Waking Dreams

Nick lets out a surprised "Eh?" and looks around her. There's sauce all over the place. He tries not to laugh and takes a seat where there's less sauce, a few feet away from her. He leans his back against the wall and holds his hands behind his head, looking up at the clouds. He starts mentally turning them into monsters or islands, inhabiting them with people. He chuckles to himself over his imagination.

"Oh, right. How did you manage to get sauce everywhere, anyway?" He asks, knowing half the story already. He figured it would be weird to let on that he watched the whole thing.
 
Alyssa simply watched Nick for a moment as he sat down. A person was sitting with her and not doing it just to mock her or torment her, and it wasn't a teacher or a family member. She thought that she might die of shock. What was weirder was that she had even invited him to do it. Was today a day of the twisted or what? Her mother would have a stroke if she could see her daughter now.


"I tripped," she murmured, looking down and picking up a breadstick. She knew better than to point fingers at her tormentors. It just made everything worse the next time around. She broke the stick in half and nibbled on it thoughtfully, wondering what Nikki would look like with pasta sauce all over her ever-so-perfect face.
 
Nick shifts his eyes to the girl. "Ahhh. I hate when that happens." He crosses his arms and continues making shapes with the clouds. He knew she was lying, it just had to be for a reason. It was too troublesome with too low of a payoff to press it any further. He sighs to himself. He just wants the day to end so he can take those pills. A ray of sun peeking out from the clouds blasts him with warmth. He closes his eyes and feels the light on his eyelids. Feeling warm and comfortable in the soft grass, he starts to doze off, nodding his head down, and eventually falls asleep there under the window of the school.
 
"Yeah, me too," she murmured, so softly that she wasn't even sure if he heard it. She ate in silence, looking up to see that he was dozing in his seat. On one hand, she knew that she should wake him, but the bell was going to ring soon and he'd probably wake up when it did. There were only a few classes left now, and she had nothing important to go to. If only she didn't care about her grades, then she could just cut class and go home, maybe take a nap. No point in pretending she could do something fun and have a social life, even when she was fantasizing about being careless enough to leave early.
 
Suddenly the bell rings, and Nick jumps awake. He looks around and remembers that he fell asleep during lunch. He shakes the sleep out of his head and stretches before rocking onto his feet and standing up. He looks over to the girl and stretches his hips.
"Well, I guess I'll see you around then. Or not. Whatever's cool," He waves her off, spinning around and walking back towards the entrance that was closest to his next class.

After lunch was Calculus. He was awful at math. Horrendous, even. All he does during calc is doodle in his notebook. His doodles aren't the best, but they've improved since he started drawing all his dreams instead of writing them. Even though it wasn't necessary, because he still remembers it clearly, he starts to draw the monster from the dream he had in English. It's nothing close to the way he saw it in his dream, but he wouldn't be wasting time in school if he could draw that well.

The rest of the day plays out without incident. After the bell dismissing the last class, he goes to his locker and nabs his bag and joins the bustling crowd, moshing his way to his bus. He stumbles bounding up the stairs. only a little too eager to get home and check the mail. For some reason, he feels like the bus was only waiting for him, and that the faster he got to his seat and sat down, the faster the doors will close and the other buses will take off. It wasn't, and he rests his head against the window, looking out to daydream. Someone takes a seat next to him, but he takes no notice. People tend to sit next to him just to talk to the people across the bus aisle. He ignores them and stares out the window.
 
"O-Okay," Alyssa stuttered in agreement as Nick suddenly jumped up and left. She got up more slowly and made her way to the bathroom to wash off her jeans and her arms. Once she had done as much as she could without taking up too much time, she went to class. Health, Physics Lab, Astrology, College Prep. All boring, all stuff that she knew already. She was pretty much on auto-pilot, and was walking back home before she knew it. As usual, her mother was still at work and had left a message on the machine saying she was spending the night in the city and would be back tomorrow night.


"Great.. Pizza for dinner, again," she muttered to herself, pulling a few twenties out of the money jar. She dialed up the pizza parlor and ordered a large pepperoni with a side of cheese breadsticks and a two-liter of soda, then flopped down on the couch and just stared at the ceiling. TV didn't interest her, but she'd probably pop in a movie once the food got there. She just folded her arms behind her head and closed her eyes, letting her mind wander toward that secret place in her head where she could be anything that she wanted to be.
 
When Nick got off the bus, he practically sprinted home. There was a package in the mailbox. He snatched it out and flipped it around. It was the package. He walks inside and takes off his shoes with his feet, reading over the package. He lets his bag slide from his shoulders and land wherever it feels natural. He walks upstairs to his room, and takes scissors from his desk drawer. He runs it through the seams, cutting the tape that sadistically and completely unnecessarily slows down the package opening process. Seriously, they only need one thing of tape, but instead every package is locked up like a model of Fort fucking Knox. He finishes with all the tape, and blindly throws his scissors to his desk. They smack against the front and fall to the floor. He'll pick them up later. He opens the package and inside is another box. It has tape on it, too.

