I began screaming.

Yet again, I didn't know whether I really was screaming or if it was still stuck in my throat but seemed to me like I had let it out somehow. I couldn't know, either - I was muffling my own voice by shutting my eyes and clutching my ears tightly, unable to face whatever was about to happen. My heart beat rapidly in my chest, making me feel like it would burst out at any moment if I keep feeling even more scared. I could hear muffled footsteps approach nearer and the next thing I knew, whoever had come in here had caught me and pulled me into his arms.

The touch was gentle and slow, and that was enough for me to realise who that was. I quickly relaxed and the scream that seemed to be erupting out of my throat shushed down. Later, I realized that I had only been crying in fear and not screaming.

My heartbeat slowed down to a normal pace as rapidly as it had increased before. Dropping the tight clutch over my ears and opening my eyes slowly, I looked up to meet Jasper's gentle blue eyes. He was seated beside me on my bed, one arm around my shoulder comfortingly and the other over my trembling hands. I had pulled myself close to his chest then and was still there, curled up into a little ball. I suddenly felt as if I was protecting myself from any harm by being under the shelter of Jasper, just like I'd been all these days, unknowingly. Knowing very well that I wouldn't know how to start, Jasper squeezed my hand gently and said, "You're okay. Why did you cry?"

"I...," I paused to take a breath, wiping away the tears, "I had that nightmare again. That nightmare I saw before, on that day when we went to the beach... Remember?"

He nodded, gesturing for me to continue.

"I saw someone killing my dad again," I blurted, "And that same guy... I never told you this before, but that guy was trying to do something really bad, Jasper. I just remember that he knocked me out before I saw him leaning over me. It felt so real, the pain and fear. II'm sorry for disturbing you."

He shook his head and placed a hand on my head reassuringly, "First of all, you didn't disturb me - I came here to check on you and saw you crying. Secondly, it won't be real. Sometimes you see dreams that would be too terrifying that it haunts your mind and seems like it would happen. Like I told you, no one would hurt you here."

"But it doesn't have to be here. I did see my house in the dream, but it could be anywhere, like back at that hotel where one of the goons was trying to harass me had you not saved me in time."

"Well, that's exactly what the end of your dream means. You never really see what happens later, you only see him knocking you out, but that just means that nothing will happen to you. It isn't real."

I smiled at that before completely leaning my head onto his chest with a sleepy yawn, feeling the warmth and the fragrance of mint on his newly worn green sweater and ignoring the fact that this was a strange thing for me to do, that my awkwardness wasn't acting up anymore. Though it wasn't much noticeable, I could immediately sense him tense up a little and I straightened up quickly with a sheepish look, realizing that being so close to him may have made him feel uncomfortable. I suddenly wondered why; I mean, of course, people are usually like that, they keep boundaries, but not him. He never found it awkward when we were really close or even hugged, but he kept the distance so that I wouldn't get nervous. Jasper's the type to interact freely with anyone and ignore such silly awkwardness problems, and I'm the exact opposite, but this time, he was the one to tense up when I came too close.

But no, that wasn't the reason.

Glancing up, I saw that I'd kept my head over the injured area on his shoulder. Since he had completely bandaged it and wore a new sweater over it, I didn't notice where I was leaning on.

"I'm sorry," I said, "Are you better now?"

He nodded, "Sure, yeah, it doesn't hurt much."

Yeah, and I just didn't see you tense up when I leaned over there.

"Jasper, would they have followed us here?" I asked slowly, referring to the goons who attacked us yesterday, "Will they hurt dad too? What if they're trying to get to him?"

"To all your questions, it's a straight no. June, I had informed everything to Mr.Jacobs right after we came in and he took care to file a complaint against them. The moment they reach here, they're under arrest. And they can never reach out to Mr.Jacobs either. He lives in a highly secure place."

My face brightened at that, "You mean, they'll be arrested?"

"Yeah, soon enough. Even if they're let free later on, they'll never be able to hurt you again and that's a sure fact."

