Eight Steps to Bravery

Chapter Eight

"What the hell?!"

I was lurched out of the dreaming world by the exclamation, which came from somewhere not far from me. I wondered why someone was yelling so viciously at such an early hour.

I just want to sleep a little longer...

Then I remembered where I was.

Shit.

I froze, panic rising into my chest. I was curled up against Fate's side, who was still sleeping, completely naive to the situation. I was almost entirely covered underneath the plush blankets, yet I must have still been able to be noticed.

It suddenly felt unbearably hot under the covers.

"What's this bitch doing in our room?!" a man, the one who had exclaimed before, hissed out. I remained still, pretending I was still immersed in sleep.

"What the hell are you talkin' about?"

"Some little girl's in this kid's bed!"

"What?!"

I heard a commotion beginning to erupt within the room, approaching Fate's bed. I winced, preparing for an unfathomable, horrifying fate. Death would be too kind.

It was nice knowing you, Fate.

"Hey!"

Jay's unmistakable voice rang out through the room, silencing those inside. Clearly he was more respected than I realized.

"As long as I'm standing, none of you will bother those children."

A younger male voice grumbled. "But she snuck-"

"She's a child. Those two are the only children in this program, and they won't be causing any harm by sleeping in each other's bed." The harshness in Jay's voice was unmistakable.

"Are you saying you want us to allow this girl to sneak in whenever the hell she wants?!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Jay replied firmly.

The room was still, yet I could feel the irritation and frustration rolling through the air in waves. It was stifling.

"Any objections?" he challenged, with the only reply being silence. "Good. Hop to it."

It was about half an hour before everyone finally filed out, grumbling or cursing, but did not bother Fate nor I.

I realized Jay must have noticed when I was sneaking through the halls last night, yet had not interrupted my endeavors regardless. I was suddenly eternally grateful for him.

"Are we alone yet?"

Fate's mumble startled me.

He shifted over, turning to face me. His eyes were lidded with sleep, his expression soft, and he smirked slightly.

"So you heard all that?"

"Vaguely," he replied with a yawn. "Jay's an understanding guy; you were lucky he was here to bail you out."

I frowned, averting his gaze. "Yeah, I know."

"Why'd you actually come down?"

"Huh?"

"You said you couldn't sleep," Fate started, "but is that really the reason?"

I'm a lonely, pathetic, overly-attached child. "Er, yeah."

"Bullcrap."

I shifted over onto my back, staring at the wooden bed frame encasing the mattress of the upper bunk. "Fate, it's fine."