She was being chastised. She was being laughed at. A knife, sharp and serrated, was being flaunted, teasing her whiskers, threatening to slice them off one by one. Amaya struggled against her assailants, but to no avail. One of them alone was enough to hold her down against her will, and there were three of them. She couldn't save herself, and nobody else was around. It was as though the world were empty, save for her and the ones who tormented her. The knife owner sliced here, sliced there, not deep, but enough to get their point across. Each line stung horribly, and her struggling only increased the pain. "We may not be able to get you to speak." Said the knife wielder, "But I can make you scream."

The girl struggled harder than ever before, her various cuts feeling like they were tearing her apart as she strained against them. No amount of adrenaline could give her the strength to break free of the hold the other two had on her. The knife was raised high above her chest. The ringleader kept bringing it down upon her, but never all the way. They were mock stabbing motions, their intention to drag out her agony. Stabbing the small, fragile girl would surely mean killing her, and they would never get a scream from her that way. "Just get on with it!" Said the one holding her left arm down.

"She'll scream once she feels the blade reach her heart." Sneered the other, holding down her right arm.

The main one took heed of their suggestions. He slowly dragged the knife over her chest to where her heart sat. Then, drawing it higher than he had before, he paused to align his strike. When it came, its mark was swift and true, plunging into her heart. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came.

Amaya woke up with a great start, breathing heavily. Her eyes were wide as they darted about, looking for the three that held her down, but of course, they were nowhere to be found. Not in Mike's bedroom, at least. Adrenaline kicked in, too, her body ready to fight or flee from the false threats that invaded her dreams. It only increased her heart rate and hyperventilating further, and tears found their way to her eyes. She choked for air as the sobs began, unable to inhale deeply enough to let out a full wail.

Mike, who had ultra sensitive hearing, even in his sleep, found himself pulled from his own dreamland by the cries of his girlfriend. They started in his dreams, and when he woke up they were not interrupted. Groggily he rolled over to face Amaya, who was sitting bolt upright and coughing as her body heaved from the tears and intense breathing. The distressing sight of his girlfriend panicking sobered him up quickly, and Mike shot up in bed. "Amaya! Amaya, what's wrong?!"

Amaya was too caught up in her panic attack to notice Mike had woken up and was calling for her. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and the tabby leapt out of her fur, nearly falling the side of the bed. Mike put his arms around her and caught her before she fell, pulling her back to safety. 'She must have had a nightmare.' He thought to himself, looking at the state the girl was in. 'A pretty bad one, too.'

Mike held Amaya closely, who was trembling with fear. She couldn't catch her breath, she couldn't cry, she couldn't calm down. Yet, Mike didn't let go, he petted her head and whispered to her in the gentlest way he could. "It's okay… you're okay… you're safe now…" Were among other things he said in an attempt to put her immediate fears to bed.

Safe arms and gentle words did eventually work their magic on her. Amaya's heart slowed down, and she was able to properly cry. Mike just held her, letting her feelings take their course. He was just happy her panic attack was coming down, and she could relax a little. Amaya hugged his arm back, and Mike could feel her tears dripping onto him. He used a hand to wipe them from her cheeks. "You had a nightmare, didn't you?"

The girl nodded solemnly.

"And it…" Mike paused for a moment to consider if he should mention the bullies or not. No sense beating around the bush. "It was about them, wasn't it?"

Another nod.

"Oh, Amaya…" Mike whispered to her through the darkness. "I promise, they will never even touch you ever again. And I promise that no matter what, I will protect you."

Amaya closed her eyes and nodded a third time, resting her head on Mike's hand. She took a deep, shaky breath as her tears subsided. The three bullies had been expelled once Mike explained the situation to the principal. It took a lot of convincing Amaya to let him do it, but hand in hand they got it done. She was scared that saying something might make things worse. Upon reviewing security cameras in the hallways, and the ones around the outside of the building, the story was corroborated. When Amaya's parents found out, they were infuriated, and demanded to know why the school never noticed the kids tormenting their daughter.

It was a tough situation on all accounts, but it was decided that the three teens in question would be brought to trial over the assault that Amaya had endured from them over the years. Particularly, the incident with the knife was being put as the main charge for the case. The parents of the three students were not aware of their children's wrongdoings, even not believing Amaya at first. They claimed she was making things up, but the security footage did not lie. They wanted to find a way to settle things out of court, but Amaya's parents, and Mike, were not having any of it.

So the subpoenas were issued, and the court date set. In several hours, Amaya would be walking into the courtroom to confront the three demons one more time. Though Mike and Amaya wouldn't know it, the parents of the harassers were beside themselves with frustration and anger over their kids' behavior. The one who wielded the knife got a particularly nasty chewing out by his father. All his mother could do is sit by and watch, totally at a loss for words.

"I don't even know what to say to you." He said, standing in front of his son, who was sitting on the couch with his arms folded, looking down. "Do you understand what this is?" The dad waved the subpoena.

The son stayed silent, electing to keep his interest with the floor. His dad continued. "Do you realize? Do. You. Realize? That you could possibly be looking at time in juvenile detention. Do you know what that means?"

Still, silence.

"That means you'd be going to jail!" His dad sputtered. "Jail, son!"

"Don't say that!" Gasped his mother, horrified at the thought of her baby being locked behind bars.

"That's the reality of it." His dad told her. "What were you thinking?!" He asked his son, sounding exasperated. "We raised you better than this! Where did you even get that knife?"

His son provided no answers. Of course, there were none. There were no excuses. His dad sighed. "I want you to go to your room. You are confined to it. The next time you leave this house, it'll be when you go to court."

But none of that was any concern of Mike's right now. The coming day was already going to be stressful enough on Amaya, and he wanted to make sure she at least got a good night's rest. Amaya had been agitated in the days leading up to the trial, and so both parents had permitted that her and Mike be able to have a sleepover the night before. "But keep it PG thirteen!" They made clear.

That was easy enough to follow. Mike wasn't about to take advantage of Amaya like that, and Amaya, while happy they could be so close together, wasn't in the mood for it. Instead they cuddled until they drifted off to sleep. And all was peaceful until a few minutes ago, but the peace was slowly coming back as Amaya felt calm again. She leaned into her boyfriend's embrace, nuzzling his cheek to show her appreciation. Her little whiskers tickled Mike, and he smiled a little.

"There you go, that's better." He said warmly. "You are loved, Amaya. Your friends love you. Your family loves you. I love you. And we won't let anyone hurt you."

The words enveloped her like a warm blanket and filled her with serenity. Mike was her world, and she was his. They were each other's stronghold against the tribulations of life. "Besides, if anyone is gonna get you, it's gonna be me." Mike said mischievously, and Amaya looked at him curiously.

"I'mma get ya!" He said and he leaned in to pretend to bite her over and over. "I bet you taste good!" Amaya giggled and squirmed, Mike's whiskers tickling her as hers had tickled him. She lightly batted the top of his head playfully as he over exaggerated the act of eating her. Mike pulled back to give her a moment to breathe. Amaya smiled brightly at him, her fears now gone, replaced with joy. "Such a pretty smile…" Mike said. "I hope you never lose it."

Amaya hugged him again, and he hugged her back. They sat like this for a minute before Mike said, "Are you ready to go back to sleep?"

Amaya nodded and layed back down. Mike did too, holding her close to him. She rested her head on his chest as Mike pulled the blanket back over them. "Goodnight, Amaya. I love you."

"Love you too." Amaya replied softly. They closed their eyes and soaked in each other as they went to sleep once more.