Stay With Me

4

The two sat in comfortable silence,their heads resting gently against the other's as the radio from downstairs played quietly in the background. Dead could feel her tremble against him as he held her close, the thought of the nightmares still weighing heavily on her mind. He wanted to say something to comfort her, anything that would ease her worrying mind, but what was there to say? He had thought about his own death hundreds, if not thousands, of times and it was always a comforting thought to him. To see someone care if he were gone or not was a completely alien feeling to him. There was very little he could change about himself. He hated most people, wanted to be released from the pain of the uncaring mortal world... but not if it meant hurting her.

He still couldn't wrap his mind around the possibility of her actually going through time just to save him, still wasn't sure if he actually believed it fully or not, but here she was beside him. Even if she hadn't come back through time she was still the woman he saw in his dreams every night and that meant everything to him just to have her where he could finally have her in his arms. He watched out of the bottom corner of his eyes as she twirled a piece of his hair around her fingers, her breathing slowly returning to normal before she opened her eyes once again.

Rubbing his nose against hers, Vanessa managed a smile. "Are you alright?"

Vanessa nodded. "I'll be alright as long as you're here with me. I'm sorry I got so worked up."

Dead shook his head, pulling her closer. "You don't need to be sorry. To you, those were nightmares, but for me they were always pleasant dreams. Before I saw you in my dreams I can't count how many times I dreamt about my own death, to be away from this place. IT was never something I gave a second thought about. Don't get me wrong, for you I'm going to try, but I'm not perfect. I don't trust anyone easily and I'm depressed as shit. Hell, I don't even sleep most nights. I honestly think you could have done better than me."

"Pelle," started Vanessa. "I wouldn't change anything about you. I just hope you'll let me show you that not everyone is as cruel as some of the people you've dealt with. I'll do whatever it takes to prove that to you."

"You already have just by being here."

"Come eat, fuckers!" called Euronymous as he pounded on the door. "You can go at it later!"

Making their way down to the kitchen, Hellhammer and Necro tried talking over plans for their next big show while they ate and as Euronymous remained silent; his focus solely on Vanessa unless his name was mentioned. The next show was set to take place in less than two weeks, giving them plenty of time to prepare some new material and rehearse some of their old songs.

"Where's your girlfriend going to be staying?" questioned Necro.

Dead wrapped his arm around Vanessa's shoulder. "Upstairs with me."

"You can't be serious, Dead," snickered Euronymous. "There's hardly enough money for the two of us let alone an extra person."

Vanessa stared down at the table. "I could find a job. Whatever money I make can be used on the house and food."

Necro nodded. "I think that's a great idea. With Vanessa helping you guys out with food we can put a little more into equipment and whatnot."

"She can't stay here," Euronymous snapped.

Dead glared. "Why not? Either she stays or you won't be getting any new songs from me."

"Jesus, Dead, seriously? You just brought this girl over for the first time and now you expect me to just let her stay?"

"I live here too, Euronymous, so I think I have a say in things. If she says she'll help then give her a fucking chance."

"I swear to fuck, Dead, if you start slacking on writing new lyrics I will toss her ass out."