Tumbling Down the Hill

[arianna]

"No...I don't think so," Arianna scratched her nose as she thought back to her time at summer camp. She caught a small glance at Drew's smile and couldn't help smiling herself. "Might've been dozing, but I don't think I was asleep."

[Drew Thornton]

"I had to wake you up, I remember," Drew told her. Of course she hadn't been as hard to wake as he supposedly was, but he had a strong suspicion that the rumors about trying to wake him had been greatly exagerated.

[arianna]

Arianna shook her head. She couldn't remember. And since that forum had been deleted, she couldn't check, either.

"Well, that was just rude," she claimed as she reached over and poked the boy in the side. "I wouldn't have notice my ankle was hurting if you'd just let me sleep!"

[Drew Thornton]

Drew flinched away from the poke and attempted another small smile, this one not doing as well as the other. Under normal circumstances, he would have taken the tease in stride, but today wasn't one of those days. He remebered that night clearly and remembered his reason for seeking Ari out in the nurse's cabin.

[arianna]

"Do remember, however, that you fell to sleep almost as soon as we started talking," Arianna continued on when Drew hadn't spoken. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember him telling her what had brought him out to the nurse's cabin then, either. Just like today, something had been bothering him but he hadn't entrusted it to her.

[Drew Thornton]

"No... I went to get you an ice pack and a snack first," he told her, remembering it vividly as actually happening even though he had never actually done it.

[arianna]

"I think you must've dreamt that part," while she had gotten some of the memory mixed up, Arianna was certain Drew had not made it to the cafeteria for ice and food. "You kept mumbling about getting it when I was trying to pull you onto the bed."

[Drew Thornton]

Drew frowned back, positive it was she who was remembering wrong. She had forgotten about being asleep when he came in that night... surely she was mistaken about the ice and the snack as well.

He shrugged back, not wanting to argue the point.

[arianna]

"Either way..." Arianna shrugged back. It didn't matter much. They had made it through the night just fine and that was good enough for her.

[Drew Thornton]

His mind had slowly wandered back to that night. Of course, he didn't remember the nightmare that had woken him up, only that he had one. He had decided to check on Ari first before checking on Allegra, but never made it to that second stop, having stayed there in the nurse's station instead. It wasn't until days later that he had made the connection between the nightmare and the reasons behind it.

This time around, it was old hat. He knew exactly why he wasn't sleeping at night.

[arianna]

"Wanna race me to the front steps?" Arianna asked suddenly. It was a good enough reason to get their minds off whatever was bothering them. Plus, she couldn't remember a time when she had foot-raced Drew.

[Drew Thornton]

Drew shrugged and shook his head, not really in the mood. He was ready to give a number of excuses including the fact that he was carrying the shield and that they were too close for a proper race anyway, but the truth of the matter was that he just wasn't in the mood.

[arianna]

"Okay..." Arianna returned the shrug. She didn't know what else to say. It didn't matter anyway. Just a few more yards and they'd be heading up the stairs anyway.