DEMONS WAKE AT NIGHT;; ariella

[Frankie Cuzco]

FRANKIE CUZCO !!

Quite honestly Frankie’s room mates were annoying and noisy idiots. Today they decided that they’d have a little party in their room with a few beers and what not. For one Frankie just wanted to sleep. Seeing how it was practically 2 am Frankie decided it would be safe enough to go to the common room because he wouldn’t see her.

For the past week Frankie had been avoiding Ariella Rockwell since that memorable night. He saw her fleeting glances and Frankie ignored them with stony silence. Unfortunately they were in the same house so the Common Room wasn’t really a safe zone. Since it was too late though Frankie decided Ariella would be in bed and made for a couch with his pillow and blanket only in his pajama pants, shirt off.

Once he settled into the couch, legs hanging off as well as his arm. Quickly Frankie fell back asleep however he discovered maybe he didn’t want to. Now in Frankie’s subconscious his dreams, no nightmares seemed so real. Usually at night Frankie fell asleep well knowing that others were around him, part of the reason he slept in class. Now however alone in the common room Frankie’s demons sought to be awoken.

A man was approaching a rather tall boy, maybe 8 years old. The man looked angry as can be, face red, wand clenched in his fist and while the other waved threateningly in the air. The man was shorter, had a round belly and hard eyes. He came toward the young boy yelling about working harder and not even trying, telling him that he only caused grief. The boy just sank into the corner of the room, preparing himself. The boys eyes raced between the fist and the wand not sure which would come first. The boy said ‘No, Daddy no! I’ll try harder!’ But the man, Daddy, wasn’t listening. Then came a silencing charm, rendering the boy speechless. Then came a hard kick to the side and a punch in the jaw. Angrily the man retreated leaving the boy curled in a ball in the corner crying silently.

Frankie was lying on the couch tossing and turning, drenched in sweat. Occasionally you could hear a No escape his lips as he tossed and turned almost falling off the couch. The dreams continued one scene after another replaying in his head keeping Frankie tossing and turning covered in a feverish sweat and muttering No over and over.

[Ariella Rockwell]

For the better part of the week Ariella was depressed. Her friends wondered what happened, whispering to each other when they thought Ariella couldn't hear and persistently asking her what was wrong. She just shook her head when they asked though, the pain of rejection was a bit too much. After Frankie had left her on the bench she had tried to follow him, but when she got to the school, he was nowhere in sight, so after receiving a long lecture from her father, she had headed off to her house, hoping maybe he was in the common room, but she sighed when he wasn't, just some first years who should have been sleep. Which she had rightly yelled at them for. They ran off, scared looks on their face, but Ariella didn't care. And so the week went on, her depression growing a bit everyday, though when Ariella saw Frankie in the hall she straightened and tried to catch his eye, but he was always looking the opposite way of her. These encounters left her feeling worse than she had before. And to top it off she hadn't been sleeping well, her problems with her sister and her school work were pressing down on her, choking any rest she might've gotten.

So a week later, as fate(who Ariella wanted to throttle) would have it, the Bravura boys decided to have a party. After tossing and turning for hours, Ariella now lay on her back, glaring at the celling. A quick glance at her clock had it at around 3 in the morning. Sh scowled, her finger tapping against her comforter. She could hear the voices and the laughter of the guys from across the house, loud as they were, Ariella suspected the whole school could hear them, or it might of been her crankiness speaking.

A soft growl escaped her chest as she sat up in a huff, her eyes narrowed. She had had enough and decided to pull the headmaster's daughter card and go tell those boys to go to bed. She threw her heavy comforter to the side and climbed out of bed, touching her bare feet to the cold hardwood floor. She tied her tousled curls into a quick, sloppy ponytail, not caring how she looked. The fire in the room had long since died and cold air drifted around her, especially being in a pair of capris and a tank top, so Ariella grabbed a sheet of her bed to wrap around her shoulders. She grabbed her wand too, just in case the boys tried anything. Ariella was in a mood that she wouldn't give the slightest thought to hexing someone.

