The rain was falling around me, hard. The wind was howling- I could feel it pushing against me causing me to stagger around like a drunkard. A flash of lightening makes me jump, but I otherwise remained composed. I need to finish this - 'finish what?' I ask myself, unaware of what this goal is that I’ve set myself, just aware of the burning determination inside of me.

There is a lot of noise around me, but I cannot pick out particular sounds to identify what kind of chaos I’m surrounded by. I suddenly see a silhouette in the distance and find myself drawn to whoever it is. As I approach, I feel even more drawn to this person. Somehow I know this is who I needed to find even though I’m not actually sure who it is I’ve found. I approach them only to hear sobs coming from under the hood. Without thinking I act.

I place an arm around her waist and rub small circles up and down her spine, under the coat which is flapping around us. She's so cold. I pull her body close to mine to share my body heat with her. I begin to whisper in her ear “shh… it’s okay. I’m here, no one can hurt you while I’m here. I’ve got you” my other hand pushes back her hood and tangles into her hair as I pull her forehead towards mine. We’re so close we share breaths. Her ragged breathing is the only sound I now hear.

She leans into my embrace, my arms now the only real support holding her up as she nuzzles into my neck. I inhale her scent through my nose; she smells sweet, but also earthy. It’s comforting, familiar, although I can’t explain why. “I thought it felt right when he holds me like this, but it feels so much better with you” she whispers, more to herself than me but strangely placing a lot of emphasis on the word he. Her breath tickles my neck with every word. I giggle almost shyly as I pull her closer. Her sobs have stopped and her breathing seems to be more regular now. So I begin to break apart from the position we’re in so I can take a look at the girl in front of me. This girl who I felt obliged to help without even knowing who she is. She feels me loosen my grip and resists separation by wrapping her arms around my waist. The sudden movement causes me to stop, and so I just hold her like this for a few minutes, pressing my forehead against the side of her head. “Thank you” she whispers after a comfortable silence falls between us. “I thought I was lost out here. But then you found me, like you always do, and you made everything alright again. Thank you.” I can hear the tears tugging at her voice again, so I simply hum in response and proceed to hug her in silence. Questions race through my mind at speed- who is this girl? what does she mean ‘like I always do’? why can I not remember her?

After a good few minutes she loosens her grip on me and allows us to separate a bit. She presses her forehead against mine again, and I find myself getting lost in her dark brown eyes. I sigh audibly, a sigh of contentment. She giggles awkwardly at how comfortable I seem to be right now. I study the rest of her face: she’s pretty, despite her tearstained cheeks, and puffy eyes. Even her voice, which sounded unfamiliar to me, sounded beautiful. A shy smile is tugging at her lips. All these features I feel I should recognise based on her familiarity with me, but I don’t recall anything about her.

Suddenly, everything starts spinning, then fading. Then I wake up in my own room, with my duvet strewn across the floor, and my leg hanging over the side of the bed. It was just a dream? Wow! That was intense I think to myself. Questions are still flooding my mind about that girl, who she is, what was going on, why she was alone, why did I feel a compulsion to save her. I throw my forearm over my eyes as I try to forget the dream- even the mysterious beautiful girl. It was just a dream, it meant nothing. But why do I feel so affected by it? Why did it feel so real? I heave a huge sigh as I get out of bed to get ready for the day ahead.

Author's note: Hi there. First off thanks for reading. I wanted to let you know that this first chapter is actually based on a dream I had the other day which gave me some great ideas for fanfic- weird, right?

Anyway, thanks again, I hope you enjoyed it. ;)