Later that night Mark snuck quietly into Quinn room. If she was having one of her regular dreams she wouldn't hear him come in. He silently opened the door, thankful that it had no lock, and closed it behind him, wincing at the subtle click of it shutting. She had drawn the curtains over the balcony doors and the room was plunged into near darkness, save for the sliver of light from under the door. He padded across the carpeted floor to her bed, where he could just make out the outline of his sleeping friend. As he got closer he noticed that she had unfurled her wings and was wrapped in them like a cocoon.

He stifled a laugh but was glad that she was sleeping. Cautiously he sat on the edge of her bed, trying to figure out what she was muttering to herself about tonight. His room with Piotr was quiet, too quiet for him as he was used to the sounds of the outdoors mixed with Quinn's sleep talking. "Checkmate," she mumbled. He smiled, thinking that she must have been dreaming about her chess game with Caim. "Why doesn't he like blood, and why was his wrist green?" Mark raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was talking about.

She mumbled quietly and rolled over so that she faced Mark. Her white spider web-like tattoos glowed faintly in the darkness and Mark couldn't help thinking that it looked like someone had drawn on her in her sleep. He laughed quietly at the thought, picturing the amount of trouble the artist would be in.

Quinn's quiet whimper snapped Mark out of his daydream and he turned his attention back to his sleeping friend. "But-But you can't," she mumbled as she started to shake. Mark's eyebrows met in worry. "Quinn?" he whispered.

"P-Please. Wh-Why are you leaving? I-I thought-" Her sentence was cut off and Mark was horrified to see a tear fall from her eye to her pillow. "M-Mark," she stammered. Mark's eyes grew wide. "P-Please… D-Don't leave." Mark found her hand, which was trembling next to her cheek, and held it, squeezing it tightly. "I'm not going anywhere," he told her. "I'm not leaving." She continued to shake and she bit her lip. "M-Mark?"

"I'm right here 'mare." Her eyes fluttered open and she stared at Mark, her red iris's unusually soft. "I'm right here," he repeated. Quinn blinked once before her eyes reclosed and she fell back asleep.

Mark waited a couple minutes, making sure that she was sleeping soundly, and then left, leaving her door slightly ajar. He stepped into the hall and took a deep breath. It seemed like most of her nightmares involved him. He sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair, turning back down the hall to go back to his room. "Oh. Hi."

Mark looked over his shoulder to see Jake standing at the top of the stairs, a glass of water in one hand, two pills in another. "They're not mine," he said quickly. Mark shrugged. "I wasn't going to ask," he replied. Jake laughed quietly and smiled. "You taking care of a sick friend too? Well, sick really isn't the word but maybe troubled would work? What do you think? Or are you just up for a stroll?"

"Checking on a friend," Mark said before Jake could continue. Jake smiled. "Quinn's lucky to have a friend like you. You're really nice and you're protective. I saw how you went to defend her outside today when Kurt threw his snowball. You're a great guy Mark." Mark blushed slightly and shifted his feet. "You're a great friend too." He paused. "Caim's lucky." Jake's eyes widened a bit. "How'd you know? Did you hear him? He's really not as in pain as he sounds. It's just nightmares. He's fine-"

"I guessed," Mark replied, cutting him off. "I didn't hear anything." Jake nodded and for once didn't say anything. "Is he ok?" Jake nodded. "Yeah, just nightmares," he replied. Mark nodded. "Quinn too." The two of them stood there for a moment. "I should get these to him, though he's probably asleep again. Thank god he won't have any other dreams; it's usually only one a night. And he's usually not as loud as tonight; it's rare that he actually screams." Mark bit his lip. "Wow." Jake nodded and glanced down at the stuff in his hands. He smiled and looked back up at Mark. "I should probably get going."

Mark nodded and shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe," he replied. Jake laughed quietly as he started down the hall. "Night Mark," he called over his shoulder.

"Night." Mark watched Jake go down the hall and enter the room at the very end of the corridor. Mark smiled as he headed back to his own room.

AN: Mark's a bit of a creeper... This chapter was so sugary and sweet (in my opinion) that it was a little... I dont want to say sickening 'cause that's not nice... but... I dunno. This was a really sugary and sweet chapter and now my sweet-tooth's aching a little XD

Hope you enjoyed it!