"Ooooookay girls! And guy." Jasmine made a nod toward Abbey, who was sitting off to the side in the living room they were all in. The tuxedo cat was standing in front of her large flatscreen, addressing her friends. Before her was Mina, Cassidy, Haley, and of course, Abbey. It was their monthly sleepover, and it had to take a lot of convincing for her parents to allow Abbey to partake in it. They met him, had him over for dinner, and decided he was an upstanding young gentleman who could be trusted. The only condition was that he was to sleep in the living room, while the girls all got to sleep in Jasmine's room.

The night had been a fun one- filled with all sorts of snacks and games and talking. Now things were winding down, and the new business was what the last thing they would do before bed. Jasmine had an idea, and since she was hosting that night, she was going to pick the activity. "What movie are we going to watch?" There was a cacophony of suggestions thrown her way.

"We should watch Hearts On Fire! I'm feeling a romance." Cassidy suggested, throwing Mina a look. She knew Mina had a crush on Abbey, who was currently sitting beside her. Mina responded by blushing and sinking back into the couch the three were on.

"Bleh, a romance movie?" Haley scoffed, who was currently laying on a large armchair. "I have to deal with my brother's awful love life every day. Can't we watch something with some action? Maybe Action Men?"

"Action Men is sooooo mindless." Cassidy countered. "I want something with a little substance."

Abbey put out his own suggestion. "We could watch a scary movie. What do you have for that, Jasmine?"

Jasmine tapped her chin. "I have Demon House, Nightmare Lane, and a few others."

"Ohh!" Haley sat up. "I haven't seen Demon House yet."

"Neither have I." Cassidy said.

"Is that okay with you, Mina?" Jasmine asked the dog.

Mina, who was preoccupied with how close her and Abbey were sitting, snapped to. "Huh? What?"

"Is Demon House okay?" Abbey asked her.

Mina went even redder now that her crush was giving her attention. "Y-yeah… why wouldn't it be?!" All eyes went on Mina.

"Are you sure?" Jasmine asked. "Because last time we watched a scary movie-"

"Nothing happened!" Mina said quickly. "It was fine!" But all four girls knew this was a lie. At a previous sleepover, after watching a scary movie, Mina had woken up in tears from a dream she had about it. It took nearly an hour for her friends to help calm her down.

Jasmine didn't want to push the issue, especially in front of Abbey, so she conceded. "Okay then, Demon House it is. I'll go get some snacks."

"I'll help." Mina offered, and went with Jasmine to the kitchen.

"And I'll get the movie ready!" Haley said, getting off her comfy spot to eagerly pick out said movie.

Once Jasmine and Mina were out of earshot of the others, Jasmine sighed. "You don't have to try to act tough for Abbey to like you."

"Wha!" Mina exclaimed, caught off guard. "I don't care about Abbey liking me!"

Jasmine looked over at her friend with a 'really?' face. "It's obvious you like him. HE might not see that, but the rest of us do." Mina got quiet and turned away from Jasmine. The other girl softened up, not meaning to come across as harsh. "It's okay if you like him. Abbey's a really sweet guy."

"I d-do NOT like him." Mina stated firmly, hiding the massive blush on her face. She was always so closed off when it came to her romantic feelings, not wanting to risk getting hurt. Of course she liked Abbey. He was tall, soft spoken, smart, and as Jasmine said, a really sweet guy. It was everything Mina didn't know she wanted in a guy. Just one issue - she couldn't bring herself to talk about it.

"Alright, then…" Jasmine said, not wanting to push her friend any further. Mina and Jasmine had been friends since elementary school, she would open up when she was ready. The two got the rest of the snacks in silence, and came back to Cassidy and Abbey having a conversation about photography.

"I always like to get in deep with my subject. I like taking pictures of the little things." Cassidy explained.

"I love doing micro photography!" Abbey smiled. "Call me old fashioned, but I like using film instead of digital."

Cassidy leaned in a little. "Ohhhh, very cool!"

Mina was most displeased with Cassidy who was clearly flirting with Abbey, but did her best to hide her jealousy as she put the snacks down. It must not have been good enough, because Abbey asked, "Is everything okay, Mina?"