She padded down the stairs leading to the common room, glad for the warmth from the fire, but the voices were even louder in here. This renewed her resolve and with a fierce scowl, she set off across the common room , her wand brandished like a sword. A quick Lumos and she had illuminated the last of the shadows so she didn't stub her toes. Though a lull in the noise alerted Ariella to another sound, what sounded like murmured no's They sounded fearful and like they were coming from on of the couches. Ariella hurried over to the seating area in front of the fire place, her eyes looking at the three couches. The last one held a figure and a gasp stuck in Ariella's throat. Those long limbs hanging off the couch belonged to none other than Frankie Cuzco. She went over to him, kneeling before him, her eyes searching his face. He was pale and sweaty, in the obvious throws of a nightmare, and his head was tossing back and forth. Ariella could ignore the fact that he was in pajama bottoms and nothing more for the moment. She was too busy deciding the best way to wake him up. She set her wand to the side of her and sat up on her heel, worried about hurting him. She touched his shoulder, shaking him. A gentle shake didn't do, so she kinda pushed him, talking softly. "Frankie. Frankie! Wake up!"

[Frankie Cuzco]

FRANKIE CUZCO !!

Oddly enough his dreams started feeling more and more real as he felt a shove on his shoulder. That’s when he heard his name in a soft voice that didn’t match his nightmares. Then suddenly he was brought back to reality, however he didn’t quite realize it yet. Quickly he scrambled on the small couch, the blanket falling off of him revealing his broad bare torso. He scrambled to the opposite end of where his shoulder was, still confused.

Breathing heavily Frankie looked around and slowly the glazed look of confusion ebbed away. That’s when he remembered that he was in the common room. However the fact of the matter was that Frankie was shaking like a leaf, covered in sweat, and pale as a sheet. It had been so long since he had nightmares like this. Why now?

Then Frankie realized he hadn’t woken up on his own. That meant someone else was there. Panicked Frankie looked around the room trying to find the source of his interrupted dreams. Then he saw it hidden behind an ignited wand tip. It was none other than the very person he was trying to avoid, that was just perfect, not.

”Damn it,” Frankie muttered in his southern twang and ducked his head into his knees that were pulled up to his chest. He didn’t want it to be Ariella to wake him. Maybe a first year, then he could scare them, but not Ariella. ”What do you want?” Frankie asked, his voice worn and tired from a not so good sleep.

[Ariella Rockwell]

Ariella fell back on her butt as Frankie woke violently, his limbs flailing out. She watched as he pulled himself to the opposite side of the couch and glance around wildly. His eyes held remnants of the nightmare as his breath came and went in shallow gasps. She could see him visibly trembling and his face was pale and sweaty. She grabbed her wand and held it out, trying to get a better look at his face and she caught to look of astonishment and annoyance before he ducked his head into his knees, though not before she heard his muttered ”Damn it,” She stared at him, her eyes disbelieving. Of course he didn't want to be woke by her. After all it was he who left her.

She bristled and set her shoulders and was about to speak when he snapped ”What do you want?” His voice sounded tired and worn, probably from having such a violent nightmare and Ariella heard the tiredness, but still the way he said it made her angry. She drew the sheet back up her shoulder from where it had slipped off and extinguished the light from her wand, her eyes narrowed. "I don't want anything. You were the one having the nightmare. Your welcome by the way." She glared at him for a moment and then shook her head, looking away. She started to get up, her plan to go yell at the other boys and go to bed, not on talking to someone who so obviously didn't want to see her.

[Frankie Cuzco]

FRANKIE CUZCO !!

Maybe it was the lingering fear from the nightmare or that Frankie just felt tired, but he didn’t feel like fighting back. He didn’t feel like trying to defend himself or make up an excuse. All Frankie wanted was for it to stop, the nightmares, the fear, and everything that came with it. However it was a lot easier said then done.

”I…” Frankie started but didn’t finish. What was he to say. She was obviously mad at him. So did he just sit there and take it like he usually did with his father or take her on like he did with everyone else. Oddly enough Frankie didn’t fell the need to do any of those things, it was a new feeling that he had given up on a while ago.

