Kris held my by the waist as we moved down into the living room. I was a bit shaky going down the stairs as my legs were still in sleep mode, but Kris held me up right. I missed the last step and fell on my knees. I was in shock for a moment. I stared at the floor while analyzing what had just happened.

“You alright?” Kris stood in front of me, hands out. I took his hands and used it as a support system to get my body up on my feet. I nodded and sat on the couch in the living room. I sat at the far end of the couch to let my legs spread themselves over the middle. Kris sat on the other end, resting his feet on the coffee table.

“Could you get my blanket from my room” Kris stood up without any words and disappeared. A few seconds later, Kris came back with my purple leopard print blanket. “Thanks” I wrapped myself in the blanket and drifted off to dreamland.

It was quiet, too quiet. I looked to Hana and she was cocooned in her blanket. She looked so comfortable sleeping in that position that I decided to leave her be. My lids became heavy as I was in the middle of a movie. I closed my tired eyes for a wee bit and opened them to find that it was midnight.  I must’ve dozed off. Alarmed I look to Hana who was still sleeping in the same position. The living room was dim as only a lamp was on. I reached to rub my forehead, but something didn’t feel right. A post it note was attached to the top of my head with tape.

“We came home and found you guys asleep. You guys looked tire so we didn’t want to wake you and Hana up. I left some food in the fridge. I also called your parents to inform them that you were staying with us. There is a futon at the back of the couch. There are extra clothes brought over by your mom on the chair to the right. It’ll be like a mini sleepover…    -Hana’s mom”

My ears perked up as mumbles and shuffling noises were made. I stayed silent and frozen hoping Hana wouldn’t awaken.

“Kris?” A tired Hana mumble. I turned my head and gave her a slight smile. “Sorry~ Did I wake you up?” Hana shook her head. “I woke up because I was hungry” I made a silent chuckle.

I took hold of Hana’s hand and walked us over to the kitchen. I sat her down on one of the stools and began to microwave the food Hana’s mom left for us. I turned around to see Hana face down on the table snoozing away. I poked her head lightly to wake her up. It didn’t work. I was about to poke her sides but the beeping sounds from the microwave signaled that the food was done. I rushed over to the microwave to prevent any more of the beeping noises.

I ate in amusement as I watched Hana eat lazily with her eyes closed. I’d let out a short and silent laugh, as she would sometimes miss causing the sauce to dirty her face.

I furrowed my eyebrows as shuffling noises were heard above. I clenched my teeth as I tightly closed my eyes to ignore the sounds coming from Hana.

“Hana go to sleep,” I loudly hissed. “I can’t… the couch doesn’t feel good against my back” Hana shuffled some more. “What do you mean? You slept in an instant before, why not now?” She can be so hard to understand at times…

I sat up straight to face the moving Hana. “What are you doing, the princess and the pea or something?” Hana rolled her eyes “Well I guess since I can’t seem to find a good sleeping position.” I stood up and motioned her to stand up as well. Hana looked at me confusedly but did what she was told. “I’ll sleep on the couch…”

Weird, I can’t fall asleep. I tried every possible sleeping position but I just can’t go to sleep. “See~” Hana said from the bottom. “This couch is really… uncomfortable for some odd reason”

“I can’t go to sleep” Hana whispered from the futon. “Me neither” I sighed and sat up straight. Hana sat up on the futon cross-legged. “Ghost stories~” Hana whispered. “I’m sorry but what? I couldn’t quite catch that” I leaned in closer to where Hana was. It was just really dark so I was only able see Hana’s silhouette. “Lets tell ghost stories. Ooohhhh~” Hana made a ghostly sound and tapped the spot near her. “Sit” I sat next to her, face to face. “I’ll start” Hana cleared before beginning.

“Once upon a time there lived a girl not too far from here. She was the epitome of beauty but she wasn’t at the same time. People either loved her or hated her. The majority envied the girl for her goddess like looks. The girl was bullied heavily but it didn’t stop her from cracking a smile on that gorgeous face of hers. People knew about the bullying but they didn’t take any actions to stop it till it was too late. One day, an envier brought a knife and dragged it across the beautiful girls cheek. Soon others followed. The once beautiful girl was now covered in scars. The girl fell into a deep depression and shunned herself from the rest of society. She cried and cried for her beauty was the only thing given to her by her parents before their timely death. On the night of her suicide, the girl looked into a mirror and cursed the people who tormented her. The days following her death each person who bullied the girl died in a horrific event…”

A depressing silence followed after Hana’s story. I cleared my throat. “I’m suddenly not in the mood to hear anymore stories. Let’s just go to sleep.” Hana laid down as I stood. “You can sleep on the other side of the futon.” Hana mumbled. I took my pillow and blanket and lay down next to Hana.

“Let me tell you a story of a girl…” I started. Hana shifted to her side to face me.

“She was bullied just like the girl in your story and just like the girl, she was bullied because of her looks. The bullies thought it was fun but they did not realize the huge amount of pain they’ve inflicted. The girl starved herself to the brink of death. She was lucky someone came in to stop this habit of hers before it was too late… I’ve always wondered why. Why did she do it? Did she want to prove something? Did she think that maybe starving herself would make the bullies pity her and stop? Does she not realize the pain she’s inflicting to herself, to her body, to her mind, to everyone who cares about her? Was she so self-centered that she was oblivious to the amount of worries she has given to her family and friends? It boggles my mind that a person could purposely do all these horrible things to themselves when others have no say to how they’re treated…”

I heard sniffles coming from Hana. “I’m sorry,” I said in hushed tone. “I didn’t mean to make you cry, it’s just that I’m really worried about you. You do all these things and for what?” Hana turned away.

“Good night” Her voice was cracked and quiet. I sighed. “Good night”