A/N: I cranked out the chapter finally! Yay. So this chapter just is filler until the last POV practically. I wanna have some kind of showdown so it's gunna play otu like this now. Lawl. I think it's funny though. The arm my character hurts in the story is the same on I hurt. (Though not like that... :( ) Had to imply thigns with David&Tori since I didn't wanna up the rating anytime soon. Random thought: I love it hen people fight with themselves to get to sleep. I do it all the time. Heh. Oh and yes, I really was wondering where David puts the batteries in his remote yesterday. Idk why...
You know the drill: Read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter 22: Nocturnal

(Griffin POV)

He was awoken by a loud yelp coming from next to him. It sounded as if someone yelled in his ear…and they did. Griffin opened his eyes and saw a pain stricken Ashley clutching her arm. "What happened?" he asked with concern.

She pressed her lips into a thin line while she relaxed a little. "You rolled on my arm," she said very matter of factly.

Griffin rolled onto his side to face her. "Sorry," he muttered.

Her breath was quick and she said, "S'Okay. I'll live."

'It was a stupid idea to sleep next to her. Should've let her on the bed once she fell asleep.' Griffin recalled the two of them dragging their tired selves to bed around one in the morning, according to New York time. He yawned, stretching his arms out above him and pressing his fists against the stone wall. He felt a body carefully huddling close to him. Griffin looked down and saw Ashley pressing herself against him. "You goin' back to sleep?"

Ashley shrugged and tilted her head to look at him. "I might. Why, would you rather I stay awake?" she asked him with a smirk.

Absentmindedly, Griffin started rubbing her back. "Possibly." Ashley sat up a little and held her balance with her right hand. She leaned down and kissed him quickly. Griffin's hand flew behind her head and held her there, mouths moving and tongues dancing. Her hands drifted to his shirt and she leaned closer. Griffin started to sit up and his hands moved down, pulling at the edge of her shirt. Ashley moved her arms as he started pulling her shirt off until she hissed loudly. Using her right hand, she batted his hands away and pulled her shirt down slowly.

"Guess not tonight," she said with a small frown. "Hurt to move my arm a few damn inches," she groaned as she nuzzled her head against his shoulder.

"Go back to sleep then. It's like three in the mornin'," he told her as he hugged her gently, trying to be careful about her wound.

"I guess," she trailed off with a sigh as she spoke.

Griffin laid in silence, staring at the ceiling and stealing quick glances at Ashley every few minutes. She was asleep in no time, he noticed. In his mind, he was thinking about defensive maneuvers he could teach Tori and Ashley to use in a fight but his mind began going elsewhere. He kept flashing back to that room when he saw Ashley kiss that guy. 'Jimmy, wasn't it? Who cares? Stupid bloke…' Griffin snarled a little and looked down at her again. 'I wonder if she thinks about him still… What was her relationship like with him? Could it have been like ours...? Probably not…' Griffin groaned softly at his mind. 'Be quiet already. Close your eyes and go the bloody hell to sleep!' Oddly, he listened to himself because he shut his eyes and got to sleep.

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(Tori POV)

Tori couldn't sleep. She ended up lying on her side, facing David and watching him. She wasn't sure what time it was. 'Probably almost morning…' Just then, David rolled and draped his arm over her waist. Tori blushed a little bit and he mumbled something. "David," she whispered. David let out a small groan, which was muffled since half his face was smothered into the pillow. She thought she heard him say something else and she gave his shoulder a small push. He ended up rolling onto his back, arm still on her. Tori poked him in the side with a somber expression. 'What did you say?'

She saw a grin work its way across David's face and she smiled. "Love you too," he murmured as he rolled back onto his side and pressed his lips against Tori's. Tori was a little surprised and picked his hand up his hand that snuck its way to her cheek. His eyes opened slowly and looked trance like. "Something wrong?" David asked quietly.

Tori blinked a few times. "But...you were just asleep..."

David's eyes looked around and he furrowed his brow. "I guess I was..."

"What were you dreaming about?" Tori asked nervously.

"I'm not sure," he told her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Well you said love you too so," Tori trailed off. She saw his face brighten up. "What? Do you remember?"

David sat up. "Yeah. You told me... Well, you told me that-"

"I love you," she said with some question in her voice. David glanced over his shoulder; his mouth hanging open slightly with shock. Tori sat up and hugged him. "I...I wanted to tell you, too," she stammered in a low tone. She felt his arms wrap around her as he carefully laid back. Tori sighed as she rested her head on his chest comfortably.

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(Ashley POV)

Ashley rolled over and felt there was no one next to her. She sat up and looked around, hearing music coming from the living room. She got up and walked out slowly to Griffin's makeshift living room. Griffin was sitting on the couch, controller in hand and eyes shut. 'Is he…sleeping?' She tilted her head in confusion and crept over to him. Ashley carefully took the controller from his hand and placed it on the game system. She noticed the game was paused when she turned to put the controller down. Putting a hand on the system, she felt it was warm. 'Must've been on for a while…'

When Ashley turned around, Griffin was rubbing at his eyes. "Why'd you take the controller from me?" he asked with a small yawn. He had black under his eyes, making it obvious that he didn't sleep last night.

"You were asleep," she trailed off.

He shot her a look of disgust. "I was not."

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Was too," she replied. "But why on the couch. Your bed's perfectly comfortable." She smiled warmly at him.

He gave his head a shake and rolled his eyes. "You were in the bed, remember?"

Ashley watched him curiously. 'He didn't wanna sleep at me and hurt my arm…' She smiled at him again and said, "Aw. You didn't wanna hurt my arm. Thanks," she said quietly. Griffin swiped the controller from its spot on the system and shot her an angry look. She caught sight of the look for a brief second and walked over, sitting down next to him. "What's your problem?"