I frowned a bit, though not making it visible to him. What does he mean by that? If they get a bail, then that means that they'll definitely try to find us, or at least one of us, for a part of their revenge and for accomplishing their task. Or is it that they've suddenly lost all their memories about us? I mean, how else can they not be able to catch upto us?

"Are you sure?"

Yes, that's a stupid question, but his final answer will lead me to the conclusion of whether he's just reassuring me or not. He nodded confidently, and I sighed a bit; so he is serious about that, I guess. They probably never will get to us again or even if they do, Jasper would protect both of us from harm's way.

But he won't always be here...

He then slowly straightened up and moved over to his own bed, placing me on my own pillow comfortably and smiling reassuringly, "Next time you've a nightmare, just drink some water and wash your face. Or if you still feel nervous, wake me up."

I chuckled and nodded. Of course his convincing words had the power to give me assurance that everything is fine and will always be so. I just hope it never goes wrong...

__________________

A while later, I was up again. I was in my own room, all right, and I still lay comfortably on my bed with my blanket kicked off by myself. But something felt off when I woke up this time, and I didn't know what that was. Everything seemed normal, and Jasper was there on the other bed, asleep. Could it be because the goons had followed us here to kill us? Because we still haven't realized that and remain unaware even when the villains are lurking around the corner, maybe right in the house by now? How else can I explain the return of that nightmare that I'd months ago? Perhaps it really is a warning, something that's about to happen right now or soon, when Jasper isn't here or after he leaves.

What is going on with me? I thought desperately, trying to clutch the blankets that I'd kicked off and wrap them tightly around me. But then I realized in horror...that I couldn't move my hands. Terrified, I tried moving my legs and my head, but there was entirely no movement except my rapid breathing and increasing heartbeats. I looked at Jasper. Even though I didn't want to wake him up after such a long night with no rest, this was an emergency. I need him right now. "Jasper!" I called - or rather, tried to call. No sound came out except harsh pants and gasps. My entire body seemed to be frozen in fear, paralyzed, and that horrified my already worried mind. I shouldn't have stressed out so much. I should've listened to Jasper's assurances and believed in him. I started to sweat, though it was quite cold inside, and an unsettling fear lingered in my mind as I watched my surroundings.

This feels so strange... I thought, and that's when I saw it.

The door. It was slowly opening, the creak of the door low but terrifying as it opened up completely to reveal the darkness behind it. Jasper was still asleep. Wake up! I tried to scream, but to no avail. Why isn't he waking up? He's a light sleeper; even the lowest voices could wake him up easily, but this didn't.

Even the set of footsteps that I could now hear didn't wake him up. I pleaded to him in my mind to wake up, to see what was happening and that all his assumptions were wrong, that I couldn't move anymore. But none of these worked. They were coming in quietly, their eyes targeting me as some of them moved towards me while the rest went towards Jasper with their weapons. No! I screamed internally, Please don't! You can do anything to me, kill me, but leave him!

They couldn't hear my pleas.

Slowly, very slowly, the room started to spin around me, and I knew at once that this was similar to my other nightmare. They were going to do something and I won't be able to see it because I was either fainting or going crazy, or both. Please don't...

I jumped and sat up straight when I felt Jasper shake my shoulders and call my name frantically. My eyes shot open and I touched my chest to calm the rapid heartbeats and breathing. Whew, so that was just a nightmare too, I thought, much more relieved than ever, although my heart was almost beating right out of my chest. Turning to Jasper, I saw him scan my face with a look of worry, "I was about to bring you to the hospital. You were shaking all over."

Well, it seems like I'd went crazy in my sleep. Unlike what I'd been seeing in the dream, I had been turning to my left and right quickly while clutching my pillow tightly and muttering stuff. I think I even started to cry in between and call for Jasper, which is when he woke up, hearing my cries and stirs.

"What did you see this time?"

