I jolt awake when the sound of something falling in my dream actually sounds in real life as well. I can feel panic stepping into my thoughts as I remember Fitz being woken up by a loud sound as well before being attacked by Fitton.

Immediately tensing up, my eyes dart around the darkness, trying to hopefully not make eye contact with anyone. When my heart beats a bit slower, I force myself to sit up and look around in the darkness of my room.

Still not being able to see anyone, I slowly walk over to the door and turn on the light, illuminating the room with a sudden brightness. I close my eyes involuntarily and wait until my eyes adjust to the abundance of light.

Frowning, I walk over to the balcony and open the sliding door. I shiver slightly when a rush of cold

air washes across me. Closing my eyes again as the breeze flows through my hair, I take a deep breath before looking out at the view. The stars are out again, but it's still dark enough that I can't see anything.

Nodding briskly, I turn around on my heel and walk inside again. When I pass the connecting door, I hear someone groaning on the other side. My heart picking up its quick pace again, I slowly make my way over to the metal doorknob. Spontaneous chills run down my spine when my slightly shaking fingers wrap around the knob, I hesitantly turn it and push the door open, the soft creaking making my breathing hitch.

When I don't hear anyone rushing out to get me, I push the door open completely and let the light from my room shine into Fitz's room. In the dimly lit bedroom, I see a silhouette of a figure on the ground, groaning softly. It turns around, and I can see slightly darkened teal eyes staring back at me. "Sophie..?" an all-too-familiar voice voices out, standing up.

Suddenly, Fitz's entire bedroom brightens up considerably. Fitz's teal eyes eyes meet mine as he asks, "What are you doing in here? It's the middle of the night."

"I heard something fall," I admit, deliberately leaving out the part about something falling in my dream. "And I came here to see what it was." After a moment of silence between the male Percipient and me, I point to him and ask, "Why were you on the ground?"

"It was that..." Fitz murmurs, looking up. He seems like he's trying to find something, but it's not there anymore. Shaking his head, the male Percipient runs a hand through his hair. Flashing me a crooked smile, he says, "I think I just tossed around too much and fell off. Sorry for waking you up."

I take a few steps and stare into his eyes. He's genuine about his apology, I can tell from a mile away. But it also seems like there's more to the explanation that he's not saying, but I don't want to bother him. At least it wasn't Fitton again, I think. I smile at Fitz and bid him farewell silently.

But suddenly, Fitz's eyes widen considerably. "Oh shoot," he mutters before dashing out of the room. I'm so shocked that I stay where I am, my lips moving silently.

Not knowing what's happening, I rush outside as well, only to see Fitz enter an elevator. What's he doing? I ask myself as I get into the other elevator. I try transmitting to Fitz as I head down...

But I get no response.

I suddenly remember last year, and panic seeps into my thoughts, increasing the pace of my heart again. I then narrow my eyes and say, "No. Not again. Not now."

Luckily, the doors open. I don't hesitate to dash out, looking for Fitz. I see him rushing down the hallway to the laboratory. "Fitz!" I shout, rushing after him.

He turns around so he's running backwards, facing me. "Sophie- go back!" he shouts. "Why did you follow me?!"

"Because!" I suddenly find myself levitating from my telekinesis and flying towards the male Percipient. When I land in front of him, I begin to say, "I'm not letting you-"

Since I landed right in the path of Fitz, he tries to stop himself by attempting to skid to a stop. Instead of that happening, Fitz's momentum is too large to stop, and he ends up crashing into me. I blinding grab him as we both fall down, completely caught off guard. When my back hits the tiled ground, I close my eyes and breathe out sharply, "-leave me."

I open my eyes again to see Fitz propped up above me by a few inches so his weight won't fall on top of me. One of my arms is wrapped around his neck, while the other is gripping his head, my fingers through his brown hair.

Fitz's teal eyes widen slightly as a reddish tint colors his cheeks. He looks down at me and says, "I'm not going to leave you again, Sophie. I was going to the laboratory."

"I could tell that," I admit. "But how am I supposed to know whether or not you'll leave so I can be 'protected' from who knows what..?"

Before I know it, Fitz bends down more so his lips are besides my ear. Shivers crawl down my spine when he whispers, "You'll know because I made a promise to you. A promise I intend to keep." He then pushes himself off of me and helps me stand up again. Before I can say anything, he points to the metal doors and asks, "Do you want to go inside? I want you to go to sleep, but I won't stop you if you truly want to come."

I have the sudden urge to turn around and go to bed again, and I know that Fitz can sense it. Instead, I swallow all of my worry and say in a non-shaky voice, "I'm coming with you."