With Fear or Without

22- What Are Siblings For?

After another trek through the city and the underground passages, Cassian left the trio when they resurfaced to find Grant Park exactly as they had left it. The sun hung in the sky in almost the same spot as before, the Friday crowd still scattered across the grass. Cleo checked her watch. 5:11. Only 11 minutes had passed since they sat here, Cleo calling Cassian's name in her head and feeling like an idiot.

"So that really happened," Charlie muttered in a daze.

"Guess so," Cleo answered.

They didn't discuss much that afternoon, instead they filled the time by wandering the downtown streets near the park, only stopping when their hunger got so insistent it interrupted their thoughts.

Each contemplated what exactly they had just sat through. The unique meeting, the individuals they met, and the mission they were given. They thought of what Cassian told them would come next.

Champion training.

What exactly that entailed, the trio had no idea. All they knew was that for the next week, they would be granted a special entrance to the rebellion's city, where the hours spent training would be warped into minutes.

It sounded exhausting.

That Friday night was the opposite of the previous one. Cleo lay awake, her friends silent through the phone.

An overwhelming urge built in her as she stared through the darkness at her ceiling. She had to talk, to spill all her worries, to tell someone about the world she discovered.

Throwing off her blankets, she crept out of her room and into the hallway, ducking through the slightly ajar door next to her own. The floorboards creaked and groaned, trying to make her presence known. Feeling her way through the darkness, she knelt down next to the bed.

"Terra?"

No response.

"Terra?" she whispered again, a bit louder. "You awake?"

"No," came a muffled voice.

"I need to talk to you."

Cleo's sister burrowed deeper into the blankets. "I'm not awake," she said into her pillow.

"It's important," Cleo pleaded.

Terra must have heard the urgency in Cleo's voice, because she groaned and scooted to one side of the bed. Cleo pushed open the curtain above the bed, letting some moonlight pour into the room. Then she crawled into her sister's bed, her back against the headboard and Terra's head on her shoulder.

After a silence that made Cleo suspect her sister had fallen back asleep, Terra whispered, "So?"

Of course, now was the moment Cleo questioned herself. She was never told she had to keep any of it a secret, but what if it was implied? The idea of Terra not even believing her aside, what if she was about to subject her sister to the same targeting Cleo would get?

"Cleo... why am I awake at this ungodly hour?" Terra asked.

Cleo took a shaky breath. She knew she wouldn't be able to hide anything this big from her sister. Her best friend. She didn't want to hide anything.

"You know the whole locker incident at my school yesterday?" Cleo started. After a mumbled affirmation, she went on from there to tell Terra everything. From the beginning.

Every detail.

Terra listened. At first she commented, asking random questions and making fun of things in her sleepy state. But once Cleo's story reached that hallway full of shadow, Terra fell silent. She also remembered that day back in Iowa. She remembered it all too well. It wasn't a subject they talked about a lot, rather one they preferred to pretend didn't happen.

Cleo finished off her story with how the meeting ended mere hours ago. She fell silent, waiting anxiously for her sister's reaction. Would Terra believe her? Think it was all a joke?

"What was that guy's name again?"

"What?"

"You know, the guy from your dream," Terra said, her words still slurred by sleep.

"Oh. Cassian?"

"Yeah, him."

Cleo started to roll her eyes. She should have expected this, for Terra to pick out the one part of her story where a boy invaded her dream. But the next thing she said caught Cleo by surprise.

"You kinda hate him, don't you?"

"I- what? I don't... hate him."

"Oh come on." Terra lifted herself onto her hands so she could look at Cleo. "You totally hate the fact that this whole thing was started because of a boy. I know I would be."

Cleo paused before answering. How did she know her so well? "Yeah. Yeah, I do! I mean it's so stereotypical. Girl meets mysterious boy, boy starts her on some crazy fantasy quest and then they fall in love, happily ever after," she said in a mocking tone, leaning her head back against the wall.

"Then don't fall in love, stupid," Terra yawned. "But seriously, don't do it because of him. Don't do it because of anyone, really. Do it cause you want to, because you think they're right, whatever, just... you know, don't do it for Cassius."

Cleo smirked to herself, not bothering to correct the name. "Thanks."

"Yup. And thanks for giving me nightmares." Her face scrunched up. "About... nightmares?"

"You're surprisingly calm about this. I've had days and I'm still freaking out."

"Not gonna lie, it's freakin' terrifying, so thanks for that. But I'm not the one questing for those weird device thingies." She shrugged. "Now I know that soon you can be the one valiantly defending me from demons," she said with a sleepy grin.

Cleo smiled back, but the thought scared her more than she cared to admit. She didn't think she was going to get much sleep tonight, nor did she feel up to sitting alone in her dark room.

"Wanna have a sleepover?"

Terra's shoulders relaxed. "Definitely."

Cleo scooted down further in the small bed, barely big enough for the two girls. They didn't mind, however, they preferred it this particular night.

They spent the rest of the night side by side, taking enough comfort in the other being with them that they managed some sleep at least. However, seeing Cleo's empty bed came as quite a surprise for Andy and Charlie, who were still on the phone next to Cleo's bed. There was definitely some frantic shouting and hurried explanations that morning.