Two hearts, one love
Chapter 30: When nightmares come a-knocking
Crystal/Akina's POV
"Crystal" Mariah yelped joyfully and threw herself into my arms.
"Hey Mariah, I need to breath" I gasped.
"Oh right, sorry" she said releasing her hold on me. "Where were you? We were all so worried. We thought that you had gotten trapped in the avalanche"
"Sorry if I caused you guys to worry. I went skiing" I answered.
"You went by yourself?" Tala said disapprovingly.
"Of course not. She went with me" a voice piped up and we all turned to face Zack.
"Come on guys, I'm not that stupid. Even though I'm an experienced skier, I know better than to go skiing by myself" I said.
"How come you weren't at breakfast then?" Rei questioned.
"Oh, Zack and I kinda forgot about it. By the time we came back down it was already over" I explained.
"So what happened after Kai went back to sleep earlier?" Tala asked.
"Well I couldn't go back to sleep so I decided to go for a walk and happened to bump into Zack here. We both wanted to go skiing so we did" I said.
"Well next time tell us where you're going before you leave" Rei instructed.
"Yes dad" I teased in response.
Later that night...
I trailed my fingers along the wall, feeling my way through the pitch black corridor. There must be a way out I thought. Suddenly, I saw a pinprick of light at the end. I quickened my pace and as I drew nearer, I could see a figure illuminated by the light, shadows dancing around on the floor.
The figure seemed strangely familiar and as I approached it dawned on me.
Mum.
"Mum!" I called out now breaking into a sprint.
"Akina?" she returned uncertainly.
"Mum" I said, reaching my arm out towards her. Suddenly, a black ominous shadow leered out of the darkness, swallowing her up and she dissolved before my eyes.
"Mum?" I whispered, falling down onto my knees.
Kai's POV
"Mum, please don't leave me" Crystal said softly turning in her sleep.
Suddenly, her body jerked upright into a sitting position. She remained this way for a few minutes staring blankly at the wall.
Huh? I thought in confusion as my mind processed this fact.
"Uhh Crystal?" I asked.
No response.
"Crystal?" I tried again. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" was her reply as she finally acknowledged me.
"I asked if you were okay" I responded.
"Yeah, I'm okay" she said absently looking down at her hands.
"How come you're not sleeping?" I questioned her.
"Can't sleep" she answered tonelessly.
I frowned in the darkness. There was something weird about Crystal. She was never this...lifeless?
"Why not?" I asked figuring it had something to do with what I had just witnessed.
"Nightmares" she mumbled looking out the window avoiding my eyes.
"Nightmares? About what?" I probed her.
"My mum" she replied softly, not meeting my glance once.
"Oh" I said not knowing what to say to her.
"Err, do you plan on going back to sleep anytime soon?" I inquired.
"Probably not. Don't think I'll be able to sleep any more tonight" she replied in a toneless voice. "Usually can't sleep after nightmares. Don't feel safe enough to."
Sighing with reluctance I got put of my bed and made my way over to hers.
"Crystal, you should sleep" I insisted sitting down next to her.
"Told you, can't" she mumbled.
"Why not?" I asked her.
"I just can't okay?" she snapped.
After several minutes filled with an awkward silence, I rolled my eyes and gently picked her up off from her bed and laid her down on mine.
"There" I said and was about to go over to her bed when she tugged at my arm.
"Kai" she said looking up at me before looking back down. "Stay with me for just a little while okay?"
I paused for a moment to think before grudgingly sitting down next to her.
"Thanks" she said softly and laid back down while I remained up.
"Aren't you gonna lie down too?" she enquired after a while. "Or are you just going to sit like that for the whole night?"
"Why would it bother you if sit like this for the entire night?" I shot back.
"I was just asking. You don't have to be so defensive all the time Kai-kun" she said blinking in surprise.
"I am not defensive" I protested.
"Point proven" she said lightly. "Anyway, if you're not mature enough to sleep in the same bed as me then go and sleep in my bed or I can go back to my bed. Besides, it's not like I bite or anything"
"I am mature. It's just that.." I trailed off trying to find the right words.
"It's just that you what?" she teased.
"You're the immature one here, not me" I finally said in response.
"Whatever" she said and poked her tongue out at me.
Rolling my eyes at her I laid down carefully.
"I'm not fragile you know" she commented.
"You don't need to tell me that" I replied seriously regretting my decisions to lie down.
"You're regretting lying down right?" she speculated.
Damn, how the hell did she do that?
"So what if I am?" I retorted sitting back up.
"Well if you are then I'll return to my own bed." She said with a shrug and sat up as well.
