summary: sleep is almost nonexistent to you. a darkness takes over your mind, but colby is the light you need.
warnings: best friends to lovers, nightmare & gore scene, reader and colby being so oblivious to their feelings
you didn't know when the nightmares started, but when they started they never stopped. they kept you up for hours sometimes, other nights you wouldn't sleep at all.
it was agonizing, you could barely function during the day. you were beyond fatigued and drained. it has been like this for a couple of years now, and maybe you brought it upon yourself as you had messed with some pretty dark stuff when you were younger without the proper knowledge. you always joked to your friends that you were cursed, but as you grew older you started to believe it yourself.
when your close friends decided to take on the mystery of the paranormal you pretty much refused to have anything to do with it. as you were still dealing with the consequences of your younger self. despite your friends begs and pleads you still kept your walls up high. even the thought of going out with them to these locations made you sick.
but, one day kat came to you fully prepared for rejection but she wanted to rest her case.
"y/n, please. i don't want to be alone" she begged, following you in the hallway of your apartment as you entered your room saying, "you won't be alone, sam will protect you, and if he doesn't colby is there for back up" katrina groaned, standing in your doorway. "you know what i mean. i don't want to be the only girl." you finally turned around and your eyes met with the girl. she was pleading silently. you ran your hands through your hair letting out a frustrated sigh," fine. but if i get touched or I'm uncomfortable at all i'm leaving." katrina grinned, and threw herself into your arms. "thank you so much, y/n."
so, there you stood filming a video with your three best friends standing inside the conjuring house. you were doomed.
throughout the night, you felt like you were being watched. heavily. but still, you refrained from telling the guys knowing how excited they were to finally experience this. you couldn't do that, not to colby at least.
ever since it was confirmed that they were going to the infamous house, he was so excited. you loved seeing that light in his eyes glow anytime you'd mention something related to the work he does. he loves what he does.
but, he loves you even more. he wanted nothing more than to make sure you were safe, especially in a place as dark as this home.
when he noticed your unusual behavior, he pulled you over to the side just to make sure you were okay. "are you sure you're okay?" his hand lingered on your shoulder a bit too long, but you didn't mind it. "i'm fine, it's just a lot" you smiled, trying to assure his worries. "okay, well, if it's gets to be too much let me know. i'm not going to force you to do this." he was so kind to you. you nodded, "i know, now let's go back before they start to miss us"
unfortunately, that night was when colby found out about your night terrors.
it was the early hours of the morning when you arrived back at the hotel, you bid goodnight to your friends and went to your room. both sam and cat, colby had rooms next to you so you were all close by.
you opened your eyes, finding yourself in a dark room. no sound, no light, no sense of anything in this room. just a void. you tried searching for anything just to get out. until out of the corner of your eye you see a tall creature lurking, its jaws unhinged comically, its teeth like a leech, beckoning you closer to its open maw, drool lolled out of its mouth, pooling at the floor.
