Jonathan and Layla had been in Willowfalls for a week. On the second day of driving they had lost the cops for good. "Do you need a partner?" she asked as they drove away from the hallucinating police officers. "Well a week ago I would have said never, but after that back there..." he sighed and smiled. "I guess so".
Towards the end of the third day of driving they finally arrived in Willowfalls. They settled right into the cozy little town. They found a small two-bedroom house to rent while they figured out a long-term plan.
The insane asylum was quick to hire Dr. Crane, proving his theory about small towns to be true; they were blissfully unaware, and quite uninformed of the duo's reputation. Layla got her G.E.D. the fourth day there. She quickly prepared to begin college studying to be a psychologist. All of this had been accomplished within the first week in town.
Layla had suffered from nightmares every night they had been there. She usually just ignored them and went back to sleep, but the one she had on the seventh night was so real she could not shake it off. She did not really understand why it shook her up so much, but then again dreams never seem as scary when you are awake.
She walked to the kitchen to get some water, not bothering to turn on any lights on the way. As she passed the living room she jumped as she heard a familiar, yet unexpected, voice. "What's wrong?" Jonathan asked from the couch. He had obviously been laying down, because he was in the process of sitting up when he spoke.
"What are you doing up?" she asked, ignoring his question. "I couldn't sleep, I thought I might sleep better in here. What's wrong?" he asked once again, walking up to her. "Nothing, it was just a stupid dream" she replied. "A nightmare?". She nodded. "It was silly, though" she said, trying to make him forget about it. "Well it must have been bad, you're shaking. What happened in the dream?" he asked, guiding her to the couch where they both sat down.
A siren wailed outside and Layla jumped. Jonathan ran to the window and looked out. "It's OK, it passed" he said calmingly. He sat back down beside her. "We can't jump at every siren we hear. I told you we're safe in this town" he assured her. She was still shaking, so he instinctively hugged her. They sat there a moment in a quiet embrace, and she rested her head on his shoulder. She hesitantly decided to tell him her dream.
"In my dream the police figured out where we are. You hid me and they couldn't find me, but you didn't have time to hide. From where I was hiding I saw them knock you to the ground and handcuff you. They took you to jail and I was left here all by myself. I know it sounds stupid, but I didn't know what to do. I felt so helpless, and it was so real". "It's not stupid" he said as she finished. "And dreams never do seem as bad when you're telling them"
The psychologist part of him began to analyze the situation. Judging from Layla's dream, she obviously felt a strong emotional connection to him. It made sense for her to attach herself to him, she had no one else to attach herself to. She had no family now and no friends, just him. Jonathan had no family either, and he never had friends, so really he only had her. Still he continued to deny his feelings for her.
They sat on the couch with their arms around each other, sleepless, but not tired. Yet, after a few minutes, and before either of them realized it they were asleep.
The next morning Jonathan woke up, hearing his loud alarm clock all the way in the living room. He was in a half sitting, half laying down position, and he had Layla in his arms. She was still asleep so he struggled to get up without waking her. After a few minutes he managed to get up, and she was still sound asleep. He got ready for work, and was about to walk out the door when he noticed she was still asleep on the couch. He did not want to leave without letting her know, so he walked over to her. "Bye, Layla" he whispered, and without even thinking, he kissed her on the cheek and left.
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Awweee! How sweet! So, what do you think? Please let me know how you're liking it. Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing :)
