Crossing Paths

3

Sleep is when the nightmares consume me.

It feels like I'm drowning. Yet, it's nothing to do with water. The feeling though, is exactly what drowning is expected to be. A huge weight pulls me further and further into my cocoon of 'sleep', a feeling so great it physically hurts balancing itself on my chest and the constant suffocating feeling of not being able to get enough air into my lungs; instead swallowing water, or what feels like water, anyways.

Sometimes it isn't anything to do with Harry, normally it is, but very rarely I wake up in a cold sweat after 'dreaming' about being in the middle of nowhere, nobody around and nothing there except plains of grassland for miles beyond the eyes reach.

Tonight, however, was everything and more to do with Harry. Every single horrible thing he had ever done to me was in the few short hours of having to watch in 3rd person, there was me lying on the dirt cladded floor covered in dried blood. Harry hovering over me a malicious smirk pounding his ripped knuckles into me.

However, the only good thing with nightmares is - once you woke up everything disappeared, you might have that left over shock of it all, but you realise soon after that it was never real in the first place and it was your imagination.

Except that wasn't true for me. It was the harsh reality of my life, but it wasn't true and never would be. When I woke up, it only made my reality hit me with a much more immense force because my nightmares were real and when I woke up each night in a cold sweat, they became even more real and I realised I couldn't forget the nightmare because it was my reality. It will never just be my imagination.

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Walking up the steps in the lecture hall I take my seat nearer the back. I always felt 'safe' being somewhere that nobody could really see me. It kept all the wandering eyes off of her and I also had a perfect view of everything and everyone.

That didn't stop me from resting my head in my folded arms, though. The sleepless night was one of the roughest I've had in a good few weeks and it had definitely taken its toll on me.

Although, I didn't get far into my quick nap as soon enough I felt a light tap on my shoulder. Brushing it off thinking it was just sleep taking over I nestle further into my arms, but sure enough my mind wasn't playing tricks on me. A mere second or two later I felt a faster more needy tap, so I groan as I pick my head up.

"What the fück?" I whine looking around for the culprit.

To my surprise there stood in all his glory was, Blake, smirking like the little turd he was.

"Is there a reason you interrupted my sleep?"

"Not really, but I thought you'd rather it was me than the professor" he continues, pointing down at the old stout man.

"I also wanted to ask if I could sit here" he goes onto gesture to the empty seat next to me. I'd rather he didn't, but it's not like we are going to talk.

"I guess. Just don't talk to me"

"Whatever you say"

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"Ell! Psst! Ell!"

*tap* *poke* *tap*