Biker Mice From Mars - Somewhere I Belong

I Don't Want To Close My Eyes

That night, Vinnie tiptoed down the stairs, only to find his bros fast asleep on the couch in the small office slash storage room adjacent to the workspace of the garage.
As always, Modo's obnoxiously loud snoring made his eardrums rattle unpleasantly but for once, he didn't care, and he quickly put on his helmet as he mounted his precious bike.
It was as if she knew that silence was in order here because she didn't beep at him to greet him, something he was grateful for.
Throttle was a light sleeper, so a loud beep coming from his bike would definitely wake him up.
And if he woke up, he would stop him.
He didn't want to be stopped.
All he wanted was to see her.
And so here he was.
The great Vinnie Van Wham.
Sneaking.
Ugh.
The things he did for love.

Using his feet, he pushed his bike outside through the small front door.
The very one which henches he oiled earlier today out of utter boredom, something he was now suddenly very grateful for.
So even boredom could bring great things.
Who would've thought?
It didn't take long before he was outside, and after quietly closing the door behind him with his tail, he started his bike and sped away.
Maybe the sound of his engine would wake his bros, but he didn't have anything to worry about.
Not now he was already outside.
Not with him being the fastest out of the three of them and who had, if he may say so himself, some pretty mad bike skills.
They would never be able to catch up with him, and a smile curled his lips.
Freedom at last.
Time to see his girl, and driven by this almost childish excitement, he put the pedal to the medal.

...

Moments ago, she had been sort of peacefully asleep, but now, Charley was twisting and turning in her bed.
Ice-cold blue eyes came to haunt her out of nowhere, and soon thereafter, she was back in that room.
Back to lying helplessly on the table while the man rested the sharp edge of his scalpel on her belly.
"No...", she mumbled as she turned on her other side, sweat streaming down her face.
"No, please... Vinnie..."
But just like he hadn't been there during that horrible moment in real life, he also wasn't here with her in her nightmare.
If only he was, all so he could save her from reliving this moment.
After all, he was the only one who could.
Save her.
"Vinnie, please... help me."

With her face twisted in a grimace of sheer terror, she rolled on her back, her fingers clamping the somewhat rough hospital blanket with so much strength that it hurt.
However, it was nothing compared to the pain she now felt when the killer made the cut in her dreams, and she opened her mouth to let out the scream that bubbled up.
Back then, she hadn't been able to scream.
Her body had checked out right before she could, a thing she was grateful for.
But the rules in Nightmare Land were different.
Here, she couldn't pass out.
Here, she was forced to endure all of this without having the escape to the comforting nothingness that had swallowed her the moment the pain became too much.

But right before the scream could actually leave her mouth, there was this sudden scent tickling her nostrils, and a confused frown appeared on her face as she tried to take a deeper breath between her rapid and irregular ones.
She knew that smell by heart.
It had saved her once before and many times after that.
But why was it here?
Her mind must be playing tricks with her, as it now did whenever she closed her eyes.
As she was racking her brain about what the hell was going on here, the scent became stronger and stronger, and a shiver ran down her spine when an appeasing warmth dried up the cold sweat.
When a comforting light chased away the seemingly never-ending darkness she was currently surrounded with, and her hands that were still holding the sheets relaxed a little as the warmth spread through her veins, comforting her at the same time.

There was actually only one person in this entire universe who had this quite bizarre effect on her.
Who was able to calm her down when she was feeling this scared, and her eyes flew open.
A shock went through her body the moment she gazed into beautifully ruby-red eyes, which looked back at her with such an intensity that it almost took her breath away, and a soft whimper escaped her lips.
"Vinnie..."
"Ssshhh", and he rested a finger on his lips.
"No one can know that I'm here."
Despite her current mental state, which could best be described as fucked-up, Charley's lips twitched when she heard him say that.
"'Cause you shouldn't even be here in the first place", she whispered with a hoarse voice, referring to their first meeting.
Oh, how much she loved that rebellious side of him.
Without it, they wouldn't even have met.
Without it, her life would be still empty and cold.
Without it, she would still have been trapped in her solitude.
One thing was for sure - she would be forever grateful for whoever had given him these deliciously defiant genes.