So, I was watching 'Don't be afraid of the dark' the other day when inspiration struck! (By the way, I seriously reccomend it if you haven't watched it, it's a great movie though if you're not a friend to horror moves, maybe think twice about it ;) )

WARNING: LOTS OF IKARI FLUFFINESS!

Dawn shivered under the blanket she had wrapped around herself. She was stuffing her face with popcorn while violently hugging a pillow. The house was dark and she was home alone as her mother had gone out to a friends' for the night. Two or the characters in a movie she was watching had split up and she was raging at the screen.

"YOU DO NOT SPLIT UP IN A HORROR MOVIE!" She yelled, waving her hands around to emphasise her point. An ear splitting scream could be heard from the surround sound and Dawn followed suit. She nuzzled her head into her pillow and squeezed her eyes shut waiting for the creatures to attack the girl. The suspense was almost sickening, the music had gone quiet and the only thing that could be heard was the breathing of the character. A demonic groan then shattered the silence and Dawn let out another loud screech.

Suddenly a loud banging could be heard from down the hall, the girl froze and paused the movie, half hoping that she was mistaken and it was the demon from the other side of the screen. The banging came again though it seemed harder and more urgent. Dawn shakily got up from the safety of her couch and crept into the kitchen; she took a large knife from the counter and tiptoed towards the front door.

The loud banging came again, Dawn half hoped that it was her mum who had possibly come back early and forgotten her keys. She gingerly opened the door, knife at the ready but what she saw surprised her greatly. A man was standing at the door; he had long-ish violet hair that flopped over his face where a look of great concern was printed on his features.

"Dawn!" He growled stepping inside. "What the hell were you doing?! Are you alright?" He questioned while grabbing onto her shoulders and shaking her violently. The addressed sighed, she drunk up his worried expression realising that this was the first time she had seen him look like this. The way he seemed flustered was pretty cute. 'What?! Dawn stop thinking about that!' She yelled inside of her head as a light tinge of red grazed her cheeks.

"Answer me!" The man demanded; a pained expression now evident on his face.

"I... I'm alright Paul." Dawn finally said. She giggled when the usual scowl crossed his face.

"What were you doing anyway?" He questioned as he began to inspect the house suspiciously.

"Watching a movie," she replied innocently.

"What the hell are you doing with a knife then?!" Paul asked incredulously.

"Um, well you see… I sort of thought you were some evil demon creep coming to kill me." She replied honestly. The man gave her a weird look and then caught a glimpse of what was on the large T-V in the lounge room. He sighed irritably and began to walk out of the door. "Wait!" Dawn cried and lunged for his wrist. She blushed crimson and let go immediately.

"Well, could you stay for a while? Until the movie is over I mean?" She asked, giving him a terrified look. Her large cobalt eyes made Paul soften.

"Fine…" He dragged on with a scowl, walking into the lounge room and flopping down onto the couch. Dawn giggled and skipped after him after closing the front door and locking it securely. She gently wrapped the blanket around both her and Paul; the man gave her a sceptical look.

"What are you doing?" He growled, shrugging it off. Dawn puffed her cheeks up in an annoyed manor.

"Growing potatoes," she replied sarcastically, grabbing a handful of popcorn and stuffing her face again while un-pausing the movie. Paul rolled his eyes at her; they glinted deviously ever so slightly.

Dawn could feel something tickling her heck. She screamed loudly, popcorn flying ever where as she ducked under Paul's arm. Paul smirked, though a light blush could be seen across his cheeks but due to the dim light it was unnoticeable and he was thankful for it.

"Hey!" Dawn screeched realising what had happened; she slapped his arm and retreated to the other side of the couch. He snickered and grabbed a handful of the girl's popcorn. She huffed and glued her eyes back to the screen.

After the next few minutes, Dawn had slowly crept back over to Paul's side; she whimpered every now and then and slid further under the blanket, shielding her eyes from the T-V. The little girl from the movie was sitting in the bath tub… alone. Dawn let out a frustrated sigh and began to rage at the screen once again.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TAKING A BATH NOW?!" She growled, standing up fiercely causing more popcorn to fall onto the floor and her blanket drop as well. Paul rolled his eyes, he sighed in both irritation and amusement.