"Them," I said, knowing that he would understood who I was referring to, "What made it more realistic was that it was taking place in this room, in the same position I was in before, and you were right here too. But I couldn't move and you weren't waking up. They were coming towards you. And to me."

Before he could start, I continued, "But it's fine, Jasper, I know that it wouldn't happen. I'm just stressing myself out and that's why I keep dreaming of that. I'm sorry for waking you up, but I promise that I wouldn't wake up again."

"That's fine. I can manage some noises and stirs, even sleepwalking. The only thing I hate are snores, they're too irritating," he said, and I laughed at that. After it died down, he smiled at me and said, "Thank you."

I frowned, confused at why he would suddenly thank me. Then, realizing what he was upto, I groaned, "Not again, Jasper-"

"No, I've got to. You saved my life not just once, but twice."

That really made me frown this time. Twice? When? I don't remember ever blocking someone from stabbing him before. We haven't ever faced that situation before, either.

"...I didn't?" I said slowly.

"You did. You almost let yourself get harassed just to save me, to plead with them to not kill me. Remember now?"

I tried to remember and it was back in my mind a moment later, the situation at the hotel, the group of guys dragging me to the far corner away from everyone else, the leader of that group enjoying as he watched me try to struggle away from him, the way he threatened me using Jasper's name and I let him do whatever he wanted to in return for our - or at least, Jasper's - safety. I smiled underneath; I never even thought about that before, even though I did know that I saved him at that last moment by blocking the knife that came his way. But this - I didn't even remember this until now. How did he come to know of that, though? Seeing the look of curiosity on my face, he answered the question in my mind, "You kept murmuring something about that in your dream and I realized what you'd done then. That's why you were so worried, weren't you? Hadn't I come in time..."

"Yeah, I would've been dead meat," I answered, not knowing what else to say. "I'm still wondering why you would do that, y'know," Jasper said, "Like you've said before, I'm no one of yours besides maybe a friend, but even that's quite uncertain. And I thought you hated me."

I rolled my eyes, "And I thought I already explained everything? Look, Jasper, everything I said before was nothing but my stupid ego tantrums. I thought you knew that too. I may have said a lot of things before, I've said that I hated you, but none of them are true and never will be."

He smiled at me, and I did the same after which he told me to sleep well and began to go back to his own bed. That's when everything that I just saw in the nightmare dawned upon me and I turned to him, uncertain about what I was about to say.

"Wait!" I called. He turned to me, and I blurted, "I think I won't be able to sleep well today, Jasper. Can you...stay with me?"

Shit. Did you really say that, June? Was that really you?

Yep, it was me.

You fucked up, but whatever.

Realization crept upto my face a moment later and I rubbed my hands sheepishly, "I mean... I'm just scared. I know they won't come here, but if you stay beside me, I won't ever have that dream again. I'll feel safer."

I was aware that I really was disturbing his rest right now, but I had no other way to prevent myself from waking up in the middle of the night with a sweaty face and waking him up too. In fact, this might be a better option for the both of us since I wouldn't be scared if he was right beside me and he can sleep well without worrying about me all the time. Well, unless I accidentally think of him as the pillow I always sleep besides and hug him - then he won't be able to sleep well. But I'm sure I can control myself...maybe.

"Sure," he replied, his face softening at my request, "You don't have to be embarrassed about that, June, everyone feels scared sometimes. Especially at times like these."

Wait, he actually agreed? I mean, I was sure that he would, considering that he always agrees to most of my acceptable requests, but I thought he would be a bit uncertain about being on the same bed as me. Well, but it seems like he had another plan for that. As I watched, he placed himself on the far edge of my bed and sat up straight, leaning his head back onto the bedpost instead of lying down completely. I narrowed my eyes; oh, no wonder he didn't feel any uncertainty about this. It's way less awkward to sleep in that position besides me than like usual. He can also watch over me this way. "Any problem?" he asked, noticing me stare at him. I quickly glanced away, embarrassed, and dropped any idea about questioning why he wasn't lying down. If he feels that this is better, then so be it; I shouldn't further complicate it for him by asking anything. I noticed that he had kept a lot of distance between us too. I worried that if he falls asleep and accidentally moves a bit, he might fall down and worsen his condition, so I moved over for him to have more space after removing the pillow by my side. He didn't see this, so I grasped the tip of his sweater's sleeve and pulled, gesturing to him that he can move closer. He moved an inch closer, still keeping the same distance between us. Damn, this guy. He can hug me without any issues but feels awkward about sitting close to me.

