Chapter Text
Gregory woke up in a cold sweat, panting and hands clasped over his eyes. He was trembling in terror beneath his thick blanket covers. He’d just had a nightmare. He couldn’t stay in this bed any longer. Gregory threw the covers off of him and jumped off his bed. The boy traveled across the hallway, clutching his Freddy plush in his arms.
He cracked open Vanessa’s bedroom door and peeked inside. “Vanessa?” He asked quietly, voice barely louder than a soft whisper. When she didn’t roll over and respond, he grew worried. And unable to see in the dark, he climbed up the side of her massive bed. Then he realized something. She wasn’t in bed.
Immediately, he gripped Freddy tighter and ran down the hallway. When he reached the living room, he felt relieved when he saw a figure under some blankets on the couch. The television was still on and flickering. Gregory approached and turned it off with a quiet sigh.
Once the television was turned off, he turned on a lap on the end table beside the couch. The light could barely illuminate the room, but it reflected the light just perfectly that you could see who was sitting on the couch.
He glanced at Vanessa—only to realize the figure wasn’t Vanessa. It was Michael, he could tell by his messy hair in his face and the very little amount of expression. He didn’t look anywhere else—he only focused on getting Michael awake. He wanted to be hugged and comforted now. It didn’t matter if it was Michael or Vanessa.
He shook him. “Mikey. Mikey! Wake up!” Gregory shook him harder. After a few seconds, Michael opened his eyes, but he didn’t move.
“Mikey. I’m scared,” Gregory said. He kneeled beside the couch and rubbed his tired eyes. “I had a bad dream.” He panicked, crying out, “And I don’t know where Vanessa is. She wasn’t in bed—”
Michael sat up and smiled a little. “Gregory. It’s okay. She’s okay.”
“How do you know? What if she—”
“You had a nightmare?” He asked and Gregory nodded, hugging Freddy close to his heart. “Was it bad?”
“Really bad. There were monsters. And… I-I got scared.” Tears flooded his eyes.
Michael held open his arms and Gregory, knowing what to do from previous nights, hugged him back tightly.
“Okay. I can go to sleep now,” Gregory whispered. “Thanks, Mikey.”
“Right. Goodnight.” He waved to Gregory as he walked back down the hallway to his bedroom.
But just as he was opening his door quietly, he heard a faint sound in the living room. Shuffling, then muttering, quiet talking. He stopped in his tracks right before the door to listen. At first, he couldn’t quite make out what the voices were talking about, then they got a little louder.
“Was that Gregory?” It sounded like Vanessa. So, she was out there, too?
“Mhm. Nightmare. Again.”
“Again? Oh, Michael…” She sighed. Gregory could practically hear her rub her temples and pull her hair out.
He inched closer to the wall, just close enough to see Michael and Vanessa, but not close enough for them to see him. The lamp barely lit the room up. So, he only clearly saw the side of Michael’s head.
They talked a little quieter. “I know, I know. But, I’m sure he’s okay. He’s a tough kid.”
“I guess you’re right…” It got quiet. Gregory squinted in the dark to get a closer look. “I know he’ll be okay.”
“Right.” Gregory could just barely see them. They were both sitting on the couch, really close, and facing each other.
It got awkwardly silent again. And just as Gregory was about to turn around, he saw something that made his world spin around and nearly knock him over with surprise.
Just barely, in the dim light of the living room, he saw some motion. He looked closer and noticed they were closer than before. Then, it hit him, and he pieced the puzzle together.
He scurried back to his room and twirled his Freddy stuffed animal around. He giggled quietly and flopped down onto his bed, feeling much better than before. And with this newfound giddiness, he decided he was to tell Cassie this news first thing tomorrow morning.
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And then, in the morning, Cassie appeared at his bedroom door with a cheerful smile on her face. Gregory rubbed his eyes and grinned. He pulled Cassie inside, looking both directions, then slammed the door shut.
“Ow—What’s going on, Gregory?” She panicked.
Gregory held her shoulders and carefully looked into her eyes. “I saw something last night… Something crazy! Something worth investigating.”
“What!?” She yelled.
“I… I woke up last night ‘cause I had a nightmare,” he explained. Cassie crossed her arms, inpatient. “And, well, I saw Mikey and Vanessa…”
“Spit it out already!!”