”I’m sorry…” Frankie said quietly and completely worn out. He buried his head deeper into his knees and wrapped his arms around his head. ”I didn’ mean ta… I’m sorry…” He kept stuttering out apologies hoping that it would be enough to make her stop using her harsh tone and maybe look at him the way she did that night under the moon.

[Ariella Rockwell]

Ariella had turned and took a step in the opposite direction when Frankie started to apologize, his voice stuttering from fatigue and something else she couldn't place. She turned back around slowly her eyes softening and her anger slipping away. His arms were now wrapped around his head, his body still trembling. It was such a sad sight, this giant of a man was cowering from a dream and her voice. Immediately Ariella wanted to go bang her head against the wall, calling herself ten kinds of idiots. He wasn't the reason for her anger and she had no right to take it out on him. She chewed on her bottom lip, wondering if she should leave or not. She decided to stay.

Making sure he heard her, she walked over to him, sitting on the couch next to him, but not touching him, but near enough to feel the body heat radiating off of him. She looked around for another blanket, and found the one he had been using. She picked it up and made a face as she found it was just about soaked with sweat. She dropped it back down and took her own sheet and settled it gently around his bare shoulders, thinking he probably wouldn't be comfortable talking to her with a bare torso. Not, that she was looking, not by any means. She cleared her throat some and looked at him, wanting to comfort him, but knowing he shied away from her touch. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I'm just tired and the guys decided to throw a party at an ungodly hours and that made me mad so I went to go yell at them and thats why I;m mad. Not at you." She leaned toward him some, her face more level with his. She waited for him to lift his head and see her face, to know that she was being sincere.

[Frankie Cuzco]

FRANKIE CUZCO !!

It relieved Frankie when she turned to stay. Things weren’t like they were that night under the moon. This was a different situation where Frankie felt that he had lost control and just wanted someone. He wanted someone to say that he could do the right things and that he could be what he wanted to be. Ariella was more than willing and it did help that Frankie seemed to be pulled to her even during the time he ignored her, it was really hard.

When he felt a sheet over his shoulders and Frankie grabbed the edges of it. Breathing deeply Frankie listened to what she had to say. It was reassuring. She wasn’t mad at him, she was mad at his room mates. Well Frankie was too, those stupid idiots made him come down here and sleep on the couch in the first place. However that could be seen as good or bad and Frankie was having a hard time telling what it was.

”Okay,” Frankie said and looked up from his knees. It took him by surprise to see her face so close, but he didn’t flinch away. He looked into her eyes that screamed let me help and Frankie looked back with an expression on his face that clearly said ‘Save Me.’ Maybe she would understand and hopefully she wouldn’t ignore him just like his mother chose to do.

[Ariella Rockwell]

Ariella swallowed some as Frankie turned his face toward hers. The stark, raw emotions chasing over his face mad the words stick in her throat and she could only stare. All her anger from before had evaporated, leaving on the concern for Frankie and how much anguish he was in. Though she was happy when he didn't flinch away from her when he discovered how close she was. She didn't even realize how close she was until he lifted his head up.

Slowly Ariella reached out her hand, giving him time to pull away, and rested it on one of his. Not holding it, just over top of it, hopefully in a comforting manner. She was still looking at him, seeing the clear 'save me' in his expression. She could feel tears gathering in her eyes as she tried to help him. How can someone who is in such obvious pain continue like this? Over the week she had watched Frankie when she could, noticing the little things he did. She couldn't help it. Whenever he was around it was like she could try looking elsewhere, but always ended up gravitating to him. He withdrew himself from the student body, drifting around like a ghost that everyone seemed a bit afraid of. But Ariella knew, somehow, that he wasn;t like that, that he didn't want to be like that. But back to the matter on hand, she smiled gently to reassure him. "Its ok now Frankie. Your awake and the nightmare is gone....Do you want to talk about it?" Ariella often found talking about a bad dream helped, especially with someone you wanted to share it with. She hoped this was one of those times, that Frankie would trust her enough to let her in.

[Frankie Cuzco]

FRANKIE CUZCO !!