Ever thought about the fact that he's sitting away so that you could be comfortable, June? You always acted that way around him so don't be surprised that he gave you the space you wanted.

Smiling to myself, I closed my eyes and began to fall into darkness for the third time this night, feeling much better now since Jasper was here beside me.

I knew I was safe and sound now. I knew that I wouldn't have anymore nightmares again.

And I didn't.

-----------------------

The bright morning light shined into my eyes as I slowly opened my eyes and yawned, trying to adjust it to the light somehow. Morning already? I thought, disheartened. I had gotten only a few hours of sleep after such a restless day and when I finally had begun to enjoy a good sleep, it gets destroyed so soon. Ugh! Talk about a bad day. Yawning again, I dismissed it off and decided to sleep for a little more time, seeing that no one was going to force me to wake up. Dad wasn't here, only Jasper is here, and he wouldn't force me to wake up, especially when I'm injured. Clutching the pillow tightly to me, I smiled in its warmth and began to doze off again...

...until, I realized in pure shock that I never kept a pillow beside me yesterday. I couldn't do that because I had asked Jasper to stay beside me for the night since I was scared and sleepless. And I remember very well about warning myself not to latch myself onto him in the thought that he's the pillow that I keep beside me everyday. I was sure then that I could control myself, but now, it seems like I couldn't.

My eyes widened a little as I glanced up carefully to see exactly what I'd expected.

Jasper was still in the same position as he was yesterday, his eyes closed in a peaceful rest, his head leaning sideways and showcasing the most attractive face ever. But I, somehow, had wrapped both of my arms around his waist tightly and laid my head on his lap like a little kid cuddling close to someone in an attempt to feel comfortable.

When did I even reach so close to him? I thought, my face slowly heating up in a blush, He was so far from me. I must've scuffled closer to him while sleeping and hugged him then.

When I tried to move a bit, I noticed that he had his arm placed on my head as well, which meant that he did know that I had been hugging close to him this entire time. Well, just my luck that he didn't push me off after some time of enduring my tight grip. I felt like I'm choking him right now, but maybe he doesn't feel the same since a guy like him won't get crushed by my tiny hands. After I finally adjusted to the bright light and this morning shock, I slightly grinned underneath; maybe I shouldn't get up. Maybe I should continue sleeping comfortably on his lap, hugging him till he gets up. Yes, I've got weird thoughts, but come on - this was just too much comfortable for me. I blinked my eyes a little, shaking away those weird thoughts and staring intently at his face, which was turned away from me. His light hair was fluttering in the cold breeze of the fan. I suddenly noticed how attractive he really was, and more surprisingly, even while sleeping, because most people including myself look like a frizzy-haired ugly mess while sleeping. How come I never really thought about his looks before? I mean, I did sometimes, yes, but that was very seldom and I never spent an entire minute realizing how good he looked. Any girl could easily have a crush on him, especially girls my age who prefer older men over guys their age. And if the person they crush on is one who's not very decent, he could easily take advantage of her immature personality too. How did dad even trust us both? I mean, obviously, he would not be thinking about such consequences while deciding on how to protect me from any danger, but even then, I'm sure that he did think about this at least once. With a smile, I realized that dad trusts us both entirely, that he knows that I wouldn't be having any wrong thoughts about Jasper and that Jasper would never see me in such a way either. How could I have been stupid enough to dislike and distrust Jasper so much even when dad trusted him with me so well? I thought, disappointed with myself. People aren't very trustworthy these days, even people you might know so well, and my dad's a person who believes in that and takes care to not trust everyone a lot. So, if a person like him can appoint Jasper for my protection with absolutely no problem, then I should've realized way sooner that he is trustworthy enough.

