Fire Starter

Chapter Sixteen

Half asleep as I post this, haha. x

This should be interesting.

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I flinch out of my sleep to a pair of warm hands against my cheeks. "It's just a dream," Zayn softly says to me. I'm panting, because it's another dream with the same little girl who looks like me, who often addresses me as 'Nick.' It freaks me out because she's so white, she seems like a ghost, and she's me, talking to me! And it all seems so real.

Then the name Nick freaks me out as well, because it's a male's name, and I'm obviously a female. The name Nick also belongs to the original owner of Emma. It's as though the owner of the book has a ghost that lives in this house who haunts me in my dreams because I've invaded his belongings.

The dreams have been so frequent lately, with the same ghostly little girl that it's nothing of any surprise to Zayn when he wakes to my frantic tossing in the covers, only to wake me from the nightmare.

"Nicole, it's all right," I feel Zayn remove the blanket from his body, and slide into the duvet that covers mine. He's been doing this so often that it no longer effects me like it use to. "You're all right."

Zayn has changed lately from being this very hostile guy (at least towards me), to being nice and caring... I've begun to trust him even more. It doesn't bother me anymore when he comforts me from a nightmare or when he tries to do so during a thunder storm.

At this point I think we were able to call each other friends, at least, even though I was latching onto him as though we were best friends. We slept in the same bed because I couldn't go back up to the attic, and because Mason currently occupies the spare room that was originally suppose to be for me. In addition to the strange arrangement, I even borrowed Zayn's clothes.

Zayn's body warmth radiated onto mine. I couldn't stop myself as I brought my body as close to his as our skin--pressed to one another--would allow.

Zayn's fingers wiped the wetness from my cheek. Then for some reason, I just begun to break down. My wailing was probably shaking the dead because I was so loud. It was comfort that he didn't even tell me to Shhh. In addition, he had allowed me to sob into his chest, his shirt becoming damp.

"I'm sorry," I tried apologizing, but I couldn't contain my tears. My apology probably wasn't even coherent.

"It's okay, Nicole. It's okay..." Zayn coos, his left arm wrapped around my shoulders protectively as the other occasionally wiped my tears, and stroked my hair.

He only comforted me with the same two words, it's okay, but I felt like he was giving me the world. Those two words seemed like endless open opportunities that he was giving me.

Minutes had passed until my crying fell into hiccups, then the hiccups fell into silence. Those other nights I hadn't cried, I just laid in bed restlessly. But I couldn't quite explain why tonight was any different. Maybe it was because I had enough of these stupid dreams, or maybe it was because of the certain scenario that had taken place this time.

I steadied my breathing by listening close to the quivering heart under my ear, savoring his warmth, because it was only a matter of time before he would push me away.

Zayn's lips pressed to my forehead for a moment, and when I expected him to remove them, he didn't.

"Are you up?" his breath was hot against my face.

I thought of acting like I was asleep so I wouldn't have to speak, but then he would just push my sleeping body back to my side of the bed.

"Y-yes," I stammered, shifting my head up a bit, accidentally making his mouth touched the spot between my eyebrows, momentarily.