A Future To Look Forward To (Caulscott)

Night Terrors

Max woke with a start when she could hear light sobbing coming from the room just next door. Much to her body's dismay, she pulled back the covers, exposing her the the cold, night air in her home. Her feet hissed at the contact of the frigid wood flooring, but she continued to meander to the guest room. As she grew closer to the door, the sobbing became more audible and it sounded like it was getting worse. She hustled and as she walked into the room, the first thing she noticed was that Nathan was no longer in his designated bed. Max scanned the room, and with only the light coming in from the windows, she spotted Nathan curled up in the corner of his room. His body was racking uncontrollably with his intense crying, his face buried in his hands, and his hair was sticking up in all directions.

Max hurried to his side, and seeing his current state, began to worry for him. Max tugged at his hands and tried snapping him out of his current state.

"Nathan! Nathan!" she shouted repeatedly. "Snap out of it!"

Nathan finally took his hands down from his face and looked into Max's eyes. He saw genuine concern and worry, which was not a common sight for him. Eventually Max had calmed him down, but he was still pretty shaken up. Max had sensed this and wrapped her arms around his slouched figure and held him to her tightly. Nathan buried his face into her shoulder and cried softly. Max didn't move a muscle or make a sound.

She had had similar events happen with Chloe and herself. Chloe sometimes would have night terrors, so Max would sit and hold her until she went back to sleep. That was one of the things Max missed about being in the same town as her friend, they comforted each other when they needed it most. That was exactly what she was doing with Nathan, however Max refused to sleep on the freezing cold floor. After Nathan had fully calmed down she pulled Nathan up off of her.

"Sorry but I refuse to sleep on the floor." she whispered.

Max helped Nathan stand and she guided him over into his bed. Max made sure he was comfortable, and she wrapped him up with the covers again. Max turned to leave the room, but she felt Nathan grab her by the wrist. Nathan pulled her back to the bed side, and looked up at her with fear in his tired eyes.

"Pl...Please don't leave me alone..." he asked softly.

Max thought for a moment, then sighed. She could have just told him no and gone back to her room to sleep, but after seeing the look in his eyes, she caved in. She prodded at his side, urging him to move over so she would have room. He understood her actions and moved almost all of the way over to the other side of the bed. Max climbed under some of the covers and buried her face into the pillow.

"Thank you Max. For everything..." Nathan mumbled sleepily.

"Anything for a friend.." Max said before succumbing to sleep.

Max had no clue why she was sleeping in a bed next to a man who she saw for the first time in years, but she felt like he had changed. He seemed a lot more... innocent.

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A/N: sorry it is so short