"ARGHHH!!"

A loud scream breaks the solitude abruptly.

Alone in his room, Zack straightened his body frantically. With a panting breath, he scans the surroundings. The furniture around him silently witnesses every movement Zack makes. Next to him, is a window showing the outside world with a faint sign of sunray seeping through it.

But, the warm greeting of the morning sun seems to be a bit too much for his droopy grey eyes as he quickly pulls his blanket all the way to cover his head. Turning back against the window by the bed.

It’s just a dream…

…A crazy one…

Before long, a loud snoring noise came from him as well as the morning tranquility came back filling the room.

He’s trying to alter the irritating predicament of his sleeping condition earlier.

At least, he could have a peaceful morning to slee-

BAAM

"Oi, Zack!"

Or not…

Lo and behold! The peaceful vibes that have been introduced into this story are ruined abruptly, thanks to Aura, the girl that barges into the room without a second thought and makes the door turn upside down in her presence.

"Zack, it's morning already!"

I know!

"Geez, you're so annoying! I don't have time for this, you know?"

Why don’t ya leave me alone then??

"Are you ignoring me?!"

Nope, definitely, I’m all ears!

"I KNOW YOU'RE WIDE AWAKE, YET YOU CHOOSE TO PLAY DEAD, HUH?!!"

She raises her voice as Zack keeps laying in the bed, covered by a blanket while giving his back to her. Suddenly, a loud snoring sound fills the room, making the hot-headed girl nearly burns her brain out of anger.

"IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP, SLEEPYHEAD!!"

Aura quickly grabs the thickest book she can find in the room with all her might, aiming straight at a round lump at the edge of the blanket.

THOCKK!

Bullseyes! She used Thick Book; it was super effective!

In the blink of an eye, Zack sits up and gives a death stare to the girl that stands menacingly, after successfully hurting his head.

A tickling sensation with a faint pain is coming from his forehead. Zack instinctively scratches it, only to see that his hand is stained with a bit of red.

“Tch, ever heard of door knocking? Where the hell is your sense of manner, huh?”

“Excuse me? But I’ve knocked on the door three times and no reply, though…?“

“You should’ve just left then, moron.”

"Who are you calling a moron, huh? You're the biggest moron after all the ruckus I made and you still playing dead as if nothing happened!"

"Not my problem. If anything, you're just an annoying bug in my life anyway." A sigh slips out from Zack's mouth while he grabs a tissue and calmly wipes off his head.

"Huh...? Not my problem, my ass! Is that how you show gratitude towards your sister?!"

"Have i ever said it?"

"How come you're my brother then? Also, you’re not getting any more sleep this morning!"

Zack that has already laid back suddenly gets pulled out and dragged from the bed by her.

This time, he hits the ground hard, head first.

Despite that, Aura keeps on trying to drag Zack down the staircase casually like it was nothing while he trying to stop her shenanigans by grabbing the flat wooden floor.

“Okay, okay, I get it! Just leave me f*cking alone, would ya?!” 

“Nah, you’ll just get back to sleep again.”

“At least lemme change my clothes first, yeah?”

When Zack said it, Aura stopped midway, slowly turning her gaze to him.

At that moment, Aura froze immediately, with her brain ceased from functioning.

For all this time, she dragged a pantless man out of his room casually without any shame. Meanwhile, Zack is lying there, judging, with his boxer showing slightly underneath the blanket that he holds dearly.

“I-Idiot! A-aren’t you a pervert?!”

“Seriously? You’re the last person that I wanna hear that from, dumbass.”

“Hey! No one in their right mind to wear a long-sleeved crewneck without a bit of clothing underneath, you know!”

“Well, you’re wrong… there’s one person who did it, though…?”

Yes, and it’s one and only him alone in this world.

“Whatever! I’ll give you two minutes, okay? Two minutes of clothes changing, not sleeping, you hear me?”

“Tch, what are you? My mom?”

In the end, Aura goes down the stairs with the thumping steps of irritation trailing behind her.

It’s safe, for now…

Back to his room, Zack throws the blanket haphazardly onto the bed, then walks toward the wardrobe to give a proper covering for his bare legs. Besides his head hitting the ground, what pains him the most is the fact of how cold It is despite being inside.

He was almost paralyzed the moment the blanket was taken away earlier.

Closing the wardrobe back to its place, the reflection from the mirror in front stares back at him in with the same listless look in his eyes.

“Weird, huh…?”

His hand traced through his neck, slowly pulling down the cloth that covers it, to see the mark that has been with him as long as he can remember on the mirror.

“I guess, I’m the one who’s not right in his mind…”

My heart is still pounding...

The dream…

It just feel too real to be one.

What was that all about…?