I groaned and picked up the bikini bottoms that had been left in the fitting room. Today was the beginning of our swimsuit sale, and the customers had been a nightmare. It wasn't enough to complain when we were out of their sizes, a few had to yell at me like it had been some kind of personal attack on them. We had finally reached a calm point in the day; it was just before dinner time and most people had gone home to their families. Glancing at my watch I smiled at the realization that I only had a few more minutes of my shift. Though I hated the big rushes, they were good for passing the time. I walked around clearing all the leftover clothes in the fitting rooms, gracious that it wasn't as much as I had thought.

The dreams continued, but without the figure appearing. The night before the party was the last time I saw it. I took solace in the fact that I was alone again, but a part of me wished it was still with me. It offered something to do, to think about when I was stuck there. The time alone was not an escape for me, but a time for all the troubling thoughts I had suppressed in my waking life to come to the forefront of my mind. I supposed it wasn't so bad. Though the dreams forced me to spend time thinking about sad things, they also gave me a chance to heal.

I walked up to the small office at the front of the store, announcing over the small walkie talkie that I would be clocking out for the day. My boss, Sadie, smiled at me from behind a desk, her short black hair reaching just past her ears. "How was today, Eisley?"

"It wasn't as bad as I would have expected." I put my equipment back on its charging station and walked over to the small row of lockers that lined the wall.

"Really? We have a few more hours until closing and we've already doubled our sales goals." She looked really excited about this, and I knew why. If we could keep surpassing our goals, she would get a big bonus at the end of the summer. I punched the code into my locker, pulling my purse and phone out, offering her a small smile as I turned back to face her completely.

She looked from her computer up at me, her excitement lessening. She shifted uncomfortably a second before speaking up again.

"Are you okay? You haven't been yourself lately." She paused for a moment, glancing between me and the computer, "I mean, you just seem a lot more mellow lately."

The lack of true rest provided from my realistic dreams had finally taken a toll on me, I supposed. As I understood it, sleep was meant for your brain to finally rest after a long day of constantly working. It didn't really get to rest when it was busy creating a whole submersive experience. Or when during said experience it was working through complex problems I didn't feel like I had the energy to think about in real life. I took little naps throughout the day when I could find time, and they were always dreamless. It was a treat I savored.

I shrugged and threw my purse strap over my shoulder, "I guess I haven't really had a chance to get a lot of sleep. Henry has been working on a new project, and he asked me to help." It wasn't a complete lie. Henry had begun to work on a new sketch comedy youtube show with a couple of our other friends, and I had been helping. In fact, I was heading over to his apartment after I left work. But it wasn't the reason for my lack of sleep.

I also knew Sadie would seize to ask questions when the subject of Henry came up. They had gone to high school together and dated for a few short, and from what I know, passionate months. It was a car crash though, and when it ended, they never spoke to each other again. Neither really spoke about it, Henry would immediately change the subject if I asked. I was thankful that Sadie didn't let her past relationship with Henry come between our work relationship. I actually considered her a bit of a friend, and even confided in her a few times.

She grimaced before a smile covered her face, "Oh. I see, well I hope it's fun! I'll let you go. See you Thursday."

I nodded, "Bye Sadie!"

The car ride from the clothing shop to Henry's apartment didn't take long at all. Since getting out of the shop, my car drove like a dream. It had ceased to stall every time I tried to turn it on, and for that I was thankful.

I parked my car and stayed seated for a few minutes, taking the time alone with myself to prepare me for what was to come. I loved my friends, but I didn't feel in the mood to deal with their antics, especially after a long day dealing with people. I was ready to go home, shower, and pass out.

Henry's apartment was nice, and if I had to move out tomorrow, I would choose to move into it. It was two stories, connected to the others only by one lonesome wall. This gave him the opportunity to be as loud as he wanted, as long as he kept it to one side. There where two bedrooms and since he lived alone, he had converted the extra to his own studio. He first moved in here with Eddie, who after a year moved out to live with his girlfriend. Henry never looked for another roommate and I was sure that he didn't want one.

Walking into the apartment I saw Katy seated on the couch with two other women I recognized as being Eddie and Tommy's girlfriends. Looking up from the TV, Katy smiled at me and patted the empty spot next to her, "Free seat if you want to join."

I glanced from her to the TV, noticing Steve Carell's face the second I looked at it. "Oh man, The Office."

