Maya woke up in a cold sweat, shaking fiercely. Even being the fierce amazon warrior Riley refered to her as, she let out a cry, which woke Riley, who was asleep next to her.
Riley woke with a start, wondering what had woken her up. Riley's turned to look at Maya, who was still quietly shaking and crying. Riley audibly reacted, which Maya even more.
Maya yelped and hit her head on the backboard of the bed, making her yelp again.
"Maya! Are you okay?" Riley exclaimed.
Maya looked over at her friend with wild eyes, but relaxed a little once she realized who was talking. "I'm good, Riles," Maya replied quietly.
Riley shook her head. "No, you're not 'fine.' You were crying, I saw you. Please just tell me what's wrong."
Maya looked everywhere but at Riley's eyes, embarrassed to tell her the truth. "It's nothing, I swear," she tried to respond in a sincere voice.
Riley knew about Maya's quirks though. Whenever Maya lied, she would rub the friendship ring Riley gave her. And Luckily for Riley, Maya had forgotten to take it off before she feel asleep.
Riley reached out and gently covered Maya's hand.
Maya looked up, realizing that Riley could see through her lies.
"Maya," Riley started, looking into Maya's eyes, "I know you're lying and it's okay. But you need to know that I'm always going to be there for you, no matter what. And, that I won't make fun of you."
Maya sighed. "Fine. I had a really bad nightmare and I got scared."
Riley smiled her sympathy and softly kissed her on the forehead. "It's okay, Maya, I'm here for you. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened in your dream?"
Maya's face dropped. She didn't want to tell her, but what choice did she have? Riley meant everything to her, and if she can't even do something this simple, she didn't deserve her. She still didn't want to explain, and she ended up crying again and buried her face into Riley's neck.
Riley hugged her close and rubbed her back and shoulders soothingly. She could feel Maya's tears on her neck, but she didn't care. All that mattered in that moment was Maya and her nightmare. She kissed the top of Maya's head protectively and continued to comfort her as much as possible.
Maya's crying soon ceased, but Riley's comforting touch remained. Maya moved out from Riley's neck and looked up at her. "I'm... ready to talk now..."
Riley nodded and turned her full attention to Maya's explaination.
Maya took a deep breath and began. "It was dark. Suddenly, you appeared in front of me; I smiled at you and you smiled back. I reached out to touch you, but my hand went right through you. You frowned at me and whispered, "how could someone like me, ever like someone like you?" then disappeared. Then, Shawn appeared, and the exact same thing happened. I was devastated. Then a picture of you flashed up with words in red, "you're dead to me." Then my vision went red and I couldn't see anything. You appeared in front of me again, but this time, you were red. You had a dark look on your face like you wanted to kill something. You whispered under your breath, "you're next," then everything went dark again. Then I woke up, and here we are."
Riley was caught off guard and had a hard time processing what Maya had just described. But she knew one thing for sure, Maya had every right to be scared. That dream was messed up and cruel. Riley touched her forehead against Maya's and sighed, then began stroking her cheek, giving her the comfort she knew she needed.
Maya leaned into her touch and sighed as well. She was still a little traumatized by her horrible nightmare, but at least she was safe with her best friend.
Riley wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her even closer.
Maya hugged Riley back, putting her complete trust in her. They stayed in a comfortable silence for a while.
Riley suddenly yawned. "I know that you just had a really bad dream, but I'm really tired, Peaches."
Maya smiled slightly. "It's fine. You've already done so much for me, and I should be okay now. Sleep."
Riley smiled back and lightly kissed her forehead. "Well then, goodnight, Maya. Let's hope you have good dreams after this."
"As long as I have you, I'll be fine." Maya then kissed Riley on the temple and smiled again. Once she fell asleep again, she dreamed of Riley. Not of the Riley that hates her, but of the Riley that loved her unconditionally.
