Gray's POV

Placing Petal's ice cream in front of her carefully I started rattling on about how it was nice to get out of school, even if it was for a little while. When I got no response, I looked away from my vanilla scoop, to find that she wasn't even facing my direction. Frowning in confusion, I shook her shoulder, unsure as to what was going on. She had her back to me and was curled up into a little ball. It hardly looked comfortable so it didn't make sense why she was in the position.

"Pet? What the hell?" She mumbled something in response but it hardly sounded like words, making me tug her shoulder away from the seat. When I finally saw her closed eyelids it all made sense – how she'd been so out of it before, and how she hadn't even tried to argue when I'd paid for her ice cream. She'd been really tired these last couple of days but I'd thought it was her fault, that she'd just stayed up reading up to the wee hours of the night. That didn't look like the case though, not if she was this tired. Glancing from her to our ice cream quickly, I made a decision that would get us both in trouble but that would at least get Petal some sleep. Sighing into my hands I grabbed both our lunches in my hands, taking them up to the counter.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi, yeah, I know I said we'd be eating these here but my girlfriend fell asleep. Can you make these to go?" The bored twenty year old woman behind the counter looked like that was the last thing she wanted to do, but she begrudgingly nodded, making her displeasure known as she scooped them into to-go containers. Glad that that was solved, I went back to Pet, telling her to wake up for a second. She opened her eyes blearily, looked at me in confusion, and deciding I obviously wasn't worth her attention and falling back to sleep.

Rolling my eyes at how adorable she was, I picked her up, making a quick stop at the counter to pick up our ice cream before marching over to the parking lot. I placed her in the passenger seat, and once again had to force myself not to smile like an idiot. I'd never seen anyone look more like an angel in my life. Her long eyelashes brushed against her cheekbones as her lips rose in an involuntary smile, her soft hair around her like a halo of light. I wanted to stay like that for ever, looking at the happy expression that was incredibly rare whilst she was awake, but soon realised I needed to drive her home.

The drive to my house was quick, but I was afraid of moving her in case I woke her – not to mention mom would be furious. Dad worked at the slopes so he wouldn't be there to tell me off, but mom stayed at home and painted, meaning I was in for a good telling off.

Sighing for what felt like the twentieth time already that day, I got to work, opening her door as quietly as possible. I placed her back into my arms, going sluggishly slow, but she didn't seem to even notice that she was being moved. A soft sigh escaped her mouth, and she pressed her face against my chest, making me smile even more broadly. It was stupid for me to feel so happy at simply being around a girl, but she wasn't just a girl. She was the girl, the only one that truly mattered. Hence why I was risking getting my ass kicked my mum in order to get her to have a good night's sleep.

As I made my way to the front door, I speculated about what it might be. I hoped it wasn't nightmares. Her father had hurt her so much in the past, and now he had to haunt her dreams even when he wasn't here? Knowing I shouldn't be thinking about this around Petal, as it always scared her half to death when I threatened to punch his guts out, I moved my eyes back down to her small form. It calmed me straight away, and I smiled softly – once again all my thoughts were occupied by this beautiful angel, and not the asshole who had done her so much wrong.

"Gray? What are you-" Mum opened the door as I hastily knocked. However, she stopped her angry yelling when she noticed the girl in my arms, still asleep. She must've seen my distressed aura, because she rolled her eyes, motioning for me to come inside. "Just this once, alright?" She whispered in my ear, before making her way back into her art study. I knew I'd have to explain later, but for now I was safe from her wrath.

Going up the stairs was difficult, as there seemed to be walls everywhere to crash Petal's feet into. Luckily, she was incredibly out of it, although I felt my hands clench at the thought. Whatever had made her lose her sleep had done it well, and I was willing to bet it was her asshole of a dad. I was going to kill him one day. Sighing, I shook those thoughts off, and continued the ascent to my bedroom. Her eyes fluttered open a few times, but they looked dazed and happy, as if she was having the best dream known to man, so I left her be.

Without thinking about it much, I took her to my bedroom, not really knowing why or how it happened. What I did know though was that I couldn't get into bed with her. Every part of me screamed to take her into my arms to fight off any nightmares which might plague her sleep, but I couldn't do that to her. She was still so scared of humans, although it was a lot more subconscious now. She held my hand, but sometimes she flinched away from my touch, even though she didn't notice. Laying her on my bed, I went to sit on my desk. At least if I was sat here I'd know if she was ok. That was the only thought which could keep me sane right now.

Soon though, the duvet started twisting around her legs, her turning and shuffling increasing. I shook it off, knowing it was probably just a figment of my imagination to be able to get into bed with her. But then she left out a quiet moan, and my ideals all disappeared at once.

"No. No please. Gray, mummy, please. Please. No!" It was so low that I would've missed it had I not been listening so intently. Without knowing what I was doing, I was suddenly striding across the room, taking her hand in mine. And yet still she continued to shift until her eyes opened, frantic and pleading. I'd never seen her look so heartbroken. "Please don't leave me." She whispered, although I didn't know if she was saying it to me or to her dream. Hey eyes were glassy, looking haunted and lost to this world.

"I won't." I climbed into bed beside her, pulling her into my chest. I tried to keep my touch soft, so she wouldn't feel trapped by my embrace, but I still felt my arms tightening around her small form. I needed to know that she was here, and I felt my body ache with the need to let her know that I was here for her. "I never will."

