Notes: I'm back on track. Loook for an update every Monday.
The weeks following Mulder and Jason's hallway fistfight showed a change in the behavior of Acacia's group toward Mulder and Scully. After Mulder punched Jason, who had seemed the boldest member of his social group, the students were less likely to reckon with Mulder, who was deemed the victor of the hallway fight scene.
News of the Mulder-Jason fight spread through Fairfield High, reaching students and teachers alike. While it was not uncommon for two boys to throw punches during an argument, the location and Jason's provoking words brought drama to the gossip mill. It changed the way faculty and students viewed Mulder and Scully. Teachers became suspicious of Mulder, often glaring at him in the hallways and calling him out in class. In effect, he became a few of his teachers' whipping boy, the one they most often blamed for interruptions in class. In three of the four classes that Mulder and Scully shared, the teachers instituted a sudden assigned seating, which Mulder attributed to attempts to separate them. A few of the older, more conservative teachers who had learned of Jason's crude words, frowned upon Mulder and Scully, assuming there was more going on between the young couple than there really was; it was not just the teachers who thought so.
To their fellow students, Mulder and Scully became objects of fascination. Whispers behind their backs and pointed stares filled their walks through the hallways. It was draining to constantly have everyone watching them, mouths watering at the thought of another dramatic outburst. In an effort to relieve some of the tension, Mulder had jokingly remarked that if Fairfield had its own tabloid magazine, they would definitely be this month's cover story.
Because of what had transpired, Acacia was far less likely to approach Scully as long as Mulder accompanied her, and Mulder had keenly picked up on Acacia's trepidation. He hardly ever left Scully's side. Because Mulder also sensed that Scully hated his protectiveness, he tried his hardest never to hover. Scully appreciated his subtlety, but his excuses for his behavior were weak at best.
Mulder and Scully managed to move past the rift between them, but only by ignoring the root of the problem. Their united front brought them closer, allowing them to open up to each other. They became each other's greatest confidante, shying away only from past relationships. They had privately agreed to focus on theirs.
About this time, Mulder revealed that he had been having dreams regarding his sister's disappearance. When Scully inquired if the dreams were recurring, he replied that he had had these dreams for about a year after Sam disappeared, then the nightmare's stopped. They had not returned until about a month ago. Now he had these dreams three or four nights a week. Scully probed into the issue, but Mulder shied away from answering her questions, claiming he could not remember the dreams the next morning. She tried not to press the issue, but she was worried for her boyfriend.
That Friday night, Scully had had a hard time falling asleep. She glanced at the watch sitting on her nightstand for what seemed like the fiftieth time, scowling when the numbers read 3:30. The insomnia hit her hard, and she was not at all pleased to have to deal with it. Scully had the distinct feeling that there was something she was supposed to be doing. Sighing, she threw back her afghan, the icy air of her room stinging her arms. Quickly, she padded into the bathroom, hoping that was all her body needed to do before she caught a few hours of sleep. When she returned to her room, though, she was wide awake. Keeping her lights off, she walked around the perimeter of her room, hoping to find something to occupy her time. She stopped at the window that looked over her backyard. Above the few trees that decorated the yards of her and others' homes, she could just make out the highest peak of Mulder's house. She wanted to call him, make sure he was all right.
As she stood staring out her window, a faint sound seeped its way through the window. Scully thought it was an animal of some sort, probably a wolf. When she heard the sound again, she leaned closer to the window, hoping to make out the animal. As she stood crouched, listening to the cries, she realized that it was not an animal cry. It almost sounded like someone yelling. Her heart jumped. The neighborhood in which she lived was middle class, and though her house was one of the smaller ones, even her block did not have what would be considered trashy neighbors. Theirs was a quiet neighborhood.
She immediately jumped to the conclusion that Mr. Mulder must be on a drunken rampage. After all, even a good neighborhood had its secrets, though these secrets (Mr. Mulder's being one of many) are usually kept behind closed doors. She heard the cry again, this time much louder, as she contemplated all of this. Despite knowing the dangers of what she was doing, she threw on her tennis shoes and grabbed her winter coat out of the downstairs closet before sneaking out into the February night.
Scully followed the sounds through the backyards of the neighbors she had yet to meet. Her suspicions were strengthened as she found the cries leading her in the general direction of the Mulder home. She walked right up to Mulder's backyard, debating whether to go in through the back door or climb through the attic window. Then she heard the scream, coming from Mulder's neighbor's backyard. Ignoring the fact that she was standing in someone else's yard at almost four o'clock in the morning, wearing nothing but her pajamas and a coat, she let curiosity lead her towards the sound.
She did not expect the sight that stood before her. She walked closer to the person wandering through the garden of the unknown neighbor's backyard, stopping only when she realized who was standing before her.