~.: "Never Be Alone" :.~
~.: Shawn Mendes :.~
~.: De's POV :.~
I had barely even begun to doze off, my head resting against Dick's shoulder, when suddenly Aria's heart monitor started going insane. Her rapid heartbeat alerted the nurses nearby and as Dick anxiously nudged me to attention, Aria cried out in anguish, my heart breaking at the sound.
"Please don't leave me!" She managed to blearily sob as a pair of nurses took charge of her before I could even get closer to the bed.
"Aria, we're here," I cried out in reply, tears stinging the edges of my eyes as I squeezed Dick's hand, seeking reassurance. A third nurse rushed into the room while her coworkers started getting supplies out to check Aria's vitals and upon catching sight of Dick and I still seated in the room, the third nurse motions for us to leave the room.
"You're crowding the room," she explained furtively, swiftly glancing over her shoulder at her fellow nurses while herding us out into the hallway, "Come back later!"
"But she wanted us in there!" I protested, pushing forward to try and squeeze myself back into the emergency room as Aria screamed in horror, "She needs us!" My protests had no effect unfortunately and just as I was about to snap at her again, the door slammed firmly shut in my face and Dick gently pulled me towards the waiting room, rubbing my back comfortingly.
"Lets just leave them alone for right now, okay?" He murmured, frowning softly as I glanced anxiously at him before allowing him to lead me into the waiting room where Wally and Lukas were already seated, "They know what they're doing and they can't do their jobs while we're in the room," Dick explained gently, placing a comforting hand in one of mine as I huffed in defeat while easing myself into the chair next to Wally's before Dick sat down beside me.
"Is my Ari still in pain??" Lukas demands irritably, his hazel eyes stormy with emotion as he leaned over to question us, but before either of us could reply, Wally nudged him out of the way.
"It's Aria," he grumbled, dark emerald eyes glinting with annoyance, "And she's not even yours!"
Dick groaned agitatedly, burying his face in his hands in frustration, "Can you two please not fight over my sister right now?" He irritably huffed as I stifled an amused giggle while leaning against him to provide comfort as best as I could while sitting in this stupid hospital chair.
"He started it," Lukas and Wally both growled in unison before shutting up and glaring in hostility at one another, "Stop copying me, creep!"
I rolled my eyes in annoyance as I facepalmed myself with my free hand while Dick scowled at the two of them in displeasure.
"Who are you calling a creep?" Wally hissed at Lukas shoving his chair away, "I'm not the guy who's been stalking someone else's fiancé for the past three years!" Lukas's eyes blaze with irritation as he shoves Wally's chair in response.
"Five years," he growled furiously, crossing his arms over his chest as he sank back into his chair when I glared at him in agitation, "And I was with her first while you were probably macking on some other girl like how you used to do in highschool,"
Wally glared angrily at him as Dick grumbled under his breath about needing to go outside for some fresh air before leaning towards me and kissing my cheek gently.
"I'll be right back," he murmured as he pulled away, "If you need me, just call my cell, okay, babe?" I nodded, smiling softly at him as I stood up and gave him a quick hug before settling back down into my chair while tuning out Wally's and Lukas's arguing.
I took out my phone not even a moment after Dick left the waiting room, turning and maneuvering my body in the chair so that I was curled into a semi-ball as I unlocked my phone and pulled up my text message threads before scrolling down to Dick's thread. Smiling to myself as I spotted the earlier selfie he'd sent to me, I typed "I love you" and hit send before putting my phone back in my pocket and closing my eyes quietly.
Maybe I can take a quick nap while all of this is going on, I thought sleepily, I didn't get to take a nap on the plane ride to the performance or during the car ride here and I'm still bushed from last night's mission. As I curled tighter into myself, I wrapped my arms around my mid section and felt myself drifting into a light sleep, the lull of Wally's and Lukas's voices eventually giving way to my unconsciousness. Almost as soon as I'd closed my eyes, though, a calloused hand gripped one of my own and my eyes flew open to reveal that I had somehow teleported outside and back to Gotham Academy.
"What the...?" I mumbled blearily, blinking so that my eyes would readjust themselves to the sudden blast of sunlight.
"Hey, Princess," a familiar voice that didn't at all belong to Dick chuckled venomously as I glanced confusedly down at the hand still grasping mine before looking up into the familiar face of someone I'd thought I'd never see again ever since he'd been put into the back of a squad car with Blake a few days ago, "Did you miss me?"
