Dollhouse

Haydn Remembers: Part One

Haydn remembers the first night the nightmares had happened, he had woken up only slightly from sleep at around two in the morning and thought he had been hearing things when he heard sniffles and muffled sobs coming from Ace's side of the room, and had fallen back to sleep a few moments later.

The second time, Haydn had woken to a sharp yelp and Ace falling out of his bed. They spent ten minutes nursing any bruises Ace might have had and checked his eyes for a sign of a concussion-despite what they seem, the beds are rather high up- before going back to sleep. Haydn could remember clearly how Ace had tried to laugh it off, said that he had rolled too far in his bed and hadn't realized just how close to the edge it was until it was too late. Haydn thought the scared look in his eyes and the red puffiness surrounding them said otherwise.

The fourth night, Haydn had woken up to the actual screaming. It had taken him exactly 14 minutes and 15 seconds to wake Ace up, and he spent an hour cradling an unresponsive, violently shaking boy in his arms, trying to get him back to the world, to show him he was safe, before Ace had gone lax in his arms out of pure exhaustion. He could still feel the warmth where the tears had fallen onto his arm.

He remembers, it had been the fifteenth day when he was given an inkling as to what the nightmares might be about.

He and Ace had been wandering about campus, looking for a quiet place for them to study and for Haydn to tutor Ace in some of his worse classes, when Chad and his goons had passed by. Haydn had never liked them. They used people and were spoiled brats with more villain in them than the villain kids. He had lightly touched Ace's arm as a signal to ignore them and follow him, but as they passed by one of the goons had yelled, "OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"

Haydn still remembers how Ace had frozen, eyes growing wide and fear clearly leaking into his posture. His grip had tightened on his books until his knuckles had turned white. He looked sick, all color having drained from his face. It was the first time anyone had gotten more of a reaction than a duck of the head and proceeding to be ignored as Ace continued to do what he needed to do. This had clearly startled the boy, and it worried Haydn. He had stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, and Ace jumped, yelping and dropping his things and seeming to instinctively jerk like he wanted to move away but he kept his feet glue to the ground.

"Ace?" Haydn felt how he tensed even further and watched as Ace slowly turned to face him, his eyes definitely filled with fear now and Chad and his friends were laughing just behind them.

Ace's cheeks had quickly flushed with shame as he ducked his head and shrugged off Haydn's hand, kneeling down to quickly grab his fallen things and Haydn had bent down to help, but another flinch from Ace made him pause and straighten. Ace had run off the moment he had collected everything, and Haydn had turned to the boys still laughing and teasing, making obscene remarks their parents would hopefully be ashamed to hear them say, and unleashed his own fury on them, shouting and yelling until Ben had come and pulled him away from them.

When Haydn saw Ace again, it was that evening in their room. Ace's eyes were red and puffy as he had walked in with a mumbled but heartfelt apology on his lips, and then he had just collapsed onto his bed; back to his roommate and clearly too exhausted to say anything more.

That night was when Haydn's inkling had been confirmed as the cause of the nightmares. Ace had been screaming, again; kicking away his sheets and breaking into a cold sweat when Haydn had been woken up. He turned on the light and had gone over to his bed, as usual, when a strangled sound had left Ace and panicked words had left him.

"I'm sorry, I'll-.... Please, stop...! N-no, please, I'll do better!" Haydn knew he should wake the boy up before anything else had been said, but a stray elbow had made contact with his stomach and caused him to crumble in on himself, holding the spot. It was too early in the morning to be unaffected by the sudden action, and it had sadly meant that Ace's nightmare would continue. "Please, no..! Stop, it hurts... It hurts, it hurts, please, stop! Mother!" At the last cry Ace had jerked awake, and Haydn quickly scrambled to look like Ace had not in fact elbowed him in the gut as his words registered in his brain.

He froze, looking at the Prince who gasped and shook in the moonlight filtering in from their windows with mostly drawn curtains. Who's Crimson eyes shined with tears and hands grasped for the familiarity that Haydn's had started to give him on nights like these, and suddenly he felt immense sadness for the boy as he reached out and took Ace's hand in his own, pulling the boy up and onto his lap. He rested Ace's head on his shoulder and felt his quickened breaths against the crook of his neck, felt the warm tears creating a wet spot on his nightshirt.

Haydn remembers how Ace clung to him like a lifeline, eyes nearly unseeing as he rode through flashes of nightmare mixed with memory while being murmured to that he was safe now, reminded of stories that he and his friends had done so far throughout the school year. He remember how Ace had begged, over and over in a pitifully small voice, not to have his head cut off; that he'll be a good boy, he'll do better, so please, please don't cut his head off.

Haydn remembers murmuring back, "Yes, you're a good boy, you're doing amazing, so don't worry, no one is cutting your head off, you're safe here, I promise."

Haydn remembers how the next day, Ace couldn't meet his eyes but smiled a shy, thankful smile while blushing that morning in the dining hall, and he remembers how his heart had suddenly began to pound in his chest as heat creeped up his neck. How Evie had given a little gasp and a giggle, Mal had given a knowing smirk, and Ben had smiled, patted his shoulder, and continued his conversation with the girls.

He remembers how that was the day he had fallen in love.