Eleanor couldn't sleep.

It didn't matter that she was probably on the most comfortable mattress she had ever laid on in her entire life. Nor that the bed's width would have touched the walls of her dorm room. Not even that her newly allocated bedroom was the size of her apartment. In fact, if anything, she felt a little too comfortable to fall asleep. The mattress was too soft, the duvet too warm and the sheets too smooth. It would usually be enough to lull anyone into a slumber, but it only kept Eleanor awake. It just seemed so wrong, to feel so peaceful and at ease, after the evening she had just experienced. The lack of something to complain about sent her thoughts racing around in all the wrong directions.

Not that she had really been sleeping since Thalia's death. Sometimes it felt as if her emotions had tired her out so much that she was too exhausted to fall asleep. And then she would roll over and try to make a joke about how her own body was denying her the sleep she so desperately needed. Only to find that there was no one to talk to except the large, glowing eyes of the cat replacing the companionship of her dead roommate. 

It had been Nate who put her to bed, coaxing her up the stairs as her head spun with images of blood and nauseating grins. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, the fear had kicked right back in. Her moment of quick wit and smart thinking had ended as soon as she slammed the door shut, breathing heavily as she stared at the boy behind the glass door. She could still see the way the glass made his fists paler, dramatically lightening the pink skin as he thrashed them against the glass. Desperate to break free, even if it meant piercing his skin with the sharp edges of the shattered glass. Desperate to get out. To get to her. She could almost picture it. The reflective shards catching in the dim streetlights as they flew all around her, some scraping at her delicate flesh and whipping her back onto the road. She could see him, slowly walking over to her, jagged piece of glass gripped in his hand. Grinning. Cutting into his skin and aimed towards her head. Teeth shining in the moonlight. Ginger hair turned a hundred shades darker by the evening light. A shadowy figure with a glinting smile. Coughing up blood. Collapsing in front of her. Covering them both in the thick, oozing liquid. With Thalia collapsing to the ground in front of her. Along with Luke. Both of them. Again and again. Over and over. Lifeless. Collapsing onto the glass and piercing themselves with the shards.

Eleanor got out of bed.

There was no way in hell she was possibly going to get any sleep. Her head was filled with too much torturous nonsense. She didn't even know why she was here. She should have been back at the academy. It didn't matter that Nate had called in to tell the staff where she was. That didn't mean anything. She should have been tucked up in her small, little, creaky bed with the worn duvet that she didn't have enough money to replace. She should have been all tucked up, hearing the soft snores of Thalia as a black cat perched itself at the edge of the bed. She shouldn't have been attacked by some crazy maniac. She shouldn't be scared to close her eyes. She shouldn't have been becoming more afraid of her death with every step she took. Her biggest problem should be deciding what the hell to do with her life. 

She was wearing Nate's clothes. He had insisted on it, declaring that there was no way in hell she was sleeping in clothes that smelled like they'd come out of a barn. She'd thrown a pillow at him for that, and he had looked happy to see a small smile on her face. Or some action on her part, at least. And the clothes weren't that large on her, being quite a tall girl, but they were a little oversized and she had to retie the bow on the sweatpants a few times until they were tight enough. 

She didn't really know where she was going, especially in such a large house. She just felt the sudden need to move around, to focus on the cool wood panels beneath her bare feet rather than the horrific thoughts pacing around her mind. She wasn't really heading for anything in particular, walking slowly down the corridors and tracing every detail of the building with her eyes. It was a large house, as she had expected. More like a mansion than a house, as a matter of fact. The walls were a deep blue, and occasionally held paintings of some very old looking people. There was one in particular that she passed, that she thought could have been a family portrait, but soon dismissed the thought. The painting contained two parents, as well as a boy who looked an awful lot like Nate and a girl with piercing green eyes. Nate didn't have a sister. It must have been his ancestors or some distant relative. 

She had just reached the large staircase when she heard the music, a muffled beat coming from somewhere downstairs. It was just quiet enough not to be heard from upstairs, and it sparked Eleanor's curiosity. She was exceedingly bored, and attempting to keep her thoughts occupied for as long as she possibly could. She needed a bit of mystery. And...besides...Luke hadn't exactly been in a position to harm her last time she'd checked. And...there were three other people in the house if she felt the need to shout for help. Not that Liam would come to her aid, of course. But there were at least two boys present that she could rely on to help take him out. 

Perhaps she could use something a little more effective than a key this time.

Cautiously walking down the stairs, she followed the music all round the house, peering around long corridors and switching on a few lights in order to guide her way. She still wasn't in the state of mind to be comfortable in the dark. But, as she continued to walk, the sounds gained a distinctive amount of clarity. And she felt herself recognising the song. And it was a little weird, because it was certainly one that she hadn't expected to hear in a large mansion at a time that may as well have been the dead of night.

I Want You Back by The Jackson 5.

The sound of such a happy song made her stop for a moment, unintentionally feeling her foot tap the rhythm on the ground as a disbelieving laugh left her lips. It was such a strange moment to hear something so joyful and upbeat, the playful drumming rhythm pushing all dark thoughts from her mind as she felt herself unable to do anything else but just stand there and begin to mouth the lyrics, feet taking her once more towards the source of the music. 

She found herself standing in what appeared to be a kitchen, music echoing around the tile as a familiar figure danced around the kitchen. The song was erupting from a small speaker placed on the island in the middle of the room. The whole space was almost blindingly white, everything shining in the angelic colour apart from the dark, marble countertops. However, still unaware of her presence, he continued to dance around the kitchen, singing some of the words as he moved across the room to fill his mug with the ingredients needed to make a hot chocolate.

The scene was so unlikely that Eleanor let out a small, breathy laugh, eyebrows furrowing and head shaking in disbelief as she took in the sight in front of her. He was putting his everything into it, jumping around and hopping from leg to leg, swirling his arms in a winding motion as he continued to sing to himself. He even pretended to play the keyboard on one of the counters, spinning around as he remained blissfully unaware of her presence.

It was only when the song ended did he see her standing in the doorway, and he was so startled that he completely lost his footing and collapsed onto the floor.