𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓 ⇝ 𝒋𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓

nightmare

Fire.

Lots of it.

It felt and smelled like a lake, maybe even an ocean. It was salty, a bit dirty, and it smelled like it. The fire spread and burnt, and it was hard to breathe.

Breathe.

She was gasping for air, unable to feel her legs, and she was paralyzed. Her vision, blank.

Blank.

That's how she felt.

She felt like she was flying, or maybe she was actually flying. She could taste the acrid flavor of ashes; her eyes were bloodshot and ringed with pain. Her ears were humming, and her mouth was wailing in agony.

Agony.

There was a reason, maybe loss...or love.

Love.

There was a sudden, horrible sting; she felt a sudden, sharp tug. She was getting pulled down, suffocating, or even drowning. She had to fight to keep her head above water and fight to get out of the grasp of the thing that was trying to pull her under.

Fire again.

It quickly spread through the air, and she felt herself start to melt in the hot, burning yellow light.

She felt like she was slowly, but surely, shifting. She now held something, and she didn't know what it was. She figured it might be a human, but she couldn't get a hold of it. There was the same disorienting flying sensation she had experienced before, like her legs had disappeared and she was still moving at a fast pace through nothing at all.

Screams.

Pain.

Was it loss?

James woke up suddenly, feeling the bed shift as someone moved around. He soon realized he wasn't in his dorm room, and Athena was in her bed. He must've fallen asleep, but that wasn't the case.

Athena kept on moving, mumbling things he couldn't catch in his head as sweat poured all over her. Her body shook violently, making loud, involuntary noises with her mouth that soon became raspy yells.

"Athena," James said lowly. He took his arm to shake her, but there was no answer.

"Athena."

No answer.

As Athena's yells quickened, James began to panic.

"Love, please try to listen to my voice," James said. "It's a nightmare, all of it isn't true, listen to my voice."

James placed his hands onto the sides of her frame and her body stopped moving. However, she was still yelling.

"Love, please."

Athena's body flew forward, and she breathed heavily as tears flew down her face. She was sobbing loudly, and her body trembled with each breath. She shook her head, closing her eyes, and mumbled things under her breath.

"Athena, try to calm down," James said. "Athena, listen to my voice; it's all fake. It was just a nightmare."

Athena didn't seem to hear him.

James tenderly cupped both sides of her face, and her head stopped shaking as she got used to his firm, but gentle hold. Athena didn't speak, and her eyes opened slowly, and they met the familiar hazel eyes.

"W-what-"

"Don't speak, love." James whispered. "Just try and calm down first."

"J-James." She hiccupped and tears streamed down her face, her chest still heaving from the effort of trying to breathe. "Something's wrong with me."

He could feel the softness in his gaze as his thumb wiped the tears from her face. His other hand was holding the back of her neck, making her look at him.

"Nothing's wrong with you, love." He said, "I promise you that."

"Sorry i-if I woke you up," She sniffled, "You can go back now. I'm fine."

"Love, you're not fine." And that's okay." He smiled, "sometimes people can feel pain, we're humans after all."

James removed his shoes and coat, making himself more comfortable on the bed. With both hands, he lifted her up so that she was on his chest.

"Potter, what are you-"

"I'm staying here the rest of the night." James cut her off, "you are not fine. And I'll be here if anything bad happens again. Don't fight with me."

Athena didn't fight.

However, James felt something strange and uncomfortable about her stiff body on him. Her hands were hanging limply by her sides, and her head was awkwardly resting on his chest.

"You don't need to feel uncomfortable, love." James smiled, "It's just me."

Athena felt uneasy, and her mind was racing with a thousand different thoughts. The first one was, What was she feeling?

What was she feeling as her hands started to wrap around his torso, while his began to wrap around her waist? What was she feeling when she felt herself slowly start to relax against his comforting hold?

She felt safe and comfortable; she felt like she belonged. She felt like she was loved. Athena was well aware that she would never, ever, ever let anyone do what he was doing right now. She was in denial about the reason; she was only letting him hold her and cuddle her like he was doing now.

Athena Dalton was in denial about her feelings for James Potter.

Soon, her mind went blank; and she fell asleep.

James watched as she did, and he smiled down. Just by the sight of her, regardless of what had happened a few minutes ago, she still looked effortlessly beautiful. He didn't know what it was, but just if any girl was on top of him he wouldn't care. Even with Lily Evans he would care just a bit.

With Athena, it felt new. Something was new. And he felt happy about it, happy about the change. James was in denial about this rapid change in his life. About how he was looking at the girl before him, compared to how he would've looked at her a few months from now.

Denial

Denial

Denial

James Potter was in denial about his feelings for Athena Dalton.