The Player | Herophine ~ Hero Fiennes Tiffin x Josephine Langford Fanfic

Chapter 14

Hero's POV

I listen for a second. Hoping that whatever source of the scream I think I just heard will reveal itself to me.
I managed to get the majority of people out of the house by 3am. It was a task and I was comforted by that fact that I knew Jo was sleeping in a room here. I left Felix in charge of sweeping up the last of the party goers and ushering them out of the house as he'd sort of sobered up. I get up from lying on my bed and open my door. I'm starting to think that I probably just heard some people having sex and that it included some screams of pleasure, and that wasn't a very nice image I put in my head. That is until I hear loud sobs. Loud sobs coming from the room opposite. So that means; Jo.

I cross the hall, not caring that my only item of clothing is my boxers. It's my house and I will can wear as much or as little I want, people can fuck off if they think otherwise. Upon opening the door, my ears are filled with the most heartbreaking sound and my eyes are met with a state I never wanted to see. A still grieving Josephine. She's still lying across the part of the bed that I left her, but her arms are stretched out as if she's trying to keep a hold of something or someone and she's crying. Full on weeping sounds are coming from her mouth. I don't want to wake her, but there's no way I'm leaving her like this. I know people are still in the house too, so I don't want anyone else to find her like this. I crouch down beside the bed and reach up to her face. I've not touched a girl like this in years and if her cheeks weren't soaked with tears, I know they'd be warm and soft.
I caress her cheek, wiping away her still falling tears. "Jo, Josephine" I say. More sobs. "Jo" I say a bit louder. I move my hand to her shoulder and gently shake her.
"You said you'd never leave me" the words escape her mouth between the tears. She's dreaming about her loved ones. The ones who are no longer with her.

Jo's POV

There's someone shaking my arm, but I don't seem to be able to distinguish if it's my mum pulling me away from Lexie's bed or someone trying to wake me from my dream.

"Jo"

I snap my eyes open.
I glance round, I'm not anywhere I recognise and I can taste tears in my mouth. Shit. Where the fuck am I?
Then I'm met with a familiar face, Hero is kneeling on the floor next to the bed looking at me with concern written all over his face. He's bare chested and for a second I think he's naked and that horrifies me. But those thoughts disappear when I see the waistband of his boxers.
"Jo? Jo are you okay?"
I nod but I can't seem to open my mouth to get any words out. I sit up slowly and begin to register my surroundings and what I'm wearing. I'm in a guest room in Hero's house and I vaguely remember throwing up in a toilet but that seems hazy with the thumping headache I have. "Here" I'm passed a bottle of water which I open and start to gulp down. My throat is so dry from crying and I don't even know how long I've been in this state for.
"How long have you been-?" I manage to spit out.
"I woke up to you screaming" Hero tells me and he looks at the floor sadly. Oh fuck.
"I'm sorry" I mutter and stare down at the mattress, avoiding his eye.

Hero stands up and takes a seat next to me on the bed, he's radiating heat but it's not overly hot and I welcome the sense of calm it brings me. I sit quietly and sip the water he's given me. After a few minutes, Hero awkwardly coughs. "What were you dreaming about?" He asks quietly as not to disturb the peace in the room.
"Lexie" I answer, I don't want more tears to fall but I feel there maybe be more coming. "You can go now but thanks Hero" I tell him and look up at his face which I don't seem to be able to read.
"Jo you can't be serious. I'm not leaving. Not until you talk to me more". Fuck he's stubborn. I sigh and take a deep breath.
"What do you want to know Hero?"
"I don't need to know everything. But just tell me about your dream, please. I get the feeling you have a lot of bottled up emotions and you just need to talk to someone. Talk to a friend, talk to me" he answers without taking his eyes off me.

Hero's POV

Jo needs to know I'm no stranger to bottling stuff up. I do it all the time. I put on my big bad boy front at school and the only person I talk to about my true feelings is Felix. He's the one and the only person I can trust. That is until Josephine Langford popped up in my life over a week ago. I feel as though I can trust her like I can Felix and I get the feeling also that she feels like she can talk to me too which I'm glad about.

"Okay well I basically just dreamt of the night Lex died and I just relived it through my dream. That's all." Jo tells me.
"And how many times do you have the same dream?" I ask her gently. I'm not going to tell her the amount of times I dream about my family being all happy and normal together. I normally wake up cursing because I know it's never going to happen.
"Almost every night" I can hear the sadness and anger waving through her voice.
"I see and have you spoke to anyone about it?" I don't want to sound like a therapist, but I just want Jo to trust me. She shakes her head. I thought this might be the case because if it wasn't, Jo wouldn't be sitting here having just had a nightmare about one of the worst experiences of her life. "Why not?"

Jo sighs and looks at me. Fear is written across her face and pain. I can't help but put my arm around her and bring her to me. She leans into my shoulder and rests her head there. Perfect. Josephine is perfect and she fits perfectly in the structure of my body.
"I didn't think anyone would believe me. I was there when she died, my best friend. She was my best friend Hero. No one knows what it's like to loose someone you are so close to and people think you'll just move on and be okay. Her parents have moved on and accepted it and she had an older brother so they were able to focus on him. I sort of had a little bit of a crush on him too when I was younger."
Jo shy giggles fill the room and I feel her body shaking a little at the sound. I'm actually happy she find that funny and probably a little embarrassing.

"I didn't want to go to therapy or anything because then my mum would think something was wrong. There isn't anything wrong, I just don't want to move on." Jo tells me and I hear the sadness rising in her voice. I think she may have told me all she wants to tell me and that's fine.

"Look you don't need to tell me anymore Jo" I tell her. "I think you may sleep better now" I'm honest with her.
She removes her head from my shoulder as I make a move to stand up. "Wait!"
Her voice is barely audible but I hear the plea clear as day. When I turn to face her, I can see in her eyes that's she's pleading and begging. "Don't leave me Hero. Don't leave me alone tonight. Please can you stay with me!"