It kind of freaked Frankie out having her hold his hand. He was tense for a minute or two, but finally he relaxed. Turning his hand over he grabbed hers and held hard, not that it would hurt, but holding like she was a life preserver in raging waters, his last hope. Closing his eyes Frankie rested his forehead on their locked hands that were placed on his knee and sighed.

When she spoke her words were soothing and his breath slowed to a normal pace. Frankie never had such soothing words spoken to him. When he tried to tell his mother the source of his bruises and cuts she’d scowl and told him lying was for bad boys and to stop being a bad boy. This was progress for Frankie, simply accepting her soothing words and letting her help in the slightest bit. So her last question though was out of the question.

Sure it was nice having her there, but he wasn’t going to talk about it, he didn’t want to in the slightest. Shaking his head, that was still rested on their hands, Frankie mumbled, ”Uh-uh.” All Frankie wanted was for her to stay there and keep him afloat in the raging waters of his life. ”Jus’ stay here, please.” Frankie mumbled and looked up at her hoping she wouldn’t leave now.

[Ariella Rockwell]

Ariella blinked as Frankie held onto her hands, seemingly for dear life. It warmed her more than the fire in front of them ever could, that he was finally letting up a bit, allowing her to help. She squeezed his hand, her thumb rubbing back and forth in a soothing gesture on the top of his hand. He rested her forehead on their hands and she was relieved to find out that his body temperature had returned to normal. Though this was a big step, Ariella knew she had a long way to go in having Frankie trust her, but she would be persistent, her gut telling her not to let him go.

He had stopped trembling, but she pulled the sheet around him more, seeing as it had slipped some. Then he answered her question. ”Uh-uh.” She frowned a bit, knowing that it wasn't good to keep thing bottled up inside, but Frankie didn't want to talk, so she wasn't going to force him. Only when he was ready. A few more moments passed and she looked down at him, wondering if he had fallen asleep again, but he spoke, his voice soft, almost child-like.

”Jus’ stay here, please.” The way he looked at her, his were liquid chocolate, swirling around and pulling her in with each sweep of his dark lashes. She smiled gently and nodded. "Ok. I'll stay." And so they sat, a contrasting picture to be sure, this giant of a boy and a tiny scrap of a girl, comforting each other when they were needed most. They must have been there for a few hours, cause Ariella didn't know when she had fallen asleep and she was still sleeping,though she had fallen against Frankie, her forehead leaning against his shoulder.

[Frankie Cuzco]

FRANKIE CUZCO !!

After a while silence fell and Frankie didn’t mind. Ariella was leaning against him and Frankie realized that she must be tired because she fell asleep. Her even breathing was calming and Frankie let her lean against him, letting her sleep. However Frankie didn’t want to go back asleep for fear of the nightmares. As she slept Frankie slipped the sheet from his bare shoulders and draped it over her.

As she slept Frankie watched her sleeping, now don’t think he’s a creep. He was just amazed that someone like her was even near him, damn was he lucky. However having her lean against him made Frankie feel oddly content and he never wanted her to leave. So when the sun started peaking through the windows Frankie didn’t want the moment to end.

However when a few people started trickling out of their dorms Frankie whispered into Ariella’s ear. ”Ella, wake up Darlin’.” Frankie said. He didn’t want her to wake up but people were giving them odd looks, partly because it was the odd pair but Frankie did have his shirt off and that didn’t look too great. "Come on Ella. Wakey wakey."

[Ariella Rockwell]

The first thing Ariella realized was that she was sitting up, not a normal body position for sleeping. She had a crick in her neck as well, that throbbed dully. Second there was a very warm, very bare shoulder beneath her cheek. Eyes still closed she wondered who it was, before the memories of the early morning came back. Oh it was Frankie. And then she heard her name being called, well an abbreviation of her name anyway. ”Ella, wake up Darlin’. Come on Ella. Wakey wakey." She roused herself, blinking sleepily. She sat up, and looked around. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows and she could hear the birds chirping outside.