But the question is...am I starting to break apart dad's trust on me? Am I starting to develop the exact same feelings that dad thought I would never have?

Am I starting to develop a major crush on my bodyguard?

I bit my lips and tried to think of something that would contradict this. Firstly, he has never attracted me with his looks before, because I'm a person who prefers good personality traits over charming looks. Besides, good looks don't always mean good personality traits - a person could easily be handsome but still an asshole of a person. Since I preferred seeing Jasper as such a person for my own sake, I never gave any importance to his good looks and good personality. Maybe it's just the sudden realization that he's way better than my expectations that's making me think that I've got a crush on him now?

Secondly, I've never had a crush before, like ever, not even on the hottest guys in my grade - because somehow or the other, they're all just good-looking jerks, just like some of the girls are. The only guys who have a better personality are my friends and some few other guys, but I would never date my friends and the few other guys aren't exactly the 'dating material', y'know. They aren't interested in dating, just like me. Maybe it's just my admiration towards Jasper that's making me think that I like him romantically, because I've rarely felt that sort of 'admiration' towards anyone.

But all of these are just possibilities, y'know, June, I thought to myself, And these are hardly possible. But the possibility that you like him exceeds all of these contradictions by, maybe, a 100%.

Oh no, oh no, oh no! But that 'like' could be just an adoration or even platonic, right?

Keep lying to yourself, June.

While my eyes kept widening even more by each of the thoughts that were running in my mind each second, a stirring movement beside made me look up suddenly. Jasper had woken up by now, and I think he hadn't seen that I was awake yet. Debating whether I should close my eyes and lay still, pretending to be asleep, or wake up and pretend to be surprised that I was so close to him, I finally chose the latter option and jumped up to a sitting position, blinking my eyes in a pretense of confusion. He turned to me and smiled, ignoring the surprise in my eyes, "You're awake so early?"

I nodded slowly, removing the blanket that was wrapped around my legs. He got up, casually stretched a little, and then went out of the room. I immediately turned to the door and narrowed my eyes slightly. Um, really? He wasn't surprised at all? Now I'm really sure that he did see it when I had hugged him but just dismissed it off so that I could be comfortable. And yes, I was definitely very comfortable till the moment he woke up. 

Again, I rolled my eyes at myself, scolding myself for the weird thoughts I was having, God, why me? I wouldn't have had such feelings if he just had a girlfriend!

But as of now, even thinking about such a girlfriend that he might have made me want to beat her up and shove her in the garbage can, though he obviously didn't have one. Or does he? No, he doesn't. He told me that back at the hotel. Oh, speaking about that -  I had argued with him back then, called him names and even threw a pillow at him furiously for not telling me who his girlfriend was. Could it be possible that I was more angry about the fact that he had a girlfriend than him not telling me her name? Does that mean I liked him even when I hated him? That I may have fallen for him way before now and that it took me such an accident to realise that? How's that even possible?

Just fuck my mind. Figuratively.

"You can skip school for as long as you feel better again," Jasper said, and I looked up to see him leaning against my bedroom door with a cup of hot coffee in his hands, wearing another sweater now, and I was amused at how fast he'd changed and even made coffee. He'd placed mine at my table already. "And you can just ask your friends and teachers to help you with whatever was taken in class then. When are you having your final exams, again?"

"Hmm," I murmured, honestly clueless of what he just told me. Wasn't it something related to school? I didn't listen to him, I was staring at him stupidly. Is it just me or does he look much sexier now? Maybe it's the blue sweater. But the weird thing is, he has worn that one before, then why do I find it better matching him now? Besides, it's just one of the different colored sweater shirts he wears everyday, I've no reason to think that this one looks better on him...unless, the reason is that I'm slowly, unknowingly, falling for him and he suddenly looks very good-looking.

