Rage With Benefits

Bonus: Bad Dreams

The one with Evie's nightmare

It was midnight when Bryce heard a thud.

Normally, seeing a five-year-old girl in a nightdress standing by the foot of his boyfriend's bed would have bothered him, but not tonight.

Actually no, that's a lie. If it wasn't for the very little light from the kitchen that illuminated her innocent face, Evie would be halfway across Bermuda right now.

"Evie?" he called, lowering his voice down when he felt Ian shift beside him. Evie was looking at him with pleading eyes with Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear tucked protectively in her little arms. "Hey... what's wrong?"

"I had a bad dream..." she mumbled, wasting no time to climb on the bed before crawling right towards Bryce.

"Oh," the blond let out, whispering as he pushed the tousled strands of Evie's hair out of her eyes. "Do you want me to wake your brother up?"

"No..." she frowned, peeking at her sleeping brother from Bryce's shoulder. "He gets clanky when you do that."

Bryce smiled. "You mean cranky?"

Evie looked up at him, nodding slowly. "Uh-huh. That's what I said."

The blond chuckled, sitting up before coaxing the girl closer. "Come here."

Evie did as she's told, not letting go of Lotso as she knelt right between Bryce's crossed legs, careful not to make any noise.

"You want to talk about your dream?" Bryce asked softly, ignoring his heavy eyelids, or the fact that he hadn't had decent sleep in two days.

The little girl whimpered at the question. "No..."

"Okay," Bryce told her. Sensing this conversation is for sure going to last longer than he anticipated, he leaned towards the nightstand to turn the dim light on after grabbing his glasses. "Do you wanna stay here? Just stick to my side, your brother kicks in his sleep."

"I don't wanna sleep," Evie admitted, looking up at the blond as if to check if his attention was on her. "I don't wan' the dream to come back."

"Okay then," Bryce muttered. This isn't the first time Evie sneaked into Ian's room whenever the couple would spend the weekend at Olivia's house. Normally at this point, he would've already woken his boyfriend up for help, but knowing Ian is under tremendous stress at college as much as he is, Bryce figured it's better only one of them makes the sacrifice tonight. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know," Evie mumbled sadly. "I'm sorry..."

"You don't have to say sorry," Bryce assured her, lifting Evie up so the two were face-to-face. "We all have bad dreams."

"Really?" Evie sounded surprised, looking at Bryce with her big, restless eyes. "Grown-ups too?"

"Mhm," Bryce hummed as he went on. "When I was a kid, I didn't like clowns. So whenever they appear in my sleep, I'd run to my parents' room and hide under the pillows."

"Why?" she wondered. "Clowns are funny."

"Not when they're covered in blood..."

"Why would they be covered in blood?" Evie's lips turned down, knitting her eyebrows. "Are they hurt?"

Bryce was just about to open his mouth when a voice from behind joined them. It was Ian, of course, stirring in his sleep.

"Hmm..." Ian groaned, voice slurred as he noticed the party that was taking place on his bed. "What's going on here?"

Evie sulked. "Oh no..." 

Bryce let out a breathy laugh before turning around, giving his boyfriend some attention as he leaned over to kiss Ian apologetically. "Sorry, we were trying not to wake you."

Evie firmly nodded as if her life depended on it. "Yeah!"

"You didn't," Ian smiled, resting his case as he scooted closer so his head could rest on Bryce's thigh. "Bad dream."

"Oh? Lucky for you, I've been putting fires out left and right today,"  Bryce added proudly while stroking the brunet's hair, almost making Ian doze right back into sleep if it weren't for Evie's eager voice.

"Bryce is afraid of clowns," she said.

Ian's lips curled in a downturned smile as he nudged his sister before pointing his eyes maliciously at his boyfriend. "Wuss, right?"

Evie giggled with him even though she didn't quite understand what the word means, which Bryce wasn't all too happy about.

"Hey," he began defending himself. "I said I didn't like them. Like if I met one, I wouldn't be friends with it."

Ian snorted. "Okay, tough guy."

Ian and Evie again shared a laugh at the blond's expense, the once quiet room now filling with a harmony of voices that if were loud enough will for sure wake the only person left asleep in this house.

"Can I sleep here?"

Evie, who has now apparently recovered from her nightmares, decided to find her place between the couple, making Lotso and herself home under the comfort of the duvet.

"I thought you said you didn't want to sleep?"

"I changed my mind," she chirped excitedly, looking at Bryce and Ian with an expectant face. "Can I?"

Ian answered for both of them. "Of course, Princess," he said before whispering something else in her ear as he pointed at Bryce who had just gotten out of bed and was now on his way to the bathroom. "But stick to my side, he kicks in his sleep."

Evie's eyebrows drew in confusion.

By the time Bryce got back, he was met with the sight of his boyfriend and Evie bundled giggling like a pair of tight-knit besties, their laughter ceasing as soon as the blond stepped out of the bathroom. 

"What?" he asked, raising a brow at the two.

Ian shook his head, mouthing 'nothing' before it was Evie's turn to speak.

"Bryce?" she called.

"Yeah?" the blond answered as he joined the two in bed, ready to go back to sleep so he can wake up in time for his class presentation tomorrow.

"Tell us a story!" she begged, clasping her hands together in plea. "Please?"

"Yeah, Bryce," Ian aided beside her, putting on his best fake begging face that was nothing like his actual begging face. "Tell us a story."

There are three things Bryce loves doing the most in this world and only one of those he could never truly say no to: snowboarding, his boyfriend, and stuffing his face with free cheese samples.

And much like free cheese, he could never say no to these two.

"Fine..." he sighed, smiling when Ian pulled the covers over the three of them, their eyes meeting in a split second before Evie squirmed excitedly, urging the blond to go on.

"Once upon a time, deep in the woods, there lived an interrupting donkey named Blake..."