Hey y'all, it's Ender! I hope you're having a great day and I hope to make it even better with this new one-shot! DiamondOasis37 and I agreed that this one-shot must happen (And thanks to her help it did!) after seeing an amazing picture from Insomnia 54 of Wag and Tom! So enjoy, and remember the important NOTE: I do NOT own Mianite, any Youtubers mentioned, or any other copyrighted product.

WARNING: When taking (reading) this one-shot, readers may suffer from a cuteness overload, heartbreak and tears, and gut-wrenching feels. Please see the review section and tell your author immediately if you notice any of these symptoms occurring.

Insomniac's Nightmare

I jerked up from my sleep, drenched in a cold sweat. My breathing was fast and my hands were clammy and shaking. I took a deep breath, clenching my fists and drawing my knees up to my chest as I tried to calm down.

It was the bloody nightmare again. It was so horrible and had been haunting me a week before the gaming event. It may have been my frantic nerves and the stress of being around so many people, but even though my insomnia was forcing my sleep schedule out of whack again, the dream just got more vivid every night.

Blood and screaming and darkness, that's all the nightmare was. But it was the same thing. Every night. Most people with insomnia don't dream often and certainly not every night for a straight week. I know I never dreamed much before this and when I did I could barely remember it after I woke up. This nightmare was always fresh and vivid, haunting me throughout the day too, whenever I was alone.

"James? Are you okay?" Kelsey's concerned question reach my ears and I turned to look at her, lying next to me in the bed, her wavy red hair strewn out across the pillow. I know she's been worrying about me - I've been unusually restless and moody these past few days - and she knows it isn't just because I'm nervous about the crowds.

"It's - it's nothing," I muttered, avoiding her piercing blue gaze. It was not nothing and it was certainly not okay. But how could I explain my nightmare when I didn't know why I've been having it myself?

"James, you know you can talk to me," Kelsey murmured, sitting up and wrapping her arm around my shoulders. She leaned against me and I closed my eyes, resting my head on her hair. "You never used to hide anything from me before. What happened to change that?"

"Nothing happened," I whispered, trembling as I tried to not cry. I hated to admit it, but I was scared of the unknown. Not knowing what this nightmare was about terrified me. "I just don't want to talk about it."

"Not talking about things is a sure-fire way to make them worse," Kelsey told me, repeating the go-to phrase she said to me whenever I was melancholy and didn't want to talk. She was right about that - heck, she was right about most things - but I just didn't feel as though this was something I could confess. Plus, there was hidden feeling deep in my heart that I knew I would have to admit to sooner or later. It had been festering there for months and I had yet to let it take over.

I didn't want it to be true. I wanted to hang on to the frail reality surrounding me right now. I wanted to cling to it for dear life and never let go, no matter how many tears I shed when I was alone at night and no matter how many times I wished that I could let go.

Better to hang on than to fall.

I would be rejected if they knew. I would lose everything. My friends, my fans, my girlfriend...

My sanity.

"I'm sorry, Kelsey," I swallowed and got out of bed, rubbing my arm. "I can't. I can't tell you. It's nothing you've done or anything anyone else did. It's just... it's just too hard to talk about."

"Nothing's too hard," Kelsey stood up and walked around the bed so that she was facing me. "You just have to not give up."

"You think it's so easy?" I sighed, bending down to get my suitcase out from under the bed. My clothes were still all neatly packed up - I didn't see the point of unpacking them just so the hotel room could look untidy and messy. I grabbed a plain green T-shirt and a pair of jeans, tossing them onto the bed while I closed the lid of the suitcase. "I'm trying my best to understand the mess inside my mind and I'd rather sort it out first before telling anyone about it."

"Well start out by figuring out why it's in a mess," Kelsey said determinedly, going over to the small hotel closet. She, unlike me, preferred to unpack her belongings at the hotel. Sometimes I think she had it that way just to irritate me. "What could be so chaotic in your life to make you feel this way? Insomnia of course, both kinds, but that's not the main reason. What else?"