"Don't be ridiculous. You'll probably end up falling out of your bed again" I said and took a hold of her wrist.
"So what if I do? Why would you care?" she said as she attempted to get out of my grip.
"Just stay in my bed okay?" I said releasing my hold on her.
"What if I don't want to" she said lightly.
"Don't be such a brat Crystal" I said rolling my eyes.
"Well at least I'm a cute brat" she added before lying back down. "Is it just me or is it cold in here?"
"I think it's just you" I replied glancing over at her shivering figure. "How can you be cold, the heater's on"
"I dunno" she answered.
"Here" I said and covered her with the blanket.
"Still cold Kai-kun" she complained wriggling around as I lay down again.
"Well maybe if you stopped moving around so much you wouldn't be so cold" I grumbled pulling a bit of the blanket over myself.
There was a pause as she lay still for a few minutes.
"Nope, still cold" she confirmed.
Even though I was lying on the other side of the bed I could still feel her shivering.
"Well what do you want me to do about it?" I said irritably, turning to face the other way.
I felt something soft brush against my leg and turned to see Crystal curling up against me.
"What are you doing?" I snapped realizing that there was no room for me to move unless I wanted to fall onto the floor.
"You're warm, I'm cold" she said as if it could be any more obvious.
"Why does this seem so familiar?" I muttered thinking back to not so long ago.
Flashback
"Cold again?" I asked raising an eyebrow.
"Of course not" Akina said indignantly. I stared at her. "Well maybe just a little" she finally admitted. She shifted over so that she was now next to me, then she dove under the covers.
"What are you doing?" I said scowling.
"I'm cold. You are warm. Your bed is warm. You do the math" she said rolling my eyes at me.
"You can't come in" I protested. "I'm sleeping here"
"No. You were sleeping here. You are now awake" she corrected and snuggled closer to me.
"You are such a brat you know" I grumbled.
End of Flashback
Maybe I should just go and sleep in her bed for the night I mused. Nah, can't be stuffed I decided yawning.
The sunlight streamed through the curtains, blinding me and I wondered why I hadn't closed them the night before. I rolled over to check the time but instead came face to face with Crystal.
What the hell? Why was she in my bed? Memories of last night flashed in my head and I moaned. Stupid girl.
"Kai-kun?" she murmured sleepily and I scowled.
"Wake up" I told her.
"But I don't want to" she mumbled and nestled her head into my chest.
"Well I do" I said and made a move to sit up but was immediately stopped when Crystal promptly wrapped her arms around me. "Crystal, remove your hands from me now before I am forced to remove them myself"
"Kai, are you always this grumpy in this morning?" she said her eyelids finally flickering open as she turned to look up at me.
"No it's just you" I said in reply. "Now are you going to allow me out of this bed or not?"
"Okay, okay" she said releasing me from her light hold.
I got up and went to rummage through my bag for a clean shirt.
"Kai?" Crystal asked.
"Mmm?" I answered pulling out a white shirt.
"Thanks" she said.
"For what?" I asked turning around to face her.
"For last night" she said softly turning to gaze intently at the blanket as though it was the most interesting thing in the world as I buttoned up my shirt.
"It's okay" I assured her wondering why the hell I had done what I had done last night.
Probably because you felt obliged to a voice in my head piped up. After all, it could've easily been Crystal who was trapped in the avalanche. Guilt from not going with her or from not trying hard enough to convince her to not go. Yeah, that was it.
"Crystal, you better get ready" Rei said after knocking on the door and entering.
"Uhh Crystal? Isn't that Kai's bed?" Mariah added after sticking her head through the door to peer around the room.
"Huh? Oh yeah" Crystal responded climbing out of it.
"Yeah, so why are you in there?" Rei asked confused.
"Oh, I wanted the double so we traded" Crystal answered lightly.
"Okay then" Mariah said. "Well, have you both finished packing yet? We're leaving two hours after breakfast"
"Yeah just about" I said.
"Are you guys ready yet?" Crystal asked them.
"Nearly. Just got a tiny little bit of packing left which I'll do after breakfast" Mariah replied.
"More like practically all of your packing is left" Rei said as they left the room. There was a smack and then an 'oww' sounded after the door closed.
"Ready to go down?" I asked Crystal after several minutes.
"Yeah, okay" she said and slipped her hand into mine. "I have a craving for waffles"
Okay, so that's another nice long chapter for you. Hope you liked it. If you found it boring, I've got something else up my sleeve...and something will eventually happen between Kai and Crystal/Akina for those who are wondering..I won't tell you when though..
