[010] bad dreams

                                   It seemed as though the bad feeling had yet to leave Lottie, neither had it left Suki. And even though it was late at night and every hour of sleep counted, neither girl had thought about joining the others for bed. 

                                  Never in a million years did Suki think she'd have a conversation with Lottie Matthews. She was rich and seemingly untouchable. Sure, they were on the same soccer team together but that didn't make them friends. She wasn't really friends with anyone except for Courtney.

                                  But now the two girls had something to bond over.

                                  "What do you feel here?" Lottie asked, turning to look at Suki. She needed confirmation that she wasn't alone. She knew that Suki could feel the ominous presence looming over all their heads. It was just the matter of figuring out what it was.

                                  "I don't know. I can't understand it. I just know that it feels wrong," Suki admits. It was the best way she could explain it.

                                  "Yeah. Something's wrong here. I just can't figure out what," Lottie shakes her head. "I've been feeling it all day."

                                  "Me too. I - I even dreamed about this place," Suki adds.

                                 Lottie's eyes widen slightly. "Really? That means something, Suki. It has to."

                                 Maybe Lottie was right. Maybe the dream about the cabin and her mom and all of the other ones meant something. But what? What could it have possibly meant? Suki wished she knew and that the answers would simply fall into her lap. But most of all, she wished that her mom was here to help.

                                  "You think so? For a moment there, I thought you'd think I was crazy or something," Suki responded. She couldn't believe that someone was actually believing her. But it made her feel good. Not even Courtney believed her but Lottie did.

                                  "Hey, you're just as sane as I am," Lottie assures her.

                                  "What do you think it is? What do you think it even wants?" Suki questioned.

                                  "I don't know. All I know is that I don't want to sleep in there," Lottie admits, shaking her head.

                                   Suki felt the same. And yet, she doesn't have much of a choice. Neither of them did. They couldn't sleep outside again, even if it was what they had grown used to. "I - I know you don't want to sleep in there. Neither do I. But we have to try it out - at least for one night. And we might not have to stay here for long. Soon... soon we'll be rescued, and this can be just one big nightmare."

                                  "Do you really believe that?" Lottie narrows her eyes.

                                  "I have to. Don't you?" Suki reasoned.

                                  "Not really," Lottie answers. "Even if I wanted to, I don't think we'd be allowed to leave this place."

                                  "Come on, Lot. We have to go inside. I promise you'll feel better when you get some sleep," Suki suggested.

                                 Lottie sighs, looking over at her. She was going back and forth between staying outside for as long as possible. Or going inside and taking a chance. "Fine. I'll go."

                                 Lottie stands up, reaching down for Suki so she could pull her up. But just as Suki grabs her hand, she gets a flash of something. A vision. It's Lottie but she looked deranged. She had on a long white dress, and she wore a crown on her head, one that appeared to be made of antlers. Her pupils were dilated, and her eyes appeared black like a demon. Suki quickly pulls her hand away and Lottie is returned to normal, almost like it had never happened at all.

                                 "What happened?" Lottie asks, bewildered by Suki's sudden change.

                                 "Nothing. I'm fine," Suki answers quickly, avoiding Lottie's gaze the entire time.

                                 Lottie doesn't look too convinced, but she just walks inside the cabin. Suki lingers behind a moment longer before she too enters the cabin, sleeping right next to Courtney who latches onto her the second she's close.

                                Courtney was confused as to what had been keeping Lottie and Suki outside. She would've eavesdropped if she didn't have the eyes of everyone else on her. But whatever it was, Courtney knew that Suki would find a way to tell her later. Suki was incapable of keeping secrets from Courtney - not that she needed to. They were soulmates who knew everything about each other.

                                 What was supposed to be a peaceful night turned out to quickly become interrupted by yet another nightmare. Courtney woke up to hear soft whimpers beside her, realizing that it was all coming from Suki. She was deep into another nightmare and Courtney watched in horror as Suki's eyelids quickly moved back and forth behind her eyelids. Courtney decides to try and shake Suki awake by her shoulders, but she didn't seem to budge. She was still stuck in her dream and Courtney knew she had to wake her up before it made things worse.

                               "Suki," Courtney whispers, trying to keep things quiet so everyone else didn't wake up. "Suki, wake up!"

                               Suki suddenly jolts awake, gasping for air and sitting straight up. Courtney goes to reach out for Suki but the girl recoils, getting up and sneaking out of the cabin entirely. Courtney chased after her, wanting to make sure that Suki was okay and not harming herself or getting into trouble.

                             "Hey, Suki!" Courtney calls after her friend, finally reaching the girl before she could run out into the woods. "Suki, what's going on?"

                             Suki takes several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down after everything that had happened. She was still reeling from her latest dream, one that made everything inside of her just sink. Never had Suki felt nearly as much dread as she did after this one. And the worst part, her mom hadn't been there to try and save her. Suki had been entirely on her own, left to fend for herself against whatever dark force in the wilderness wanted to get inside of her and the others.

                           "Suki, talk to me," Courtney says, resting her hands on Suki's shoulders. "What is wrong with you? Did you have another nightmare?"

                          "Yeah," Suki admits, still looking shaken up by it.

                          "Well, what was it about?" Courtney asked.