I ignored Kelsey as I got dressed, unwilling to get into her scheme. No matter how much I told myself I loved her, I couldn't tell her about this.

"That's all it is," I lied. "Insomnia." The bitter taste of the lie filled my mouth and I swallowed again, my throat feeling dry. I needed some water or something. Maybe we could get breakfast at the hotel and meet up with the other guys from Mianite there. I grabbed my hairbrush from a side pocket on my suitcase and quickly groomed down my mess of bedhead hair, making it look at least sort of presentable.

"Interesting," Kelsey murmured, but I could tell she wasn't convinced. I had been told by many people before that I was an awful liar. It wasn't helped by the fact that Kelsey knew me so well. She knew when I was being honest and when I was hiding something.

In fact, the only thing she didn't know was the only thing that could break us apart.

"Let's go down to get something to eat," I suggested, ending the discussion.

"Can you let me brush my hair first?" Kelsey huffed, walking into the bathroom. "It looks like a rat's nest and besides, I don't have hair so gloriously shiny that it doesn't matter what it looks like, unlike some people."

I chuckled and tucked my hairbrush back into my suitcase's pocket. "You're so salty about my beautiful hair aren't you?" I teased, watching as she poked her head out of the bathroom to glare at me. She threw her comb at me and it hit my shoulder, not hurting me at all. I grabbed it and threw it back at her, but she dodged back into the bathroom, slamming the door, and the comb flew into the closed door, falling to the carpeted floor.

"My hair is too majestic for you to handle!" I yelled at her, smiling when I heard her laughter behind the white-painted door. It was times like this where I could forget my troubles and just have fun.

Oh, how I wished it could last.

The lights.

The sounds.

The crowd.

Out of all the things overwhelming my senses at Insomnia, the crowd was the worst. Not saying that the people in it were bad, I had quite a few stop to talk to me and take pictures, but just the crowded atmosphere in general was really making me jittery. I had butterflies in my stomach and even though I wasn't going to be up on the main stage, I was still nervous.

What if I made a fool of myself? What if I accidentally bumped into a really expensive piece of gaming equipment and it fell and broke? What if I hurt myself in front of everybody? What if, what if, what if.

What if I just told them?

What if I stopped lying and told them the deepest secret in my heart?

What if they hated me?

I couldn't take it if they hated me. I really couldn't. I wasn't strong enough.

I breathed out shakily and stared straight ahead, looking at people swarming around me, all chattering excitedly about things to do here. I felt like I was alone, even in this crowd. Kelsey had disappeared, gone to look at more artsy style games and I hadn't spotted anyone else from Mianite again because we had split up after breakfast. I spotted a few people with Mianite-related T-shirts, but no one approached me. They probably wanted to get to the main stage and see whoever was up there next.

I swallowed and turned around with the intent of finding a semi-quiet place to relax and calm down. I had no clue where I was going - after all, this was just the second day of the event. It's not like I've memorised this place yet.

"Hey! Wag! C'mere for a second!" I jump slightly, startled when I heard someone shouting my Minecraft name. I turned around and saw Tom running towards me, waving his arms around like a lunatic. I laughed as my fellow Dianitee skidded to a halt in front of me, eyes shining and a grin playing on his face.

"Dude, come on! We're going to be doing a livestream together!" Tom grinned, grabbing my arm. I blinked, surprised at his enthusiasm. "Come on now, you're going to be late! You can't disappoint the crowd!"

"Wait - am I going to be up on stage?" Tom nodded and a felt fear pool in the pit of my stomach. "No, Tom I can't do that! I - I'm not prepared for this. I can't go up on stage!"

"Sure you can!" Tom said cheerfully. "It'll be fine! Dec and Champwan will be up there too."

"I don't want to though," I protested, trying to talk Tom out of it. "I'm too nervous."

