I just want to say a huge thank you 'StarzNChocolate', 'PheonixWing10' and 'Yuna' for being the first to review this story, honestly, it means a lot to me. Okay, this chapter is a bit shorter than I wanted it, but I had to cut it down due to the fact I was giving too much away in regards to Yumi's past, I don't want to give it away just yet!
Disclaimer- I own nothing except the storyline.... knowing my luck, I probably don't own that either. *sigh*
Nightmare. Definition, a dream that causes very strong emotions within the sleeper, usually fear and terror. Most involve the individual in danger, a scary situation. Most are based upon are childhood fears, the monster under your bed, the one in your closet. But some are worse. Childhood fears, are just that, fears. When you grow up, you realise that there was no need to be scared, monsters only belong in films and books. But what about the other nightmares? The ones that aren't based on our fears, but our memories. Memories that still burn in the back of our minds, the ones we wish we would forget, but still haven't found the key to set them free. Instead they are trapped there, haunting us through not only night, but day as well.
Nightmares are usually different every time we have them, but for some, it is the same nightmare that keeps them awake night after night. Yumi wished she had different nightmares, ones based upon fictional monsters but her wish has yet to come true. Waking up in a cold sweat, trying to calm her racing her, Yumi sat on her futon with her head in her hands. Her fingernails, leaving imprints on the smooth skin.
It had been four years since she had a long nights sleep, a peaceful slumber. She had tried tablets, they only prolonged the wait until the nightmare recurred. She tried to dream about happy things, every time the memory would come and rip them apart. When every failed, she tried praying, it may have been to a god that she wasn't sire she believed in, but she had to try. This had no effect, she figured God would never be with her, help would not come.
Some nightmares lead us to fear, a racing heart that eventually returns to its regular rhythm. But some lead us to insanity.
Standing up and stripping herself of the damp clothing, she stood in front of the long mirror. Her reflection was something that she usually avoided, scared of what would be facing her but sometimes she had to look, just to reassure herself that she had been making the right decision not to look. Her hair was tangled, knotted in think clumps, her skin was pale, unhealthy looking. But it was her eyes that she hated looking at the most. In old pictures, they were bright, shining with innocence. Now, they were dull, reality filling them too early on in life. They reminded her of what she lost, what she could never get back.
A soft knock came from her door, causing her to jump around in shock. "Yumi?" she let out a long breath at the sound of the voice.
Smiling at the appearance of her younger brother, "What's wrong?" she replied.
There was concern mixed with fear in his young eyes, "I... I heard you scream."
Yumi rushed over to him, embracing him in a comforting hug. "It was just a bad dream, Hiroki." She whispered in his ear, afraid that if she spoke any louder, the tears would start to fall. The last thing she wanted to do was to show to her little brother, that she wasn't coping as well as she was seen to.
Hiroki pulled away from his sister's arms, frowning, "Okay, are... are you okay?"
Yumi smiled down at him, nodding her head, "You'd better go back to bed. It's school tomorrow."
With one final hug, Hiroki left the room, leaving Yumi alone once more. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, the nightmare was still replaying around in her mind, taunting her.
She lay, wide awake, underneath the warmth of her duvet. Nervous thoughts and feelings raked through her, preparing her for the worst for the next morning.
"Ulrich!" The brown haired boy turned in the direction of the voice, smiling when he saw his friends waving him over. Jogging over to them, he sat down on the bench beside Aelita, who currently had her fingers locked with the blonde sat next to her.
"How's it going guys?" he asked.
"Not bad. Sissi just asked where you were," Odd chuckled, "We told her that you were in the toilets, she will probably be stood there for hours before she realises that you're not actually in there."
Ulrich laughed, then smiled as he saw Odd's hand tighten around Aelita's. He was happy that they finally got together, after many years of dancing around each other. But he also knew what his other blonde friend was feeling. "How about you, Jer?"
Jeremy's head shot up from the laptop screen his eyes were fixed upon. "Uh.... yeah, fine." He returned back to the screen. Most people would find his behaviour rude, but Ulrich knew the true reason for his attitude.
Odd and Aelita dove into a deep conversation, Jeremy still fixed to the computer on his lap. Ulrich scanned the large playground, smiling at the new students, the lost look in their eyes as their parents drove away in there cars, leaving them behind to figure the most complicated part of their lives, school. But it wasn't the young students that made his eyes widen and mouth gape slightly. It was the sight of the black haired girl, stood against the cream outside walls of the science block, across from where he was sitting.
She was stood alone, staring down at her feet as students rushed past her. Her hands were balled into fists and knees slightly bent, Ulrich wondered whether or not she was going to fall to the cold gravel covered ground. She was the same girl he had seen in the park, and if it wasn't just him that made her act the way she did, he knew she must have been feeling much worse, with hundreds of strangers surrounding her.
He turned to look at his group of friends, "Um.... I'm just going to go talk to someone."
Odd stopped mid sentence, frowning at his best friend, "Who?"
"Just someone I met over the holidays." He didn't give time for any of his friends to reply, instead he stood up and started walking towards the mysterious girl.
Looking in front of her, Yumi felt tears build up in her tired eyes. There were so many people, so many boys, so many strangers. Her heart felt like it was going to stop, her breathing became heavier and heavier. She prayed that an angel would come and save her, but she also knew that God wasn't going to help her.
Hearing footsteps heading towards her, Yumi's head shot up, almost causing her whiplash. Her eyes widened when she saw the person walking directly towards her. It was him, the boy from the park, Ulrich. It wasn't fear that swept her body, rather it was relief. She couldn't explain why it happened, but her heart began to calm, her breaths beginning to return to their normal rate.
He stopped in front of her, leaving enough space between them, that if she did want to escape, she could. She looked at him, not returning the smile that he held on his face.
"Yumi, right?" Yumi nodded.
"You're.... Ulrich?" She could feel her body trembling, not understanding why she was having a conversation with this boy.
Ulrich let out a small laugh, making Yumi's lips form a small smile. "That's me." He took a small step towards her, smiling again when she didn't try to move away from him. "I saw you stood over here, you looked.... scared."
Yumi stared at him in shock. After what happened, people said she looked like a lot of things, ill, sad, alone but never scared. At least, no one ever said it to her face. "I... I wasn't..." she couldn't finish her sentence, lying wasn't usually a hard thing for her to do, but lying to him felt like a completely different thing.
"It's okay, y'know." Yumi frowned at her, "To be scared. I mean, when I first started school here, I was scared."
Yumi closed her eyes, feeling somewhat guilty that he thought she was scared of going to school, not knowing the real reason.
Ulrich sighed, "But I had friends. I guess it's them that have got me through these years." he took another step, "I could be your friend... if you want me to be."
No one had ever asked to be friends with her before, most would avoid her. Who would want to be friends with the quiet, withdrawn girl that never made an attempt to talk to anyone?
Yumi shifted her weight on either leg, feeling nerves within her stomach. She then spoke the words she never thought she would ever say, especially to a boy she had only met once before.
"I'd.... I'd like that."