The alarm clock next to her flashed 03:12AM, when Hay Lin felt herself being shaken awake, and with blurry eyes she found the tanned hand that had hold of her arm, and wrapped her arms around it to hug - simply to stop it from shaking her so. "Hay Lin. Hay Lin, wake up.. Lígo Hay Lin."

"Caleb, I have school.. Go to sleep and tell me tomorrow.." Hay Lin moaned it into her pillow as she turned; leaving his arm in the hope that he'd leave. But she only felt the arm move for a second, before the weight increased beside her, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his stomach in hopes to assure him before he spoke again, but her eyes opened in surprise. "You're all wet? ..Is it raining?"

"I'm going away lígo Hay Lin.." Hay Lin frowned, as his eyes looked at her with watery apologies, and his voice had been hoarse and upset. And she knew she couldn't leave him there, so she smiled sleepily and sat up to hug him from the back; trying not to be mad that her mattress would be wet, and wondering if he wouldn't swap beds with her for the night.

"Don't be saaad!"

He shrugged her sleepy, smiley words away with his mournful expression, and Hay Lin found herself frowning curiously at him. What did he mean by going away.. "And I wont be sleeping downstairs anymore.."

She let go then, so that he could twist to face her where he sat, and Hay Lin wished he meant he was going to swap beds with her.. Because as much as it annoyed her sometimes, that he'd stolen her cereal when he first got here.. Or that he'd never dance with her, or do silly things.. Or that he'd only rant and rant and rant if he was anger, and he didn't get lots of jokes.. And he still couldn't work the phone on his own if he needed something, so she always had to do it for him.. She didn't want him to go. And she felt her eyes watering before she could find her squeak of a voice.. And she wondered if it was because she annoyed him, because she did have a squeaky voice, and she did try to make him do silly things she knew he didn't like, and she didn't always do the phone for him, so he sometimes had to walk wherever he needed to go, or had to just go without.. "Why would you leave?"

But she knew it wasn't really her, from the moment his eyes met hers in silent guilt, and she wished it was her, because then she could make false-promises to fix it.. Because he was really just like a big brother.. And she didn't even mind that he'd pull her around like a doll, and scold her for not thinking enough, and that he was always protecting her, when she was the one who had the powers. "I just am Hay Lin.. Elyon is gone, and I.. My Julia- My father.. And.. I'll miss you."

And she could only whimper at that, and she hoped he would know that she'd miss him more, and she sunk her forehead into his chest when he moved forward to hug her, before wrapping her arms around him and letting those rebellious tears escape.

...

And Caleb couldn't bring himself to tell her why.. Not the real why, because it wasn't his place to say, and he could already hear her crying, and he could only push away the shame, that he'd woken her. Because he'd really felt like he needed it, before he disappeared in the night.. Because he didn't want to stay to morning, and he'd only wanted to convince himself, that Hay Lin.. That someone, might miss him.