bedtime stories for The Troubled

Things Change

For my friend  I hope this helps you and your nights. Edit: I wrote this at 1 am and literally finished at 3:30 am, so the misspellings are staying for peoples enjoyment of sleep deprived me :).

There once was a  girl who would refuse to sleep. Every night she fell asleep she would wake up with the same dream of being alone in a crowded place with no where to go. This made her upset and made her never wnat to sleep again.

Tomorrow was the first day of school at her whole new school. She felt her stomach drop as it had been just like her dream. She was alone in a crowded place, she knew no one and no one knew her. She gathered all her courage as she sat down, tired from the sleepless weeks that she had since her dreams started. She flopped onto her desk and groaned softly as she wished for a dreamless night.

She went along lunch hoping to find an empty table, and look at that it was right at the edge of teh cafeteria. She grabbed a tray and walked over as she felt a random pit in her stomach as usual. She just looked down and was in her phone hoping to not be noticed as she hoped for her old friends to text back.

A week has gone by and she still  talked to anyone, and still she had those sleepless nights with nightmares that were her reality. She went to lunch and as usual she sat alone, and just stared at her food. She didnt feel hungry, she told herself. Then as she was about to push her tray away someone plopped right next to her with a bright smile.

"Is this seat taken?" Spoke a girl with a bun in her hair. She looked so beautiful and made the girl who was just wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants feel more insecure in a way. She did not look a t the girl though, she just nodded and went on with trying to text her old friends.

As days went on the girl with the bun always sat next to her and tried to start a conversation, even if it was always one sided. But as days turned to weeks more people started to slowly but surely join the table. The girl hoped this would mean less attention on her and she could still be invisible, but they always tried to include her in any conversation.

Soon she started to recognize the kids from lunch in her classes, it was interesting but still she struggled to focus with her sleepless nights. She once slept in class only to wake up five minutes later after that  reoccurring dream happened. She hoped one day it would stop but until then she still would never sleep.

As she started to get more and more respondent to the classmates at the table, from nothing to slight nods or meek smiles, she realized the pit in her stomach had slowly decreased. She felt sort of.. safe at the table.

She always listened to the conversations at teh table but never chimed in, always hoping her friends would respond when they never did. At least not during school, but she still tried. One lunch girl with a bun came down more upset than usual and that when the girl's attention was caught.

"I'm not pretty enough, I'm not skinny enough, that is all he would say to me and when I get to what he wants he dumps me because I'm a 'try hard'" teh girl with a hun in her hair spoke upset.

"Its not worth it Avery, just leave him to be shit like most of the guys in this school." A girl with a yellow sweater spoke, she was a new person at the table that showed up like two weeks ago.

"It is, I loved him Claire!" The girl with a bun... Avery spoke putting her head down.

With that the girl had had it. She put her phone on the table face down and took her earbuds out. Startling a bunch of people already with her actions, Avery looked up at her with curiosity and sadness.

"You are beautiful and the way you talked to me even if I did not respond just shows how much of an ass he was to dump you." The girl spoke stern but soft so she wouldnt raise too much attention to herself. "You deserve better and there is a guy right at thsi table I know who will treat you right."

The girl said this and the guy with a blue collared shirt's turned bright red as be his his face. People started lightly laughing and teasing a little at his sudden blushing, but in a ll it made the.. it made every laugh.

After a while the girl who never slept introduced herself to them as Opal and that she had come from a school in California and had moved to Virginia because of her dad. In all as she started talking with them more, the more she felt the pit in her stomach go away. Until she finally did not feel it anymore.

Opal had been changing out with a boy named Chase, he was sweet and always made sure she was okay. He was the third person at the table after Avery and her now boyfriend Dilan came. He always tried to include her and now that she did interact, they got closer than ever. She still had those sleepless nights, refusing to feel alone again when she had people in rela life.

"Hey Chase, I'm bored" Opal spoke as she yawned.

"Here," Chase said as he laid her head on his lap and hummed a soft little tune. He held his hand on her cheek as she started to tense up.

"No, no, no, Chase I can't-"

"It will be okay, I will be here when you wake up, so sh." And with those words that chase said Opal was out like a light. He felt relieved when he say her relaxed and sound asleep. He had noticed her in class when she would fall asleep just slightly and wake up really scared, looking for.. someone.

"What time is it?" Opal asked groggily, sleep in her voice.

"Its three a.m., please go back to bed." Chase said with as much sleep, maybe even more in his voice.

"Its what?!" Opal whispered shouted at Chase as she whipped around the bed to see the clock read 3:23 a.m. "Why are you still here..?"

"I promised you I would be there when you woke up, so I asked yours and my mom if I could spend the night, they had no problem with it." Chase spoke Turing to lay on his back. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Opal thought back on it, and she realized she did not even recall a dream. Well maybe one of her and Chase but no nightmares. No traumatic wake ups, no feeling claustrophobic in open spaces, she felt relaxed and .. home.

"No I did not, and I'm kind of tired so I dont think I would mind returning to my nap." Opal said curling up next to him, startling him a little.

"I thought you never wanted to sleep?"

"Things change, now let me sleep." She spoke as she felt sleep take over and for once she was not scared.