"Oh my god, are you fucking KIDDING me?!" He overreacts, considering there's only a single piece of tape. He slips his finger under the cardboard lid and pulls it up, snapping the piece of tape in two. Inside the small box were 4 sheets with 8 capsules each. He pops one out and examines it in his palm. It had a yellow casing, and had the company name LUCITECH embedded on it. He grins and puts it back in the opened sheet. He walks to his desk and almost trips over his scissors. Cursing, he picks it up and puts it and the pills on his desk.

The instructions on the box and the website he found them on say to wait until right before bed to take the pills. "Well shit," he frowns, "What am I supposed to do until then?" He slumps down on his bed and fidgets for a while, before pulling out his PSP and booting up monster hunter. Might as well try to forget about it until it was time.
 
Alyssa had nearly fallen asleep when somebody knocked on her door. She flinched and jumped up off the couch, her pulse beating erratically. After a moment, she ran her hands through her hair and walked to the door, paying the guy and taking the food. She trudged to her kitchen and sat right there on the counter, munching a cheesestick as she woke up a bit more. After a little while, she heaped a plate with food and put the soda under her arm, then went back to the living room. As if she'd adhere to the no-food-in-the-living-room rule while her mother was gone. Pfft.


"Hmm.. Horror? No.. Suspense? Nah.. Drama, boring.. Documentary.. too predictable.." she murmured to herself as she flicked through the hundreds of movies. Finally she paused on one that was a super girly flick she had never even bothered watching. "Romantic comedy.. The lovely genre where the movie goes exactly the same every single time. Two people hate each other, something happens, they fall in love, one won't admit it, they end up together anyway. Add in some sort of amusing jokes and I'm a director," she went on, then stopped as she popped in the movie and realized she should stop talking to herself and encourage the image that she was insane further.


She settled on the couch and munched pizza for a long while as she watched the movie, slowly falling asleep where she sat.
 
After slaying the mighty Tigrex for the 50 billionth time, Nick turns his head to check the time. 10:23. A little early, but fuck it. He was anxious enough as it was, he doesn't think he'd be able to last another minute now that he knows what time it is. He signs off PSN and shuts off his PSP, putting it under his bed where it belongs. Nick isn't a superstitious guy, he'll tell you, but he read somewhere that if you put something under where you sleep, your dreams will be related to it. He doesn't let anyone know that's the reason, though, and he even tries to fool himself.

He gets up and bounds downstairs, pouring himself a glass of water and bringing it back to his room. He prays to god that it will work. Once in his room, he set his glass down on the desk. He takes the pill from the open packet and rolls it around in his hand. Taking another hopeful deep breath, he pops it into his mouth and swallows it down with some water. He drinks the rest and shivers, like he always does after taking a pill, and lays down in bed. He finds a comfortable position and does his best to fall asleep, despite his overactive excitement.
 
For as long as she could remember, Alyssa had been a very lucid dreamer. Tonight, as soon as she was asleep, she began setting up her dream as usual. Instead of the big city that she usually liked to play around in, she made a school setting and replayed that morning. When she ran into Nikki this time, it was the popular girl who was falling over and blushing and stuttering. Alyssa just smirked. Her blonde curls had been straighted out into a smooth shine, her makeup perfect to fit in any magazine. She wore a formfitting corset style top and snug jeans with heels - something that wasn't even in her real life closet.


"Oh, Nikki, I am so sorry. I didn't even see you there," she said mockingly, then kicked the girl aside and walked off with a smile. God, dreams were great for taking out frustrations. She let the school fade in a burst of flame and put her back in her usual city. It was roughly modeled after New York. She strode through the crowded sidewalk, still absently thinking about the school and how odd it had been to run into Nick so many times that day. Mid-thought, she ran into somebody who had seemed to just appear in front of her. Since nothing happened in her dream without her wanting to, she blinked a few times and frowned as she recognized Nick. Oops, her thoughts had leaked out.


"Go away," she said dismissively, waving a hand and waiting for him to vanish.
 
Nick looks around him. Surrounding him was a very large city with towering buildings. It was relatively empty for a city that size. There was only about as many people on the streets as one person would be able to walk among without getting stressed out from over crowding. Suddenly, a thought strikes him. He looked around. He consciously looked around of his own will. Before he could celebrate his victory, something bumps into him. He turns around to see a woman that looks like she came straight out of a modeling agency. She frowns at him and shoos him away. He furrows his brow.

"What the hell? You ran into me!" He frowns and scratches his face. What the hell kind of dreams does he have. He's had enough of the woman. It was stupid to have an argument with someone you dreamed up. He walks past her, making clear not to run into her again. 'Don't wanna start any dream drama.

"What kind of dream is this," He frowns. He remembers reading somewhere that people have had amazing experiences flying in dreams, and decides to try it. He gets himself ready, winding up like he's taking a big jump. He springs up, lifts off the ground, and falls flat on his face. Blushing, he gets up and brushes himself off. He winds up again, jumps up, leaves the ground, and falls on his face again.

"God dammit! What gives?!"
 
