DIFFERENT [hs] |Complete|

Twenty-Four

"Cass."

"Cass."

"Cass!"

I awoke with a startle, blinking profusely so I was able to determine my surroundings. Pen holders, notebooks, sticky notes, stacks of paperwork... I'm in my office.

"Hey, you all right?" I spun on my seat to find Niall leaning against the low barrier between Harry's and I's desk. "I tried calling your name, but you didn't hear me."

I rubbed my eyes and yawned quietly. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Sorry."

"Something intense happen?" He asks.

"Yeah, something like that."

"What was it about?" He disappeared for a second before I realised he grabbed Harry's office chair to sit directly in front of me. His eyes were full of concern, but his face seemed neutral. I waited a moment, just listening to hear any moment in the other desks but heard nothing. "It's just you and I. The rest are on their lunch breaks."

I nodded. "Niall. Do you believe that there are more than just us humans in this world?" I ask.

He blinked more times than necessary, leaning back against the chair with his arms crossed. Any emotion in his features was now long gone, his face was hard and emotionless.

"I um..." he stammered and cleared his throat. "Yeah. Obviously. I mean there's other planets in the universe, so there's gotta be more than just humans. I believe in aliens. Sue me," he shrugged with a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"What about on Earth? Like people with powers, or who can control elements... shift into something else?"

"I think you've watched a little too many X-Men movies, Cass."

I shook my head with a light laugh. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"What's with the sudden questions?"

"Nothing. I've just been having some stupid dreams. I know it doesn't mean anything, but I can't help but to think about it, you know? It's like my mind is set on these certain things, and it's all I want to think about."

"What certain things?" Niall asks.

I scoffed with an eye roll. "Werewolves," I whispered, "and faceless men, and forests, and a lot of running. I mean I'm not horrible at running, but I mean sprinting for minutes on end without a break. Like I'm escaping from something and trying not to get caught."

"Has this been a recurring thing?"

I nodded.

"Maybe you should start taking some sleeping pills. Concealer isn't a magic wand, those bags under your eyes are becoming darker," he mocked but there was a hint of seriousness in his tone. Niall stood from Harry's seat, and wheeled it away in the office. "Let's go and eat something. You've lost quite a bit of weight. I have a sudden urge to want to force-feed you spaghetti."

"I won't stop you," we laughed softly as he hit twenty-two on the dash.

-

"Hi," Harry greets Niall and I with a grin, watching my every move as I sat on the seat opposite of him. He reached his arm over to a brown paper bag. "I got you a BLT," he says to me, "but without the T."

I smiled at him. "You didn't have to."

"You basically wanted to devour mine yesterday. Eat something. Please."

"I'm gonna take a piss," Niall announced to the entirety of the floor, the others responded with grimaces and eye rolls.

Harry was shaking his head with a light smile. "Never subtle that bastard. I swear..."