"Ah, what's there to be nervous about?" Tom winked. "It's only a couple hundred people... and a couple thousand more because of the livestream. Remember, you're a part of Tiem Reester now!"

"Tom..." I tried to protest but my friend wasn't having any of it.

"Listen, you'll be fine. We'll all be there with you," Tom sounded much gentler now as though he was picking up on the fact that I was legitimately terrified of going up on stage. I wasn't used to being thrown into the spotlight. I didn't want to face the hundreds of people in the live audience. And what about those that would be watching the stream? I trembled and realised my hands were sweaty.

"Waglington? James? Are you feeling okay?" Tom sounded concerned now and I swallowed, staring at the ground as I shook my head. I couldn't do this. Not only were there the crowds to worry about... but I could be edging dangerously close to my secret.

"Listen, James, it's okay. If you really can't do it then we won't force you to," Tom soothed, wrapping me up in a hug. I tensed, not daring to let my emotions show through. "We're not tyrants. We can just tell the guys that you didn't feel like you could go up in front of everyone. They'll understand."

"No," I started, then hesitated, choosing my next words very carefully. "I mean, no, I think I can go up. I just - I just need to - to," I cursed myself silently as my english failed me and I ended my explanation with a terrified-sounding stutter. Tom stared at me sympathetically and I found myself hating his pity. I shouldn't be like this. I should be stronger.

"I just need a moment to relax first," I pulled myself together and finally finished the sentence. "It's extremely overwhelming - there's so many people and it's so loud and it's just -" I sighed. This wasn't my first gaming event, but it was my first time where people actually knew who I was and were scouring the crowds for hours looking for me, just so they could meet me. It was scary, when I thought about it. I had never dreamed of fame. I just made videos to have fun and somewhere along the lines, I got popular.

"I understand," Tom smiled. "At least come backstage. It's a little calmer back there and you can wait until you're ready to come out and meet the crowd."

"Thank you," I whispered, but Tom had already disappeared back into the crowd, leaving me alone with the words of my secret hanging on my lips.

"Dec, come on up!" Tom called from where he was sitting on the couch up on the main stage. Dec winked at me and walked out of the backstage area, limping slightly from his knee surgery a few weeks ago. I was all tensed up, sitting next to Ryley and staring at one of the microphones scattered throughout the room. If I just kept my eyes on a fixed point then I could drown out the noises of the crowds that were so anxiously peering at the stage.

"Let's get a wizard up in here!"

Tom's words sent a chill don't my spine and I jumped, flying to my feet. I knew that Tom and Dec would be taking up most of the couch at this point so I grabbed a plastic chair and brought it with me as I walked onstage.

"He's brought something with him!"

"It's a chair!"

"Waglington brought... a chair?" Tom asked me as I set it down next to the couch, quickly taking a seat. I was aware of everyone watching me and I swallowed, tenser than ever. "Well, this is Waglington ladies and gentlemen!"

Dec gave me his microphone and I held it up to my mouth, taking a deep breath. "I have the best chair right now," I stated, smiling a little as I heard laughter from the audience.

"Look at him, he's just so awesome, isn't he?" Tom grinned, running his hand through his shock of faded-blue hair. "Just a wizard, doing wizard stuff!"

"Do you not fancy sitting on the couch?" The host asked me. "I'd gladly move."

"We're going to see how things go," Tom instantly told the host. "We might snuggle."

My breath caught in my throat and I forced myself to make my expression go blank. Tom was joking of course, but I had the hardest time keeping my secret from spilling out right there on stage and focused on calming down. Tom didn't realise the depth of his words. He didn't realise how much they struck home.

As Tom introduced the rest of the crew to the stage, I sat silently to the side, staring around at everyone. My nerves were a wreck; already I was freaking out. When Tom glanced over at me, he gave me a tiny nod, not enough to be caught by the cameras but enough for me to notice. No doubt he was picking up on my apprehension.

