Last time I'd worried about what might happen if things didn't work out the way everyone expected them to, I'd wound

up with one whopper of a nightmare which led to lovely insomnia which led to me wandering the house like some sort

of demented zombie. I hadn't been wearing socks, so my cold feet didn't make any sound at all as I started towards

the stairs. but just because my feet didn't make any noise, the stairs had made no such concession. I tried to stay

toward the edges, like mom had taught me that one time when i was 5 and we'd pretended to break into a big fancy

hacienda in Mexico, but it just wasn't working. by the time I'd gotten downstairs, i was sure i'd woken up pretty much

the whole neighborhood, not to mention the cats and possibly drunk raccoons dozing off their binge on Derek's beer

cans. I found it odd I hadn't seen her yet. At night sometimes I heard her go past my room, or rather saw her shadow.

Once or twice she'd even opened my door and peeked in, the hall light shining off her brown hair, silhouetting it in gold.

She didn't speak, which made it creepy as well as reassuring as she stared into the darkness to make sure I was still

there. Still there...hilarious. I'm not going any where, Cameron. Besides maybe insane. My feet led me out into the living

room. I hugged myself as the chill from being out of my warm bed finally settled into my skin. It's so odd how everything

looks so malicious at night. The shadows from the backyard lights weren't helping. I couldn't hear mom's breathing

anymore, and Derek was probably in the basement, doing weird future stuff. who was I kidding? he was probably

conked out watching Full House reruns. The kitchen seemed a good bet. maybe eating something would occupy my

brain and make me sleepy. I stepped into it and switched on the light. I nearly jumped out of my SKIN. Cameron was

just outside the sliding doors, her entire body thrown into sharp detailed shadow by the lights. She was staring out

across the dark backyard, and hadn't looked behind her yet. I didn't move, frozen in place. one false move and she'd-

wait...I craned my head forward a little to try and see what she was doing. She wasn't staring out at the yard...she was

staring at a picture of ME drawn entirely in pencil. she was holding it in her hand, now. The drawing looked absolutely

like a picture from this far back, but I figured it was all dots and dashes up close. The unnatural way a machine is

forced to replicate things. Like a printer. But I never knew she could do...Suddenly, she marched forward, took the

picture off the patio table it was propped on and tucked it into her jeans pocket as she turned around...Crap. She stared

at me, a hint of guilt in her face as she slid the door open and tried to act like she was doing what she always did.

"Why are you out of bed. it's 2:45 in the morning." It clearly wasn't a question. "I couldn't sleep." She studied me, then

came close and took my chin gently in her hands. Shivers raced up my back at the contact. She stared into my

eyes...or I thought she did. "You're developing pronounced bags under your eyes. This is indicative of a severe lack of

sleep. How many hours did you sleep last night?" My mind raced....before or after I'd dreamt about her saving a baby

Riley from a burning house filled with blue mushrooms only to have the infant burst like a water balloon in her arms? It

was hard to keep everything straight. "4, maybe 5 hours? I'm fine, really. I just have a lot on my mind."

"In it."

"huh?"

"In your mind. not on it. It doesn't have a surface."

I sighed. it was far too early in the morning for this. She seemed to sense my exasperation. "Do you want me to try

and help you sleep? I know several methods that are effective in humans." I rolled my eyes. "Why in the WORLD

would you know ways to put people to sleep?" she didn't answer, only stared. I waved my hand dismissively and

started to leave. "Wait. try milk. it contains a special chemical that induces sleep." she opened the fridge and poured

me a glass. "Thanks." I mumbled, not meeting her eyes and sipping it. I'd finished very quickly, feeling her eyes on me,

waiting for the guaranteed lethargy that would ensue. but I didn't budge. "Now what?" I asked, yawning a bit. She bit her

lip in a very human like way I'm quite sure she'd picked up from Riley. Ever since I'd managed to get over Riley in a

way, or it seemed like I had, Cameron would adopt some of her mannerisms. But thing was, I hadn't forgotten, andit

stung every time she did them. I still hadn't fully figured out why she did it, other then trying to somehow expose me to

the familiar and therefore make myself more comfortable around her. Wasn't working. Time to get to Plan B, Cam!

Anyway, she'd walked out into the living room and switched on the TV. whaddya know, Full House. I smiled to myself.

"Old television shows also possess soporific effects. Sit." she nearly shoved me down on the sofa, lowering the

volume to a calming buzz and sitting next to me. Her being there guarenteed that NOTHING short of being drugged

would put me to sleep now, so I tried to focus on the show. the fuzzy quality of the broadcast and the blurry sounding

audio combined and worked it's magic after a while. I felt my head tilting to the side and succumbed to it, resting on the

sofa arm and pulling my cold bear feet up, making sure to avoid Cameron's thigh. Pretty soon my eyes closed, and I

was in that weird quasi-world of nightmares and daydreams again. But this time, my mind was almost blank and I

managed to reach that leg-twitching stage of sleep. I had the weirdest, but probably best daydream yet after that. It felt

so real...Cameron had gotten up and sat down by my head, gently running her fingers across my head of close-

cropped hair, and down across my cheek, then reacing farther to rub my back in small gentle circles. Then, I swear to

god, this part felt the most real, but i figured I'd conjured it up from all the time's mom had done it...Cameron kissed my

forehead...crazy, right? Note to self...figure out a way to get that drawing from her jeans. Curiosity...why would she

draw a picture of me like that? What purpose did it serve? None, as far as I could see. I woke up to her profile sitting

next to me on the floor. she looked up and gave a small smile.

"See? I told you it would work."