Rubbing at her eyes, she asked in a sleepy voice, "What time is it?" Then voices reached her ears and she looked around again. Of course her other house mates would be up early, and today of all days. They were staring at her and Frankie, whispering when they thought she couldn't hear them. Then she realized what she was wearing and what Frankie wasn't. She jumped a little and looked at Frankie, who looked better than he had last night. She looked him over and threw her sheet around him, glaring at the other students over his shoulder as she did. "You look like you've never seen two people in pajamas before. Don't you have to get ready for class?!"

She motioned with her hand for them to shoo and watched everyone leave, glaring more when she heard a few cat calls and whistles. "Don't think I won't hesitate to hex you!" She called after them, recieving a round of laughter. She shook her head and looked back at Frankie with a sheepish smile. "Well, that was an interesting way to wake up. How are you feeling?" She brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes and blinked, the sun still a little bright to her just opened eyes.

[Frankie Cuzco]

FRANKIE CUZCO !!

Ariella’s slow reaction to waking up was quite amusing. First she looked rather confused, then realization hit where she was, after that she noticed he people staring, then threw a blanket at him, after shooing away the annoying people she asked him how he was doing. Well before he could even answer Frankie laughed. He didn’t just chuckle, he laughed.

This was the first time in quite a while that Frankie laughed because he found something amusing. Usually he would just chuckle at irony, but last night something happened that made him feel close to Ariella and it made him want her to stay at his side and not leave. Anyway after Frankie was finished laughing his sides ached a little but he decided that Ariella might think he was laughing at her… well laughing at her in a bad way.

”Fit as a fiddle Darlin,” Frankie said and poked her side. Oddly enough Frankie was in a rather good mood too. ”How bout yerself Sleeping Beauty?” Frankie drawled out. He knew that she was probably hoping for more information but he was content as it was just having her there. So he diverted the question back to her and hoped she wouldn’t through it right back.

[Ariella Rockwell]

Ariella smiled some, a bit confused when Frankie started laughing. Not that she thought he was laughing at her, but why he was laughing. It didn;t matter, because he was smiling. An actual smile and his laugh wasn't one of those polite, half laughs, his was the kind that made your sides hurt after you had caught your breath. That alone made her day. She giggled a little just because his laugh was contagious. Then he replied to her earlier question, ”Fit as a fiddle Darlin,” She nodded, happy. He seemed to be in a genuinely happy mood and for the moment it looked like something had changed, and he wanted to talk to her. It sounded petty and shallow when she thought of it like that, but she didn't know how to describe it. It felt like a small part of his wall cracked a bit, just in letting her be there with him, but Ariella knew he was a long way from trusting her by any means. For now though she was fine with what they had.

Her eyes widened and she jumped a bit when he poked her, batting his hand away with a smile. Ariella was very ticklish, a fact many people didn't know. She tucked her arms around her sides and stuck her tongue out at him. "Hey now. None of that." She teased. He just smiled and asked her how she was. Actually his words were, ”How bout yerself Sleeping Beauty?” She shrugged still smiling. "I'm great. I don't want to go to class, but I'm great." She tucked her legs under her and kept her arms wrapped around her sides, a precocious balancing act.

[Frankie Cuzco]

FRANKIE CUZCO !!

It made Frankie smirk a little when he realized that she was ticklish. It was a nice thing to know for the future. Tickling was always a good way to make someone agree to something or to make the let something go. With Ariella so keen on helping him Frankie knew that her being ticklish was a very good thing to know and eventually use when she got a little too pushy, which Frankie can see happening.

Besides right now he was concentrating on Ariella’s comment on not wanting to go to classes. Good thing for her she was talking to Frankie, the guy that skipped classes so much it was unusual to have him go to every single class in a week. Since Frankie was the master of skipping, being lazy and generally not caring about school Ariella was in luck.

”Well Darlin’ yer in luck,” Frankie drawled out in his Southern voice. ”You jus’ so happen to be sittin nex’ to the king of skippin.” It was a long shot getting Miss Goody to jump on board with skipping a class. That wouldn’t exactly be good for a reputation but Frankie could see that she didn’t want to go and this was an easy solution. ”So what d’ya say?”