A small blonde to the right of Katy spoke up, "I know you can hardly resist." Anna laughed playfully, knowing that it was one of my favorite shows. In the years since she had begun to date Eddie, she really became a part of the group. I couldn't really say the same for Lexi, who sat the farthest away from me, looking at the TV as though it was throwing insults at her. Everyone else seemed to like Lexi enough, but my experience with her was always the same. Nothing impressed her, everything was a chore.

"I would love to, but I'm here to assist the guys," I held up a bag full of body paint and makeup. Lexi threw her hand up passively, not once looking from the screen, "Yeah. Have fun with that."

I decided it was time to make my exit and headed to the spare room, where I could faintly hear heavy metal riffs and laugher. As soon as I opened the door I was greeted by the sight of Eddie standing in the corner of the room, plastic chains wrapped around his neck, mumbling along to the lyrics of the song and staring absently at the sealing. A few feet to the side stood a man I had never seen before. He was leaning with his arms propped against the wall, in only briefs, with a toilet seat around his neck. Tommy was sitting beside him, beating on his ass like they were drums. Henry was closest to the door, observing all of this with a finger to his mouth. He nodded, "And cut!"

"What the fuck is this?"

He threw his hands up and turned to face me, "ah my beautiful cousin." The man with the toilet seat necklace suddenly stood up straight and looked at me nervously. "We were just filming a dream sequence. But it's over now! And you're here! We can get back to the good stuff."

I shook my head, as if it would make what I just saw fade from my memory. From what I had seen, Henry's stuff was good. But this was just bizarre and felt almost childish. I glared at him, walking to set the bag down on a small table off to the side of the room, "I don't think you'll be on Saturday Night Live anytime soon with this." Henry just shrugged and walked over to the camera, turning it off.

"That is besides the point," I heard Tommy's whiny voice. He gestured up at the toilet necklace man, "Have you met Chris?"

Chris, the toilet seat boy, looked very uncomfortable. His hands had come to meet in the front of him, covering what the tight briefs were more than willing to show. His hair was black and sat just under his eyebrows. I don't want to say he had Justin Beiber hair, but he did. If Justin Beiber was older and more sophisticated. His eyes were set deep into his skull, brown staring back at me. His bone structure was to die for, although it could have been the result of how skinny he was, he had cheek bones that could cut you and a jawline that was just as dangerous. He had a bit of facial hair, a beginning of a beard, but I could still see the clear skin underneath.

"Hello, Chris." I smiled at him, wiping the irritation from my cousins' antics off my face.

He bowed his head slightly at me, "Hello… Eisley is it. I've never heard that. It's a very pretty name." I smiled wider at that; my name was very special to me. I had been named after Mos Eisley, a town from Star Wars. My dad was an even bigger nerd than I was, but had decided against naming me Leia, and for that I was thankful.

Chris had an English accent, which I found very interesting and different from the Texan accents that I was always around. "Why are you in Texas?"

He walked close to me, reaching to remove the seat from his neck. "I wanted to pursue my music, I felt as though London had offered me all it could." He leaned it against the wall and bent to pick up a pile of clothes that I assumed where his.

I felt self-conscious now that he was closer to me. He was a very attractive man, and I was thankful that I had thought to put on makeup before I left to work. "But Texas?"

He laughed, "I had family here. It was the easiest. I plan to eventually leave for Los Angeles." He walked out the door, presumably to put on the clothes in the restroom. As soon as the door shut behind him Tommy squealed like a twelve-year-old girl, "Oh you're gonna fuck."

I glared at him, looking around the room. I noticed Henry was standing with his arms crossed, looking like he had just won a war. Eddie was still in the corner and wiggled his eyebrows when our eyes met.

"Wait, is that why I'm here today? You guys wanted to set me up?"

Henry nodded, "It pains me to think of this, you're like my sister, but you need to get fucked."

Eddie walked from the corner of the room and put an arm around me, "We all talked about it. We think your dreams are just brought on from sexual frustration."

I dropped the eyeshadow pigment that I had held in my hand and turned to Henry, "You told them?"

He shrugged sheepishly, "We're all family here."

I was mad, though I didn't know if it was warranted. I didn't really want anyone to know about my dreams. They made me feel crazy, and I was sure when described to other people they made me sound crazier. When I had first told Henry, he swore it would be our secret. "How does me dreaming of a clearing have to do with sex? And what happened to the alien theory?"

Tommy stood, "Nothing. Sex always clears up my problems when my head gets weird though." Eddie nodded in agreement.

