I finished my essay for my literature course a few days early, which means I get tomorrow pretty much off! :D No better way to celebrate than fanfic, am I right?

So this one is more hurt/comforty than the last chapter... just thought I'd get that out there.

Anyway, hope you like it :)

Nightmare

They were flickering again. They were flickering and there was nothing she could do to save them.

"Please," she whispered, reaching for Luke's hand. Heart shattering a little more as her fingers phased right through him. "Please, no…"

"Julie…" Reggie's voice caught on a sob, not getting anything more out than her name. And it was wrong, so wrong. Reggie was never lost for words. He always had something to say.

Alex was standing beside him, arms wrapped protectively around himself, his whole body screaming of the fear and sorrow she knew was mirrored in her own.

"Julie," Luke said, pulling her focus back to him. Back to his eyes, filled with fervent reassurance even as he flickered. Gone. Here. Gone. Here. "Julie, we'll figure this out. It-it'll be okay…"

But it wouldn't be. It never would be.

The boys flickered one last time, before disappearing completely. Leaving her alone in the darkness with that terrible laughter ringing in her ears. That laughter she'd never heard, but still knew who it belonged to.

Caleb.

And with that came the final, awful realisation: the boys were gone. Truly gone.

She had lost them too.

Her knees met heavily with the ground as she slumped down. Legs no longer able to hold her. Hair sticking to her cheeks as the tears fell.

"No, please, no, no… bring them back to me, bring them b-back to me, bring… p-please…"

Something heavy landing on top of her woke her up.

"What the heck, how did we- ow, Reggie, that was my face!"

"Sorry! Buuut you kinda killed my ribs yesterday, so… karma?"

"Okay, so apparently we can teleport in our sleep now. Okay. Okay. No big deal, Alex, not at all, just add it to the list of the bajillion other weird ghost things with no explanation..."

It was only then Julie opened her eyes. The familiar tiles of her bedroom roof came into view, along with the tangled limbs of the three teenage boys currently lying on top of her. Hand shaking, hardly daring to hope, she reached for Luke's shoulder.

It was solid. He was solid.

A shuddering breath escaped her lips and she pulled the hand back, rubbing it across her eyes that were still leaking tears.

A dream. It'd just been a dream.

Luke, Reggie and Alex had by now managed to untangle themselves from her and each other and were watching her with various expressions of worry.

"Julie?" Luke said. "Julie, are you… okay?"

Almost the same words as in the dream. Right before they all flickered one last time. Julie wanted to bury her face in her hands, give herself some time to at least find a little composure, but she didn't dare to.

Because… because what if they disappeared for real?

"Nightmare?" Alex asked quietly, voice laced with the knowing that only came from own experience.

She was going to leave her answer at a simple nod, but seeing how concerned they were for her she managed to add, "You… you were dying."

Reggie sent her a half-smile. "Don't know if you know, but we've already done that part. Can't die twice."

At any other time the comment would've made her laugh, but now, with the nightmare still so fresh in her mind, she couldn't even muster a smile. Instead, she forced herself to continue, "I meant… I meant you were flickering. L-like after the Orpheum."

"Oh," Reggie said after a moment of silence. He shivered. "Yeah, that sucked."

"But it's not happening again." Luke reached out and squeezed her hand fervently. "Feel that? We're here, okay? A-and whatever happens we're not going anywhere."

Julie knew he couldn't promise that, knew things could change at the blink of an eye… but for now, for tonight, the words could be true. Were true.

And so, as she rubbed her face once again, she nodded.

"I still want hugs though," she murmured at the same time Alex asked, "Do you want a hug?"

The four of them shared a little laugh. Then the boys wrapped her in their arms - Luke on the left, Alex on the right and Reggie half on top of her. She pulled them closer, their touch driving away the last remnants of the dream, making her feel lighter than she had been only moments before.

Ironic, considering she was physically weighed down by three people right now.

With a private smile she relaxed, relishing in the feeling of Alex's shoulder against her cheek, Luke's hand gently carding through her hair, Reggie's breath ghosting (ha) against her arm.

The nightmare didn't plague her any more that night.