The bird fluttered through the twilight sky while fog escaped the lips of the teetering teen. Wirt folded his hands in to his chest to warm them. If only he had his nice comfy sweater. It'd be nicer than this ridiculous cape...that he had no recollection of putting on. What did it matter, he should've assumed it was a dream anyways. These dreams only get more and more confusing to him. He'd get a headache if he woke up this time.
Wirt sighed and decided to sit upon the dry part of the river bed. Five feet further and he would've been ankle deep in pure mud. Why was it so cold? He could barely feel his lips and the tip of his nose he assumed had gone red. The best he could do was cup his hands over his maw and warm himself with his breath. Alas, it only worked for a minute before returning to its fridged temperature.
"What am I doing here?" He grumbled to himself, picking up a small twig and digging it in to the ground. The boy continued picking up sticks and jamming them in to the dry mud until he ran out of twigs around him. Again, he sighed when he noticed a blue bird sat in front of his wall of sticks.
"You again?" He asked. The bird blinked in response. For some reason he felt ashamed. He felt as if he had let her down despite her being a bird he has no memory of meeting outside of these weird dreams. Her only request was for him to remember her name, and he couldn't. He felt like he made her sad, and he didn't want her to be sad.
"Listen..." he started. "I'm sorry I can't remember your name. I don't want to upset you, but I seriously have no memory of you whatsoever." Just saying that made him feel like a complete jerk, yet the bird remained silent.
"Please, say something so I know you're not mad at me," he begged. The bird only stared at him when he felt the familiar vine-like branch twist it's way around his foot.
"Wait...wait, please. I don't want you to be mad at me. Just give me a hint or something? Something to jog my memory? Please, anything," he pleaded trying to pry the branch from his ankle. The bird looked away and puffed her chest for a second as if she easy sighing.
"I-I'm sorry! I don't want you to be sad, just explain how I'm supposed to know you. Or tell me how we met. Please...just-". The branches wound their way up his body faster than the last time, their leaves already tickling his chin. "I'm trying to remember! I swear! Please just tell me how I know you! I can't remember!" He thrashed as the beaches tightened and once again pulled him under.

"Beatrice!"

Wirt gasped as he jerked his head from his desk, the whole class staring back at him as he panted. He felt sweat drip down in to his usual button up and sweater combo and down the side of his face. Wait, that wasn't sweat. That was drool. He quickly wiped the stream of silva from the side of his mouth and looked around nervously. The teacher, Mr. Clark, gave him a disapproval stare while everyone gaped at him. Everyone except for a certain red head who was hiding her face in her arms.
"Mr. Sanders, does it look like an appropriate time to be taking naps?" Mr. Clark asked.
"N-no sir," Wirt replied.
"Then why have you just woken up from one?"
"I-I'm sorry, sir. I must've dozed off." Wirt got redder by the minute.
"Did you have a nightmare, Wart?" Mike Fill asked, his voice as deep as a well and his face as aesthetically pleasing as a potato salad. He was a tall boy with wide, muscular shoulders and long athletic legs. Every inch of him was covered in hair and he refused to wear anything besides his football jersey and jeans. Wirt had never liked Mike. Especially after he had nickname him "Wart" in the second grade. He opened his mouth to speak only to be cut off.
"Leave him alone, you idiot," barked a snappy voice. Wirt looked up to the source to see the ginger glaring at the football player.
"Who ask you, red? Butt out," he barked right back.
"That's not my name, you dickwad," she hissed.
"Whoa there, missy, there's no need for that kinda lang-"
"Fuck off, ginger. Everyone knows you ain't got no soul so go shove that stick up your ass somewhere else," Mike continued despite Mr. Clark's protest.
"Oh please, do you really think 'ginger' insults me? And so what if I don't have a soul, that won't stop me from beating your ass to hell," she retorted. Mike laughed a short, and brisk laugh in spite.
"As if, you're a paper clip compared to me," he boasted.
"So what, meathead? You wanna fight?" She asked.
"No! There is no fighting in this schoo-"
"Hell yeah, I wanna fight. I'm gonna kick your ass to China town," Mike grinned. He'd take any chance to hit a girl. Mr. Clark opened his mouth to speak again when the red head stood up and socked Mike Fill in the nose. Wirt's jaw dropped as he blinked at what he had just witnessed.
"Fuck!" He roared, holding his hand over his nose and crimson blood dripped down his ugly face. "You little-" but he was punch again before he could finish his sentence. "Bitch!"
"Stop it!" Mr. Clark demanded. The girl looked at the teacher and then back at Wirt before storming out of the classroom and leaving it pin drop silent.
"Control your fucking girlfriend, Wirt!" Mike growled while trying to stop the blood from staining his jersey.
"S-she's not my girlfriend," Wirt stuttered in reply.
"Hey, you control your language. Get yourself to health office at once while I call the principal," Mr. Clark ordered Mike. He groaned and stood from his desk to walk out of the classroom, giving Wirt one last sneer before leaving.
"And you, young man," Clark redirected his finger to Wirt, startling him and causing his face to flush. "No more napping in class!"

Kids rushed through the halls like seagulls flocking after a bread crumb. Once the bell had freed them, they were out of control. Wirt was still trying to process what had happened in his second period. He had witnessed it before his very eyes, but he couldn't help but think he'd gone crazy. He'd have to be completely bonkers of he really thought that new girl defended him despite her rudeness the other day. What Mike had said was believable, but what she did was unfathomable. Sara had talked to him about it, so he was certain he wasn't the only one who was crazy. He couldn't decide if that was a good thing, or a bad thing...but it was definitely a thing to consider. Before splitting their separate ways, Wirt smiled at Sara and she returned with a hug. He'd never let her see, but he blushed once the pressure of her arms settled around his waist.
"I'll see you tomorrow," she smiles before hopping off to her bus.
"Okay, bye!" He called as she waved from the door. The term smiled back at the dark skinned girl. Her lovely complex was comparable to cocoa, and her smile was as wide as she could stretch. He couldn't seem to wipe off his own grin either. That is, until he felt a swift punch in his gut.
"Ow! What the-" he looked over to see the same familiar freckles and orange strands. She scowled down at him.
"Why the fuck did you shout my name in the middle of class?" She demanded to know, her arms folded in to themselves. Wirt furrowed his brows in confusion.
"What? What are you talking about?" He questioned. She rolled her icy blue eyes.
"When you woke up from your stupid nap you screamed out 'Beatrice!' in front of the whole damn class. Explain yourself. It'd better not have been a fucking wet dream or else I'll kick your-"
"Whoa whoa! Calm down, it wasn't anything like that!" Wirt interrupted while turning red.
"Then what was it? And how did you learn my name? I don't recall giving it to you. Did you wait to hear for it during roll? If you did, you're a total creep," she accused.
"I don't know your name, and I did not wait to hear it during roll. People who do that are...greatly disturbed," he replied. Her scowl deepened.
"Then why did you shout my name?" She asked.
"I dunno...wait, is your name Beatrice?" He asked. She nodded slowly with raised eyebrows as if he was the dumbest idiot she had ever spoken to. "Geez, I didn't know that. Heck, I did't even know I shouted that out loud. I can't remember what my dream was either..."
"Whatever, don't fucking do it again or I'll rip your hair out," she threatened. Based off of what she did to Mike, Wirt took that threat very seriously.
"I-I promise it'll never happened again," he stuttered.
"Good, and don't even think about asking to walk with me again because the answer is no," she said sharply before turning her heel and storming off away from school.
"O...okay," he stammered as he watched her walk away. "Beatrice..."