(disclaimer: The entirety of this work is purely fictional. I don't claim ownership of anything other than the writing itself & my OCs, & I'm not making any monetary profit from this work.)

(a/n: This story takes place in 2004.)

Chapter Ten

Softness…

Silky Smooth…

Beauty…

Desire..Passion…

Love.

Warmth..

And Comfort.

I float…on something that feels so familiar, smells so familiar, yet I can not quite figure out exactly what it is.

I look down and gaze at the big, pulsing orb upon which I stand, gliding through space and time itself.

I see lights flash, twinkle and glimmer all around me, yet the only thing holding my complete attention is what lies beneath me.

A face glows through the pink floor, but is not too clear. It appears to be the face of a woman, but the image is very opaque, as if she is behind the foggy glass of a shower door.

Down on my knees with my palms to the floor, I lean forward and kiss the frosted woman. My body is immediately filled with warmth and energy. Love, and trust. Life.

A light-pink silhouette of a woman emerges from the spot I had just kissed, hunched over slightly. About a millisecond later, the bland shape morphs into Arianna, and she stands naked before me.

I gaze at her, mesmerized. She is so very beautiful. Slowly, she steps forward and wraps her arms around me. My own instinctively curl around her.

Arianna presses her lips to mine; kisses me roughly, hungrily, passionately.

I kiss her back fiercely; as fierce as only a dream could allow.

She pulls away from me suddenly, backs up towards the edge of the floating pink orb we both glide upon through this strange cosmos.

I take a step toward her and reach my arm out.

"I love you so much, Serj," she says, and dark grey tears begin to trickle slowly down her angelic face. "I always have, and only you can save me."

I lunge forward, but am still too slow to catch her before she steps back over the edge. Without a seconds' hesitation, I dive off after her. I'm taller and heavier, so I am able to quickly catch up to her.

I wrap my arms around her, I pull her body close to mine. I notice that the light-pink tint of her skin has darkened into a deep blue and her usually bright-green eyes are now a much darker shade of forest-green.

We plummet down through everything and nothingness. Down through blackness and light, and every shade in between. Through the oceans and skies and stars and galaxies we fall down, and keep falling, in a place where time was actually quite meaningless. Minutes, Days, Weeks and Years may have gone by, or perhaps just mere seconds.

"I love you so much, Serj," Arianna repeats in a whisper. "I always have, and only you can save me."

I hug her even tighter against me. "I love you too, Arianna, and I'll do anything to save you. Just tell me what I need to do," I plead, and pull her back just far enough to look into her eyes.

They were completely black. "Wake up."

[Serj'sPOV]

I jumped up, my eyes flying open. My heart pounded in my chest and slight perspiration dampened my brow. Taking a silent, steadying breath, I briskly ran a hand through my hair, then immediately looked over to find Arianna curled up on her side facing me, still fast asleep. A few of her loose curls were draped across her face and I very gently brushed them to the side, being careful not to wake her.

She looked so peaceful and serene, so angelic, while she slept, and the sight of it helped to soothe and calm the uneasy feeling and steady my racing heart, both of which were unwelcome after-effects of my dream.

Oh, and what a strange dream it had been. Even though I could completely grasp the fact that nothing in the dream, aside from me holding her close and passionately kissing her, could actually occur in the real, logical world, it had still all seemed so real. It had been one of those peculiar, all-night-long-lasting dreams where you didn't know you had even been dreaming until you actually woke up.

The dream was a little confusing to me. I didn't understand it, and at the same time it made perfect sense to me. I loved her, she loved me, and I had to save her. But from what? That was the question, the part that made my brows furrow and my mind tick intricately.

Hopefully the dream had not been some sort of forlorn premonition; a dire warning to heed. If that was the case, I would stand on guard, ready to do my very best to protect her from any threat that may arise. On the other hand, maybe the dream had been nothing more than my overactive imagination trying to get the better of me; my bleeding heart playing devious games with my nerves.

One thing I was certain of, though: I definitely wasn't psychic, and so ultimately I chalked the dream up to my subconscious fear trying to overwhelm my mind. Taking another steadying breath, I quickly roped in that fear. I felt like I was reading a little too much into trying to figure out what it meant. It was only a dream, after all. Not real, no matter how vivid it had seemed.

The sound of birds chirping momentarily distracted me from my thoughts. Glancing over towards the window, I saw two or three of them land on the same branch of the tall oak, jump around for a few seconds and then fly away one by one. Their upbeat tweets faded away, and I took notice of how brightly the sun was shining through the parted curtains. I glanced briefly at the small clock that rested on my bedside table. Jeez! It was almost noon!

I turned my head and looked back at Arianna. She was still sleeping soundly, her expression even. I took the opportunity to simply gaze at her, drinking in all of her stunning features; the way her finely arched brows framed her closed eyes, the tiny silver stud in her small nose glistening from the sunlight, the way the small, black ball of her Monroe piercing beautifully accentuated her full, luscious lips. She was absolutely gorgeous! And God, how I yearned to kiss those lips right now! I refrained, though, because I didn't want to wake her. I was lost in soaking up all of her glorious beauty through hypnotized eyes. I settled for laying my hand, very gently, on her shoulder and tenderly caressing her soft skin.

My eyes roamed downward, hungrily taking in how magnificent the sight of her breasts peeking out from underneath the blanket was, and I longed to tell her how much I adored the sexy curviness of her waist and hips. Arianna was stunning, both mentally and physically. Never before had I felt so attracted to someone in my entire life. She was utterly drop-dead stunning, but judging from the way her eyes always glanced down and she smiled nervously every time I told her so, she didn't even truly know how beautiful she was.

My fingers slipped a few more inches down her arm and I couldn't help but notice that she still wore here black and green stripped arm warmer. I could remember her wearing it during the course of our phenomenal love-making. In fact, I don't think I had seen her without it on since meeting her, even after she had taken a shower last night. Briefly, I wondered what significance it held. Maybe it had been a gift from a dear friend, or just something she had picked up for herself at a store one day. I wasn't precisely sure why, but for some reason it genuinely piqued my interest.

Lightly, I touched my fingers against it, and she slowly pulled her arm away, tucking it up against her chest. She made no other movements, and her eyes remained closed, so I knew she was still asleep.

Hmmm. Odd.

My curiosity spiked even more, but I had to let it go for now. Time will tell, I thought, slowly crawling out from under the covers and getting up off the bed very carefully so as not to wake her. I gently tucked the blanket up around her more snuggly, then turned and headed for my bathroom. I had to pee and was in need of a shower. I would do both very quickly, though, because the very moment I moved away from her, I desperately craved nothing more than to be back in her presence once again, especially if it meant being able to hold her while she slept.