The Q&A started and I watched the crowd, listening closely for any breath of my name. I wanted to please the fans but I was also scared to death. If I was asked a question, I wasn't sure if I would answer it with a shaking voice or end up running off the stage.

Possibly both.

I stared out across the crowd as they started cheering for Team Dianite, wondering how many of those people watched my videos and knew who I was. And then I saw it.

The scene from my nightmare.

The room went dark and the cheering turned to terrified screams. I smelled the odor of blood thick on the air and fear gripped my heart. I couldn't tear myself away. I couldn't move or close my eyes or anything.

Then I blinked and the scene melted away. There were no fear-fueled screams or blood-scent. The room was just as brightly lit with the electric blue lights.

"Wag, you okay?" Dec whispered in my ear, leaning over from his spot on the arm of the couch. I realised my hands were clenched around the edge of my chair in a death grip and I quickly let go of it, stretching my fingers. It had been a long time since I had had a hallucination, but never had I had one so vivid before.

"I'm... fine," I whispered back. Dec nodded, but he didn't look satisfied. He nudged Tom's shoulder, whispered something, then pointed at me. Tom gave me a concerned look but he didn't have time to ask me anything because just then, we were called upon to do a group question - which meant that I had to be included.

"What's your favourite part of Mianite?" the host repeated the question into his mic. "Talk amongst yourselves."

I expected the line to go from Sonja to Tucker to Tom to Dec and then to me and finally end up on Ryley. But then Tucker said "Let's go down from Champwan's side.

Crap. I was going to be right after Ryley then.

"My favourite part is probably building bases and killing everyone in the purges," Ryley shrugged. "I did end up getting banned from purges though so..."

Then I was up. "Being a wizard," I responded immediately, going to the answer that I was always so proud to stress in videos, not even thinking about other things in Mianite because I was so nervous. "I mean, what else could I say? Just being a wizard."

I think Tom knew that I was freaking out inside by the tone of my voice because he gave me another reassuring smile. "You're doing great," he whispered under his breath as Dec stood up to sign a shiny red hat that was apparently being signed by all of us.

Dec and Tom answered their favourite parts - "Power" and "Stealing" respectively, but then they got distracted and skipped over Tucker, going straight to Sonja. I think Tom must have realised and felt bad because he wrapped an arm around Tucker, pulling his best friend close to him in a hug. I felt an odd feeling strike my heart and it didn't take long for me to realise what it was.

Jealousy.

The feeling stuck with me as Tom started to tease Tucker and I forced myself to stay calm. The tension from facing the crowd plus the suppressed feelings that I was holding in - it couldn't be good for me if I let my feelings pour out and overwhelm me.

So for now... just stay calm... and keep everything bottled up inside.

It was after the live event was over and everything had calmed down that I finally felt myself relax.

We were all in a little VIP room where it was just the special guests, aka. YouTubers, and I had been invited back. I was currently sprawled out on a couch, watching everyone through half-closed eyes. I hadn't gotten too much sleep last night, considering my nightmare and the fact that I hadn't gone to bed until after three.

"So Dec," Tucker grinned cheerfully at the ginger. "How was your first time being up on stage?"

"Awesome," Dec replied, fiddling with a bit of paper. "Ten out of ten, would do again."

"My voice is shot," Tom stated and I noticed that it was really strained. "And I only got five hours of sleep last night too."

"Join the club," I sighed, closing my eyes completely. I was so tired. I heard Sonja murmur something sympathetically but I had already been cast into the darkness of sleep.

First, there was a powerful rumbling in the earth. I was shaken back and forth and my hand splashed in a pool of warm, wet liquid. I screamed as I realised that my hand was now coated in blood. I couldn't stop screaming as the world turned black around me and kept shaking... shaking... shaking...

"James!" My eyes flew open and I stared into Tom's terrified brown gaze. He had shaken me awake from my dream and had his hands firmly gripped on my shoulders. "James, you were thrashing around in your sleep! And... screaming."