"What?!" Alyssa gasped as Nick snapped at her and walked away. That was impossible! He had to do what she wanted, this was her dream! She frowned and turned, walking after him, determined to follow him until he vanished like she commanded. Instead of going away, he was jumping up and down. Except, on the way down, he missed his feet and fell on his face. She tilted her head curiously, eying him. It was like watching somebody try to fly or something. What an idiot. She was going to walk over to him when something struck her. Nobody in their right mind would try to fly.. unless they were dreaming or insane. Nick wasn't insane.. At least she didn't think so.


"Hey," she said, frowning and walking over to him. He wasn't leaving like she ordered him to and he was acting like he thought he was dreaming. It was impossible, but.. "How did you get here? Are you asleep?" she demanded suspiciously.
 
He stands up, rubbing his hands together. He looks at the scrapes on his hands and they close up slowly, like he didn't get scraped. He grins before hearing the woman calling him from behind. He spins around to look at her and glares. "Eh? Of course I am. Stop distracting me, lady." He turns around to jump again, but remembers something he read on the internet. If he closes his eyes and spins, he can be transported somewhere else. That is, his dream will change. Maybe the woman and the city will vanish if he does it. Mentally crossing his fingers, he shuts his eyes and spins around a few times. He opens them expectantly to find himself staring in the eyes of the woman.

"Eh?"
 
Alyssa blinked a couple of times as Nick snapped at her, then smirked to herself. He didn't recognize her. Well, that would explain why he wasn't freaking out like she was right now. She crossed her arms and watched him spinning around like a moron, cocking an eyebrow when he stopped and looked at her.


"If you want to keep pretending to be a ballerina, don't let me stop you. It's strange to see you acting like a fool when you normally come off as one of the cool, half-decent guys in school," she commented, gesturing that he should by all means continue if he wanted to, while trying not to laugh.
 
He's taken aback by what she says, and grits his teeth. "Sh-shut up! it's not like I try to be like that! Stop talking, female subconscious!" He turns away and shuts his eyes again, pushing away her mocking. She's only saying those things to deter him from what he's doing, he thought. He spins again, this time revolving twice more than the last before he opens his eyes in front of her again.

"Ugh... Why isn't anything working?"
 
"Maybe because you're an idiot. Just throwing that idea out there," Alyssa offered, watching him closely. She was used to being snappish and such in her dreams, and it didn't affect her in the least now that a real person was here. At least, that's what she was going to assume was happening until proven otherwise. So, her solution was to change her appearance suddenly back to how she had looked when she got out of bed that morning. Messy curls, no makeup, a regular tshirt and pajama shorts. More closely to what she looked like in school, anyway.


"Do I look like your female subconscious now?" she asked dryly, trying hard to see if she could alter anything about him. She couldn't send him away, but he would look so funny in a leotard and frilly pink tutu..
 
Nick's face grows red with embarrassment. "I'm not an idiot! I read this online! Stop making me doubt myself, me!" He lashes out at the dream girl. What is his problem? He makes a mental note to stop being so subconsciously obnoxious. As he was thinking, the girl transforms into the girl he talked with at school. He eyes her up and down, and perks up when he hears her question, still tagged with an attitude.

"Yes, actually. People say dreams are a recollection of the day's thoughts, and I saw that girl quite a few times today," He replies, crossing his arms. "If you're so smart, anyway, why don't you show me how to do it, subconscious?"
 
Alyssa smiled a little and watched Nick as he kept referring to her as himself. It was a bit odd to be mistaken for a subconscious, really. She tilted her head as he retorted to her and demanded that she show him 'how to do it'. What, fly? Well, he probably wasn't going to be able to fly unless she let him, right? She really had no idea how this worked, but making it up as she went along seemed like the best option. Instead of showing him how, though, she just put her hands on her hips and frowned at him.


"I am not your subconscious! Jeez, if I was you, wouldn't I be a little more complimentary?! I am not a recollection, I'm Alyssa," she snapped at him crossly.
 
Nick frowns and points at her accusingly. "That's exactly what my subconscious would say! Besides, maybe I have self-confidence issues or something! If it's not that, how does this make sense?!" What she says is logically sound, but Nick will have none of it. He's not willing to accept that someone entered his dream.

He frowns and closes his eyes, holding his chin in his hand in thought. "Then again, I never did ask her name, so how would I know it's Alyssa?" He rubs his chin before opening his eyes, pointing again. "Ah, okay. I must subconsciously like the name Alyssa." Nick is a self proclaimed genius.
 
"You would know because I introduced myself in the principal's office. Or maybe it was before that, I really don't remember.." she mused to herself, then shrugged. "Nick, you're seriously an idiot. No wonder you're popular," she added, grumbling. She knew that she could say whatever she wanted now, because he didn't believe her. Which meant tomorrow when they saw each other in school, he wouldn't be upset or anything. It was all a dream. That was starting to give her ideas, and she grinned a bit as she strolled casually over to him.


"You're right. It's just a name you like. You really shouldn't have self-confidence issues since you're so cute. That's what all the girls say, maybe it's time we started believing them?" she said innocently, giving him a smile.
 
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