Dreaming With Meds
Title: Dreaming with Meds
Author: Captain_Backfire
Word Count: 2K
Summary:"I can't sleep without them" she states as she rattles the small bottle in her thumb and index finger.
"Well", he sighs, " this might help?"
Tags: streetlamp, pre-inception, OCxOC, unstable minds, young architect, Robert Fischer, vignette
Rated: Teen (because of naughty swear words)
Edited & Published: September 16th, 2012
Much like a moth to the flame, she couldn't stop herself.
With quick and quiet steps- save for the occasional 'crunch' of the gravel on the abandoned road- she steps out of the darkness of night and into the warm orange-yellow glow of the street lamp. She cranes her neck to gaze at the bulb, under the clear and protective shade, only to be met with the orange light. How alluring it seemed; how its call did nothing but enchant her.
"Odd place for a street lamp- dontcha think?" A smooth, baritone voice interrupts the call of the street lamp.
Without losing her focus on her subject, she sighs- familiarity.
The gravel crunches, louder and with more frequency, as the baritone steps into the spell of the light.
She notes, sadly, how ineffective it is to him.
"Josie", the voice calls out again, placing a hand on her shoulder, ultimately undoing all the lights powers and control in beckoning and holding her in there.
She wonders briefly if it is intentionally done out of concern, friendship, or plain impatience. She turns to meet the master of the baritone.
"Walt" Josie says quietly as off in the distance the landscape is improved with a dozen more trees.
Walt's gaze is suddenly focused on the addition of the greenery; his hand still gently holding her shoulder. Josie sighs once more, the time or place is not right at all, and only with his sudden appearance is she met with more urgency.
Walt's attention is suddenly back to where his hand is placed and although he fails to remove it, he smiles weakly. (Josie notices the hint of nervousness.) " You do realize that we are trying to earn a bit of money here, not run the subject off- terrified- right?" he jokes, with a hint of condescension in his tone, which he plays off coolly.
Josie, for a brief moment, glances at Walt debating whether to let him know. That no, she isn't practicing building or being in someone else's subconscious for the purpose of passing an audition. She is not aiming to build a maze that will confound and hide the subject's most intimate thoughts, and land her team with Walt a great job; a job that entails not only more business opportunities unique to their skills, but more money in their pockets. Without this job, they would be mere beggars once again, and Josie would lay awake at night staring into space, in the spaces of the highway underpasses, and dark alleys they would call home, imagining and confusing her surroundings. They would rest in trashy places, and she would be haunted by the street lamps when she closed her eyes thus leading to her confusion and most importantly little to no dreamless sleeping.
She imagines the conversation, if she told him the true purpose of her late night 'hits'.
'Oh Walt, I am not practicing' she would slip out with an uncharacteristic smirk, and he would look at her as if she was crazy. She would then produce a pill vial from her pocket and hold in in her fingers.
'I can't dream without them' Josie would state, clearing the air as she rattles the small bottle.
He would casually retort "Well, this might help"-approving of her addiction to the sedative by referring her to a new and more powerful drug.
The shifting of the landscape, as well as Walt's jumping from the sudden movement, revives Josie from her wishful thinking.
"Jesus, Josie! What the hell was that?!" He barks out, somewhat scared.
She -for a brief moment- glances at him in confusion, before his words take full fruition in her mind.
She feigns confusion as she says, "What?"
Walt turns to her in shock, but seemingly picking up on her little 'pretend emotion' explains anyway. "Weren't you practicing for the big audition tomorrow? Do you not remember what this sedative is here for?" He allows for a moment of pause in his explanation for Josie to respond, but in that instance she is frightened that he sees straight through her. He continues anyway. "Robert wants security not…ominous creepy and suspicious thieves lurking under street lamps!"
At this moment Walt removes his hand and gestures to the streetlamp while staring at it as if it is going to attack them. Josie eyes him warily as he continues to stare, her gaze calm and focused. Her mind, however, is goading; daring him to recognize, to question and formulate as to why they are under the streetlamp in the first place.
She recalled mentioning it to him- in one of their late night 'sessions' where she would ask him to take her grocery shopping and to see him; only to be in his presence and share insight was the true purpose of their 'sessions' and it was during one of them that this particular piece of the past had materialized. Jose had described a few times over coffee, frozen yogurt, and even full meals the paradox of comfort and displeasure the streetlamp had caused. In many of her dreams, when she did dream, it was a point of relaxation as it signaled a place she once called home; other times it was cause for concern, as it meant digging up painful memories of the past and things she wished she never had to live through. The familiarity of its manifestation and the light it emitted brought all of her sensations alive, made her alert to danger, but most importantly distracted her. For many a dream, whether shared or solo, built of Josie's own accord or of another architect's abilities, the streetlamp was there, shining day or night, crashing waves of serenity and chaos over her artificial being. To Josie, this blessing and curse took her attention, and confounded her. Never did she know the meaning, but always was it in attendance.
Broken from her thoughts- again because of Walt's physical contact of his hand returning to its position on her shoulder- the object of her thoughts dissipated, launching the pair into the dark.
