Elijah's POV:

I groaned loudly as I stretched my muscles as much as possible. Last night's excessive exercise had left me sore and exercising again today didn't help much as well. I've started going to the gym a couple of times a week as I wanted to strengthen my muscles for soccer. It was a hobby I've began to come attached to ever since I enrolled in college and as the years passed, I got closer and closer to it. And exercising ended up being my way of showing my dedication to my hobby.

Right after I was done with exercising, Mason happened to be waiting in his car by the gym I go to and it didn't surprise me much as he knew my schedule. What did confuse me though was the reason he was waiting here and no matter how much I squeezed my mind, I couldn't remember making arrangements with him for any plans for tonight.

"Mason what are you doing here?" I asked as he got out of the car. He moved to the passenger side and leaned against the hood of the car, a smirk starting to cover his face.

"No hello and kisses on the cheeks?" he teased.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but we're not in France" I slapped his shoulder, moving him out of my way, and got into the car. He moved once again to the other side of the car and got in as well.

"Tell whoever dropped you off not to come back for you, you have a ride now"

I smacked the back of his head, rolling my eyes at his statement.

"Why would I let someone drop me for a five minute walking distance?"

"No need to be violent god damn it" he whined like a child and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him once again.

"Anyways, where are we going cause I don't remember us agreeing to meet tonight?"

His whining stopped all of the sudden and a smirk started to resurface "We're crashing a party. No one we know, so we could get as wild as we'd like"

Discomfort started to show on my face. Partying, getting drunk, and hooking up with girls wasn't my thing. It was Mason's, yet he always forced me to go along with him using the excuse of 'showing up alone would make me look like a total loser'. But the real reason was that he was trying to make me just like him, with all the wildness he does.

"More like so you could get as wild as you could" I muttered with a frown. 

"I heard that, but I'm going to pretend like I didn't, me being the better guy" his tone was cocky and for a second I felt like strangling him.

There was no point in arguing with him as it always led to nowhere and he'll end up dragging me to the party in the end. So I remained quiet until we reached the party and decided to do as I always do, have one drink, stay for a maximum of 15 minutes, and slip out without Mason noticing.

As soon as the car was parked, I got out and stared at the scene ahead of me. Large fancy house totally ruined by the making out couples decorating the surrounding. I could see everything inside as well through the large windows all over the house, the grinding while dancing, the stumbling drunks, and the ones doing both, all a sight that made me sick to my stomach.

I would rather be humiliated, embarrassed, or even worse than go into that house.

I groaned, thinking back to the embarrassing situation a week ago when Madison caught me blushing. It wasn't something I was used to, in fact I don't think I even remember myself to ever blush before, but the bluntness she hit me with about how hot I am while including details of things she admired about me, I was taken by surprise and it caused my whole face to warm. 

I was pushed to walk forward and out of my thoughts by none other than my jerk of a friend, making me realize there was no way out of this other than my usual plan. He hooked his arm with mine, fearing that I might run away any time, and forcing me to walk in the same direction as his.

"I know what you're thinking of and it's not going to work this time. No running away tonight. Tonight is all about getting loose" he yelled through the loud music blasts as we approached the front door.

Two girls opened the door, barely keeping anything to themselves, and everything after that happened quickly, in a blink of an eye. Drinks were forced to our hands, Mason clicked his red cup with mine, drinking it all at once and eyeing me to do the same. One drink led to the other and there was absolutely no way for me to run away, Mason kept his eye really close at me.

I even tried the bathroom excuse.

Once he thought my mind was fuzzy enough, he dragged us to the dance floor and found us a girl each to dance with, not like he had any trouble with that. They were all eyeing us, every once in a while a courageous one of them would approach us and ask us to dance with her, but I'd quickly reply with a polite no.

The dance led to another one, and it somehow ended with the brunette and I in one of the many rooms this house had to offer. The kiss was initiated by her and I returned it with the same force, but for some reason it all felt wrong. I broke it all off and stared at her. She was pretty indeed, but not what I had in mind, I wanted the forever after all.

Yes my mind was fuzzy, but not fuzzy enough for me to do something this reckless. I brought some distance between us, realizing the wrong I did and ending it once and for all.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this. I want something better than just a hookup and you deserve the same as well, we're past the reckless things now. Once again, I'm sorry"

"You're a good guy" She got up and patted my shoulder, leaving the room and leaving me all to my thoughts. 

Am I doing the right thing? Or am I going to wait forever for the right one only to end up alone in the end?

I was drunk on thoughts and maybe some alcohol as well, but I forced myself into sobering and pushed myself out of the bed we were laying on. Going down the stairs, I spotted a backdoor as I pushed through the drunken crowds. Not drawing attention to myself as much as possible, I sneaked out of the house and walked until I reached the large gates surrounding the house. 

