Thalia was hallucinating again. At least, she assumed she was hallucinating. She really couldn't explain why else it felt like someone was kissing her when she knew she was alone in the house. She'd even double-checked every window and door to make sure they were locked before finally climbing into bed. But still, she couldn't deny what she was feeling.

The lips pressed against hers were gentle but insistent, almost like they were trying to carefully get something out of her. It felt like arms were pressed into the mattress on either side of her and again she wondered why this was what her mind wanted to trick her with. She fought to open her eyes as she was getting used to doing, while another part of her was again glad that her hallucination was a good kisser.

Just as the pressure of contact had woken her, it slowly moved away, almost as if the owner of the phantom lips was reluctant to leave. He, she always imagined her hallucination as a guy, wasn't the only one. As soon as he began moving back, she fought against her body to move forward.

Unlike every other battle, this time she succeeded. Sort of. Thalia managed to move her head far enough forward that her lips came into contact with something. Closing them, she thought it felt like the tip of a nose. It quickly moved away but as if contact was enough to give her strength, she got her eyes open as well.

With a mind still fogged with sleep, she looked at where she guessed her hallucination was standing. There was a shadow there, one that shouldn't have been since it was one of the empty spots in her room. Before she could do more than blink twice, she felt herself falling back, her body going unresponsive again. What was worse, despite her frantic struggle against them, her eyes were closing almost of their own accord.

Stuck in sleep paralysis, that's what it felt like to her, she was forced to wait what felt like a half-hour before she could move again. By then of course, the figure she'd thought she'd seen was gone. Still, she got up and checked, paying special attention to where she'd thought he'd been. Then, just to be safe, she checked the windows and doors again.

They were all still tightly locked.

Thalia sighed as she dropped back onto her bed, glancing around her room again. It looked the same as it always did. Her closet, the doors open wide, on her right was filled with clothes and boxes of her old toys. Directly in front of her was the window and beside it, was her dresser. Against the other wall was her shoulder-high dresser, its white paint making it easy to see even in the dark. In the far corner was her desk, the chair pushed in properly for once, her laptop closed and only the steady green light of its battery letting her know it was still on.

Falling back against her pillows, she stared up at her ceiling. She'd lost count of the number of times she'd hallucinated over the last few months, but it was clear they weren't about to stop. She'd initially thought she'd been dreaming but they happened so often and were so real that she could no longer think of them as dreams.

Which left her with the fact that she was hallucinating. Thalia made a face. She didn't think she was crazy. And it wasn't like her hallucinations were bad or anything. They certainly weren't telling her to burn things or kill people or whatever it was hallucinations normally did to people. She sighed again, deciding to give it another month before she looked into a psychiatrist. She still held out the hope they'd go away as suddenly as they'd started. Still, she had school in the morning and staying up all night to obsess over if she was hallucinating or not was only going to make tomorrow harder. As she well knew from the month they'd started. Settling herself down, she burrowed under the blankets and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to claim her.

Colt waited until Thalia's breathing had evened out into her normal sleeping pattern before moving. He slipped out of the closet, being careful not to move anything or to make any noise. She'd nearly caught him twice in her search of the room. He didn't think he'd escape her a second time.

He ran a hand through his hair before remembering that he had neither hand nor hair. It was an odd sensation, feeling something that wasn't there. He concentrated until he had the half-corporeal form that he used when he wanted to affect something and indulged in touching his head. The movement of his shadow had him making a face similar to the one Thalia had made not too long ago. His shadow was indistinct and not strong, but it was deniably there. Part of him was glad she hadn't seen him properly but the greater part of him was disappointed. It would have been nice if someone could see what he truly looked like…

Kicking himself mentally, he turned his attention back to the sleeping girl. He moved over until he stood beside the bed, staring down at her. He shook his head, smiling, at the strange position she'd gotten herself into. Flat on her back but with one knee bent up and her pillow under her shoulder rather than her head, he couldn't imagine how it was comfortable.

It wasn't the oddest position he'd seen her in. Still, he felt he ought to make her more comfortable. He hesitated for a moment the shrugged. Even if he'd used an awful lot of power just to hold her where she was while he hid, he could certainly hide easily enough. He was invisible.

Decision made, he reached out and slowly moved her leg so it was lying flat, pausing any time he thought he heard her breathing change. When he was finished he held his breath, something that always confused him since without a body he couldn't figure out why he needed to breathe, and waited for a minute. When she didn't move and her eyelids remained still, he moved closer, gently putting a hand on her shoulder and the other supporting her head.

Carefully, he pushed her down so that her head was back on the pillow. He pulled the blankets up and made sure she was well covered before leaning over and kissing her on the forehead. Only then did he slip out of her room, closing the door behind him.

Hearing the door click shut, Thalia opened her eyes and stared back up at the ceiling. This definitely changed some things.