"J-josie! Seriously! What in god's name?!" Walt calls out, his voice full of panic, as he relinquishes his hand from her shoulder to cover his frightened form.
The warmth left by his hand is still on her shoulder, as she imagines that Walt's hand was only returned to protect himself from the things only he imagines are in the darkness.
She exhales heavily, as if breathing has become a chore, and fabricates a well-lit building not too far from where they are standing.
"Come to the shack" she commands, almost bored, as she gropes for where his hand should be in the dark. Josie is rewarded with his warm hand, along with a small scrape against his mouth which is agape.
"Ew, Walt" she declares, as she leads the way.
"Ew?! Ughk- I should be saying that! Just how clean are your hands?"
"Oh, as if it matters", Josie mutters and lets out something that can only express her annoyance.
The crunch of gravel under their feet, slowly fades as the soft pads of their shows against the grass take them to the next source of light.
Walt leans the majority of his weight against his laborious steps, only adding to the effect that Josie truly is dragging his terrified form to the light. They reach the building and the sliding door she fabricated, opens and closes it, signaling their entrance. Inside a ridiculously white, bright room sits two dark mahogany stools with a contemporary table made of the same wood. Walt notices the simplicity of it all, the obvious contrast of colors, and nods.
"I really dig this décor, Josie" Walt draws out, as if it pains him to give her a compliment.
She scoffs but notices her disguise is working. How simple it was to fool him into believing she was practicing instead of losing her mind.
Jose then removes her hand from his and makes her way to the stools and table. Walt stays by the door, face aghast as she has blatantly ignored his 'hilarious' comment, and grumbles. Quietly she settles herself in and places one arm on the table and the other under her chin as if she is needlessly bored. Walt, giving up on gauging any sort of reaction out of her, joins her at the table.
"Now we are in a hurry to get work, I see" he says as he pulls out some papers from his coat packet to place on the table. When a moment passes, and no response is heard he continues "What distracted you anyway, Josie-cat?"
Josie furrows her brow; she doesn't know whether to be more offended by the nickname or by his ignorance to one of her most and unwanted forms of nostalgia. Talking a moment to consider her battle, Walt quickly asks in sincere concern, "What's wrong?"
Narrowing her eyes, she says "Don't call me that- it makes it sound as if this relationship is more than platonic".
Walt smirks, (Josie notes, like a shithead) and retorts "Isn't that the point?"
Josie continues her narrowed gaze, as Walt barks out a laugh as if he is the only comedian on the planet. She takes that moment to turn her attention out to the sliding door to where the street lamp once was, noting its rare absence.
Like an expert, Walt breaks her thoughts- "Well how are we to build a maze to land this audition?"
Josie sighs; missing something only half remembered and turns her attention to Walt.
"I assure you, Mr. Fischer-"
"Please, call me Robert" a smooth voice cuts in.
Josie makes a mental note of the knack for interruptions before she continues.
"Yes, sir, Robert. I can assure you. Walt, our crew, and I will show the extent of dream sharing, and how to prepare you in the case of extraction. We were a part of elite military scientists, and our guidance will provide you security against any threat." Josie knows she should be nervous as the words seep out of her mouth, as the moment of truth has finally arrived; emotionally, however, she is drawing a blank.
"Just say the word, Robert, and we will begin", Walt says, his attention suddenly resting on the client.
After a pause, Robert questions, "Protection from anyone?"
Josie takes a mental note of the pause before Walt answers "Only elite extractors and architects could get past our walls, and even if they did, they would be looking for something fabricated or do something impossible." Walt chuckles, lifting the not yet formed awkwardness in the air. The crew looks at Robert as he says: "Very well. Let's give it a try." Josie stares at Robert and his shifting beautiful green eyes as the confusing flurry of preparation goes on around him. She jumps a bit, but instantly recognizes Walt's hand as he places it on his perch, on her shoulder.
He gives her his award winning (By 'award- winning' she means shit eating.) smirk, and says "It's go time". Soon she too, is strapped in and ready. The signal is given and like many dream inducing sleeps before, she is soon out of reality and in her own fabricated dream-space.
The seemingly never ending nature of the skyscraper blocks the majority of the 'natural light' of the city, but Josie can still see Walt and the few crew members that have joined them in this particular dream. They all gather their bearings, and begin to cross through the gate, and other subconscious projections that have established themselves at the entrance of the building. Josie cranes her neck to attempt to see its root, but Walt chooses then to approach her. He places a hand on her shoulder and says, "Super bank, huh? I can't wait to see inside. Suppose Robert is-"Josie looks to him, genuinely confused as to why he didn't finish, but is only met with his solemn and staring face. She follows the path of his gaze, and exactly where they appeared into the dream, is a streetlamp, emitting the all too familiar orange light.
Notes:
Well I get really shitty sleep, and this thought organized itself during one of my late night sleep-induced-by-movies escapades. I apologize as it does not include much about the movie, just gorgeous Robert, and people I made up. I hope it was somewhat interesting.
I am posting this here, as I await archive of our own to do something. Here goes nothing!