"S-Seth-" I stammered shakily, trying to pull away from him as the dark brown haired man crouched down beside me and reached out a hand that cupped one of my cheeks almost tenderly, "Get away from me! Y-you're not supposed to be here-" The slight tremor in my voice gave away the fear I was feeling deep down at being so close to him and he smirked darkly as he moved even closer to me.
"Aww, sweetheart," he chuckled in his raspy voice as I hurriedly tried to scoot farther out of his range, to no avail, "Why would I ever leave my baby girl alone after your precious bird put me behind bars?"
I narrowed my eyes at him as I managed to yank my hand away from him, my back hitting some kind of brick wall as my heart jumped into my throat, "Stop calling me those names," I snarled, turning my face away as Seth eagerly cornered me against the brick wall, "You deserve to be behind bars after everything you did to me-!"
My heart skips a beat as Seth slams both hands against the wall on either side of my head and I cringe as his mouth makes contact with my neck while he pins me forcefully against the wall, "Just shut up and enjoy, Princess~" He growled against my skin as I strained against him and suddenly he plunges one of his knees between my thighs when I cry out in alarm.
"Leave me alone!" I sobbed, struggling to free myself from his suffocating presence, "I wanna wake up from this stupid nightmare-!" I whimpered, closing my eyes in distress as I feel my body shaking beneath his.
"What nightmare?" Dick's voice suddenly sounded in my ear and my eyes flew open to see him a foot away from me. The scenery had changed. Instead of the courtyard at Gotham Academy, I was now in a dimly lit room at the Cave.
"I- I..." I couldn't get my brain to form a complete sentence as he scowled distrustfully at me while I backed up against a closet door that had replaced the brick wall I was pinned against not even a moment ago, "What's going on?" I murmured confusedly, glancing around the room before freezing up when I spotted Aria's and Addyson's dead bodies in the center of the room on the marble floor.
"Don't play dumb," Dick growled, narrowing his eyes at me as he moved so that he stood between me and the bodies of his twin sisters, "This is all your fault. My sisters died because of you! How can I trust you anymore?" My blood roared in my ears as a sudden wave of nausea nearly made me fall to my knees in front of him.
"N-no, you're wrong!" I whimpered shakily, closing my eyes tight as I tried to stand back up once more, "Addyson's ex did this-!"
"But you didn't stop them from coming to this specific room," He snarled in hostility as he glared at me in disapproval, "You didn't stop them. You could've saved Addyson. You don't deserve to be with me and you don't deserve to be the mother of my son." His words slashed at me like daggers and I shakily urged myself to wake up. Please, please wake up! This isn't real! This isn't real! This isn't-
"Why did you forget about me?" A new voice filled my ears and I nervously lifted my head to see the one boy I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with. The love of my life who'd been taken away from me the night he died.
"R-Ryan..." I murmured softly, rubbing at the tears that were rolling down my face as he came closer and knelt in front of me, "I- I never forgot about you-"
"Liar," he hissed, shoving me backwards as I cried out in surprise, "When I died, you went straight to Aria's brother's arms! You stole him from Acacia as soon as I was dead and you didn't give a damn. All you cared about was him!" He accusingly growled as I hurriedly pulled myself to my feet once more.
"That's not true!" I snapped angrily, narrowing my eyes at him, "I loved you!"
"Lying again, are we?" A hand on my shoulder from behind tore my focus attention away from Ryan as I whirled around to face a cloaked figure mere inches from me, "All you've ever done is lie to yourself and others about how horrible of a person you really are deep down. I mean stealing Nightwing from Acacia and then getting one of his sisters killed? Shameful~"
Fury stung my senses as I threw the stranger's hand off my shoulder, "I never lied to anyone or myself!" I snarled angrily, trying to summon my powers to defend myself, "And I never stole Dick from Acacia! When Ryan died, I didn't want anyone anywhere near me! I just... I just wanted to die..." I found myself whispering, lowering my gaze from the stranger and suddenly they disappeared from view as the room darkened so much that I could barely see my own hands in front of my face.
"I need to wake up from this dream..." I mumbled softly, running a hand through my hair stressfully before the sound of a gun clocking behind me caught my attention. I swallowed thickly, closing my eyes tightly as an arm wrapped around my neck.
"This isn't a dream, idiot," an unfamiliar voice hissed into my ear as I stiffened in terror, "This is only the beginning."
~.: Tim's POV :.~
"What was I thinking in there.." I murmured, leaning against the hallway wall as I buried my face in my gloved hands while groaning softly, "Talking about Addyson like that in front of Lexie when she was upset... Jesus Christ, Tim, what's gotten into you?" I relaxed against the wall as I stressfully ran my hands through my hair.
~TO BE CONTINUED~
