Anna's house always felt different when Lily and Linda were around.
Louder. Warmer. Lived in.
By 7 p.m., her bedroom floor was covered with snack wrappers, half-opened bags of popcorn, and three pillows that none of them were actually using properly.
Lily was lying on her stomach, scrolling through her phone. Linda sat cross-legged near the window, quietly peeling the label off a bottled drink. Anna leaned against her bed frame, pretending not to notice the way both of them were staring at her.
Lily was the first to speak.
"So," she dragged the word dramatically. "Who was he?"
Anna blinked. "Who was who?"
"Don't act," Lily said, throwing a pillow lightly at her. "We saw you. In the hallway. With a boy."
Linda looked up now, her eyes curious but calm.
Anna rolled her eyes. "It's nothing."
Lily gasped. "Nothing? Since when are you walking beside boys in school and it's 'nothing'?"
"He's just in my class," Anna said. "His name is Gabriel. He needed somewhere to sit. That's it."
Linda tilted her head slightly. "You were laughing."
"I was not."
"You were smiling," Lily corrected. "Which is very close."
Anna tried not to smile again. "He's just a friend."
Lily sat up straighter. "This is the first time we've seen you talk to a boy without looking like you want to disappear."
"That is not true."
"It is very true," Lily insisted.
Linda finally spoke, her voice softer but steady. "Do you like him?"
The room went quiet for half a second.
Anna shook her head immediately. "No. He's just normal. That's all."
"Normal is good," Linda said thoughtfully.
Lily pointed at her. "Exactly. Normal is how it starts."
Anna groaned and threw a pillow back at her. "You people are so dramatic."
They laughed, and the tension disappeared just as quickly as it had come.
The conversation drifted to other things — teachers they disliked, an embarrassing moment in assembly, the new transfer student everyone was speculating about.
Then Lily suddenly sat up again like she had remembered something important.
"Oh! Speaking of dramatic — our birthday."
Anna blinked. "Your birthday is in two weeks."
"Yes," Lily said proudly. "And it's going to be big."
Linda sighed quietly beside her.
Anna looked between them. "Big how?"
"Our parents are planning a joint birthday party," Lily explained. "At our house. Like… the full thing. Catering, decorations, DJ."
Anna raised her eyebrows. "A DJ?"
Lily grinned. "Yes. And we're inviting basically the whole school."
Linda finally put her drink down. "Not the whole school," she corrected gently. "Just most of it."
"That's the same thing," Anna said.
Linda shrugged slightly. "I told them I didn't think it needed to be that big."
Lily flopped back dramatically. "She wanted something 'small and meaningful.'"
Linda gave her a look. "I just don't see the point of inviting people I don't even talk to."
Anna smiled faintly. That sounded like Linda.
"But it's already planned," Lily continued. "So now we're committing."
She leaned forward suddenly. "And you are coming. No excuses."
"Obviously," Anna said. "You didn't even need to ask."
"Good," Lily said, satisfied.
Linda studied Anna for a moment. "You'll have fun."
Anna hesitated slightly. Big parties weren't really her thing. But she nodded anyway. "I'll try."
"Try?" Lily gasped. "You're dancing."
"We'll see."
The lights eventually went off, but the talking didn't stop immediately.
It never did during sleepovers.
They whispered about random childhood memories. About how they used to fight over silly things. About how different school felt this year.
Slowly, one by one, their voices faded.
Anna didn't know when the dream started.
She was walking down a hallway.
Not her school hallway.
Longer. Quieter. The lights flickered softly above her.
She could hear footsteps behind her.
Not loud. Just enough to make her aware she wasn't alone.
She turned.
No one was there.
But something felt present.
Further down the hallway, she noticed a figure standing at the end.
Not clear enough to see a face.
Not exactly a shadow either.
Just… someone standing there.
Watching.
She tried to move closer, but the hallway seemed to stretch, growing longer the more she walked.
Her chest tightened.
"Anna."
The voice echoed, but she couldn't tell where it came from.
Then everything blurred.
"Anna."
Her eyes snapped open.
The room was dark except for the small nightlight near her desk.
Lily was sitting up beside her.
"You were talking," Lily whispered. "Like… properly talking."
Anna swallowed, trying to steady her breathing. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."
"Are you still having those dreams?" Lily asked quietly.
There was no teasing in her voice now.
Anna looked at the ceiling. "It's nothing."
"You've said that before," Lily replied gently.
Linda shifted from her side of the mattress. She was awake too.
"Maybe it's just stress," Lily continued. "School. Exams. Everything."
Anna didn't respond.
"Maybe we should try seeing a therapist," Lily added softly. "Just to talk. It doesn't mean something is wrong. It could just be anxiety."
Linda's voice came from the darkness, calm and thoughtful.
"Or maybe dreams mean something else."
They both looked at her.
Linda rarely spoke in moments like this.
"Sometimes," she continued quietly, "they're not about fear. Sometimes they're about things we're not ready to think about when we're awake."
The room fell silent again.
Anna forced a small smile. "I'm fine. Really."
Lily reached over and squeezed her hand anyway.
"Okay," she whispered. "But if you're not, you tell us."
Linda nodded in agreement.
Anna closed her eyes again.
This time, she didn't dream.
But the feeling of that hallway stayed with her — lingering quietly in the back of her mind.