I banged on his door, hard.
“Let me in, Nate!”
His house was now completely silent. I hit the door harder, and it opened. It hadn’t been locked. I mentally cussed Nate had his stupid burglar-happy ways, before running in.
“Nate?” I called, sprinting through his pitch-black living room. I haven’t been in this room since the crazy dude accidently pulled me into his house, thinking I was his ‘magic pony’. It had changed massively – for one, the house wasn’t filled with little tiny models of horses, all with their heads disturbingly ripped off. “Nate!”
I ran through his kitchen, stubbing my toe in the dark on something hard, before turning back again.
“Where are you, idiot?” I muttered under my breath, looking left and right. The bottom floor seemed to be completely empty. I ran up the stairs, taking three at a time.
“Nate!” I called, again. “Where are you?”
I burst into the first bedroom, and the smell of freesia hit me. Nope. I tried the second room, then the third. They were empty. It was the last door, now. I ripped it open, and squinted through the darkness. I relaxed. I’d found Nate. He was sat in the corner, staring blankly out of the window.
“Nate…?” I asked hesitantly, taking a step towards him. “Are you okay?”
He said nothing, and just stared at the darkness. I walked to him, standing beside him awkwardly. Now that I was up close, I could see the raw terror in his eyes. Normally, he looked so cool, and collected. Now…
“Nate?” I mumbled.
Suddenly, his strong arms went around my waist so quickly I jumped.
“What are you doing?” I yelled, blushing hard, trying to push down the butterflies that had suddenly burst into my stomach. I tugged at his shirt sleeves. “Get off! Nate!”
He held on even harder. I stared down at his brown-streaked blonde hair, and gave in. I did promise Noah after all. And that was the only reason I was letting him hug me. No other reason.
Totally.
“Nate…” I whispered. My fingers wound into his hair. It was surprisingly soft. “What’s wrong? You can tell me.”
“The darkness…” Nate moaned, so quietly it was almost to himself. “I don’t like the darkness… I feel alone…I’m alone…” His voice was layered with fear. He hugged me harder.
I bit my lip, feeling helpless. My heart throbbed. There was nothing I could do to help him. I had no idea why he was afraid at the dark, but right now, I didn’t even care…so long as Nate was stop shaking…
“Nate, it’s okay,” I said, gently. “I’m here. You’re not alone, I promise.”
“A-Adrianna?” Nate muttered, into my shirt. He sounded almost like a scared little boy, far away from home. “Is it you?”
“Yeah, Nate. It’s me.”
“Good,” he said, his voice suddenly breaking out into happiness. He pulled me closer for a moment, then suddenly relaxed and let me go. Nate’s eyes met with mine, and he looked like himself again.
“Ade…”
“Yeah?”
“You’re only wearing one shoe.”
“I know, Nate.”
***
The torch suddenly illuminated his bedroom. I blinked, the light surprising me. Tossing the torch to Nate, I turned away.