                          "I - I don't want to talk about it. I just want to forget that it even happened," Suki shakes her head.

                         Courtney nods. It was obvious that Suki was troubled by whatever it was she had seen. And yet, Courtney couldn't stop her curiosity from getting the better of her. "Does it have anything to do with what you and Lottie were talking about?"

                        "Why does that matter?" Suki questioned. "Please don't tell me you're jealous of Lottie now too. We've had one conversation together. That's it."

                        "Me? Jealous of Lottie? Get real," Courtney folds her arms across her chest, a frown painted on her lips as she focuses her heated glare in Suki's direction.

                        "You're jealous of anyone that talks to me alone. That's the only reason you hate Nat so much," Suki confronts her. "I don't know why you have to be so insecure."

                        "You don't know what you're saying. You're clearly sleep deprived and -," Courtney began.

                        "Don't do that. You know it's the truth. Just tell me why. Why can't you see that I'm never going to leave you? You can trust me," Suki cuts her off.

                        "It's not that easy! I'm used to people abandoning me. The first was my dad and it just kept going from there. I know I'm a lot. I know I'm complicated and messy and fucked up. Something's wrong with me and I don't know what it is. All I know is that... you're the only one who gets me. And I don't want to lose you to anyone else," Courtney admits.

                       She'd sooner chop her own arm off than ever admit to any sort of weakness in front of anyone. But Courtney trusted Suki more than anyone. She was the only one Courtney would allow herself to be vulnerable with. Courtney couldn't shut Suki out like she could so easily with other people, including her own sister. Suki was a part of her. Courtney couldn't tell where she began and Suki ended.

                       Suki holds onto Courtney's hand, rubbing her hand. "You won't. I'm always going to be here. And if I have to keep reminding you of that a hundred million times, I will."

                      "Aren't you romantic, Suki Blair?" Courtney smiles.

                      "Only for you, Courtney Morrison," Suki smiles back at her.

                      "We should probably go back to the cabin," Courtney then offers, nodding in the direction of the cabin.

                      "And sit in the darkness? I can't go back to sleep. Not after... I'd rather stay awake," Suki shakes her head.

                      "Then let's walk to the lake. We won't have to actually walk in. Just... let our feet touch the water. It'll make you feel better," Courtney offers, still holding onto Suki's hand.

                     Suki nods in agreement. The lake wasn't far away from where they were and they could easily walk back when they finished. So they went down to the lake, the waters still and calm as the moonlight reflected back in its waves. Suki sat down by the shore, letting her feet be covered in the cool water. Courtney quickly joins her, propping herself back by her elbows and relaxing.

                       "What do you think is going on back home?" Suki suddenly asks. She was aware of how morbid the question was. But Suki was a rather odd, morbid girl anyway. "Do you think anyone knows we're missing? Or if they do, so you think they even care?"

                       "If my family does know, they probably don't give a shit. Nancy's happy and my mom's just glad she has one brat to look after instead of two," Courtney shrugged.

                       "If my dad stays true to his character, he'll probably shut down or something. Completely check out of his head for good. He never could handle losing anything or dealing with anything bad. I think I get that from him," Suki responded.

                       Suki feels guilty for not thinking about her dad while she was out here. But with the resentment she felt towards him, a part of her was relieved that she didn't have to constantly be around him. That she didn't have to carry around that burden forever.

                       "You're nothing like your dad, Suki. You're not like your mom either. You're... Suki. Your own person. And you're wonderful exactly the way you are," Courtney argued.

                       Suki giggles. "That sounds corny as hell."

                       "Hey, it's the truth. You're not like me. You're not... rotten. There's still hope for you."

                       "Court -."

                       "You know it's true. Everyone knows it and they hate me. Which... whatever. I don't care about them. I only care about you. I love you."

                       "Even though I'm a freak who can't even sleep properly at night?"

                       "Yeah, especially because of that."

                       Suki chuckles, feeling a faint blush creep onto her cheeks. "I love you too, Court."

                       Courtney takes that as her opportunity to move in closer and Suki does the same. She was drawn to Courtney, finding it impossible to resist her. How could one resist their other half anyway? Courtney kisses her first, gentle and almost a little hesitant. As if she was worried that Suki might pull away and change her mind.

                       But Suki proves her wrong. Deepening the kiss between them, she cups Courtney's face in her hands. They had done this before countless times, all in the name of curiosity and fooling around. But this was different. This felt more special, more real.

                       Suki pulls away first, but only to catch her breath. That was the longest she had ever kissed Courtney before. Even Courtney was surprised by it. But she wasn't disappointed either.

                       "Are you sure you haven't been practicing with anyone else?" Courtney teased.

                       "No, just you," Suki answers. "I've been getting better, haven't I?"

                       Courtney nods, making Suki smile. "Yeah, a lot better."

                       "C-could we do that again?" Suki asks.

                       "Thought you'd never ask," Courtney answered.

                       They kiss again, soon making out right by the lake. It worked in helping Suki to forget about her nightmare, at least for the night. But now, the lines had been fully crossed in Suki and Courtney's friendship and they were about to become so much more.

(🌲🔪🦌)

word count: 2071
notes: here's chapter ten! let me know what you think and the next chapter will hopefully be here soon!