||Hello Neighbour: A Better Timeline||

||Chapter 41: Sleepless Night||

Nicky ran.
Running past people with their shopping bags and carts, how the turned their heads to watch him flee.
No matter how much he cried for help, no one helped him and just stared at him.
A dead end.
He turned to the monster, it was tall, eyes soulless and it itching closer and closer as it reached it's clawed hand to him as he tired to make himself as small as possible.

=

Nicky shot up!
Thunder striking again, having been woken up by it.
He. . . He looked around. . .
He was in his room, in his house and. . . Not there.
His PJs stuck to him, he was sweating. . . A lot, wiping his hair and his fringe also being soaked in sweat.
He sat there, hearing the rain, the window and thunder trying to tell himself not to cry.
'Meow'
Xeno jumped his bed, puring and rubbing his face on Nicky's as he comforted him, Nicky chuckled and he tried to smile, unable to stop the tears.
"I'm okay, Xeno. . . It was, just a nightmare. . . You'll get use to it. . ."
Nicky looked out the window, the rain was pretty and the wind, though his parents and uncle were probably out like lights.
*Bing*
*Bing*
He frowned, shuffling and reaching his is iPad and realised Aaron was calling him.
Was he awake too?
"Hello?"
"Hey, sorry if I woke you-. . . Have you been crying?"
Nicky wiped his face,"No, sorry; I. . . Just had a bad dream, you didn't wake me.", Aaron made a face, but nods slightly worried and Nicky didn't want him to worry.
"Hey Nicky. . ."
Aaron turned the device, Mya peaking out of the covers in the bottom bunk bed,"Yeah, Mya's not a fan of thunder. . .", Nicky nods, laying on back and adjusting the iPad,"Understandable.", "How is mom and dad sleeping through this?", Aaron turned to her,"Well, Mom's a heavy sleeper and dad probably took a lot of medicine to sleep through this. Probably should taken his offer to have some.", Mya nods, all of them jumping at another clap of thunder.
Like that, more people were online and joining the call.
"We're not the only ones, huh."

"So. None of us can sleep."
Trinity sat on on her bed, Delory in his room, Maritza and Enzo in the living room, Ivan in bed with a plush rabbit and Lucy in her bed obviously.
"Nope."
"Some of either got woken up by the storm, have insomnia, ADHD, OCD or you're Nicky and can't go back sleep, or even Enzo who's just trying to complete a level in a game right now."
To that Enzo shushed her,"You'll wake dad up if you're not careful.", "You think he's gonna wake up? He's gonna sleep through this.", Trinity giggled, Delory stretched,"Well, storms are usually my favourite cause it's nights that dad doesn't play music till like, late evening so I can get sleep. . . But as I was enjoying the silence, I saw you guys online and wanted to talk.", "Awwe.", Delory glared at Maritza,"Don't push it.", Maritza raised her hand, as a surrendering motion.
"I got woken up by the storm. . . And I'm too scared to get up from the bed, cause the bed demon or hall demon will get me.", Nicky made a face, he's definitely gonna have that in his head for the rest of the night: No sleep for him.
Lightening hit again, Ivan jumped and Mya buried her face in the pillow, Trinity glancing at her curtains and Ivan sinking into the bed.
"So. . . None of us going back to sleep?"
"Nope."
"Not after that demon talk."
"I'm so sorry Nicky."
"It's fine."
Nicky looked at Xeno,"Hey, Mya, guys; You wanna see my new cat?", Mya turned to the camera immediately, Xeno sat with Nicky in the shoot and everyone's mood seemed to brighten up.
"Kitty! :D"
"She's so cute."
"Xeno is her name?"
"Yeah, we got her a few days ago."
Lucy smiled,"You guys wanna play Minecraft and talk?", "Sounds good.", "Heck yeah.", guess no one was sleeping tonight: No problem for Nicky.

=

Despite the storm, Norman was wide awake and working.
Ike came over, making his presence known to not scare Norman,"Hey. Wrapping up yet?", Norman sighed,"Yeah, maybe; My head feels like it's fried.", so Norman closed the notebook and took hiss hat hat, sighing as he rubbed his eyes.
Ike looked out the window, the rain beating down on them.
He smiled,"Hey: Remember when you used to have sleepovers at my house, back when we were kids and. . . I don't remember, if it was before or after you got sick, but you remember if it was a storm, my dad would be up late with us, give us snacks and let us watch stuff mom usually wouldn't let us.", Norman chuckled,"Doing shadow puppets, showing us how to do it; Then threatening to keep it a secret or he'd use The Neuralyzer, wipe our memories.", Ike and Norman chuckle and nod,"Yeah, you remember.", "Hard not too. Your dad was always laid back.", Ike nods, ans that got him thinking.
"Wanna watch Men In Black before hitting the hay?"
"Yeah, why not."
Norman frowned for a moment,"Are you sure Quentin and Beatrix will be okay up in their station?", Ike groaned,"I have no idea what they're doing. But they'll be fine.", Norman turned on the TV,"If not; I will tell them,'I told you to stay in a house', so. . .", Norman switched the movie on, relaxing with the storm.

~

"I swear. . . There's someone in there!"
"Yeah, there is some motion going off with our equipment. . . But it might just be an animal."

~

"Didn't think it was gonna be that bad."
He shut the door, locking it.
He took his hood, his stupid cloak or cape now completely drenched and definitely barely saved him from the rain.
He took it off, his crows sitting around the table, shelves and old stuff, shaking off the rain and their Caretaker and owner put it his cloak down.
"Good thing the back up generator is on, might be able to dry and warm up."

=

Jay checked on Nicky.
The storm had passed, and he found Nicky asleep with the cat laying his chest and for a moment Jay thought it was a huge cat toy and his iPad on the bed.
He reached for the Ipad, the cat seeming to groan as he did.
"I won't wake him, don't worry."
He was just going to move the iPad, though the cat did Bap his hand.
The cat then relaxed, going back to sleep and probably keeping Nicky asleep.
Jay put the iPad on top of a box, making a note that they needed to do something about Nicky's room and left.