Nightmares were bad. Thrashing around was worse. But screaming? I swallowed. Even if I didn't have insomnia, screaming while sleeping was a very bad sign.

Tucker and Sonja were both staring at me, mouths agape, Dec and Ryley were having a whispered conversation whilst shooting suspicious glances at me, and as for Tom, well, he was still leaning over me, face twisted in an expression of concern.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, not breaking eye contact with Tom. "I should - I should go now."

"James, wait!" Tom protested as I stood up, prepared to walk out of the room and just leave Insomnia early to go back home. "Don't leave! There's obviously something wrong. You have to tell us. Please. We're your friends; we're supposed to help you!"

I hesitated and Tom used that opportunity to get to his feet, throwing his arms around me and hugging me tightly. I felt tears stinging my eyes and I hugged Tom back, making little whimpering noises as I tried not to cry in front of everyone.

"Come on now guys. I think James would rather be alone right now," Tom snapped as my friends started to edge closer to us, most likely with the intent to help. They backed off and one by one, left the room, leaving me and Tom alone together.

"What happened, James?" Tom asked me. "Why are you so scared like this all of a sudden?"

I took a deep breath. I knew I could trust Tom. But could I trust him with the truth?

Yes. At least part of it.

"I don't know what's been happening," I started, preparing to launch myself into a whirl of strong and conflicting emotions. "It all started about a month ago. I began to feel as though I was truly an outcast, even though I was being included more than ever within the happenings on Mianite with you guys. I began to feel secluded from reality, growing more attatched to the game and the people within it. My - my girlfriend, she tried to help me. But somehow, I just didn't feel like I truly loved her any more. Something had happened and I don't know what. Then the nightmares started and - all my feelings and emotions are weighing in at more than I can c-carry. I'm sc-scared, Tom. I want to t-tell her but I c-can't."

I couldn't hold back my tears anymore. I was crying and sniffling, burying my face in Tom's jacket as I sobbed, shaking uncontrollably. Tom was still hugging me tightly, perhaps sensing that I desperately needed someone here for me.

The stress had been too much. Telling Tom about it and letting my emotions flow out like pent-up water rushing up from behind a burst dam had hurt and shaken me deeply. I couldn't stop crying. I was sobbing like a child in one of my best friend's arms and I had just admitted that I no longer loved Kelsey.

Tom didn't say anything, just held me close and let me cry my eyes out. His silence was comforting because I knew he wouldn't judge me.

That was part of why I was such good friends with Tom. He didn't care what differences other people had - it was his sincere goal in life to make other people feel happy and wanted. It was not in Tom's nature to be mean, only to help.

Somehow or another, after a solid five minutes of me crying, Tom was able maneuver us onto the couch where we sat together. Tom still had his arm around my shoulders and even though I had stopped crying, I was still shaking. I sniffled and wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my jacket, drawing in a shuddering breath.

"It will be okay, James," Tom whispered comfortingly. "It will all work out in the end - you'll see. Your day is young. You can still decide how to shape it."

"It's j-just - it's spinning out of c-control," I stuttered, my voice sounding raw and raspy. "I - I need someone there for me and I h-have no one."

"You have me," Tom reassured me. "I'm always here for you. Once Insomnia is over, remember, I'm never more than a phone call away. If you really need me, I will drop everything to come to you. I won't leave you like this though. You're still a wreck. You can come back to my hotel with me tonight, and if you have any nightmares, I'll be right there for you."

He'll be right there.

For me.

"Aw! They're so cute like that!"

"Did you get a picture?"

"Shush! Don't wake them up!"

"Poor guys. They're so sleepy."

I became aware of people's voices whispering loudly around me and I slowly opened my bleary eyes. They felt sticky from crying and stung like crazy but at that moment I couldn't care less. What was more important at that moment was the, ehm, awkward position Tom and I were in.

I had fallen asleep again while sitting on the couch and Tom was leaning against my chest, also fast asleep. His legs were propped up on the opposite arm of the couch and his arms were crossed over his stomach. I had one arm wrapped around him protectively and his face was resting against the crook of my arm.