The girl froze up and looked at him, her eyes locked to his as though they were tractor beams. Her face turned into a raging blush again. Abbey was concerned, and began to wonder if it was something he did. Was he sitting too close?

"She's alright." Jasmine chimed in, saving Mina from her embarrassment. "Probably just school related. Right?"

Mina looked at Jasmine, almost in a daze. "Y-yeah." She said.

"Ah, well, I understand how that is. These advanced classes weigh me down sometimes too." Abbey comforted her.

"Are you two done making goo goo eyes at each other? Let's get this movie started." Haley grumbled, growing impatient that things were taking so long. Everyone nodded, Jasmine hit the lights, and found her spot on the floor.

Abbey noticed, and being the gentleman that he was, he decided to offer his comfy spot up. "Oh! Jasmine, would you like to sit on the couch? I can move."

Jasmine looked from Abbey to Mina and back again, and shook her head with a smile. "No, that's okay! You get comfy."

Abbey nodded and settled in, as well as everyone else, except for Mina. She was sitting bolt upright, eyes straight forward, hoping Demon House wasn't nearly as frightening as it sounded. The movie began, and at first things seemed fine. Just some minor unsettling things, nothing Mina couldn't handle. Things started to heat up, though. Loud jumpscares, tense imagery, and a particularly frightening moment when one of the characters was violently dragged out of bed by an unseen force. This caused Mina to jump a little, and involuntarily grab Abbey's arm.

Abbey jumped out of his fur at the sudden touch. The jolt put Mina back in the living room and she looked at Abbey, who was giving her a confused look. The girl yanked her arm away and put her hands firmly in her lap, face on fire. Abbey's look of confusion turned to sympathy, and he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. This only made her blush intensify. She drew into herself, and sensing that his comfort wasn't welcome (though it secretly was), Abbey took his hand away and kept it to himself.

The rest of the movie went on, the intensity of the scares growing until it crescendoed at the climax with a dinn of demonic images and haunting sounds. Amidst all of it, Abbey heard a whimper that he was certain wasn't coming from the movie. Looking over, everyone was engaged, except for one. Mina was wincing, nearly looking away entirely. Abbey wanted to reach out and comfort her, but he remembered what happened before and so kept to himself.

Finally, the credits rolled, and Jasmine hit the lights. "That was something." She said.

"That was AWESOME!" Haley shouted, laying over the chair. "I'm gonna bug mom about getting this one."

"It was so scary though!" Cassidy shivered. "I hope I can sleep tonight. What did you think, Abbey?"

Abbey tapped his chin in thought. "Well, the cinematography was nice in some places, the dialogue was a little clunky at times, but overall an effective scarefest."

"Well it's a good thing we have a big, strong man to protect us." Cassidy said slyly. "Right, Mina?"

Mina stood up in the blink of an eye. "That movie was nothing! I'm heading to bed." And with that, she stomped out the room to Jasmine's.

Everyone watched her walk off. "Don't worry about her." Jasmine assured Abbey, who looked concerned at Mina's abrupt behavior. "She's probably just tired." Jasmine yawned. "And I am too. Let's all get to bed. Goodnight Abbey!"

"Goodnight Abbey!" The other girls said as they followed Jasmine out.

"Goodnight girls." Abbey replied with a little wave. He unfurled his sleeping bag, hit the light, and got tucked in. All the while, he couldn't get Mina out of his mind, wondering if she was okay or not.

Meanwhile, the girls were getting settled in. Cassidy and Jasmine were taking the bed, while Haley and Mina took spots on the floor. Cassidy sprawled out on the bed. "Ahhh! He's such a gentle giant, isn't he?"

"Who?" Haley asked grumpily, a little sour about having to sleep on the floor. It was only fair though, as she got the bed last time.

"Abbey, who else?" Cassidy said dreamily, leaning over to look at the korat.

Haley frowned. "I heard he has a temper."

"C'mon girls, he's right down the hall." Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Don't gossip about him."

"I bet Mina'd LOVE to talk about Abbey all night, wouldn't she?" Cassidy said, looking at the girl in question, raising and lowering her eyebrows.

Mina had pretended to have fallen asleep ever since Cassidy brought up the abyssinian. Jasmine got the light. "Don't tease, Cassidy." She gave a slight grin. "Mina will talk about her feelings when she's ready."

