The Dream

Skylar POV: I suck at comforting people

I jump as I hear a knock on the front door of the house. I hurry to the front door, and open it, revealing a soaking wet Ash.

"Ash? What are you-?"

"Doing here?"

"Yeah."

"I... don't know, to be honest. I feel like a character in a book with no premeditated plot."

I tilt my head at Ash's confusing words. "Anyways, what are you doing here-"

"Skylar? Is someone at the door?" I hear my mom ask from the kitchen. I wave for Ash to shut up a bit.

"No mom, just uh... just a bird crashing into the door." I grab Ash's wrist and pull her into my bedroom.

Ash looks like she wants to ask, but then she just shrugs, as too tired to be bothered.

I sit her down on my bed and leave my room, quickly grabbing a few towels for my soaking wet friend. (*suggestive wink from Ash*) I wrap one around her shoulders, and feel her shivering from the freezing cold rain. And something else. Something I can't quite get my finger on...

Something seems different. Ash doesn't have her normal confident posture, and her eyes look a little red. "Ash... is everything okay?"

Ash lets out a choked chuckle, "Sure. Everything's just wonderful." I give her a look, and she shrinks back, her snarky defense shutting down a bit.

"Cut the crap and talk to me."

"Dad's dying. Car crash. Mom kicked me out of his hospital room because I got upset with her on the phone when she told me." Ash's eyes darken as she scowls at the wall, but as I watch, her angry facade fades as tears begin to fall down her cheeks. She lets out a choked sob, curling up into herself.

I pull my distressed friend into a hug, trying to think of something I could say, anything. There has to be some way I can cheer her up, right?

"Ash... I... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry this happened to you."

"It's... it's my f-fault. H-he was on his way to p-pick me up, a-and..."

"It's not your fault, Ash." I look her in they eyes, trying to stay calm and gentle but probably failing. "Ash... do you believe in destiny? Fate?"

"Where th-the hell is this l-leading?"

"Just answer the damn question Ash."

"It's bullshit."

"Well... I think it has some truth to it. We're all meant to end up somewhere, but you have to work through obstacles to...reach your end point. If you let these things weigh you down too long, you may not realize who you're eventually meant to be."

"So what, is Dad collateral damage for my 'true path'?"

"You're making this so difficult..."

"I make everything difficult.", Ash mutters.

" ... alright, let's try a different approach." I sigh, trying to think of some other way to comfort my friend. "To be honest, I'm shit at cheering people up, so bear with me."

"Would... hot chocolate and Netflix help at all?"

She nods a little, and I pull away from her. "Brb!"

I hopped out of the room and avoided my mom while making two mugs of hot cocoa, grabbing a bag of marshmallows and a bag of Hershey's Kisses before heading back to my room.

Ash is staring blankly at the wall, looking exhausted, wet, and worn down. She sighs and drops her face into the bed, and stays still. As I sit down on the bed, I hear slowed breathing coming from Ash, who makes a moaning noise in acknowledgement of my arrival, not shifting from her spot on the bed.

"Ash, you need to scoot over so I can sit down and set up Netflix."

"Unless you are Colin Morgan or you're naked, don't tell me what to do," Ash jokes, before flopping to the side, looking up at me.

I sit down next to her, and she looks at the bag of Hershey's kisses thoughtfully, before turning away. Sighing sadly, I turn on my laptop, "So, what d'yah wanna watch?"

She shrugs, looking at me thoughtfully, "A show with hidden gay undertones throughout the entire production?"

"Merlin it is." I pull the show up on Netflix. "Now, rules are: no talking about anything that happened tonight, and you must have something to consume. Let us begin the marathon."

And so we watched. As we watched, I glanced over at my friend multiple times. Her face seemed to brighten, if only a little. She was getting a little happier, which I thought was a success.

As we began the 7th episode in our binge watching, I glance over to see Ash has fallen asleep next to me, her head pillowed by her arms, her head tilted sideways. Her black hair covers her face slightly, and her eyes are darting around beneath her eyelids, her mouth in the faintest of frowns.

I sigh, well, at least she's sleeping...

I decide that maybe I can take a quick nap as well. I quietly close my laptop and curl up next to Ash, my eyes shutting quickly, sleep overtaking my body before I can coherently think anymore.  

A/N

Hey guys, sorry if this seems iffy. We're going through a school-withdrawl time, aka recovery from school. New chappies with songs on the way!

~Skylar and Ashbel