Silver Dew by Suzi Davis

never be so easily done.
    “That would have been easy once,” he joked. Neither of us laughed. “You should get some rest.”
    I shook my head, looking out to the bright sky and the world that we were speeding by. “It’s early still. I’ll sleep when you do.”
    “I’m not going to sleep tonight,” Sebastian unexpectedly announced.
    “What? Why not?”
    “I don’t want to,” he answered simply. “The way my nightmares have been lately… I don’t think it would be a good idea to sleep on a crowded bus.”
    “Oh, I see.” He was probably right but I didn’t like the idea of him staying up all night alone. “I’ll stay up with you then,” I decided. His response was immediate.
    “No, you need to get some sleep.”
    “And you don’t?”
    “I don’t want it to affect me so it won’t for now,” Sebastian dismissed. “Stay up with me for now, if you’re really not tired, but I want you to eventually get some sleep too – so you know you will,” he pointed out.
    My eyes narrowed at him and my fingers crept up to my chest to clench the warm amber of my necklace. “You can only make me sleep if I want to – and I don’t. I want to stay awake with you and I don’t want it to affect me either,” I challenged.
    He smiled. “It’ll be a good test of your control then. Let’s see how you do.”
    His confidence was extremely aggravating and only served to make me more determined – perhaps that was his intention though.
    Sebastian and I stayed awake and talked for hours. I watched as the sun slowly moved lower across the sky, eventually sinking out of sight and leaving its heat smoldering on the horizon in a flare of color. We quietly talked and joked throughout the night, the guilt and tension that had arisen between us disappearing as quickly as it came. I felt surprisingly happy and victorious as I leant against his shoulder and watched the sun rise the following morning. I was exhausted and stiff from sitting in the bus seat all night but I had done it. I was awake and definitely not as tired as I should have been.
    “Was it your magic that overpowered mine or your stubbornness?” Sebastian asked me teasingly as we watched the golden rays spread out from the eastern horizon. We were traveling along Highway 17/18 and had just passed through Sault Ste. Marie. We should be in Toronto that evening, in about twelve more hours.
    I smiled and kept my voice deliberately light. “I’m not stubborn.”
    “Of course not,” Sebastian agreed grinning. “How about we hop off at the next gas station and buy some breakfast?”
    “That sounds like a great plan!” My stomach grumbled delicately in agreement. A gas station breakfast of coffee, doughnuts and cold sandwiches sounded delicious to me.
    It was a few more hours before the bus stopped to refuel, giving all the passengers a chance to get off and stretch our legs. Sebastian and I bought a huge bag full of gas station foods – enough so that we would have three full and junk-laden meals that day. Once we were back on the bus, our stomachs full and our coffee cups empty, I did start to feel a little more tired. I reclined my chair slightly and was surprised when Sebastian did the same, pulling one of our dirty and worn blankets from his bag to drape over us (the air-conditioning had started to raise goose bumps on my arms).
    I raised my eyebrows at Sebastian. “Going to take a nap?”
    “No, but I thought I’d watch you sleep for a while and get some rest vicariously.”
    “Ha-ha.” My sarcasm was ruined by a rather large and long yawn. “I’m just going to rest my eyes,” I warned. “You better not let me fall asleep.”
    “I wouldn’t dream of it.” I could hear the amusement in Sebastian’s voice but could only guess at his smirk as my eyes were already closed. I was rapidly being lulled to sleep by the bus engine’s steady hum and Sebastian’s nearby warmth.
    I really must have been exhausted for I slept deeply for most of the