes, as to take in every word. "It's called
'Dreaming.' It's by Selena."

"I don't know I've heard of it."

She cleared her throat. Her clear voice rose no higher than a loud whisper as she sang
a few lines.

'And I am dreaming of you tonight
Until tomorrow when I'll be holding you tight.
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be
Then here in my bed, thinking about you and me.'

He opened his eyes and faced her. A lump rose in his throat as he stared into her eyes.
"Are you dreaming about someone, Jessie?"

She blushed furiously. "It's not your concern."

"So you *are* thinking about someone."

"So what if I am?"

"Who?"

He had no time to revoke his question before he saw tears come to her eyes.

"No one," she whispered. "I have no one to dream about."

"Why do you say that?"

She averted her glance outside the window into the darkness. "I used to have someone to
dream about. He left me. I just wasn't good enough for him."

"That's not true."

"I know it's true. He said it himself."

She slowly got up out of her sleeping bag. Taking her blanket, she walked over to the
couch and sat down, sinking into the worn cushions.

"Oh, Jessie..." The monster was finally surfacing. He knew he could make it better for
her, and he was going to succeed this time. "May I come sit with you?"

"I don't care."

He dragged his blanket along beside him as he moved over to the couch. He sat down right
beside her and wrapped the blanket around both of them. "You can tell me, Jessie. I promise,
it'll only be between you and me."

"I don't think..."

"Talking will help, Jess."

"Do you promise you won't say a word?"

"I promise with all my heart."

"That's what the last guy said," she remarked bitterly.

"You know what I mean, Jessie."

She turned away. "I'm not ready yet..."

"That's OK. Maybe later then..." He smiled, but inside he was torn apart. Did she have
no trust in him? "You should get to sleep, and you'll be OK in the morning."

Impulsively he wrapped his arms around her. 'She wants to be held now...'

"Oh, James..."

She sunk deep into his warm chest. A serene silence filled the room as she slowly fell
asleep from his touch. He looked at her eyes shut in peaceful slumber, and knew that she
wouldn't be ashamed to put all of her trust in him, even if it took a little time for her to do
so. Looking out the window at the rain, he tightened his hold on her.

"Thinking about you and me..."

@-----

It did indeed storm the next day. A flood of rainwater barreled down from the sky from
dawn until dusk, and then on into the night. Both members didn't do much at all the whole time
they were pent up in the small cabin. Jessie was content on looking at her numberous
magazines; James had his Gameboy to keep him occupied throughout. James sensed there was
something wrong the moment he saw her eyelids lift that morning. 'She's probably nervous about
what happened last night between us. We've never been as close before...'

He stared at her, her somewhat pale face still buried into the pages of her latest copy.

"You seem awfully quiet today, Jessie."

"What's wrong with that?"

"I don't know..." He clicked the off button on his game. "You usually seem more vibrant
on days that we have off."

"I've had a long week, James. I'm tired."

"Even after..." He stopped.

The pages of the magazine crinkled in between her fingers. The bright red lettering
scrawled across the cover was no match to her crimson cheeks. She paused for a moment, and then,
with a large sigh, pretended to have deep interest in her readings.

James looked across the room at the neon clock that set atop the one small table they
had. "Jessie, it's getting pretty late. We should go to bed soon."

She didn't look up. "When I'm done with this article, K?"

"Fine." James threw his game into his knapsack and walked into the bathroom to change.
He stared into the cracked old mirror that hung over their small sink. 'How many tears has she
cried looking into this?...'

Peeling his shirt off, he sat on the edge of the bathtub. 'I mean, I never would have
though that my Jess would need help this badly... I will help her, no matter what. I'll make
the pain go away. I'll be the strong one for once.'

He finished changing and stepped outside, once again tossing his things on his bag.
"Jessie? Where'd you go?"

A hand popped up from behind the couch. "I'm here, James."

"What are you doing there?"

"I'm just laying down for now." Her voice seemed distant, on a far away breeze.

"Well, just don't fall asleep there. You'll ruin your clothes."

"OK."

He rolled out both of their sleeping bags, side by side, onto the floor. Flopping down
onto his, he looked up at the ceiling. "Anything on your mind?"

"More than you could imagine."

The old couch creaked as she slowly got up. She hurridly grabbed her pajamas and walked
into the bathroom.

He mentally begged her to come back to him, to his reassurance and his comfort and his
touch, but he knew deep down that that wouldn't work right now. He sat patiently on his
sleeping bag and fixed his eyes onto the door.

A turn of the doorknob, a creaking door opening, then a blur of light blue fabric passing
before him. Jessie dropped her clothes on her knapsack, then dropped her head on her pillow in
weariness.

James gulped and drew in a sharp breath. "What's the everything that's on your mind,
Jess?"

She glared into his pupils. "You have... to promise."

'She finally...'

"If you don't promise..."

'She really...'

"I swear I'll kill you if you don't promise me. Promise me you'll never tell."

He leaned over and whispered into her ear. "You trust me, Jessie?"

"Just promise me."

"I do promise. Thank you."

She sat up and moved over against the back of the couch. "Come over here, James. Sit
next to me."

He obeyed.

"What do you want to know about me?"

"I just want to know what's wrong, Jessie. What's making your heart hurt? And what can
I do to help you?"

"You need to listen."

"I'll listen for as long as it takes, Jess."

She found his hand at his side and took it in her own. She shut her eyes and, no louder
than the beating of her broken heart, started her tale.

"His name? Anthony."