I won't let anything happen to you

Camilia slammed her door, locking it behind her as she sighed. The man's eyes flashed through her eyes, she shivered, rubbing her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Camilia looked up, seeing her brother, Ryan, standing in the kitchen, dishing some ice cream. He was in his pajamas, a black tank top with sweats, his brown hair was floppy and wet, he must've just taken a shower.

Camilia shivered, "I think I'm being stalked." She closed her eyes, trying to banish the man from her head.

Ryan put his ice cream down, walking over to her, "How long has it been happening?" He asked, his voice light, but his hands twitching.

Camilia sighed, "I saw him at the game tonight, then I was walking with Kyle and he approached us, from the direction opposite of the school."

Ryan stepped closer, hugging Camilia to his chest, "Don't worry. We'll figure this out, I won't let anyone hurt you." He let Camilia bury her head in her chest, he rubbed her hair. Camilia took some deep breaths, feeling the tears well up in her heyes. She sniffed, forcing them away. She wouldn't let anyone scare her that much.

Camilia nodded into his chest, "Thanks for believing me." She muttered, she had always invented stories for being late, most of which no one took seriously.

Ryan kept running his hands through her hair to calm her, "I'm your brother, that's my job." They stood there for 5 minutes, each thinking about tomorrow.

Ryan cleared his throat, "I have some shopping tomorrow, I'll walk with you to your game on my way there."

"Okay." Camilia mumbled, starting to get sleepy as her adrenaline and fear faded. Ryan let her out of the hug, giving her a gentle smile.

"Why don't you head to bed. I'll stand guard." He led Camilia to her room where her younger brother was already asleep, drooling on his pillow. Their family lived in an apartment so most of the siblings shared a room. Her oldest sister, Elsa, would sleep on a mattress in the front room while the other four would sleep in this room. Her parents had a room on the other side of the kitchen.

Camilia dropped onto her bed, a mat with sheets over it. She got under her sheets, asleep before Ryan finished pulling them up.

Camilia dreamt she was at school, her uniform was a white button up shirt with a navy vest, she wore navy slacks to match. She walked through the halls, seeing students pass by her, she was looking for someone, she paused as she saw students with horns, students with wings, students with antlers, and different color hair. Was this all cosplay? She wondered, wading through the crowd of costumed people.

"Cam!" A voice called from behind her, Camilia turned, seeing Neil and the rest of the basketball team running towards her. Neil smiled at her, grabbing her hand, "Our dorm is this way." He pulled her through the crowd, walking on the wrong side of traffic, no one seemed surprised, just moving to avoid the group.

"Where are we?" Camilia asked, seeing more students with tails and scales. She felt a strange sense of deja vu as she looked at them, a strange longing to find out more about them.

Neil laughed, "We're at school. You moved to Liken, remember?" He was wearing a vest and slacks the matched hers, his vest hanging open and his top buttons undone. Camilia also had her top buttons undone, but her vest was buttoned together, looking casual in her formal uniform. As she looked at the uniforms around her, some girls had skirts, but if they did they had leggings underneath, most just wore slacks though the top was different for almost every girl. Camilia matched the basketball team, but didn't match any other girls.

Camilia shook her head, "I really don't." She said, pulling her hand from his, "Is there a bathroom?" She asked, feeling overwhelmed by Neil's energy and the strange cosplayers passing her.

Neil nodded, pointing to the hallway next to them, "First door on the right, we'll wait for you here." He leaned against the wall, the others doing the same or sitting on the floor.

Camilia entered the hall, walking quickly. The lights were out, bathing the hall in shadow. She kept walking, running her hand on the right wall to avoid missing the door.

She bumped into someone, stumbling to a stop, "Oh, I'm sorry." She said, stepping backwards.

The man with braids looked back at her, "I've been waiting for you."

Camilia woke with a gasp, calming as she saw sunlight streaming through the window. She sighed, pulling her messy hair in a loose ponytail. She looked around her bare room, seeing her oldest brother sleeping, but the space where Ryan slept was empty.

Camilia got up, leaving the room without waking either of her sleeping brothers. She entered the kitchen, seeing it was already 8:30, Ryan sat on the couch, dozing off. Camilia smiled as she saw him, walking back into her room and grabbing a blanket. She took it and lay it across Ryan, watching him flinch at the first touch, only relaxing when the blanket covered all of him.

Camilia walked to the family bathroom, deciding to rinse off. She hopped into the shower, letting the steam clear her thoughts. It was day, so she'd be fine, most of the kidnappings in shows were at nights, so she'd have the day to prepare for that. As long as she got home before dark she'd be okay, and if she was always with someone else that would also stop any threats. She let go of these thoughts and finished her rinse, climbing out and getting dressed in a green short sleeved shirt, putting her jacket over it, she wore black basketball shorts with her green running shoes. Kyle said he'd be here to pick her up at 9:30, hopefully Ryan would be up by then so she wouldn't have to wake him. She didn't want him to wake up with her being gone.

So, having nothing else to do to prepare Camilia started making herself breakfast, she cracked 3 eggs into the skillet, watching bubbles of heat break out over them. She turned to her fridge, grabbing some cream cheese that she dropped into the skillet. This caused the hissing of the skillet to increase, becoming louder as she mixed the eggs and cream cheese together with her wooden spoon. Finally she added the last of the tomatoes and some salt and pepper. The hissing of the skillet calmed as Camilia pulled the cord out of its socket. She scooped the eggs onto her plate, smelling the scent as it steamed in front of her.

Camilia sat on the couch across from Ryan, eating her breakfast as she looked out her window. She saw a man cross in front of the grass and tensed up, she searched for braids, but relaxed as she saw their build was too slight and the hair too short to be her stalker.

Ryan opened his eyes as he smelt Camilia's eggs. They were shaded underneath, showing that he had only gotten a few hours of sleep as he worried about his sister. Camilia waved as he straightened.

"Good morning." She said, her voice cheerful as she hid the fear she had felt looking out their window.

Ryan's eyes focused on her, relief running through them, "You look better." He said, pulling the blanket onto his lap. His hair now stuck up in different directions, having dried as he watched the front door and windows all night. He yawned, standing up, he looked at the time, it was now 9:15.

"I should get dressed, Kyle should be here soon." He said, walking into their room. He placed the blanket back on his bed and grabbed some jeans and a blue shirt. He smiled at Camilia before walking into the bathroom.

Camilia chuckled as she finished her eggs, washing out the skillet and plate. As she finished Ryan walked out of the bathroom, his hair tamed and clothes neat. Camilia paused her cleaning as someone knocked on their door.

Ryan looked at Camilia, "I'll get it." He said, walking to the door. He opened it, his stance guarded.

Kyle stood at the door, smiling as he greeted Ryan, Camilia almost laughed as she saw he was holding a basketball in one hand, a baseball bat in the other.

"You've got two different sports there." Ryan said, letting Kyle into the apartment.

Kyle shrugged, "This is for you." He said, tossing the basketball to Camilia, who caught it, then he hit the baseball bat on his hand, "This is just in case."

Ryan nodded, "I like it. I'll be walking with you guys to the park, I have to pick up some groceries." He moved to the fridge, grabbing the shopping list from it.

"I finished the tomato today." Camilia said, walking towards Kyle. Ryan nodded, writing it down, he then walked and closed the door to their room, letting everyone else sleep in peace.

"I guess we should get going." He said, smiling at the two. Kyle nodded, a determined light in his eyes. Camilia nodded, trying to banish the fear roiling in her stomach.