Yeah, that's definitely it.

NO! Stop trying to convince me that it is.

Why do you have to be so adamant, June?

I groaned aloud and then stopped abruptly when I realized that Jasper had narrowed his eyes at me, "Uh, what?"

"Huh?" I asked stupidly, then nodded in realization, "Oh, about school... Yeah, fine. Exams start next week."

"Okay, you'll be alright by then," he said thoughtfully, then glanced at me one last time, "But are you better now?"

I nodded with a light frown, "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Nothing, you seemed to be acting a bit weird," he shrugged, "But nevermind. Maybe it's just that you had a sleepless night yesterday."

He left the room again, and I rolled my eyes and slumped on my bed with a groan; now he thinks I went nuts, just great!

********************

Third person's POV; yesterday night

Minutes after June had woken up from her second nightmare and asked Jasper to stay with her, she had went into a peaceful sleep again while he sat beside her, watching her and deciding not to doze off for some time. Her tired, red face looked so peaceful yet so much in turmoil even when she was sleeping, and he couldn't help but notice a slight smile tugging at her lips. Of course, she wasn't awake, but right now, she was definitely not having a bad dream.

Smiling in empathy at her gentle face, he kept his hand on her head and softly brushed through her loose hair. Right then, however, she scuffled a little and he retracted his hand quickly, not wanting her to wake up again. She was already very tired out. However, June moved more towards Jasper's side and placed her head right by his side.

He shrugged that off, seeing that she was still well asleep, and felt glad that he could do her at least this one favour. Maybe she feels as if he did a lot for her, but according to who she is to him and what she has done for him, he thought she deserved more. She was like a diamond, a gem that should be protected at all costs, and he recognised that. Her father needed her, her family needed her, her friends needed her and more than everyone, he needed her alive. Thinking of the possibility of anymore harm happening to her made him go crazy, the thought of anyone having the guts to make her feel bad made him want to punch them to death.

He leaned back again and rested his head back on the bedpost thoughtfully.

Suddenly, he felt a tight grip on his waist.

He looked down in surprise and saw that June had moved closer yet again and was now hugging him tightly, keeping her head on his lap. Slightly concerned now, he scanned her face and saw that she seemed to be tensed now, her face held in a worried frown. Why does she look like that? Is she dreaming again? Jasper thought, starting to stroke her hair again - when suddenly, she whispered something that was almost inaudible.

"Please don't leave me. Please don't let them get to me."

It was barely a whisper, a very soft, hurting plead, but he could understand it nonetheless because he knew how much that incident had traumatized her. How could she not be? She almost got sexually harassed. Jasper knew how traumatizing it was, having known that his own mother was a rape victim and how she always felt so uncomfortable when anyone other than Jasper touched her. June must have felt the exact same, but even worse because she was always vulnerable to such threats from her father's rivals. And that's exactly why Mr.Jacobs appointed him as his daughters' bodyguard. No one else could understand what she was going through, not even herself.

I'm sorry that you've to face this because of me, Jasper thought, his heart still breaking at the sight of her scared face and trembling lips, I led you into that. I could've ran off with you, but I didn't, I decided to fight back. It's all my fault.

Smiling sympathetically her, he rested his head back again, letting her hug close to him and leave her worries that way. That eased his own guilt and tension too; she always had that effect on him. It's true that once - just once -, she had hurt him with her harsh words. But that was over in right a moment or so, and besides, what counts more is the number of times she has unknowingly comforted him over his disturbing thoughts over this one time when she exploded at him. Besides, who cares? She was angry and scared and anyone would act like that in her situation.

Unbeknownst to each of them, they always helped each other a lot, emotionally. Obviously, Jasper cared about her more than anyone else in the world and deep in her heart, June was starting to feel the same too. They saved each other's lives but each of them felt that they owed each other something.