Henry began to move the furniture in the room around to prepare for the next scene that needed to be shot. "It's been like eight years since you got fucked, and even then, you've only done it once. You need this," He grunted as the furniture proved to be too hard for him to move on his own.

I pointed a finger at the men in the room, "I don't need anything, and I'm not doing anything." Suddenly, the door opened and Chris walked back in. Tight jeans clung to his lean frame, a loose-fitting black t-shirt covering his chest. He gave me a small smile and walked over to Henry, helping him push the small couch back against the wall.

My last relationship had ended a month before I turned twenty, we had only been together for around a year. He wasn't really the sexual type, which I always found to be odd, so we never did more than kiss and occasionally partake in some heavy petting. It turns out, he had been cheating a majority of the relationship. I had lost my virginity about three years before that, with a high school boyfriend, to Family Guy playing in the background. It hadn't been anything I expected, he was rough and I didn't get any pleasure. After that I had honestly lost interest in the act, concluding that it wasn't anywhere near as magical as all the movies made it seem. But now that I was older, I longed to experience it once more. I just didn't see myself finding anyone that I would be comfortable doing it with, and I imagined my self-consciousness would get in the way of me truly enjoying it. Because of that I promised myself I wouldn't get close to anyone or put myself in that situation until I was happy with myself. It was just proving to take a lot longer than I expected.

The rest of the night went by fairly smoothly, and we filmed about thirty minutes of reasonable footage. I had learned that Chris had a sense of humor, and wasn't as awkward as he looked when I first caught sight of him. He also had an edge to him, and was easily able to fire back at the playful insults that would occasionally be thrown his way.

I decided I should head home sometime after midnight, and Chris insisted on walking me to my car. I noticed Henry glance over at us when the suggestion was made, but he quickly feigned disinterest, waving me off.

I threw a pillow at him, "Okay, see you later jerk."

Chris laughed at this and followed me to the door, a hand meeting the small of my back. I stiffened but continued to walk, opening the door. Tommy and Eddie as well as their girlfriends had all left a few hours ago, Lexi had become irritated at staying out so long. Katy was still there though, and I wondered if she would be staying the night. I smiled at her over my shoulder as she came up to close and lock the door behind Chris and I.

We walked in silence before I reached my car, "Well, bye I guess." I cringed at how awkward it sounded, looking up at his face. His skin was pale, and the moonlight bounced off of it. He gave a small laugh and pulled out his phone, "I would like your number so that we could talk more?"

My mouth fell open for a second, shocked that he was actually interested in me. I had some good qualities, but an English musician, with razor cheekbones? He could get worlds better than me. I shook off my insecurities and smiled up at him, "Oh, yeah. Sure."

After the exchange, Chris peered down at me thoughtfully. Leaning over slightly, he planted a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth. It only lasted a second before he pulled away, exposing his white teeth in a toothy grin. I blushed up at him and moved a stray piece of hair from my face, "Bye Chris."

He began to walk backwards away from me, towards his own car. "I'll give you a call soon, Eisley."

I smiled and stood still for a second, waiting until he turned from me completely to bring a hand to my mouth, feeling where his lips had just been. My first kiss in almost five years was not disappointing at all, but sweet and tender.

Getting in my car, I looked up noticing movement in my peripheral vision. I had parked right outside of Henry's apartment, my car facing the window in his living room. From a slit in the blinds I saw Henry's beady eyes staring back at me, and when our eyes met, I lifted my middle finger. His eyes pulled upwards as though he had started to smile.

It didn't take long for me to fall asleep when I finally got into bed. I drifted off to my utopia with ease, letting the feeling of the wind wash over me. I waited a second before I opened my eyes, only to let out a scream at what I saw when I finally did.

A man stood over me, and I recognized him -only from his braids- as the being from the trees. I was glad that he wasn't the monster I had theorized he would be, but at that moment I wished he had been. He jumped back but held his footing, as though he didn't expect me be even be alive but was also prepared in case I was. I noticed his dark eyebrows were pulled together in confusion as he gazed down at me curiously with his head tilted only slightly to the side.

I also noticed how attractive he was. His long hair looked almost silver up close, and not a strand was out of place as it framed his square face. His cheekbones where almost as striking as Chris' but softer. I could have gotten lost in his sea blue eyes had I not been terrified of who they belonged to. I began to wonder if this was Heaven, and some angel was standing before me. He stood up straight and cleared his face of any emotion in only a few seconds.

