Zeravia's Five

fourteen

July 4th.

Tate woke up in a hurry, sitting up straight in his bed, pearls of sweat rolling down his forehead. He felt so unbelievably warm, almost wet from the heat. He was panting for a reason he was unaware of which only freaked him out even more. The boy lowered his head, holding it in his hands trying to make sense of this uneasy feeling he was drowning in. The feeling that something horrible was going to happen. It haunted every corner of his mind, feeling the usually smooth texture of his silk made sheets, he felt trapped. His breathing itched and became uneven at the way his sheets wrapped around his legs as though they were glued to him. He messily grabbed and pulled at them before tossing them onto the ground, pushing himself out of bed and falling over with a loud thud.

"Gia..." he whispered to himself, his eyes wide with confusion and worry.

Izzie must've felt his distress or she must've been woken up by his fall because in a matter of seconds, she was standing at his door. She had a hand over her mouth, her hair lazily held up by a clip the boy would usually judge for its size. He moved away from her as she tried to step closer, crawling until his back came in contact with the wall. Tate brought his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them, tears of panic falling from his cheeks.

"What's happening to me Iz?" He questioned her, not looking up, as if he was ashamed of whatever was going on. She was obviously as clueless as him, but she gently lowered herself until she was sitting a few feet away from him, "I wish I could tell you Tate... I really do, but for once, whatever you're feeling is as much of a mystery to you as it is to me,"

Her voice was calm, gentle and soft. There were many sides as to who Izzie was. In the past, the only side of her that she allowed others to see was the quiet side. The one that was hoping for acceptance. She never gave her opinion on anything and let other people walk all over her, but recently a new side of her had been peaking through. The side of her that spoke up... a confident side. That side she tried so hard to keep hidden. It was the side Tate loved the most about her. The side that helped him fall asleep when they were younger, the side that always brought him back from the darkest corners of his mind.

"How about you tell me what you know?" She offered, leaning to the side a bit, trying to catch a glimpse of the boy's face. He took a deep breath in, trying to moderate it before nodding, "Okay..." he whispered, wiping away his tears.

It took him some time before he actually started telling Izzie about all the things he had been going through. All the guilt and confusion, the fear... the torture William was making him endure. He kept going back and forth, trying to gather his thoughts in order to word everything perfectly, but every time his mouth opened up, it closed again. She had never seen him this way. The facade he constantly displayed was so convincing, somehow she had missed out on most of those bottled up feelings, but then again, truly getting a read on Tate's emotions had always been a challenge for her. She had only ever been able to scratch the surface, but as soon as she pierced it, she was shoved out... blocked.

"I saw it all," he finally said, pulling Izzie out of her thoughts. She pressed her lips together.

She couldn't help, but think about that one time he had told her about his dream of the future. A dream in which she killed him.

"What did you see?" She questioned him, her curiosity raising along with her anxiety. She wondered if she truly wanted to know what awful things he had seen this time. What this nightmare had brought him.

He shook his head and looked over at his bed, "Turham burning down..." Izzie sat up straight when she heard those words, "It was all so foggy, but I dreamt it... then I dreamt about you and the others training... the clearing again," the girl shook her head as the information she thought would answer her questions only created more.