This is why I never liked cats

[Drew Thornton]

Drew relaxed a little, though the images she described put him on edge. He rarely remembered his own nightmares but every so often he would get a flash or two.

"Che wasn't there," he told her softly. He had met the other boy once before and hadn't been impressed, but that wasn't the point. "You dreamt that. He's not anywhere near here."

[arianna]

"I....I know," Arianna muttered quietly. That was the only thing she had been sure about. She had written to Che since the murder and he had written back. Everything else, though, she wasn't so sure about. "He...he's at home. Should be, anyway."

[Drew Thornton]

"They didn't see you, Ari," he told her again. "You told me that in the Headmistress's office that day. You stayed in the closet until we came in. No one knew you were there. Nothing is going to happen."

[arianna]

Arianna nodded slowly. What he said sounded right, but she still couldn't get the images from her dreams out of her head. Perhaps in the morning she would be able to decipher it all, but at the moment it was all she could do to keep from breaking down. She didn't even want to think of how or if she could have handled all this a month or two back when her friendship with Drew was so shaky.

[Drew Thornton]

She stayed silent and Drew pulled her in closer to himself, not sure how much tighter he could hold her without hurting her. "It's okay. You're going to be okay. You know that right?" Heck, he didn't even know that, but he figured if they could both say it, it would feel more real.

[arianna]

"I don't know," Arianna admitted, burying her face into the boy's shoulder. It was about the only place she could get to with him squishing her so hard. "I...I feel like I should've just stayed home. This whole....whole year has sucked. I should've stayed home."

[Drew Thornton]

"It had its sucky parts, but it didn't totally suck," he said, trying to look down at her, scrunched in his arms. "We had a pretty decent camp out the other night, right? Played some good quidditch. You got to be a big sister. Good stuff."

[arianna]

"Yeah," Arianna forced a small smile. She had to admit that there were a few good things that had happened, but they seemed so few and far between. At least she'd get to go home for the summer and see her little brother and sister.

[Drew Thornton]

"And next year is bound to be better, right?" Drew asked, smiling down at her. He had started the evening on edge, but was feeling better just sitting there next to her in the well-lit common room. Sure, he'd be dead to the world in the morning, but he'd worry about that after the sun rose.

[arianna]

"I sure hope so," Arianna replied with a very small nod. She didn't know if she could handle another year like this one, but as long as she still had her friends by her side she just might be able to get through anything.