Duke Crocker awoke with a start, his dark hair matted to his forehead by sweat. Looking sideways, he saw the illuminated numbers on the face of his alarm clock- 1:23 am. He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of his bed, resting his feet on the cold floor of his bedroom. He was mildly disoriented as the memories of the dream that had awoken him slid like smoke from his brain, until only one thing was left- a memory of a girl. He cursed quietly as her face swam into view, and all those memories of her came flooding back. It had been a long time since he had even allowed himself to think of her, and now she was sneaking into his dreams.
He stood, walking expertly across the storm pitched floor of his boat, he made his way to the kitchen for a glass of water, trying to shake her from his mind. She- for he wouldn't allow himself to think her name- had been gone for a long time, and he wouldn't allow her to come back and ruin everything. A fork of lightning lit the whole room, and Duke dropped his glass, spraying water and shards of broken glass over the floor. He whipped around, staring at the empty room. He spun back to the reflective surface of the microwave, hunting for a trace of what he was sure he had seen.
He cursed again, carefully walking across the floor until he was past his mess. He would clean it up later. For now, he really needed to get her out of his brain. He stalked back to his bed, violently pulling back the covers and crawling in. He was so angry that he was suddenly losing his grip over himself. She wasn't allowed. As he drifted off, he tried not to dwell on the round, sweet face of a girl he had known, of her petite nose and large, round eyes. She wasn't allowed.
_
Across town, Nathan Wuornos awoke coated in sweat, his sheets tangled. He glanced at his alarm clock- 1:23 am. With a groan, he untangled himself and sat up, his feet hitting the cold floor. He tried to remember the dream that was quickly slipping away, but the harder he tried to remember, the harder it was to hold on to the details. With another frustrated groan, he managed to recall only one thing clearly- her. He had fought so hard to forget her, and now she was cropping up in his dreams? He stood up suddenly, walking out of his room and into his bathroom, turning on the lights. He shielded his eyes from the light until they were adjusted, and went about his business of relieving himself.
After he finished, he washed his hands, which were trembling. It had been so long since he'd thought about her and that day... He gave a startled yelp as the lights flickered out. 'Damn storm.' he thought grumpily, turning off the water and drying his hands by feel. A fork of lightning suddenly filled the room with light, and caused his heart to leap into his throat. He studied her face in the light while it briefly lent it's aid, and in the ensuing darkness, he turned around. Those impossibly blue eyes burned into his brain as they had- no, he wouldn't think about then. His eyes adapted to the dark, and, as he had expected, there was no one there.
With a sigh, Nathan walked back into his bedroom, crawling between the sheets wearily. As much as he wanted to forget her, it was inevitable. No matter how hard he tried, she always managed to creep back in. But, back then, things had been the same after all. She had always managed to find her way into his thoughts, her gentle face and light laughter distracting him. But that had been a long time ago. After all, it was 2009, for goodness sake! She should be kept where she came from- the past. He fell to sleep, a deep slumber pulling him under.