"Sit down Dawn," he said, pulling the girl back to the sofa. She crossed her arms angrily but took a sharp breath as the first creature was spotted. Paul felt something weird inside of his stomach as he looked towards Dawn's terrified face. He felt a strange urge to protect her. She whimpered and shrunk down as the creatures flicked the light off, locked the door and advanced towards the bathtub carrying sharp implements. As the girl spotted the first creature, Dawn screamed and what Paul did surprised them both; his arms were wrapped protectively around her small frame, a blush present across his cheeks.

Dawn stopped mid scream and stiffened up, her face went completely crimson and a small smile tugged at her lips. She relaxed and inched closer to him yet his hold didn't falter. She lent against him and squeezed her eyes shut as the curtains came crashing around the little girl. Paul hesitantly began to stroke Dawn's azure hair; she calmed down quite a lot and sighed contently as the bathroom door was forced open by the girl's father and the creatures retreated into the shadows.

As the movie progressed; Paul's hold stayed strong and Dawn felt safe, she buried her face into his hoodie whenever she got scared causing the man to blush and smile softly to himself.

"Sally, run!" The woman yelled urgently as she cut the rope attached to the little girl's legs that the creatures were pulling. The woman was immediately pulled back towards the fire place, causing her wounded leg to bend in an unnatural way. Dawn screamed along with the woman and Paul smirked, but none the less, he began to stoke Dawn's soft hair, soothing her of her worries.

"It's not real Dawn," he said softly, his warm breath tickling her head. She slowly opened her eyes and gazed into Paul's onyx ones. She nodded shyly and turned back to the movie, blushing some more as if realising for the first time how close the two were.

As the credits rolled in, Dawn's head was resting on his lap, her eyelids felt heavy and his constant stroking of her hair wasn't helping her drowsiness at all. Paul eventually stood up and began to walk towards the door.

"Wait, Paul," Dawn muttered, sitting up and sleepily rubbing her eyes. The man stopped in the door frame and glanced back at the girl.

"What?" he said harshly, getting an almost hurt look back from the girl.

"W… well, I doubt I'll be able to sleep tonight," she mumbled, sliding further down onto the couch.

"You're point?" Paul said obliviously.

"You make me feel safe Paul… Could you maybe, stay for a while longer?" She mumbled shyly, suddenly becoming very interested with a notch in the blanket. Paul studied the girl. She looked frighteningly vulnerable swamped in the blanket as she sat innocently on the huge couch. Paul sighed; he had conflicting thoughts but finally said.

"Fine then," and sat back on the sofa. Dawn giggled and rested her head back on his lap.

"What's so funny?" He said gruffly.

"Well, you were the last person I ever expected to be having a sleepover with Paul Shinji!" She declared, reaching up to absentmindedly touch his hair. Paul blushed at this comment and turned to face the other way.

"Just shut up and sleep troublesome," he grumbled.

Two hours later, Johanna Berlitz unlocked and stepped through the front door.

"Dawn, I'm sorry that I came back so early, well, it's 2 o'clock in the morning so technically it's pretty late, well, ugh you know what I mean but I was supposed to be staying for the night and Barry's Mum felt Ill so-" The woman stopped mid sentence as she walked into the lounge, expecting her daughter to be awake considering the faint glow of the T-V could be seen from the hallway. Instead the scene that awaited her was completely different. Dawn was cuddled up to none other than Paul Shinji, both sleeping soundly on the couch. Johanna smiled to herself, she picked up the large blanket that was strewn all over the floor and draped it upon the pair. Dawn groaned and snuggled closer to the man which in-turn caused him to wrap his arms tighter around her waist. Johanna had to try and stifle her giggle.

For so long her daughter had complained about the rudeness of this man but now, they were both sleeping peacefully together cuddling. The woman tutted at the amount of popcorn on the floor and inspected the DvD case on the coffee table in front of the T-V. 'Don't be afraid of the dark' was the DvD the two had been watching and Johanna grinned to herself, imagining all of the times her daughter must have screamed during the movie and that he must have been there to comfort her. They really did make a great couple.

"Opposites attract," she chuckled silently to herself.

Hope you enjoyed this rather short one-shot :D Reviews are encouraged to please feel free to share your opinion, just not too much fire :)

~X-Ray