Chapter 30: When nightmares come a-knocking
Crystal/Akina's POV
"Crystal" Mariah yelped joyfully and threw herself into my arms.
"Hey Mariah, I need to breath" I gasped.
"Oh right, sorry" she said releasing her hold on me. "Where were you? We were all so worried. We thought that you had gotten trapped in the avalanche"
"Sorry if I caused you guys to worry. I went skiing" I answered.
"You went by yourself?" Tala said disapprovingly.
"Of course not. She went with me" a voice piped up and we all turned to face Zack.
"Come on guys, I'm not that stupid. Even though I'm an experienced skier, I know better than to go skiing by myself" I said.
"How come you weren't at breakfast then?" Rei questioned.
"Oh, Zack and I kinda forgot about it. By the time we came back down it was already over" I explained.
"So what happened after Kai went back to sleep earlier?" Tala asked.
"Well I couldn't go back to sleep so I decided to go for a walk and happened to bump into Zack here. We both wanted to go skiing so we did" I said.
"Well next time tell us where you're going before you leave" Rei instructed.
"Yes dad" I teased in response.
Later that night...
I trailed my fingers along the wall, feeling my way through the pitch black corridor. There must be a way out I thought. Suddenly, I saw a pinprick of light at the end. I quickened my pace and as I drew nearer, I could see a figure illuminated by the light, shadows dancing around on the floor.
The figure seemed strangely familiar and as I approached it dawned on me.
Mum.
"Mum!" I called out now breaking into a sprint.
"Akina?" she returned uncertainly.
"Mum" I said, reaching my arm out towards her. Suddenly, a black ominous shadow leered out of the darkness, swallowing her up and she dissolved before my eyes.
"Mum?" I whispered, falling down onto my knees.
Kai's POV
"Mum, please don't leave me" Crystal said softly turning in her sleep.
Suddenly, her body jerked upright into a sitting position. She remained this way for a few minutes staring blankly at the wall.
Huh? I thought in confusion as my mind processed this fact.
"Uhh Crystal?" I asked.
No response.
"Crystal?" I tried again. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" was her reply as she finally acknowledged me.
"I asked if you were okay" I responded.
"Yeah, I'm okay" she said absently looking down at her hands.
"How come you're not sleeping?" I questioned her.
"Can't sleep" she answered tonelessly.
I frowned in the darkness. There was something weird about Crystal. She was never this...lifeless?
"Why not?" I asked figuring it had something to do with what I had just witnessed.
"Nightmares" she mumbled looking out the window avoiding my eyes.
"Nightmares? About what?" I probed her.
"My mum" she replied softly, not meeting my glance once.
"Oh" I said not knowing what to say to her.
"Err, do you plan on going back to sleep anytime soon?" I inquired.
"Probably not. Don't think I'll be able to sleep any more tonight" she replied in a toneless voice. "Usually can't sleep after nightmares. Don't feel safe enough to."
Sighing with reluctance I got put of my bed and made my way over to hers.
"Crystal, you should sleep" I insisted sitting down next to her.
"Told you, can't" she mumbled.
"Why not?" I asked her.
"I just can't okay?" she snapped.
After several minutes filled with an awkward silence, I rolled my eyes and gently picked her up off from her bed and laid her down on mine.
"There" I said and was about to go over to her bed when she tugged at my arm.
"Kai" she said looking up at me before looking back down. "Stay with me for just a little while okay?"
I paused for a moment to think before grudgingly sitting down next to her.
"Thanks" she said softly and laid back down while I remained up.
"Aren't you gonna lie down too?" she enquired after a while. "Or are you just going to sit like that for the whole night?"
"Why would it bother you if sit like this for the entire night?" I shot back.
"I was just asking. You don't have to be so defensive all the time Kai-kun" she said blinking in surprise.
"I am not defensive" I protested.
"Point proven" she said lightly. "Anyway, if you're not mature enough to sleep in the same bed as me then go and sleep in my bed or I can go back to my bed. Besides, it's not like I bite or anything"
"I am mature. It's just that.." I trailed off trying to find the right words.
"It's just that you what?" she teased.
"You're the immature one here, not me" I finally said in response.
"Whatever" she said and poked her tongue out at me.
Rolling my eyes at her I laid down carefully.
"I'm not fragile you know" she commented.
"You don't need to tell me that" I replied seriously regretting my decisions to lie down.
"You're regretting lying down right?" she speculated.
Damn, how the hell did she do that?
"So what if I am?" I retorted sitting back up.
"Well if you are then I'll return to my own bed." She said with a shrug and sat up as well.
