Her Cute Little Stalker

3

The rapping on Piper's room door sounded for the fifth time that day.

'Piper?' Byron called out. 'Are you okay?'

Piper was resisting the urge to scream as she sat on her bed with her blanket wedged in her mouth, her hands clawing at the bedsheets as she tried to calm down.

She didn't manage to sleep for the entire night. Fatigue messed with her mind and her limbs were yelling painfully due to cramps, yet she couldn't bring herself to lie down on her bed and settle into the embrace of sleep.

She was too scared to go to sleep.

Too scared that the nightmares would come to plague her once again.

Piper used to think little of these terrifying dreams. Sure, they looked like things that were extracted right from a horror movie, but they were all just fake. At least, that's what she used to think of.

She's still aware that everything that happens in the dream world is not real, yet the sudden nightmare during her doze on the train had shaken her to her core.

Why do these things keep sounding in her mind?

Hell, where are they even coming from??

Most importantly, Piper thought, her bloodshot eyes darting around as she continued to shiver from the memory. Was that purple glow at the window part of my nightmare? Or was it real? Or-

'PIPER!!' Byron's voice shouted angrily this time, though the worry in his voice was hard to miss. 'Are you okay?! It's 11 AM already! I've got the supplies for Colette's order!'

Colette. Piper found herself trembling even more upon hearing the gift shop cashier's name, though she didn't know why. Maybe it was how she acted last night when arguing with Edgar. Maybe-

Piper ripped the blanket out of her mouth and took a much needed deep breath. 'Y-yeah. I'm fine. Nothing- nothing much.' She muttered shakily. 'Just- had a nightmare, that's all. It's nothing important. Yeah. That's- that's it.'

Even though she couldn't see him, Piper could tell that Byron was shaking his head in frustration and worry. He sighed. 'Look, you've been telling me that same reason for the past few days already. Three days ago, you were screaming at one in the morning. Two days ago, you were literally killing your hand by punching it into the wall while screaming something I can't decipher. You screamed again yesterday, and today-'

'I told you, I'm fine!' Piper bit her tongue right after she shouted the sentence. The fear in her voice would just add on to Byron's concern. 'Okay. I'm not fine. That's pretty obvious. But- let me- let me try to recollect myself for a while, o-okay?'

Byron's footsteps soon faded out as he walked away.

Piper was still shaking as she tried to pull herself out of bed and ended up collapsing on a heap on the ground.

I can't do this. Piper thought as she groaned, trying her best to stand up without falling over once again. I can't do this. I don't want to deal with it-

A sudden thought came across Piper's mind. She felt herself rushing off to the bathroom to tidy herself up, adrenaline suddenly pumping through her blood.

Can't deal with the pain, sugar? Piper thought to herself as she nearly tore out a clump of tangled hair. She slipped into her usual dress and slammed the door open. Then run straight into another type of pain. Wounds and injuries from brawls help to divert one's attention for a while.

And thus she ran straight to the Solo Showdown Lobby with her gunbrella and her purse full of grenades.

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