I was lost after that, with no car with me and no damn idea how to get back to my house. Finally I decided that walking is the best option, since calling someone from my family isn't a wise choice and a walk in the fresh air would sober me up by the time I reach the house.

Taking out my phone, I located my house and started following the directions, taking a deep breath of fresh air with every step. It wasn't a long walk, using the advantage of having long legs; I took large steps and walked fast, ending up with a total time 15 minutes to reach my house.  

I tiptoed into the house as quietly as possible, the time was too late, the house was pitch black dark, and everyone was far into sleep. I froze in the middle of the hallway as I heard a weird sound echoing through it. Tracing it, I ended up stopping by Noah's door.

The sound started again and now it was heard clearer, a girl's voice. A girl moaning in pain. There was no way this was Noah's voice so I figured it must be either Lauren or Madison since they do sleepovers a lot. I got into the room as quiet as possible and tried to trace the sound. 

Noah and Lauren were sleeping on the bed, cuddling each other and quiet as ever, ruling them out of the options. My eyes then landed at Madison, who was sleeping at a mattress laid on the floor, and shaking in her sleep. As I got closer to her, I could hear her small whimpering and tears were falling off her face. Her sight sobered me up even worse than a slap.

She must be having a nightmare.

I keeled to her level and shook her lightly, in hopes of walking her up, but it ended up making it worse as the whimpering increased. Freaking out, I sat next to her lying body on the mattress and brought her body closer to me, wrapping my arms around a part of her and moving my hand up and down her back, trying to sooth her.

Eventually her whimpering broke down and I could feel her hands wrap around my waist as her body relaxed. I froze at the sudden gesture, but eventually relaxed as well.

Nothing about this situation felt unnerving, least of all uncomfortable, in fact it all felt normal like it was something we do all the time and want to do for the rest of our lives, to stay in each other's arms. 

It was a feeling I've never felt before, yet I couldn't panic or run away because I was melting just by looking at her sleeping face. I ended up staring at her and caressing her hair for what felt like nothing, but actually was a while. Eventually I ended up falling sleep, both of us in each other's arms, and of course unintentionally. 

I could feel my body shaking, but it was something I couldn't control. I wasn't the one shaking. My eyes snapped open at the last thought. I sat up straight and turned to Madison. She was shivering and crying hysterically, all in her sleep, and it seemed to be much worse than when I first saw her.

Then the moaning started. Then the screaming from pain. And I froze.

The hand she had wrapped around my waist was now wrapped around my arm, squeezing it. And the more she screamed, the more she squeezed my arm. I could feel all her pain through her squeezes and I stayed in my place, letting her transfer all of her pain to me. 

The pain felt real, I could feel it in her screams and through her squeezes. She was having a nightmare, but she wasn't screaming because she was scared, she was screaming because the pain felt real. It penetrated the real world, causing her hurt in both worlds.

"Madi?" I heard Noah's groggy whisper through the room.

Madison started screaming again and I tried my best to release my now numb arm from hers. I didn't want Noah to catch us like this, thinking there was something hidden from him, when there was nothing in fact.

Sadly Madison didn't make things easier, because she pressed further on my hands, forcing me to stay by her side, and Noah was by her other side in a matter of seconds as he heard scream again.

He started messaging her forehead as he softly whispered to her go back to a dreamless sleep, but I didn't miss the confused look he shot me with. Eventually she settled down, let go of my hand and snuggled to herself. Seeing her calm, Noah let go of her head and signaled for me to head to the door.

Sighing, I got off the mattress and did as told. Following my move, he got to the door as well and quietly opened it. He somewhat pushed me outside of the room and followed, closing the door after him. He put both hands on his waist and glared at me.

"What the hell were you doing in my room? No better question, what the hell were you doing sleeping next to Madison because she slept before I did and I clearly remember her sleeping alone?" his tone was edgy.

"First of all breath and stop all the imagining because nothing of what you're thinking happened" I explained everything to him, only excluding the staring part and specifying on the falling asleep by mistake part.

"So let me get this straight, she wouldn't let go of your hand and you ended up falling asleep waiting for her to let go of it?" I nodded.

"Nothing else important enough for me to know? Because god knows what would happen to you if I found out otherwise"

I shook my head "You won't find anything else because there actually isn't. Now my turn to ask. What happened back there? The whole screaming and messaging thing, because I've never seen her like this before while you seem to know something about it?" I narrowed my eyes, referring to how he managed to calm her down in less than a minute.  

"All I can say is that she gets nightmares often and it turns out, messaging her forehead calms her down without the need to wake her up"

"But the way she was screaming, the pain-"

"It was only a nightmare so please let it go and don't mention anything to Madi" he interrupted, insistence in his words.

"Go to bed Eli" he pattered my shoulder and went back to his room. Again, I was left alone and to my thoughts. 

There was something about her that I couldn't wrap my fingers around, and somehow, she always managed to take me by surprise.

...............................