I woke up to Alex slowly sticking his finger in my ear, which would have been fine if he wasn't also two inches away from my face in a Scream mask. I screamed and jumped away from him, falling off the other side of my bed.
"I'm going to kill you!" I growled grabbing one of my pillows. I chased him out my room and down to the living room where Esther was on the couch reading a book. Alex tripped on a fold in the rug in the center of the room and face planted in front of the TV. Esther covered her mouth just before I sat on Alex's back and violently slapped him with my pillow. Alex giggled and tried to get away as I continued my angry rampage.
"Alex, what did you do?" Esther scolded as she marked her page and sat her book down.
"He stuck his finger in my ear!" I said while hitting Alex for emphasis. I stood up and angrily marched off towards my room. "I'm going back to bed!" I slammed my room door and climbed back into my bed, morning my comfort and quickly settling into a quick sleep.
I was quickly whisked into a fantasy realm of light and airy imagery before I realized I was there alone. I ran across the tops of scientifically impossible clouds and shouted for someone, anyone to be there. Suddenly, I was on stage. I stood in the middle of 4 microphones on an empty stage. I started singing, but before long the crowd started booing. The music wasn't the same. There was nothing I could do, so I started panicking. I hugged myself and sunk to the floor.
"I can't do it," I said out loud to myself in the noisy room. Tears started to stream down my face uncontrollably. "I can't do it."
"Close your eyes lay your head down
Now it's time to sleep..."
"I can't do it!"
"May you find great adventure
As you lie and dream..."
I felt a pair of familiar hands grab my face and slowly lift my head until I was looking into a beautiful pair of tear clouded green eyes.
"If you're scared of the darkness
I will calm your fear..."
Avi sung to me with Kirstin, Kevin, and Scott standing not to far behind him.
"There's a light in the hallway
So you know I'm here..."
They continued to sing to me while I sat there and cried alone as the as the angry screams of the fans behind them faded to nothing and my fears were thwarted by their love.
"Everything will be okay
You are not alone
You are right at home
Goodnight..."
I slept peacefully as their voices rang through my mind and woke up much later in the day than I'd intended. I went downstairs just as Justin and Alex argued over who would make lunch.
"I'll make it!" I interrupted.
"Are you sure?" Justin asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"Yeah, we can handle it." Alex added.
"I got this." I pushed past both of them into the kitchen and started making whatever I could find.
I had been cooking for something like ten minutes when Esther came into the kitchen with tears streaming down her face.
"What?" I asked honestly.
"You... You're singing," she stuttered.
I covered my mouth with my hands and smiled. "I guess I am."