Looking up, I saw that everyone was back in the room and Dec and Sonja had their phones out, obviously taking pictures of mine and Tom's "cuddlefest". I glared at them, but didn't dare move. I didn't want to wake Tom up.

"Dangit guys, I told you that you would wake them up," Dec hissed as he saw me glaring at them. "Dude, Waglington, it's okay. Stop acting like you're about to start shooting laser beams at us from your eyes."

I stuck my tongue out at him and leaned my head back against the couch. Great. So now that moment was probably all over the internet. Just what I needed.

"Yo Wag, you gonna stop cuddling any time soon?" Tucker snickered. Another glare was shot his way but he ignored it.

"Shut up you guys," I whispered angrily, trying not to wake Tom up. "Can't you just let him sleep?"

"Oh, I understand," Ryley smirked. "They want some more time to snuggle."

I vowed that I would murder Ryley once we got back to playing on Mianite again. Then maybe I would burn down his base and steal his stuff.

"Guys," I whined quietly, feeling Tom stir, though not enough for him to be waking up. "Really. Don't be rude. He's still asleep."

"Wag's right," Sonja smiled, a knowing glint in her eyes. "We've all had a long day and Tom's exhausted. We can go ahead and head out. I'm sure he and James will be able to find us once he's awake."

I gave Sonja a grateful nod of thanks as everyone reluctantly mumbled their consent. They all softly left the room, Dec snickering silently as he glanced at his phone. I could only imagine what he had posted on Twitter.

Tom sighed a few minutes after everyone had left, opening eyes that were clearly heavy with sleep. He stared up at me and smiled. I smiled back, moving my arm off of his chest.

"Hey," Tom whispered.

"Hey," I said back.

"Any nightmares?" Tom asked, slowly sitting up and stretching. I thought about it for a moment and realising with surprise that I hadn't dreamed about anything.

"No," I blinked and stared at Tom curiously. "I didn't have any dreams."

"That's great!" Tom's eyes brightened. "Maybe I have a magic touch."

I'm sure you do, I thought, but didn't dare say it out loud. Instead I responded with a casual shrug.

"So are you going to tell her or do you want me to?" Tom questioned and it took me a moment to realise what he meant. I swallowed and pulled my phone out of my pocket as a silent answer, dialing Kelsey's number and holding the phone up to my ear.

In the middle of the third ring, she picked up. "Oh my gosh, James! Where are you? I was getting worried when you didn't show up after the livestream."

"Kelsey, I - I," I couldn't find the words to tell her.

"James?" She sounded really worried now. "Are you okay? Did someone get hurt?"

"No," At least, not yet. "It's just... I've been feeling more out of control with my life than ever before. There's so much conflict going on within my heart and somewhere in the midst of all that turmoil I realised - I realised I don't feel the same way about you anymore."

Kelsey gave a sharp gasp and a second later, there was a loud clatter as her phone slipped out of her hand. I flinched at the noise and Tom shot me a questioning glance. I wondered if I should end the call but I decided to wait.

Finally, I heard her voice again through the phone. "James?" She whispered hesitantly, as though unsure if I was still there.

"I'm so sorry," I murmured back. "Kelsey, I should have just come straight out and told you this morning, but -"

"No James," Kelsey cut me off firmly. "I understand. You don't love me anymore. I will always be there as a friend if you need me but for now, I think we just need to keep our distance from each other. I'll just leave early so you can stay at the hotel. Goodbye, James."

The click as she ended the call was almost enough to make me sob.

What had I done?

It was three days after Insomnia and I was staying at Tom's house, safe under his care,

Tom had persuaded me to stay with him after my break-up with Kelsey, because to be honest, I was a nervous wreck. I couldn't even talk about her without crying and the nightmares had returned more strongly than ever.

And now it wasn't just wordless screams.

I was hearing the voices of my friends too.

