Behind Classroom Doors (student/teacher)

LVII- NYU

Last one for the day...I hope you enjoy!

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I wake up to the sounds of yelling. I sit up in bed and try to figure out if something is wrong. The yelling stops momentarily before coming back even louder. I press my ear to the wall and realize that it's Shawn. "No!"

He doesn't sound angry, he seems scared. I rush out of bed and towards the door. I don't hesitate to unlock it and rush into his room. The only light in the room is from the window and through the curtains, but I can see Shawn sweating and moving around on the bed. "Shawn." I whisper yell.

He doesn't wake up, he just starts screaming and moving around again. "No!"

"Shawn!" I get on the bed beside him and touch his face. "Shawn, it's okay. Wake up." I try as I run my fingers through his hair in an attempt to soothe him.

His breathing gets more erratic by the second and I know I have to get him to wake up.

"Shawn." I begin to nudge him.

Suddenly, his eyes open and he jolts up. As soon as he sees me he relaxes, "Livia?" He sounds so scared and defeated.

"It's okay." I say, "It was just a dream." He shakes his head and wraps his arms around me. His embrace is tight and sudden, like he's afraid to let me go. I slowly wrap my arms around him and lay his head on my chest. "It's okay, I'm here." I repeat as I draw small circles on his back with my fingers.

I don't know what his dream was about but it must've been pretty bad to shake him up this much. I've spent numerous nights with Shawn and he never had any problems, but I remember him saying that I help him sleep. "Is this my shirt?" He asks as he lifts my head from my chest.

I laugh, feeling embarrassed, "They're really comfortable." Shawn's breathing is back to normal and he seems to be better, "Are you okay?" I ask, bringing my hand up to his cheek.

He leans into it, "I am. I didn't mean to wake you."

I sigh, "I have nightmares sometimes too, so I get it. You don't have to be sorry." I drop my hand from his face and stand up, "I should get back to bed."

He doesn't say anything as I walk to the door and go back to my room. I move to close it but stop, leaving it open just a little bit. When I get back into my bed I hear him shuffling on the other side. I would imagine he's moving the blankets back on the bed. I feel bad because I know whatever happened to him was terrible. He doesn't talk about it but it changed his life forever.

I hate that he's going through this, and in pain. "Shawn!" I call. I know what I'm about to do is crazy and dumb but, I can't just let him go back to bed knowing what will happen.

He walks in, "Yeah?"

"Will you...will you sleep in here with me tonight?"

"I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Please." I whisper, hoping he understands where I'm coming from.

Shawn nods firmly, walking up to the bed and crawling in. I move to the other side so that we're not touching. I adjust my pillow and turn to face away from him. "Livia?" He calls softly.

I open my eyes, "Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

He hesitates before replying, "You know what." He's referring to letting him sleep in here with me.

The truth is that I feel better with him here anyway.