𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, ph.

⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀𝐱. without nightmares.

The nightmares were always somehow related to water that still was his biggest fear. Sometimes he just saw how his own older brother tried to drown him that one time; Rome forgot about a lot of things from his childhood, but this scene was incredibly vivid in his memories─he remembered how he was walking next to the pool with pretty rocks he picked up earlier in his pocket, he remembered how someone suddenly pushed him even though later everyone would say he slipped. It was Noh's birthday party and he invited all his dumb friends that were laughing at Rome, they were always laughing at him for something; for being so tiny, for having freckles, for his long eyelashes that "made him look like a girl." He remembered how Noh held him by his hair, pushing his head under the water each time Rome tried to desperately come up for air. He remembered how later Noh would cry, saying that he just tried to pull Rome out. Of course, he convinced everyone, after all, Rome was always the clumsy one, the kid that couldn't take care of himself. Rome had a feeling that his mom knew the truth, but what could she do? When Rome got older, he concluded that no mom would want to see a monster in their child.

Sometimes in his nightmares, Rome was older and still so helpless. He could have hated the things everyone said about him, but it didn't make them less true─he couldn't take care of himself, most of the time he just acted confident to hide the insecure person he was. Rome wasn't afraid of Noh anymore, he knew that, but the person in his dreams was terrifying. There was always a hand holding him down, the air was burning in his lungs when he felt like he was going to explode. It always felt so real. The panic, the pain, the fear... But then Rome would just let go. The water would fill his mouth and there was nothing he could do...

The small boy suddenly started to choke, he opened his eyes wide and gripped his throat, catching his breath and blinking in the pitch-black darkness. The water he drowned in was freezing, but Rome felt hot under the covers. He blindly reached for his phone, squinting his eyes when the light from the screen hit them, displaying large 3:12 on top.

This damn rain just wouldn't stop.

Rome took another deep breath to calm down and then threw the covers away, shuffling through the room; his screen was the only source of light. He quickly crossed the hallway and without thinking too much slipped into Pick's bedroom, quietly closing the doors behind himself. He couldn't hear Pick's breathing because of the heavy rain, one of the windows in the room was opened and the chilly air filled the space, making Rome shiver. How could Pick even sleep like that?

"P'Pick?" Rome whispered, uncertainly moving towards the edge of the bed. He knew it's stupid and childish, but still better than being alone. "P', wake up," he said a little bit louder, tugging at the covers. At first, Pick mumbled something incoherent, Rome was pretty sure those were just curse words.

"What? You're being murdered and you told the guy to wait, so you could get back up?" Pick muttered with sarcasm, slowly turning on his back. Rome pointed at Pick with the screen of his phone and the senior squinted at the light.

"Your house is scary, scarier than being in one room with you with the lights off. Can I stay with you tonight? We can put pillows in between us," Rome rambled, stepping from foot to foot.

Pick sighed, as if dealing with Rome at this hour was way over his patience limit. "I'm gonna go and ignore how goddamn rude you are to your senior, shorty. But sure, you can stay with me," he added and his voice seemed to soften a little by the end, making Rome's heart twitch in the weirdest of ways. He locked the phone and put it on the bedside drawer, then slowly getting under the covers as far away from Pick as he could. "Well, a man got in my bed willingly, so no one can say I took advantage of him," Pick chuckled, clearly thinking he's the funniest person on Earth.

Rome moved his hand in the dark until he could feel Pick's bicep underneath it, and then he slapped the boy's skin. "Using my own words against me is illegal!"