Have you ever had that feeling that there was someone watching you from afar? Like, do you ever wake up at a random time, so early in the morning to the point that the sun has not even risen and the moon's glow was the only thing that lit up the room, and feel as if there was someone standing in the corner of your room, lurking in the shadows? Like, you obviously cannot see it but that unnerving feeling is there and makes it difficult to fall back asleep? That's what it was like for me ever since I was a kid. I would wake up with a jolt and look around my room, seeing a dark figure by the balcony door. My first instinct was to grasp the rosary my grandmother gave me when I was younger and hold it close to my chest, repeatedly murmuring Hail Marys. If that does not work, I will then get a flashlight and read a random verse from the Bible to ease my nerves. But it actually got even worse growing up. [A/N: If you're not Catholic/Christian, please imagine it as something else 😊 I'm just used to writing in that perspective.]

And I guess that's the reason as to why I woke up from yet another dream of a figure looming over me, however it didn't feel like another ordinary night. The atmosphere felt even more eerie than usual. I sat up with a jolt from my bed, my hand against my chest as I tried to gasp for air. I then brought my knees up to my chest and held my head in my hands. I struggled to get the dream out of my head despite thinking of something else other than those long, slender fingers of a cloaked figure reaching out to choke me. (Choke me like you hate me but you love me- carry on) I looked over to the clock and groaned as it read "3:04" in bold, red numbers. I barely even had two hours of sleep and I already had a nightmare.

For years, this has happened. For years, it's always the same dream. A shadow hovering over me as I slept, its hand reaching out slowly, as if the personified version of death being careful not to wake up a person before snatching their soul away from their body. But just before it could get its bony hand around my neck or feel its fingers against my skin, I feel myself falling before opening my eyes and gasping for air, as if I was so close to meeting it and was lucky enough to escape.

I turned to lie back down again when I saw a figure move from the corner of my eye. Other nights, I brush it off as the curtains on the balcony door however this time, it was nowhere near it and somehow seemed human. My heart rate increased and goosebumps covered my flesh as I stared at it getting closer and closer. I was in a frozen state of terror yet I knew I had to move. My hands grasped the rosary in my palm tightly, feeling the beads digging into my skin. As much as I wanted to die, I couldn't let it be in the hands of my own nightmare. I slowly kicked the blankets off my legs and prepared to launch myself on whatever the hell it was if I needed to. I pretended to lean back on the mattress and squinted my eyes to make it seem as if I were falling back asleep.

I silently watched as the figure moved close enough to me before turning and lunging. I brought my leg to the other side of it, straddling the figure in order to successfully pin it down on the ground with a loud thud as I blindly reached out to turn on a lamp. My legs tightened around it as my fingers brushed against the switch and let the light fill the room. I gasped when I saw a boy around my age, struggling against my hold. I grabbed both his wrists in one of my hands and pinned them above his head as he tried to pry me off of him.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my room?" I demanded, pushing him harder on the floor with my free arm pressed against his neck.

He only let out an inhumane noise as he wriggled under me. I took that moment to assess him. I froze when I realized that he was practically naked, his chest of full display as a small piece of cloth covered his lower region. He had a face and body that must have been perfectly sculpted by the gods. I gulped as I pushed him back harder, seeming to lose my grip when I remembered that I was only in an over sized sweater and a pair of cotton underwear. My cheeks felt warm but I knew not to let my guard down. This man, whoever he is still snuck into my room at three in the morning, half-naked.

"M-mate." He growled, struggling to break free with my body on top of him. "M-my mate."

That's when I felt my heart drop. What did he mean? Is this man not human in any way? I snapped back into reality when I felt his hands slip from mine and slide down to the side of my thighs. He seemed to have sat up while I was caught up with a moment of confusion and was now pulling me closer to him. I watched his actions with complete and utter terror running through my veins, being the one to struggle against his hold this time. When I looked back up, his eyes were glowing like a bright light reflecting off a golden surface. For some reason, I felt myself leaning closer to his touch like a moth drawn to a flame. The last thing I could remember was brushing my nose up the side of his neck to his jaw line before my lips met his, his hands under my jaw, pulling me closer to him.

After such a weird encounter, one would expect me to freak out and tell everyone about it, to keep my distance from whatever the hell that person was and never turn back, and maybe even go to a therapist to help me with my trauma or listen to my stories to make me feel less crazy. Some may even tell me to get my brain checked. Yet here I am, several months later in the same creatures arms, burying myself into his side to keep myself warm in the winter. He would only chuckle and pull me closer to him, his arms over mine as he became my source of heat. His fingers ran through my hair as he left lingering kisses on my forehead.

A fallen, that's what he called himself. A celestial being above humans yet not above angels that are given the option whether to turn into one or descend down to hell. They are basically like angels stuck in purgatory, waiting for their judgement. It is rare for one of their kind to have a mate however it is not impossible. They sense it once the child is born and act as guardians to keep them safe until the time comes to claim them when they are of age. Once they find their mates, they cannot turn their backs on them as they serve as their other halves that can give them a second shot at life, a second shot to be reincarnated and their only possible way of redemption.

