Chương 2: Chapter 1: Eyes of Crimson

~ Third Person P.O.V ~

Leo felt suspended as if he were adrift in a sea of unending shadow for wherever his gaze turned, he saw nothing but darkness.. that is until he saw the smallest glint of light in the seemingly empty void.

However, it was not the light of the moon nor that of the stars which he saw.. instead his eyes met that of another.

Cold, haunting red eyes met him, glowing ominously in the void above, Leo shrunk into himself, feeling cold as he looked up at the eyes appearing far... far larger than him. Though try as he might he couldn't make out any other features aside from those orbs of crimson red and a few locks of deathly white hair.

The eyes scrunched up before crimson liquid dripped from them like tears.. then a voice filled his ears as he felt his very being quake.

*GASP!*

Leo suddenly shot up in bed, breathing heavily, cold sweat dripping down his face. He hurriedly rubbed the sleep from his warm brown eyes, before his gaze darted left to right, scanning his surroundings, gripping the fabric of whatever he was sitting on as tight as he could.

He found himself on a cold, hard mattress. The top bunk of a bunk bed, another just across from him, the room was so cramped he could reach out and he'd be able to hold the bedpost of the other bunk bed. The room was dimly lit, the only source of light was what little moonlight a small window on the far side of the room afforded them.

The gray walls were cracked, damp, and rife with mold, what was once supposed to be a wallpaper had long since been dilapidated past recognition. A single old desk and chair, all scratched and beat up after years of use sat near the faded wooden door. The room was quiet and still, only the sound of water dripping from the ceiling could be heard.

He felt himself sigh as he ran a hand through his messy raven hair, feeling himself relax, he gripped his hair, tugging on it lightly as he closed his eyes, trying to still his breathing.

"Another bad dream?" A voice spoke.

"Gyah!" Leo let out a yelp of terror, startled by the voice, he to fell off his bed, landing on the cold hard floor with an audible thud.

"Oooohh... that's gotta hurt.." The voice said, you can almost hear the squint in the voice.

Leo rolled his eyes and smiled, recognizing the voice as that of Piper, his long-time friend, and roommate.

"Oh, no don't worry about it." Leo said with a sweet wide smile, knowing she didn't mean to frighten him. "That's basically how I get out of bed anyway. But I am glad it's just you Piper." He joked, now sitting on the floor, before Piper closed the short distance between them.

"Just Piper?" She asked as she extended a hand for him to grab. "I think you mean" She cleared her throat and closed her eyes.

"Introducing the ONE the ONLY.. the amazing, astounding, ever-cute and stunningly brilliant-" She spoke, imitating a game show host's speech pattern when introducing the grand prize, taking in a breath. "Piper! ahhhh.. and the crowd goes wild." She exclaimed jokingly as she pulled Leo off the floor, his pale bare feet touching the hard cold floor, causing a quick shiver to run up his body.

"Well, you're right about one of those things." Leo said playfully, dusting himself off, Piper punching him lightly on the arm, both sharing a laugh, the moonlight making it look like Piper's striking violet eyes were giving off a slight sparkle.

"Do either of you plan to tell me why you're up at this hour?" A voice said in a stern tone.

"Oh come on Ashley, when am I not up at this hour?" Piper winked, though true she did have a reputation of being a bit of a nightowl.

Ashley rolled her eyes at the comment, as she sat up, her raven hair being far more fixed than bed-hair had any right to be.

"My point exactly." She said, in a far sharper tone than someone groggy with sleep should be able to, standing up, her features somewhat mirrored that of Leo, her twin-brother, though her brown eyes were sharp instead of warm and sweet.

"Do either of you have any idea how many rules you're breaking?" She sighed "I don't know about you, but I for one, most definitely are not looking forward to another round of.. penance.. not so soon." She said, rubbing her arms.

"Come on Ashe, Leo just had another bad dream. Can't you cut him some slack?" Piper asked a small smile on her lips.

"Oh." Ashley said, calming down slightly, she crossed her arms and sat back down. "Tell us about it." She said, not exactly in the most... endearing of tones, but far more gentle, or as gentle as her voice could be when compared to most other times she speaks.

"I mean.. well, honestly?" Leo asked, before walking back and sitting down on the lower bunk bed, this was where Piper slept.

"With how often I'm having them and how it always seems to be the same bad dream" he said, his mind flashing back to the nightmare, those ominous glowing red eyes, the deathly white hair. Leo was visibly shaken.

The girls listened quietly.

Leo let out a sigh, before falling backward, resting his head on Piper's pillow.

"I'm not so sure.. they're just nightmares anymore." He said, his voice trailing off.

"What do you mean?" Piper asked.

"Honestly? I- I don't know either.. not really anyway, I just wish I could at least remember what he says." Leo said, sitting up.

"And how exactly do you know he's a "he" if you can't make out any details aside from the eyes and hair?" Ashley questioned.

"I guess I just know" Leo shrugged, rubbing his feet together to calm himself down.

"Well, that explains why Leo's awake. What about you Piper?" Ashley said, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.

Suddenly, a smile found its place on Piper's lips.

"Oh you know, just working on my latest little project." She said, shrugging and faking nonchalance. Her excitement barely contained.

"And that would be..?" Ashley asked, once again crossing her arms over her chest.

"Introducing the L. S. A." Piper said, holding up what looked to be a damaged translucent figurine holding an old jury-rigged lightbulb, copper wires wrapped with what looked to be old rubber bands sticking out of the bottom.

Ashley rubbed her eyes in irritation, letting out an annoyed sigh. "That does not look the least bit safe." To which Piper only shrugged and smiled.

"What's the L. S. A?" Leo asked, raising a brow.

"Leo's Sleep Assistant. The name needs some work, yeah." Piper winked at her friend, Ashley rolling her eyes at the name, Leo not knowing how to react.

"So basically how it works is.." Piper said, turning around and bending down to one knee. Her tattered clothes draping down as she sets.. something up.

"I redirect some of the orphanage's electricity to this bulb, through these wires." She said, seemingly fiddling with a hole in the wall that may or may not have been what she was making so early in the morning.

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Ashley asked "Last time I checked our five-star suite of a bedroom surprisingly lacks any form of charging port."

"Aha!" Piper said, reaching into the wall, her hand protected by what looks to be a black rubber glove. "And that's where you're wrong my dear friend." Piper said, breaking several safety rules as she yanks out a power chord, miraculously not causing any damage, much to the twin's surprise.. and horror.

"And then, this goes here.." she said, sticking her tongue out slightly to the side as she carefully wrapped the wire around the power chord, careful not to redirect too much power.

"And.. one two three- There we go! Let there be light!" She exclaimed, as the bulb lit up.

"Huh." Ashley said, her eyes sharp as daggers. "So you risked our lives, not to mention possibly the lives of everyone in the orphanage, and a possible beating for... what? Basically a glorified nightlight?" Ashley said bluntly.

"Well... when you put it like that.. hm.. in hindsight. Guess.." Piper said, rubbing her nape in thought, her voice trailing off.

"Uh.. thanks I guess Piper." Leo said, a sweet smile on his lips, wholeheartedly appreciating his friend's gesture but honestly believing he doesn't need a nightlight to fix his nightmares. If anything can fix his nightmares, he's pretty sure a nightlight, isn't it.

"But Ashley's right, if any of the nuns found out... well.." Leo said, his voice trailing off "I'm still... sore from last week's... penance." Leo said, the word sending an uncomfortable chill down their spines.

*SLAM*

"Too little too late, my little guttersnipes."

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