Work Text:
Jesse!
Lake shot upright, violently jarred from her sleep, her breathing quick and shallow, whole body shaking. She was surrounded by darkness, which didn't help her anxiety or racing heart; the darkness was disorienting and far too heavy.
What happened? Where was she? Is she alone? Questions ran unending through her head as she attempted to piece what’d just happened together in her mind.
She tried to take deep breaths, tried to calm herself enough to think. Her eyes found the only point of light in the room--a digital clock a few feet away that read "1:37 AM" in red.
Jesse's room. She was in Jesse's room. He said she could sleep there and he'd sleep on the couch. She'd been here for two nights now. Tomorrow she'd move into the guest room.
As she remembered this, her heart slowed, and she was able to breathe somewhat normally again.
"It was just a nightmare," Lake whispered to herself, looking down at her hands. Her eyes had started to adjust to the darkness and she could just barely begin to see her fingers. "It's okay. I'm safe. It's okay."
She brought her arms in and hugged herself, her hands clinging onto her shirt — no, no, that wasn't right. It was one of Jesse's t-shirts. She grabbed the collar, tugged it up to her face, and inhaled. The familiar scent of her friend helped to calm her nerves a bit and she sighed.
A moment later she looked over to the door, a new wave of anxiety washing over her, despite her common sense saying that it wasn’t something to be afraid of. She'd heard footsteps, soft but quick, out in the hall. She knew they weren’t dangerous, yet she still felt fear building in her stomach. Then the door opened and in poked Jesse's head, backlit by the hall lights. Concern was written all over his face, and Lake couldn't help but feel a little guilty over the feeling in her gut.
Had she woken him? She didn’t think she’d made any noise, but...
"Lake, are you okay?" Jesse asked, opening the door a few inches more. "I...thought I heard my name…?”
Ah, so she had actually shouted that.
They looked at each other for a few seconds before Lake cleared her throat. She finally opened her mouth to reply, to reassure that she was fine and that Jesse could go back to sleep, but all that came out was a choking sob that she didn’t even know was in her throat.
Immediately Jesse was rushing over.
He scrambled onto the bed as Lake pulled the sheets up to her chest, which suddenly felt very tight. She remained silent as Jesse sat next to her, barely able to see him through her blurry tears.
Jesse gently grabbed one of Lake's trembling hands and squeezed. Lake took a shaky breath and released her death grip on the sheets to intertwine their fingers. There was her anchor.
"What happened?" Jesse asked and Lake shook her head.
"I-it was just a ni-ghtmare," she managed. "I'm al-alright. You can...go back to sleep."
"No you're not," Jesse stated firmly, his grip on his friend's hand tightening ever so slightly. "Tell me what's wrong. I can't help if you don't."
Lake looked hesitant, taking a long time to consider his words. Then she looked down at her lap.
"...They hurt you," she almost whispered.
"Who?"
"The...the Flecs. Mace. Y-you tired to protect me, bu-t they-"
She choked up again and couldn't say anything else. She had said so little, but she couldn't stop it. She just looked at Jesse and tried to hold back her sobs.
"I'm okay," Jesse told her. It was a stupidly obvious fact, but hearing it caused a wave of relief to wash over her all the same.
Just take deep breaths .
Lake leaned over and rested her head against Jesse's and closed her eyes.
"I'm okay," she heard Jesse say again. " We're okay. No one’s after us anymore. You’re not being chased."
They sat in silence for a few minutes after that as Lake took some time to settle her nerves. Everything's okay now...
"Hey, Jesse?"
"What's up?"
Lake sniffed and sat up to dry her eyes with her shirt.
"Um...c-can you stay with me tonight?" she asked, a tinge of embarrassment in her voice as she averted her gaze. "I-I know it's stupid, but I'm...I'm scared to go back to sleep. I don't want to have that nightmare again…I don't want t-to see you-"
"Yeah," Jesse cut in. "Yeah, I can stay with you. Sure. Let me just turn the hall light off."
Lake nodded and he got off the bed, switched on the lamp on his nightstand, and walked out of the room. Lake watched him go and kept her eyes on him after he returned, following his actions as he closed the door behind him and joined her on the bed again.
She laid down as he switched the lamp off and everything went black again, and Lake felt Jesse shuffle under the sheets. As soon as he was settled down she scooted over and glued herself to his side, forehead pressed against his shoulder.
She heard him move and a moment later felt something touch her arm.
She grabbed his hand and he guided her to his stomach, at which point he changed to simply laying his hand over hers.
"Thanks, Jesse,” Lake murmured.
“It’s okay.”
Lake curled her fingers around Jesse’s shirt and she heard him sigh quietly.
“You gunna be alright?” he asked and she shrugged.
“I will be. I just...need some time. But I’ll be okay.”
“...Okay. So, how about you try that sleeping thing one more time?”
Lake stifled a laugh. “Yeah, alright. Uh-thanks, again.”
Jesse gently pushed his thumb under Lake’s palm and she relaxed her hold on his shirt and closed her eyes. Sleep came quickly after that, her anxiety replaced by the relief and comfort of her friend. There were no more nightmares.
She was safe.