Sonja crying out in pain like she had been hurt. Tucker wailing in ultimate fear. And Tom sobbing, only to fall silent after a short scream of agony.

I hadn't told anyone that the nightmares were back. I didn't want to worry them, but it was clear that I was exhausted and could barely function. I woke up at about four every morning and just lay on the bed in the guest bedroom, staring up at the ceiling, too scared to go back to sleep and too nervous to wake up anyone else in the house to tell them about my restless night. I knew that Tom had said that I should wake him up immediately if the nightmares came back, but I didn't want to burden anyone else with my problems.

Though I feared how long it would be before I crumbled from the weight of the heavy secrets.

I crawled into my bed, pulling the soft sheets up over my head to try and block out all the chatter I could hear from elsewhere in the house. Tucker and Sonja were also staying with Tom for a little while before going back to America, and they would stay up all night, talking and laughing, and raiding Tom's beer supplies. Never once had I joined them in their festivities and really didn't want to either.

I heard soft footsteps outside of my door and they paused, as though their owner was deciding whether or not to come in. Then my door creaked opened and light from the hallway spilled into my room, illuminating the familiar figure of Tom. He came into the room and shut the door, sitting on the edge of my bed near my feet.

"I know you're still awake, James," Tom murmured, resting his hand on my shoulder. "Did you want to come down and join us?"

"No thank you," I whispered, wanting to be alone. Tom sighed but he didn't leave the room. Instead, he pulled the sheets away from my face and I opened my eyes, staring at him confusedly.

"I know your nightmares came back," Tom sounded sad. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I trembled under his gaze and closed my eyes again. I didn't want to explain myself to my friend. Tom waited for a few seconds before sighing again and lying down next to me.

"I want to help you but you just won't let me," Tom threw his arm across my shoulders and I tensed, unsure of whether or not to just stay silent or run out of my room, screaming at the top of my lungs. "Why won't you trust anyone enough to tell them what's wrong? Why won't you trust me?"

That hurt. Tom didn't think I trusted him; I suppose he was right. But I guess - I guess now was the best time to tell him.

"Tom, listen," I began nervously, scared of what he would think. "Remember when I first told you about my nightmares? Well, I didn't tell you everything. And I just wanted to say-"

Wait.

Was I having another hallucination?

The room was shaking and the lights flickered before going out completely and plunging us into darkness. I heard Tucker and Sonja screaming downstairs and Tom gasped, lurching unsteadily to his feet. The room was still shaking violently though and he lost his balance and fell. I heard a heavy thunk and a short cry of pain, but I couldn't see anything. The lights flickered once and I saw Tom collapsing, holding the side of his head with bloodstained fingers.

"Tom!" I screamed, launching myself at him as he crumpled to the floor. The room finally stopped shaking and the lights sputtered back on to shine steadily, illuminating Tom, lying motionless on the floor with a deep cut on his head. There was blood splattered on the sharp corner of a cabinet beside the bed and I choked out a sob.

"Tom," I whispered, staring at the cut on Tom's head. It was deep, and dark scarlet blood was already trickling down the side of his face. His breathing was unsteady but my mind was so clouded up with panic that I didn't even think about calling for help. "Please, wake up. Please. I didn't even - I didn't even tell you that I - that I -"

"That I loved you."

"Please, Tom, you can't do this," I was crying now, tears streaming down my face as I cradled Tom's head in my lap. "You can't do this to me. You have to wake up." I sniffled and wiped my eyes, my hands now smeared with flecks of blood.

Tom couldn't be dying. He couldn't be.

This was my nightmare. The earth shaking and the screaming. The darkness and the blood.

It was all real. My nightmare had forced itself into reality and wrapped itself around me. This was no longer my problem; no longer my burden to bear. It had affected everyone around me and sent absolute terror piercing through my heart.

And Tom was seriously injured because of it.

It was a week after the earthquake and I was still at Tom's house.