While he pressed the start button and began playing his game again, he said, "My problem is that I didn't get any sleep because of you." The word "you" sounded gruff as he smashed the buttons rapidly.

She was taken back. "You're pissed because you chose to not sleep?"

A low growl could be heard from Griffin and he said, "Yes. Goddamn it." He tossed the controller down and got off the couch, storming into his room.

Ashley watched in awe. "Seriously?" she whispered, half questioning herself. With an eye roll she quickly jumped into his room, without glancing at him, and grabbed her two bags before jumping back to David's. She appeared in the living room and slung her bag over her shoulder, sights set on going into the spare room to drop her stuff and change. Ashley made her way into the hallway, walking at a fast pace. Once she got into the room, she tossed the bags down onto the empty bed. Ashley pulled out a black fitted t-shirt she "borrowed" from Griffin and a pair of blue jeans. She quickly changed into the clothing and decided to leave the boots behind for the day. She slipped into her black and white high tops and suddenly got curious. 'Where's Tori? David's not here either?' Ashley got up and walked out of the room and to David's shut door. She placed a hand on the knob when everything seemed quiet. Listening for a moment, she heard small noises. With an evil grin, Ashley knocked on the door and howled like a wolf. She snickered to herself as she moseyed back into the living room.

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(Tori POV)

Tori slid out of David's bed and got dressed, her face flushed with a hint of embarrassment. She glanced over her shoulder at David, who was beginning to sit up and move to the other side of the bed. She finished getting dressed in her t-shirt and jeans, sending David a look of uncertainty before exiting the room. Tori made her way the few steps down the hall and saw Ashley fiddling with the remote for the TV. "What are you doing?"

Ashley looked up towards her and said, "Dunno. I was trying to find where you put the batteries in."

"They go in the side," David's voice said. Tori turned and saw David hovering behind her. He gave her a warm smile and Tori blushed a little, remembering the events that partook not too long ago.

Ashley turned the remote to its side and said, "Huh," in amazement. She looked back up at them and said, "What were you two doing?" Her tone was slightly sarcastic but also had question in it.

Tori glanced at David and walked over to the kitchen as she felt her face heat up. "We were um…playing Parcheesi," she said nervously.

David walked over and sat down on the armchair, looking at her curiously. "Really?" Tori noticed she raised an eyebrow at David. "Can I play?" Ashley asked with a grin.

"No!" Tori and David shouted in union unexpectedly.

The grin on Ashley's face widened and she said, "I'm not that dumb. I know what you two were up to." She rolled her eyes and tossed the remote to David. Tori rolled her eyes and Ashley said, "I saw that." Tori just snickered to herself and pulled a glass from the cabinet. She went into the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of orange juice. As she poured some into the glass, she asked, "Not at Griffin's? I figured you would be." Tori picked up the glass, taking a sip as she walked over to sit next to Ashley.

Ashley crossed her arms with a frown. "He pissed me off."

"What'd he do?" David asked.

Ashley looked at them both a few times. "Oh no! We're so not having this discussion," she said as she stood up. She cradled her wounded arm and walked into the hallway.

Tori looked at David as she took another sip of the juice. "She always does this to avoid her issues," she informed him.

David nodded, showing he understood and sighed deeply. "I hope Griffin didn't do anything too rash."

"Nonsense," Tori said as she sat down the half full cup. "Ashley's probably overreacting."

"Heard that too," Ashley shouted from the bathroom. Tori snickered as a door could be heard slamming shut.

"Maybe she'll chill out," he said suggestively. Tori shrugged. David looked towards the bathroom as they sensed a jump.

"Jesus, where is she going now?" Tori asked, standing up. Just then, Griffin appeared in the room. He leaned against the bookcase next to the television that was mounted on the wall. "What are you doing here?" she asked with a groan.

Griffin had his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. He shrugged and said, "Coming to find Ashley."

Tori grumbled under her breath, "I swear if she went back to the Venture," as she walked to the bathroom. Tori opened the door and saw Ashley's distressed jumpscar. 'Someone's angry…' She peered though the jumpscar and she sensed two jumps. Tori carefully turned around to face Griffin and David.

"So where's it lead this time?" Griffin asked with a bored tone.

"I don't know. Want me to sketch the place?" she offered.

David nodded and Griffin just rolled his eyes before turning and walking out of the bathroom. Tori scampered past David, then Griffin and ran into the spare room. She plucked her Invader Zim sketch book from her backpack. Returning to the bathroom, she saw David leaning against the sink. Tori investigated the twisted jumpscar and began to sketch the place in her book.

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(David POV)

Within minutes, Tori had nearly the whole page covered with a rough sketch of the place Ashley jumped to. She put the pencil between her teeth and showed the drawing to David. He looked it over. It looked like a warehouse of some sort. David looked up as Griffin walked back into the room and held the book out to him. "You know this place?"

He took the book and looked it over, his face contorting with confusion. Griffin tossed the book back to David and furrowed his brow. "We've gotta get her now."

"Why?" Tori asked as she looked at him.

"That's Paladin territory. I've seen 'em lurk there loads of times."

David saw Tori's eyes grow wide and she grabbed onto his shirt quickly. "Let's go then!" she exclaimed. "Paladins weren't exactly nice."

"They'll be even worse to her since she's jumper though," Griffin stated, trailing off. He disappeared and David took hold of Tori's hand. She looked up at him with great concern.

"They won't find her. She's a sly fox," he said, trying to reassure her.

"Not when she's pissed off…" David pulled her through Griffin's jumpscar, setting foot on what seemed to be a dock.