A Beautiful Reflection From Firework Eyes

Pull Me Under, Wake Me Up

A tad bit cliche, but whatever :) 

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Kellin has nightmares. I wake up to the sound of a scream from the other side of the room. I slip out of my bed, the air cold against my skin as I tiptoe over to his bed. The room is faintly illuminated by the lights from the hallway seeping under the door. It's enough for me to see him struggling against some unseen enemy, his face drawn with pain.

I shake his shoulder. "Kellin," I whisper. He doesn't wake, just shifts away from me.

"Stop it," he cries. "No—Dad don't—" my stomach drops at the sound of his words. No—his father?

"Kellin," I say louder. He still doesn't respond, still struggling against something—his father.

He lets out a scream, thrashing even more, and I curse silently to myself. At this point, he's gonna hurt himself if he doesn't wake up.

I contemplate for a moment before I climb up onto the bed beside him. I try to restrain him the best I can, but I eventually give up, opting to climb on top of him instead, pinning him down. I hold his wrists down as he fights against me. Kellin's eyes snap open, but he's not fully awake yet—he's still struggling against me. "Kellin," I say again. "Kellin, wake up." He still doesn't, and I glance around desperately. What am I going to do now? If the guards hear him—I don't even want to think about what they might do.

I shake him again, but he still doesn't respond—fighting against me harder. I curse to myself again as I shift my position, holding both his wrists down with one hand while I slap him across the face with my free one.

The sound rings out across the room, and I wince, knowing how he must feel about me now. At least it seems to do the trick. Kellin stops struggling, going slack in my grasp. He blinks a few times, glancing up at me. I can see the imprint of my hand on his cheek, even in the dim light.

"I'm so sorry," I say, mortified. "I didn't mean to hit you—you just weren't waking up."

"It's okay," he murmurs. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I try to comfort him. "It's fine." I realize how much he's blushing. I snap to my senses, realizing I'm still sitting on top of him. Wow, this is embarrassing. My face heats up as he looks away from me."Oh—I'm sorry," I mutter as I shift off of him, so I'm sitting on the side of his bed instead.

"I should've told you," Kellin whispers. "I-I have nightmares a lot."

"That's okay," I say kindly.

"I woke you up, didn't I?" he asks.

"I wasn't asleep yet," I lie.

"Liar," he mutters.

I roll my eyes, reaching over to brush his hair out of his face. He freezes as I do, but doesn't move away, letting me tuck the strand of dark hair behind his ear, my fingers brushing against his cheek.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask softly.

He stares at me, his eyes wide. "What did you hear?" he asks, his voice shaking.

"You were screaming at your father," I say softly.

Kellin freezes, staring at me.

"You don't have to tell me," I look away, my face heating up.

"I'm sorry," he whispers at last.

"You don't have any reason to be."

He just shakes his head. "I'm going to try to get some sleep."

"I'm here if you need me," I call as I head back to my side of the room.

I hear the blankets rustling before he whispers, "thank you," so quietly, I almost don't hear him.