Tucker and Sonja had left earlier that day to catch their flight back home and Tom was recovering nicely, although he still had a soft cotton bandage wrapped around his head.

He didn't remember anything right before the earthquake and I hadn't told him about what I said to him while he was unconscious, only that Tucker had come upstairs to check if I was alright and saw me crying over Tom and in a state of shock. In fact, I had been traumatised after the incident and rarely left Tom's side, much to his confusion.

My nightmares had now changed to whirlwinds of angry voices mixing together as they yelled and screamed. Over the course of the last few nights, I had begun to realise that they were angry at me, and saying all sorts of horrible things about me. Every morning now, I woke up with tears in my eyes, trembling and terrified for the next time I would have to sleep.

I picked at the food on my plate, my appetite gone, even though the meal looked delicious. Tom didn't seem too hungry either and set his fork down after a few minutes.

"James, are you gonna tell me what's wrong or not?" Tom suddenly asked, breaking the silence. I jumped a little bit but shook my head, avoiding Tom's gaze. "Something is wrong, James. You have to tell me."

"Nothing's wrong," I whispered very unconvincingly. "Everything's perfectly alright."

"James," Tom narrowed his eyes and his voice took on a warning tone. "Don't lie to me. You haven't been the same ever since the earthquake. You're always glancing around like there's someone sneaking up on you and you barely ever let me out of your sight. You're obviously scared and you won't let me help you."

"There's nothing wrong!" I burst out, standing up too quickly and almost losing my balance. "I'm fine! Just leave me alone!"

Tom stared at me in shock and I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I turned and walked swiftly away, not daring to turn back, even when Tom called my name. I practically ran up the stairs to my room, making little whimpering noises with every step.

I had cracked under the combined pressure of keeping the secret from Tom and the fear-induced stress from the nightmares. I threw open the door to my room then slammed it closed before collapsing on the bed and burying my face in my arms as I sobbed. I couldn't deal with this. It was too much for me to handle.

My door quietly creaked open a few minutes later. I had stopped crying but my mind was still in a jumbled mess. Why could I not be stronger? Why was I breaking down so easily?

"James?"

Go away. Please just go away.

"James, talk to me."

I don't want to talk. I want to be alone.

"Come on, James, don't shut me out."

Go away, go away, go away!

"James Hayes, look at me!" I jerked my head up as Tom's voice rose to a yell and stared at him with terrified eyes. He was sitting next to me on my bed and wrapped his arms around me in a warm hug when he saw that I was looking at him. I melted into his embrace, closing my eyes and resting my head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, but I had to talk with you," Tom murmured sadly. "I hate to see you so upset. I just want to help. This is obviously too much for you to handle; you need to tell somebody about it."

"You wouldn't understand," I muttered, my voice sounding dull because I couldn't summon up the energy to be angry. "You wouldn't understand why I feel this way."

"Try me," Tom said simply. I decided that this had to be my only chance. If it went poorly though, I knew I may never be able to feel happy again.

"When I told you about my nightmares, I didn't tell you everything. I didn't tell how much you meant to me. And - and not just as a friend. But as something m-more," Curse my stutter. "And - and I wasn't sure how to tell you. S-so I guess it's okay if you h-hate me now." No. It would not be okay if he hated me, but I had to say something.

"I would never hate you," Tom sounded almost... surprised? "In fact, I was planning on telling you that - well - I feel the same way."

"Really?" I whispered, shocked. "You really mean that?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Tom asked softly. "Have I ever given you any reason to doubt me?"

I shook my head, realising that he hadn't. Then joy filled my heart as his words really sunk in.

Tom loved me back.

"I love you James," Tom breathed, smiling gently. "And I want you to be happy."

"Trust me; I am," I breathed, also smiling. "And I love you too."

SuchCuteOMG, anyone? ;)

Well, I hope you enjoyed this ridiculously long one-shot! If you did, I would love your feedback because this was a different style of writing for me and want to know if people want me to do more in this style.

See ya!

-Ender