Tilly rolled slightly, but there was nowhere to go on such a small bed. When she moved, one of the buttons on her pyjama top must have come undone, because she felt the bear's fur against her collarbone. Felt nice.

 

Wait... weird. Another button must have come loose, because now she could feel that softness against her chest, against her belly. Did she forget to button her top in the first place? Because now her pyjama shirt fell open, and the bear was right up against her body, his lovely fur cuddled against her bare breasts.

 

And then she heard something strange... like a growl, but not a growl? More like a man saying, "Mmm..."

 

Tilly opened the covers, and her teddy bear looked up at her with an expression of surprise, like he'd been caught doing something naughty. She gasped. "What are you doing, Teddy?"

 

"Shhh," he said. "You don't want to wake your roommate."

 

"Did you just... talk?"

 

"Quiet down," the bear said. "She can't hear me, but she can certainly hear you."

 

"This is crazy," Tilly whispered. "Am I dreaming?"

 

The bear shrugged. "Sure, if that's what you want to think."

 

"Well, how else could..."

 

"Shhh!"

 

She lowered her voice. "How else could a bear be talking to me?"

 

"Maybe I'm real."