CANARY CRY [pretty little liars]

26. blind dates

Jason emerged from his house earlier than normal that morning. Late into night before, he heard rustling outside his house. Then again, he's also noticed more and more raccoon activity around his house lately, and completely ignored it and fell back asleep. With the rise of the sun, Jason woke up and planned on getting an early start on his house work. He only got a few steps outside his front door before he spotted her - Adaline.

Her legs curled up to her chest, as she laid motionless on the ground of the front porch.

"Adaline!"

She jerked awake, stretching her legs out and sitting up on the ground. Looking at her surroundings, she widened her eyes. "Where am I?"

"My house," Jason replied, kneeling onto the ground beside Adaline. He placed one hand gently on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I think," she said quietly. She looked down at her feet, noting that the dirt and mud splatter that reached her calf meant that she trudged through the woods behind her house to reach Jason's house. "I think I slept-walked last night."

Jason helped her to her feet. "You're not on anything, are you?"

Adaline shook her head. "No, I-I," she paused, gathering her senses. "My therapist put me on a sleeping pill. I think I just had a bad side effect."

Jason peered down at her worriedly. Her hair was pulled back into a low bun, but a few strands of hair fell around her face messily. "How about I walk you home?"

"Okay," Adaline mumbled. She started to walk down the front steps, wincing as her sore feet touched the ground. Jason quickly followed after her, placing his hand on her back. On a couple different occasions — as they trekked around the house and into the woods — he thought about picking her up and carrying her, but he could never bring himself to offer to do it.

Finally, they made it to her backyard. Adaline sighed and headed straight to her backdoor. She picked up a small plotted plant and grabbed the key underneath, but before she could place it in the doorknob, the door swung open.

"Adaline! Where have you been?" Adam asked with concern. He looked down at her appearance and then at Jason standby awkwardly behind her.

"I slept walk," she mumbled, pushing past her dad and into the kitchen.

"She was on my porch when I woke up," Jason explained.

Adam glanced over his shoulder, looking at his daughter pouring coffee into a bowl. "Come on in, Jason. I'll put on some more coffee."

Adaline watched as Jason entered the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen island next to her. "I think it was the sleeping pill Matt put me on," she said to her dad. "I think it was too strong."

"Was sleepwalking a symptom?" Adam asked, pouring a cup of coffee for Jason and placing it in front of him.

"No," Adaline hummed, taking a sip of coffee out of the bowl she had accidentally grabbed. "Hallucinations were, though."