Petal's POV

"Huh?" Opening my eyes blearily, I squinted, trying to protect my eyes from the light around me. After a couple of seconds, they adjusted, allowing me to see a white ceiling with light blue walls. It wasn't my bedroom, that much was obvious, but where was I then? I was lying on top of a bed so the number of places I could be in weren't that many. And then I noticed the arms around me, holding me to someone's chest. I went rigid, unable to think of a situation which would have me in this position. Everything was hazy and I'd had the best sleep I'd experienced in a while, but for the life of me I couldn't remember making my way to a bed.

Unless the monster had found me. Springing up I moved to stick my back to the wall in one fluid movement. Instinct kicked in as my breathing sped up. Thoughts of all those years of torture flooded my mind, and I couldn't stop a shiver from overtaking me. I felt small and vulnerable, my only defence the wall behind me and my hands in front. I looked around, surveying my surroundings with adrenalin in my veins and fear in my heart. But this all stopped when I saw Gray looking at me, concern on his features.

The fear left me in a swooshing motion, leaving only a bitter taste in my mouth. My heart continued pumping loudly in my ears, making it hard to focus on anything but my stomach tying itself into knots. I slumped into the wall, yet I was still defenceless. I still only had the wall and my hands, but for some reason I felt safe.

"Petal? Are you ok?" He sat up slightly, leaning on his elbow. He looked so worried that I immediately pushed off the wall, knowing he wouldn't hurt me. I wished I wasn't like this, so scared and frail and unable to wake up somewhere that wasn't my room without freaking out. But more than anything I wished this feeling in my chest would disappear, the one that kept whispering that the monster was still out there, and that I was still as weak as ever.

"Yup. Yeah, sorry." Trying to play it down, I went over to sit on the edge of the bed. But a thought that I was mulling over didn't allow me to really concentrate on Gray. I hadn't dreamt that night. Not about him leaving me, and certainly not about the monster. I felt more refreshed than I'd been in so long, and after that secondary freak out, I felt safe again. Gray was safe, everything about him inspiring confidence in me. My heart continued to race, but I could breathe, and everything was ok because Gray was here.

"What happened to make you freak out so much?" As he sat on the edge, I relaxed into him, allowing him to put his arm around my waist. I simply shrugged, not wanting to talk about the mess that my mind was. Lately that's all I ever did, hiding how I felt in order to look strong. But I never would be.

"I didn't recognise where I was. That always sets off alarm bells."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot you'd never been to my bedroom before. Which is odd, considering I've been in yours plenty of times." Noticing him trying to edge away from the question of why I was in his bedroom to begin with, I stopped his ramblings. The monster was fresh in my mind, his green eyes piercing me with his stare, but I pushed it all back to focus on the present. I wanted to know why I was in Gray's room, or, at least, I should've wanted to know. I didn't care now that I was in his arms, now that I was away from the monster, but I pushed that thought back until all that remained was my query about why I was here.

"What am I doing here? I don't remember anything since… Oh my god, the ice cream." I went to get off the bed, the adrenalin that still lingered in my veins urging me to do something. At this, he chuckled, tightening his arm around me so I couldn't jump up in panic. Yet I still felt nervous, his embrace being the only thing rooting me to my spot on Earth. Had it not been for him, I would still be having trouble getting air into my lungs, the monster's face clouding all judgement. The mere thought of him coming for me sent my spine tingling. I clutched Gray tighter to me.

"Don't worry, it's sitting in the fridge." His voice startled me out of my train of thought, as I remembered we were talking about pointless ice cream. I must've looked perplexed; he hurried to continue his sentence. "You fell asleep."

"Are you telling me that I fell asleep on our first date? You've got to be kidding me." The image of me falling asleep in the middle of a crowded area where he could've found me at any time made me burry my head in his chest, willing the idea to go away along with all the nightmares he'd taken. Trying to distract myself from it all, I quickly glanced at the bedside table which told me it was 9pm and that it was much too late to go back and try to salvage the date. Not to mention I'd missed half the school day. This all didn't help calm my nerves any further.

"Well I don't think it counts as our first date. I was actually hoping… Kind of, I guess," he stopped to rub the back of his head awkwardly as I watched in confusion. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? As I looked into his eyes, the melted chocolate of them pulling me in, I felt myself abandoning all the other thoughts. No more monster, nor school, nor ice cream in the fridge. None of those things mattered when I was looking at him. He existed, and so did I – everything would be ok. He looked nervous, and for now that's all I could think of, the fact that my wonderful boyfriend was here with me, enough so that we could have a normal conversation with normal feelings. The endearing expression on his face softened as he saw me staring at him, dipping down to kiss my cheek. "That we could maybe go on a date now?"

Hi :)

Guys we reached the target again! Oh my god this is too good, I swear one of these days I'm just going to have a heart attack from happiness :P Also, thanks so much for reading and reviewing, it's honestly the best part of my day, no joke.

This chapter is the longest ever, which is actually a really impressive feat for me because I have the attention span of a fly xD But, yeah, it's 2400 words, so I hope you all enjoy it :) Maybe we can get to 82 reviews this time? I think it's already a given that you don't need to do it, seeing how I've already said it loads, but I just wanna say it again to make sure :)

Bye bye! =^.^=