“Okay! Well…” Gregory lowered his voice to a whisper. “I… I…”
Cassie raised her fist. Gregory tensed. “Okay, okay, fine! I saw them kissing !”
She gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth. “They kissed ?!? Mikey and Vanessa?!?”
He nodded. “I saw it! And I know what we need to do.”
Cassie lifted her head. “I say we stalk them and see what other stuff they do! It could be really cool! We need to see if they’re really meant for each other!”
“Okay, Gregory, but are you sure stalking is the best idea?”
“Sure it is. What else would we do?”
She stopped. “Exactly!”
Cassie giggled. “Okay. Then… Well… Where do we begin?”
“Breakfast.” Gregory rubbed his hands together.
At breakfast, Vanessa set out the pancakes while Michael stood at the counter flipping them. Gregory motioned Cassie over to him at the table. He whispered, “Watch them.” In her ear.
Vanessa looked up from the plates. “What are you two whispering about?”
Cassie opened her mouth, but Gregory shushed her. “Nothing you should know about, Vanessa!” And he stuck his tongue out at her.
She recoiled, cringing, and set down a plate of chocolate chip pancakes in front of him. He began to dig in right away.
“So… you two sleep well?” Vanessa asked as she sat down. She straightened her shirt and held her hair back.
“Not really,” Gregory said.
“I’m sorry, Gregory. ‘You okay now?”
He nodded. Cassie swallowed, “I slept well!” She cheered.
“That’s good, Cass. Glad to hear it,” Vanessa said softly.
Gregory and Cassie glanced at each other and giggled. Vanessa eyed them until Michael came over with another plate of pancakes. Cassie reached for seconds first, then Vanessa, then Gregory last, to observe what Vanessa would say to Michael.
All she said was a quiet, “Thank you, Michael.” And ate. Gregory squinted at her while he ate breakfast.
Vanessa and Michael both ate, then left the table shortly after. They stood in the corner of the kitchen by the sink, cleaning off dishes.
Then, as Vanessa pulled her hair back into a low ponytail, Cassie nudged Gregory’s arm while he stared down at his pancakes. “Look,” She whispered. And sure enough, there was Vanessa, eying Michael while he looked at her.
Cassie and Gregory stared them down from across the table. They were looking at each other like how sappy teen couples would. And then when Gregory turned to tell Cassie, she nudged him. He whirled back around in his chair. Just from behind the pillar between the wall and opening on the counter, Gregory saw Michael playing with Vanessa’s hair.
Gregory gasped and turned to Cassie with a massive grin on his face. “Look! Look!”
“Be quiet,” Cassie hushed. She scooted off her chair and slowly crept around the kitchen, slithering behind them and watching. Gregory followed her lead a few steps behind.
They watched as Michael turned to her and nearly kissed her, but then they watched when he looked away and saw them standing there. Gregory and Cassie froze. Cassie started to back away and grabbed Gregory’s hand.
“Sorry,” She spit out. “We were just going to…”
“Ask for more,” Gregory added. Cassie nodded in agreement and forced a massive smile.
Vanessa clearly looked annoyed. She stepped back and rubbed her eyes. “Okay. Right. Sure,”
The two snuck away into the hall. Gregory looked behind him one last time and whispered to Cassie, “Something fishy is going on. See what I mean?”
“They’re totally in love!” Cassie said a little too loudly.
Gregory panicked when he saw Vanessa turn her head in their direction. He held a finger up to Cassie’s face and shushed her. “You’re too loud! We need to find out more. And we need to tell Freddy! And we need to record it… Write this down, or something.”
“We should create, like, a documentary about them!” She cheered. “Wouldn’t that be so cute, Gregory?”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” He ignored her. “We need to find a way to see them at all times.”
“But isn’t that kind of over the top?”
“Yeah, but if it’s what we need to do…” He turned around to see Vanessa putting leftover pancakes on a plate angrily. “Then we’ll do it, right?”
Cassie looked behind Gregory. Her eyes lit up, then she grabbed his shoulders and whirled him around.
“What? Cassie, what? Where am I looking?”
“Mikey and Vanessa! They’re hugging!”
“What!? Where!?”
At the table in front of them, where Vanessa was setting out the leftover breakfast, they were hugging. Gregory moved in front of Cassie, blocking her view. She shoved him and shouted, “Out of my way!”
Vanessa, who was holding onto Michael tightly, turned her head from his chest to them down the hall. She squinted at them, and they hurried off with a shriek.