"Yan naa lle?" Though it sounded like a lullaby, his voice held an authoritative tone that scared me more than I already was. When I didn't reply after a few moments, he repeated himself in a yell, "Yan naa lle!"

I flinched and scooted away from him slowly, trying to understand the words he was saying to me. I worked through my brain, and decided that it sounded like a mixture of French and Italian. Unluckily for me, I only knew a handful of French, and no Italian at all. I began to shake my head when he took a step toward me, "I don't understand!" Up until this moment, I had never spoken out loud when I was in my dream world. I didn't feel a need to as I thought I was alone. A part of me was also nervous that if I did speak, I would immediately wake up or find that my throat wouldn't produce the sounds. So when I was able to scream at the man, I was just as shocked as he looked.

He clenched his jaw and eyed me wearily, "What is your name?"

I let out a relieved sigh at his use of English. At least I was able to understand him, and had a chance at proving I wasn't a threat. Letting out a soft laugh, I pondered the thought. Here I was, in a dream world with a man, worrying about proving to him that I, a young adult woman in only a light dress, was not the threat. It should have been the other way around, but maybe the misogyny experienced in my daily life was just that embedded into my psyche.

"My name is-ah." When I began to say my name, I couldn't breathe. It was as though my throat burned and clenched at and held the air hostage as the word formed within me. After trying for a few seconds, I decided to give up. It had begun to hurt me more each time I pushed myself to speak my name. "I don't think I can say it." He raised one eyebrow, and then nodded slowly.

I decided then was the time to get off the ground, and made a move to stand on my own. The man didn't offer to help but instead stayed planted a few feet away from me, keeping his gaze on my face. The stare didn't break when I had stood fully straight. He studied me carefully, his eyes moving from my head to my toes and back up again. It felt as though I was a dog being rated at some high-class dog show. I didn't like the feeling of being studied, especially not when it was done so openly. Nervously I brought my hands together in front of me and began playing with the sleeves of my dress. "Do you know where we are?" I asked after a few moments.

He nodded, "The forest of my people, just outside our gates. There are few places left here that hold this much life."

My breath caught in my throat. Suddenly all I could think of was Henry and aliens. "Your people?" This was it, the confirmation I was seeking. Though I knew if he said he was an alien, I would write it off as my brain creating a dream out of the idea Henry had fed me in my daily life.

"Elves of Mirkwood. Have you never heard of us?"

My gaze left his face and traveled to his ears. I had only just noticed they were pointed, and cursed myself for overlooking that fact for so long. It started as a small giggle that escaped my mouth, then grew into a soundless laugh that caused tears to flow down my face. I was astounded. Shocked that my brain was able to develop this other world while I was supposed to be asleep. This was how Stephanie Meyer wrote Twilight, how J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter, through ideas that began as dreams. Perhaps if I wrote this down, I could make a name as a world-famous author. I could drop out of graduate school, quit my job as a retail employee and finally move to London like I had always dreamed of. Maybe if I was lucky, I could buy a castle and fill it with cats, never speaking to anyone again much like Enya.

My laughter only irritated the man, and he crossed his arms angrily but stayed silent. After a few more minutes I calmed down, the thought crossing my mind that maybe I had been an elf in this scenario as well. My hair was always down, and my ears were covered by it every time I caught a glance of myself in the small stream. Truthfully, I had tried to stay away from the stream. It gave me an eerie feeling every time I was close to the water. As I began to raise my hands to my ears the man spoke again, "I can assure you that you are no elf."

There was a fire in his voice that burned me the second I heard his words. He meant it as an insult, that much was clear. I let my hands fall back to my sides before they reached their original destination. I took in his appearance once more. His lean but seemingly muscular body that was mostly hidden under layers of clothes, and his angelic face. He towered over me, more so than he did when he was in the trees. Perhaps all 'elves' were this perfect.

I glared at him and spoke softly, "I guess even in my dreams guys are assholes."

He scoffed, "I believe you laughed at me." He was quiet for a second more before he continued again. A look of concern washed over his features, "You are dreaming as well?"

"As well?" I became worried. In the small chance that this was real, it was quite strange that I was somehow meeting with some 'elf' that was also dreaming. This was all beginning to feel too much like The Matrix meets Inception, and I wanted no part in either of those scenarios.