"I can't escape boy drama no matter where I go, can I?" Lamented Haley. "I'm going to sleep. Goodnight!"

The other two girls said their goodnights and rolled over to go to sleep. Mina layed, wide awake, mind whirling between Abbey, the horror movie, and jealousy over Cassidy clearly flirting with Abbey. Was she trying to get under her skin? Why? Mina shook her head, and after several minutes, she too fell asleep.

Mina woke up a few hours later. Looking at the time glowing softly on Jasmine's digital clock, it was just past 3 in the morning. She groaned a little and rolled over in her sleeping bag. Then she heard a creak outside the door, down the hall. Her body stiffened, and she slowed her breath so she could hear better. That must have just been Abbey. After a minute of straining her ears, she heard nothing, and relaxed. That's when the door to the room clicked.

Mina was currently faced away from the door, but this didn't stop her eyes from going wide as dinner plates. She must have misheard that. It was just the house settling. Or maybe Abbey was coming in? The floor creaked again, the creaks getting closer and closer, until it was right next to her head. Mina closed her eyes tightly, praying whatever it was, it was nothing. The creaking stopped, and she held her breath.

Something terribly cold wrapped around her ears, and in the next split second, she felt herself be violently yanked from her sleeping bag. Mina screamed and thrashed about. "HELP! HELP ME!" She cried to her friends, who were now faceless strangers. They did not heed her frantic voice, and Mina was dragged out the room and down the hall. She desperately tried to get away, but whatever had her by the ears had an iron grip. She swiped above her, but all her hands met was the air.

Soon she was in the living room where Abbey lay asleep. "ABBEY! ABBEY! PLEASE HELP ME!" Mina screamed, and this time, someone heard. Abbey sat upright, green eyes shining in the darkness. The moment his gaze fell upon her, whatever was dragging her let go, and she fell to the floor.

Mina jolted awake, hyperventilating. She reached for her ears, which were flopped over. A sigh of relief escaped her as she continued to calm herself down. Looking around, it seems none of her friends were awake. Her mouth was dry, and now Mina had to contemplate whether or not she wanted to brave the darkness of Jasmine's house.

Thirst won out, and with a deep breath, the girl slid out of her sleeping bag and tip-toed to the door. Her breath was still as she pressed her ear to it, trying to hear if anything was waiting for her on the other side. She felt foolish that she was taking these precautions, but the dream and movie had left her really on edge. Of course, she heard nothing. Mustering her courage, Mina pushed through to the other side, opening the door as quickly as she could with her eyes closed. Once on the other side, she opened them, and saw nothing. Literally nothing, as it was too dark.

Mina crept down the hall, wincing at every creak in the floor, almost jumping at nothing. She readied herself to jump back at anything that might come up on the way to the kitchen. All the while, Mina held in her breath. As she slinked through the living room, she took no notice of Abbey, who was laying awake himself.

He had heard the footsteps coming down the hall, and his mind whirled with all manner of horrible things it could be. The movie had stuck in Abbey's head too, and he found it hard to stay asleep. His heart raced as the sounds got closer, and passed by. When he saw it was Mina, he let out his own sigh of relief. Abbey sat up to say something. "Mina? What's going on?"

Mina leapt out of her fur. "Yeeeek!" In one swift move, she spun around and kicked Abbey square in the chest. The boy let out a pained groan and doubled over, grabbing the spot. "Ohhhh…. Owwww…."

When Mina came down from her fear, she realized the damage she caused. Her hands flew to her mouth and she dropped to her knees. "Sorry! Sorry! I'm so sorry!" She whispered.

"It's… oh… kay…" Abbey sputtered in between wheezes. This made Mina feel worse, and she crawled over to him.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked, a little frantically. 'Way to go, Mina!' She chided herself 'You just kicked your crush in the chest!'

Abbey gasped. "W-water…"

Oh right. Water. That's why she'd come out there. Mina hopped up quickly and scurried to the kitchen. Once there she grabbed a glass and filled it with some water from the fridge's water dispenser. She hurried back, careful not to spill any on the carpet, and offered it to Abbey who was now sitting up.

