I wake up much later to Dale still cradling me, it's not much later but it should be well into the afternoon with how bright the sun is.
"Dale?" I murmur, crawling into his arms again, I had slept with my upper body on his legs, his hands buried in my hair.
"Mmh?" He hums, unnaturally quiet --- it breaks my heart to see.
"I had a horrible dream." I whisper, my eyes stinging again.
"Wha…"
"I never got to tell you…" I cut him off with tears in my eyes. "...that…"
"Hayden." He cuts me off with a tight grip around my waist, agony on his face.
I startle, falling quiet, I couldn't remember the last time he had said my full name.
"Please don't."
I bite my lower lip to keep it from wobbling but swallow my words, feeling it crawl down my throat like a sip of lava.
He tugs me in close and I'm relieved that he's not pushing me away entirely, foregoing our friendship.
"I had missed her for hiding out in her room for so long that I'd forgotten that she was an egoistic, homophobic…"