"I do not sleep often. I found myself to be in the woods there "-He pointed behind me to the spot where I had first saw him- "a fortnight ago during one of my slumbers. It was unlike any dream I've ever had. The next few nights I forced myself to rest if only for a moment. I found I had no strength here and concluded it was due to the needless sleep. I waited until I would benefit before trying again today."

So, he could only move about in the dreams when he was truly tired. I wondered if this was the same for me, but seeing as though I was always tired, there was no chance I could test this theory out anytime soon. It suddenly made sense why he hadn't been in my dreams, but it didn't explain why we were having them. I grimaced immediately at the thought of 'we'. He wasn't real. This wasn't real. It was a joke. Maybe my brain fulfilling the thirst for adventure I had buried deep inside of me, but it wasn't real. There was no 'we'. There was only me.

He noticed my grimace and his gaze became hard again, "Is there an issue?" It took me awhile to figure out what I was going to say, my mouth opening and closing again.

"Yes, there is. Why am I in your world when I sleep?"

He became confused once more at this, "You are not from Arda?"

I pulled my brows together, my head moved back slightly. I had never heard this word before, and it scared me because it did sound like some of the 'hidden planet' names I had found when I was searching the internet for information on aliens. This realization caused me to panic, "No, I've never heard of it or Mirthwood! Elves are a myth where I am from!"

The man looked offended, "Mirkwood. Once Greenwood the Great."

I threw my hands up and held on to the top of my head. My breathing picked up and I felt my throat begin to close. "When I sleep, I am in a whole new world -one I've never heard of-, and you're worried about how I say a name? You say you are dreaming as well, so shouldn't we be trying to figure out how this is happening instead?"

His expression softened only a little, "I suppose you are correct." He sat down on the ground just under his feet, his legs crossed under him. I looked down at him for a moment, and his gaze met mine expectantly. When I didn't move, he patted the ground beside him, a gesture for me to sit as well.

So I did, but not beside him. I sat down where I was a few feet across from him. He rolled his eyes before he began to speak, "Truthfully, I have never known this to happen. Not even in stories. When I wake up, I will ask my elders if they are aware of such a thing."

"Yea, I've never heard of it either. I've already looked pretty in depth about the lore surrounding dreams where I am from when these began for me. Unlike you, I need rest, and I haven't been able to truly sleep since I've started having these."

He gave me a soft sympathetic smile and I felt my heart flutter before I began to scold myself. Now was not the time to be noticing how attractive the elf was. Now was the time to gather information so that when we woke up, we could find more pieces to this nightmare of a puzzle.

It was silent for a moment before I spoke again, "Why are we in your world and not mine?"

He tilted his head and looked upwards at the sky above us, something I had never thought to do. When I did, I felt like my heart was going to explode. I had never seen so many stars at once. It was the most beautiful night sky I had ever looked at. I realized then that it had been night during all my dreams, not dusk or dawn. The forest itself was giving off the glow I thought was light.

"You said Elves are a myth in your world, I suppose magic is as well?"

I nodded, but knew he was not looking at me so I decided to speak, "As far as I know."

He let out a sigh that was so soft I felt my ears strain to hear it. He looked back down from the sky to me, "Here it is very real. I believe the magic of my world might be at fault."

This was all starting to be too much for me. Everything felt too real. I felt overwhelmed; this dream felt like it was longer than the ones before it. Maybe it was because now I had a companion to share the time with, but it was beginning to worry me. I began to play with my hair, taking it to the side I started to braid it absentmindedly. He raised an eyebrow at me before turning his head back up to the night sky. We stayed silent for a few moments more.

The ground around me started to sparkle, and I became panicked. It can't end now; we hadn't figured anything out. Who knew when he would be tired enough to see me again and tell me what he had learned? A smaller part of me, one I was trying to ignore, was also scared of the thought that I would have to spend more nights in this clearing alone.

Everything went black. It was over.

A/N: This one is for all the readers but more importantly for RozenMaiden14: Thank you for your review! I appreciate your input- I am trying to show more of Eisley's character when she is in her natural environment, so that when her character begins to develop it holds more weight. I'm trying very hard to avoid a mary sue, as well as the common tropes I have read in LotR fanfics (shamelessly I will admit some of my favorites follow that pattern). I weighed adding Chris into the story for awhile, which is why this update took longer, but I wanted a glaring contrast of how relationships progress on Earth vs Middle Earth. A bit of a spoiler alert: He serves a bigger purpose than is initially realized.

I've also added a new cover image for this fic. It is how I picture Eisley much later in the story.

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!