Charlie Bone and the Sandman.

Chapter 9 - Betrayal.

First week of school went farely well. It was better than Jason would have expected. Some teachers were strict, while others were not. Usually being the new person in school was difficult, but Jason had to admit that it wasn't so bad. Especially since he had already made some friends. He hit it off pretty well with Olivia, whom he would get all his information from. He also met Billy Raven, a young albino who could talk to animals. There was also Emma Tolly, a girl whose ability was to shift into any type of bird she could think of. Jason couldn't help but feel like his endowment was pretty useless compared to the others. To him, talking to animals, creating illusions, turning into a bird, were much more better than being dragged into dreams.

The weather seemed pretty crazy today. It was sunny, yet there was also a powerful wind sweeping through the dull, grey city. Jason's bus had been delayed as the bus driver had unfortunately gotten himself into an accident. So he wasn't to blame when he had gotten home rather late. And by late. it meant when night had fallen. As Jason stepped out of the bus, he proceeded to walk down the street with his hands shaking from the cold. It was freezing outside, and the poor male had no coat to keep himself warm. But somehow, warmth had suddenly enveloped around him. And that wasn't all.

Three soft meows could be heard, causing Jason to stop in his tracks and look to the left. It was the three flame cats from before. Suddenly, the felines ran off, looking back at Jason as a sign for him to follow them. What was it now? He thought to himself as he broke off into a sprint, following the three cats. His legs began to wear out and he suddenly found himself panting for air. The three of them reached an alley near the Pet's cafe. Suddenly the cats stopped and Jason, who was now breathing heavily, looked down only for his to widen once he saw an unconscious Olivia on the floor.

Olivia's head hurt. The young female's eyes fluttered open and she was suddenly rushed with waves of pain. She groaned in agony, bringing her hand up to her head while sitting up at the same time. With squinted eyes, she looked around to realise that she was in an unfamiliar place. A blueish room with a brown desk, a bookshelf and a spinning chair.

Where was she? The dark-haired teenager looked around once more, searching for any sense of familiarity which she did find when she saw a blue cloak hanging behind a door. So she was in a student's house...  Her shoes were on the ground besides the bed and her mobile was placed on the small table right next to her. Suddenly, a door on the other side of the room opened and out popped a blonde teen with a washed face. "Jason?" She croaked out weakly, rubbing her eyes.

Snapping his head as someone called out his name, a sudden wave of relief crossed Jason's face as he saw Olivia sitting up on his bed. "Hey Liv." He replied with a warm smile. "Glad to see that you're awake." A frown appeared on his face. "How did i get here?" She asked curiously, watching as the male approached her and sat on the corner of the bed. Jason sighed in response. "I saw you lying unconscious in an alley. What happened?" Jason looked back up at her. So it wasn't a dream. Olivia thought to herself as her eyes began to water up. She blinked them back, sighing shakily before looking away. "I- I don't want to talk about it." Her voice cracked, revealing her upset nature. A tear rolled down her cheek and Jason's eyes softened. He leaned forward, placing his hand on her leg. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here for you." He assured her with a weak smile. She looked back up at him and nodded slowly. "Thanks." Her voice was still slightly shaky.

Jason moved his hand away and cleared his throat. "So uhh... Would you like anything to eat or...?" He paused, waiting for her to speak. "I would just like to sleep for now, if that's okay with you?" She answered back. The male only nodded, murmuring "Sure." in response before he jumped off the bed and left the room, sending Olivia a warm smile before he did so.

As soon as he had left, Olivia's eyes welled up with tears. Her heart cracked into two and she buried her face into her own pillow, sobbing silently as to not disturb Jason or whoever else was home. She clutched the pillow tightly between her fists, holding onto it for dear life. Olivia had gone through many heartbreaks and betrayals. She watched herself turn evil. She watched her best friend almost die. She had even once been rejected by a play. But nothing... Nothing compared to seeing her own father cheat on her mother. 

The three flame cats appeared from the shadows, a look of sadness on their faces as they saw Olivia cry. They jumped up onto the bed and surrounded her, gently rubbing their heads on her as to comfort her, but nothing could be done.

The young female didn't even notice the cats as she slowly let go of the pillow, slightly sniffling. She pulled the blankets ontop of herself, closing her eyes to let the teats dry up. There was only so much crying one could do, and Olivia had done enough.  Sighing to herself, she heaved up and grabbed her mobile from the table. She wiped her tears away and searched for contacts. She found her mother's name and quickly sent a text message. 'At a friend's house. Will be back tomorrow.'

Sending the message, Olivia sniffled and put the phone away before crawling underneath the blankets. Her eyelids grew heavy and her head stopped shaking. Being surrounded by nothing but eternal silence, Olivia slowly drifted off into a deep slumber, her last images being of her father and how Jason had taken care of her. Maybe, just maybe, this was all a dream and Olivia would wake up the next day with her parents happily together and her friends to all be fine with their endowments.