"It's okay to fall asleep, you know." He said, noticing how hard I was trying to stay awake. "I'm not gonna leave. I'll always be right here."

"Just like when you creepily stood at the corner and watched me sleep for years?" I asked, pulling away slightly to see the pout that formed on his lips.

"You have no idea how hard it was for me not to crawl in bed with you and hold you."

"Even when I was eight?"

"Y/n!" He groaned, burying his head onto the crook of my neck. "I'm really not the predator you make me seem to be whenever you ask me that. You're acting as if I had a choice."

"I'm just kidding, Shawn." I giggled, placing my hand on the back of his head.

I was obsessed with the fact that I had someone meant for me, and me alone. I used to dream about it since I was a teenager. For years, I've thought that I will never be good enough for anyone. There's nothing wrong with being alone and not needing anyone there but I've always wanted a soulmate in a romantic way. Yet here he is now and knowing that it was meant to be fulfilled that want. It was weird at first but then the look in his eyes lured me in. When I woke up the next day, I prayed that it was just a dream yet there he was, sitting beside me at the edge of my bed. That's when he finally explained himself after he calmed me down and told me his story and why he was in my room at that time of day.

"I already explained my side of the situation before."

"I know. I just like messing with you."

"You can mess with me in other ways."

I gasped and moved away from his hold, acting as if I was taken aback by his comment. He laughed and reached out to pull me back to him yet I stubbornly pushed myself further away as I slapped his bicep. He growled playfully and jumped over me gracefully, trapping me in his arms as he hovered above. We both stared at each other, his brown eyes slowly turning bright gold, their kind's way of claiming their mates. He leaned down and placed his lips on mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he placed both of his hands on my hips. Every move of his lips feels like heaven on mine, making me melt against his hold. When we eventually pulled away, he fell back down onto the bed and brought my body with him, forcing me to lie down on his chest as he mindlessly drew random shapes on my back with his fingertips.

"Shawn?" I spoke up after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes, love?"

"What exactly were you doing in my room the night we met?"

"I told you before, once I found you, I had to claim you. If not fully, my mere presence was enough to keep anyone else from taking you from me thus the whole lurking in the shadows thing."

"Then what changed? If you've been doing such a great job at keeping yourself hidden then how come I saw you?"

He fell silent, his fingers ceasing their movement. I propped myself up with my arm, leaning back once again to look at him. I noticed the crease between his eyebrows and his lower lip between his teeth. It was a habit he had whenever he was hesitating to say or do something. I reached out with my free hand and ran my thumb onto his lip, internally smiling as he shuddered.

"I couldn't control myself." He muttered, trying to avoid looking into my eyes. "I had to claim you. And I honestly beat myself up for it every day."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to come into your life like every normal person does... Bump into you... Get to know you gradually... And not seem like a crazy stalker that has been watching you sleep every day for the past thirteen years."

"And then what?" I asked, placing my hand on his cheek. "Keep me in the dark about who and what you are? What I am to you?"

"I would tell you eventually. I just... I didn't want you to feel obligated to feel something for me just because you are my mate. Most people from our kind don't care about the other party, as long as they can put their claim on their mates. I never wanted to do that."

"Shawn, I'm not obligated to fall for you but I did. All on my own time. Admittedly, I was hesitant at first but getting to know you in the past few months... I couldn't help it."

"I know." He said, pulling closer by my waist and placing his lips on my forehead. "I guess I'm just disappointed at myself for not being able to do what I planned years ago."

"Don't be. Either way, I would be happy to just be with you."

A comfortable silence filled the room as I placed my head back on his chest. The sound of his heartbeat comforted me. He did say that the very few fallens that have mates often had their hearts intact, thus why they can still feel and know who they are. Their heartbeats were often in sync with their mates.

"Y/n?" He spoke up after a long period of silence.

"Yeah?" I asked, sleep lacing my voice as I started to dose off.

"I- uh... Nothing. Just go to sleep. I know you're tired. I'll be here in the morning when you wake up."

"Okay."

I closed my eyes and cuddled onto his frame. He let out a breathy laugh and  wrapped his other arm around my waist as I let myself fall into a dreamlike state.

"I love you." He whispered as I welcome the comforting darkness of sleep.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
A/N: I haven't posted anything here in a while so... HI! I know this isn't really that good but I'm a but rusty now since I haven't written anything since March 2020 other than academic papers but this is actually a dream I had back in December 2019 that I never got around to finish until now. I haven't posted anything im more than a year since I was too busy with college. The workload in BS Accountancy was too much to handle that I wasn't able to really take a break and write. Hopefully I can continue again since the pressure in BS Management Accounting is lesser than Accountancy (main difference between the two since I've had to clarify this before: MA focuses on both the accounting and management aspect of a business while BSA focuses on accounting and auditing).

Vote/Share/Suggest

♪☁ A ☁♪ going offline