"Thank you." He croaked, graciously accepting the glass. He took a few sips as Mina anxiously looked down at her hands, internally beating herself up. He was going to hate her. He already wasn't interested and now he's going to hate her. He was right to dislike her. How could she do something so drastic? He'll think she's violent. Unstable.

"Mina? Are you okay?" Abbey's voice broke through the negativity, worried at the sight of her pained expression. Mina blinked and looked up at the boy.

Now her thoughts turned to disbelief. Why was this idiot… this sweet idiot… "You're worried about me?!" Mina asked. "I kicked you in the chest and you're worried about me?!"

"I mean," Abbey smiled warmly. "You WERE the one up and about."

"Well… I…" Mina did not want to admit she was a baby who was scared of the movie. "I was just stretching my legs."

"At two in the morning?" Abbey tilted his head, large brown ears flopping over. His curious expression was adorable, and this made Mina's heart race and face turn red. "I mean, I'm not judging or anything…"

There was no point in keeping up that lie. Abbey didn't deserve that. After kicking him in the chest, she owed it to him to be honest. And truthfully, if there was anyone she felt comfortable with talking about her fears, it was him. Despite her nervousness around him, he also made her feel at ease. Maybe it was just the tired speaking.

"Mmm…" Mina started slowly, speaking quietly. "Actually…"

Abbey sat up and leaned forward to hear her soft voice better. "Yes?"

"I couldn't sleep." She admitted. "I mean, I did sleep, but…"

"But what?" Abbey asked.

Mina took a deep breath. "I had a bad dream, okay?" She waited for Abbey to laugh (though foolishly, she knew he never would), or look down on her for letting a silly little scary movie get to her so much, but he didn't.

"Oh? Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, voice filled with a comforting warmth.

Mina contemplated it, but decided to open up some more to him. She got into a more comfortable sitting position. "I dreamed that something grabbed me and pulled me through the house. And nobody could hear me screaming - but you."

Abbey cocked an eyebrow. "Me?"

Mina nodded. "When you looked at me, whatever was pulling me let go. And then I woke up."

"I see…" Abbey said, leaning back. "It was the movie, wasn't it?" Mina hugged herself and looked away, ashamed. Abbey quickly followed up with, "Hey! Don't feel bad! It was a really scary movie. It's why I've had a hard time staying asleep."

"I still feel so stupid, though!" Mina lamented. "I shouldn't be getting scared by things like that."

"There's nothing wrong with being afraid." Abbey said. "I've been afraid lots of times."

"I suppose so…" Mina replied. They both sat in silence for a few moments. Mina went back to studying her hands as she mulled over what Abbey said. Maybe it was true, but it didn't change her anxiety over the situation. Abbey was still leaning back, now finished with the cup of water, and it was apparent he was beginning to nod off. And if she was being honest, Mina was nodding off as well. As the glow of their conversation died away, she knew that she was going to have to go back to bed.

As if hearing her thoughts, Abbey yawned and said, "We should get back to sleep." But she didn't want to. Well, she did, just not alone. Not without… The thought kept the fire going in her cheeks.

"I was thinking…" Mina started off slowly, running a finger through the carpeted floor. "Maybe… since we're both a little freaked out… we should sleep nearby? Just in case."

Abbey looked at the girl questioningly. "Nearby? I don't know how Jasmine's parents would feel about that… it took a lot of convincing to get them to let me stay the night here. I mean, I don't mind at all… I just don't want to impose."

"I'm sure it will be fine…" Mina said. "It's just the one time. And it's not like we're sleeping together, just close by."

It was enough to convince Abbey, whoa also rather liked the idea. "Alright. Want me to walk with you to get your stuff?"

It was such a small thing, but it went a long way to showing how much he cared. Mina nodded appreciatively and together they walked down the dark hallway to Jasmine's room, mindful to not make any noise. Mina swiftly gathered her sleeping bag and they tip toed back to the living room, where she set up camp. Once they were both snuggled up in their respective sleeping bags facing each other, Mina spoke. "Thank you, Abbey. And I'm sorry I kicked you."

"That's okay." Abbey said warmly. "Maybe we can both sleep better now."

"I think I will." Mina said, showing her first genuine smile that evening. With that, the two got comfy, and soon fell into a peaceful sleep.