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When Anne jolted awake with a gasp, chest heaving as her eyes scanned the room, she quickly became aware of three things. Firstly, she had a splitting headache that was making it hard to think. Secondly, it was still pitch black outside, the only source of light being the digital clock on her nightstand. Thirdly, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was someone - or something - watching her, waiting for the right moment to strike, perhaps, or simply laughing at her current state of distress.
Anne knew that it was all just in her head, of course. It wasn’t as if there was actually something out to get her, like that time where Andrias had sent a giant killer robot to her world to track her and the Plantars, all because he wanted her dead-
Calm down, she told herself repeatedly as she began rocking back and forth on the mattress, calm down. Her breaths became short and irregular, and she could already sense the tears beginning to form in her eyes. It’s all over now, there’s nothing to be scared of. You’re fine.
As much as she tried to believe it, Anne certainly didn’t feel fine, not when every one of her bad memories from Amphibia came flooding back to her all at once, ranging from mildly unpleasant to downright horrifying. She could see it all so clearly in her mind: those cold, endless nights she’d spent curled up in a cave with only bugs for company, the times when she could have been devoured by creatures at least three times her size had the Plantars not come to her rescue, the way Marcy had seemed so scared, so vulnerable as she stood frozen to the spot, realising what Andrias had just done, before giving Anne a look of regret that just about broke her.
Raising a hand to her mouth, Anne did her best to try and stifle her whimpers, but it wasn’t much use. When she heard Marcy stirring beside her, she hastily threw off the duvet, got to her feet and made a run for the bathroom.
Anne closed the door tightly behind her, then trudged over to the sink in the hopes that some cold water would help. Bracing herself against it, she let out a long sigh when she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. Her hair stuck out in every direction, her eyes were bloodshot and looked slightly sunken, and her right hand wouldn’t stop twitching.
It was all too much for her to bear. Stepping back, Anne collapsed onto the toilet seat and buried her face in her hands. Her sobs racked her body, and after a couple of moments she decided to try that breathing technique her dad had taught her.
In for four, hold for seven, out for eight, repeat. It was a pattern she had long ago familiarised herself with, and although it usually did the trick, it couldn’t stop the influx of nightmarish thoughts lingering in her head.
She was so caught up in everything that she didn’t even notice the door being pushed open, until she heard a quiet voice from somewhere beside her.
“Anne?”
Her head instantly snapped up. To her great relief, it was Marcy, who looked as concerned as she did tired. She was leaning against the doorframe, presumably for extra support as she only had one of her crutches on her.
“Oh,” Anne said, her voice hoarse from crying. “Hey, Marcy.”
“Are you...okay?” Marcy asked as she slowly approached her.
“Who? Me?” Anne chuckled sheepishly, wiping her nose with the back of her sleeve. “Never been better.”
It was a lie, and they both knew, but neither one of them could bring themselves to say it.
Propping her crutch up against the wall, Marcy sat herself down next to Anne and gently cupped her cheek in her hand.
“Hey, look at me for a second.”
Too exhausted to argue about why she didn’t need a pep talk at five o’clock in the morning, Anne complied, unable to stop herself from blushing when she saw the soft look Marcy was giving her.
“Did you have a nightmare about me again?” Marcy whispered, tracing circles over Anne’s cheekbone with the pad of her thumb. Anne nodded silently and buried her face in Marcy’s shoulder, clinging onto her arms for dear life, as if she might suddenly slip out of reach.
As Marcy let her hand wander from Anne’s face to her back, she started to slowly sway her body back and forth, forcing Anne to move along with her. She even began humming a quiet tune, trying to soothe Anne as best she could.
Eventually, after a period of sitting together in comfortable silence, Anne lifted her head off of Marcy's shoulder and pressed a featherlight kiss to her cheek.
“Thanks, Mar-Mar,” She said. “I...I think I really needed that.”
Marcy giggled and reached up so she could thread her fingers through Anne’s hair.
“Don’t mention it, Anna Banana. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Anne leaned forward ever so slightly, until their noses and foreheads were touching. Taking a deep breath, she let her hand come up to rest on Marcy’s chest, just above where her heart was, to remind her that yes, she was alive and breathing and she looked so, so beautiful in the early morning light.
“I’m glad you’re okay, too,” Anne whispered. “I don’t wanna lose you, ever again.”
“You won’t,” Came Marcy’s reply, and the tender way in which she said it sent a chill up Anne’s spine. “I promise.”