"Don't be ridiculous. You'll probably end up falling out of your bed again" I said and took a hold of her wrist.
"So what if I do? Why would you care?" she said as she attempted to get out of my grip.
"Just stay in my bed okay?" I said releasing my hold on her.
"What if I don't want to" she said lightly.
"Don't be such a brat Crystal" I said rolling my eyes.
"Well at least I'm a cute brat" she added before lying back down. "Is it just me or is it cold in here?"
"I think it's just you" I replied glancing over at her shivering figure. "How can you be cold, the heater's on"
"I dunno" she answered.
"Here" I said and covered her with the blanket.
"Still cold Kai-kun" she complained wriggling around as I lay down again.
"Well maybe if you stopped moving around so much you wouldn't be so cold" I grumbled pulling a bit of the blanket over myself.
There was a pause as she lay still for a few minutes.
"Nope, still cold" she confirmed.
Even though I was lying on the other side of the bed I could still feel her shivering.
"Well what do you want me to do about it?" I said irritably, turning to face the other way.
I felt something soft brush against my leg and turned to see Crystal curling up against me.
"What are you doing?" I snapped realizing that there was no room for me to move unless I wanted to fall onto the floor.
"You're warm, I'm cold" she said as if it could be any more obvious.
"Why does this seem so familiar?" I muttered thinking back to not so long ago.
Flashback
"Cold again?" I asked raising an eyebrow.
"Of course not" Akina said indignantly. I stared at her. "Well maybe just a little" she finally admitted. She shifted over so that she was now next to me, then she dove under the covers.
"What are you doing?" I said scowling.
"I'm cold. You are warm. Your bed is warm. You do the math" she said rolling my eyes at me.
"You can't come in" I protested. "I'm sleeping here"
"No. You were sleeping here. You are now awake" she corrected and snuggled closer to me.
"You are such a brat you know" I grumbled.
End of Flashback
Maybe I should just go and sleep in her bed for the night I mused. Nah, can't be stuffed I decided yawning.
The sunlight streamed through the curtains, blinding me and I wondered why I hadn't closed them the night before. I rolled over to check the time but instead came face to face with Crystal.
What the hell? Why was she in my bed? Memories of last night flashed in my head and I moaned. Stupid girl.
"Kai-kun?" she murmured sleepily and I scowled.
"Wake up" I told her.
"But I don't want to" she mumbled and nestled her head into my chest.
"Well I do" I said and made a move to sit up but was immediately stopped when Crystal promptly wrapped her arms around me. "Crystal, remove your hands from me now before I am forced to remove them myself"
"Kai, are you always this grumpy in this morning?" she said her eyelids finally flickering open as she turned to look up at me.
"No it's just you" I said in reply. "Now are you going to allow me out of this bed or not?"
"Okay, okay" she said releasing me from her light hold.
I got up and went to rummage through my bag for a clean shirt.
"Kai?" Crystal asked.
"Mmm?" I answered pulling out a white shirt.
"Thanks" she said.
"For what?" I asked turning around to face her.
"For last night" she said softly turning to gaze intently at the blanket as though it was the most interesting thing in the world as I buttoned up my shirt.
"It's okay" I assured her wondering why the hell I had done what I had done last night.
Probably because you felt obliged to a voice in my head piped up. After all, it could've easily been Crystal who was trapped in the avalanche. Guilt from not going with her or from not trying hard enough to convince her to not go. Yeah, that was it.
"Crystal, you better get ready" Rei said after knocking on the door and entering.
"Uhh Crystal? Isn't that Kai's bed?" Mariah added after sticking her head through the door to peer around the room.
"Huh? Oh yeah" Crystal responded climbing out of it.
"Yeah, so why are you in there?" Rei asked confused.
"Oh, I wanted the double so we traded" Crystal answered lightly.
"Okay then" Mariah said. "Well, have you both finished packing yet? We're leaving two hours after breakfast"
"Yeah just about" I said.
"Are you guys ready yet?" Crystal asked them.
"Nearly. Just got a tiny little bit of packing left which I'll do after breakfast" Mariah replied.
"More like practically all of your packing is left" Rei said as they left the room. There was a smack and then an 'oww' sounded after the door closed.
"Ready to go down?" I asked Crystal after several minutes.
"Yeah, okay" she said and slipped her hand into mine. "I have a craving for waffles"
Okay, so that's another nice long chapter for you. Hope you liked it. If you found it boring, I've got something else up my sleeve...and something will eventually happen between Kai and Crystal/Akina for those who are wondering..I won't tell you when though..