"Hey, Dall. What's the matter? You look really out of it." Dallon had been tired and despondent for the past few weeks, and I'd been asking him what was wrong since the first day I noticed. He responded to my question the same way as he normally did. He became teary eyed and shrugged it off.
I heard someone tossing and turning on the bus. Someone was whimpering. I crawled out of my bunk and tiptoed over to the bed where the noise was coming from. I pushed back the curtain and was met with Dallon's sleeping form thrashing about. "Hey, Dallon, wake up." I lightly shook him. He pushed me away and kicked in my direction. "Dall, hey, wake up. You're having a nightmare," I softly whispered. He whined and continued thrashing about. His facial expression showed nothing but pain. "Shit, D, wake up! Please, just wake up, and show me that you're okay," I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as I saw him struggling. "Dall, hun, it's okay. It's me. It's Brendon." He continued to toss and turn, but soon, the violent dream began to slow.
Dallon laid there with his eyes screwed shut. "Dall, open your eyes. It's okay." I set my hand on his for reassurance.
"Brendon, I-I don't want to open my eyes. I don't want t-to see," he stammered. "It's okay. I'm here. Just open your eyes. Everything will be fine, I promise." His eyes hesitantly fluttered open. "There you go, Dallon. It's okay." I brought my hand up to his forehead.
He was sweating, and his breathing was rapid. His forehead was hot to the touch. "I'll be right back, okay?" As soon as I spoke, he grabbed onto my wrist and began shaking his head fervently. "Dall, I'm just going to get ibuprofen out of my bag because you might be running a fever," I explained. "No, n-no, I'm fine. I just- I'm scared." My heart broke for the boy looking up at me. "Aw, D, come here," I beckoned. Soon, his tear stricken face was pressed against my shoulder and more tears were trailing their way down his cheeks.
"Let's head to the back room, yeah? We don't want to wake anyone." He nodded his head and walked with me to the room, tears still falling at a rapid rate. "What's going on, D? Why're you so upset?" I rubbed my hand on his back as I shut the door behind us. "I-I tried to- I tried to get it to stop, b-but I just couldn't w-ake myself up," he choked out in between sobs. "I'm s-sorry you're awake r-right now with me. I r-r-really am. I-It's like three o'clock in the m-morning, and you have a big interview tomorrow. I'm s-sorry for keeping you up. I'm sorry. I'm s-so sorry," he cried.
His tears never stopped as they seemed to be falling more frequently. I sat down on the couch beside him, and took his hand in my own. "You did nothing wrong, Dallon. I just want you to tell me what you're dreaming that's making you so upset." He nodded his head and began to stammer through an explanation. "I-I kept losing you guys in the w-worst ways, a-and you're all I've got. I'm afraid that if I go back to sleep, I m-might never wake up, or you guys might a-actually get hurt."
Hearing that left a lump in my throat and an ache in my heart. He'd been dealing with this on his own for quite a while by then, and he didn't ask anyone for help. But even then, all I could do was watch him cry and try to comfort him and calm him down.
"Whether near or far, I am always yours. Any change in time, we are young again."
Heat rose to Dallon's already tinted cheeks as I began to sing to him. He seemed to be calming down, but his face looked more pained and troubled than ever.
"Lay us down, we're in love."
I studied his face as the lyrics left my lips. His nose crinkled as did the corners of his eyes. His mouth was slightly open, allowing quiet sobs to escape.
"Lay us down, we're in love."
I ran my hand through his hair as he laid his head on my shoulder. His expression was softening, and I could feel his body relaxing against me.
"In these coming years, many things will change, but the way I feel will remain the same."
I placed a kiss on his cheek as his eyes threatened to close. His tears had stopped falling, and his hand was still intertwined with my own.
"Lay us down, we're in love."
Small hiccups and sighs would arise every few seconds, but his mind seemed to be at peace. The steady rise and fall of his chest, other than the occasional stutter, showed me that he was okay.
I leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek, then his nose, bottom lip, and anywhere on his face that tears had previously been. My heart was pounding against my chest as I wrapped my arms around him and listened to the sounds of his calm breathing.
I felt my own eyes closing as I shut off the light with the remote beside me. I drifted off to sleep after placing one more kiss on Dallon's lips and finishing the last line of the song.
"Lay us down, we're in love."
___________________________
A/N
I'm sorry for the wait, but I've been busy with studying for my exams. I didn't expect so many requests or so many end of the year assignments, so my apologies. Summer vacation is in two days for me, so updates should become more frequent. Thank you for being patient as I get through all of these requests, and I appreciate your support for all of these short stories. This prompt was requested by jmoishorny .
✌🏼Your Author👌🏼