Stadium of Dreams

By, Sakura's Ray Of Hope

Author's Note:

Hey, hey, hey! Third chapter is up and running! I revised the second chapter to fix a few errors and add a few more! This chapter should be twice as long as chapter two with some surprising twists and turns here and there! Thanx everyone for reviewing my story and please, start reviewing my others! ^_^ Well, have fun reading this one!

On to the Fic!

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Chapter 3


=Dream Sequence=

"Anais, come out, come out wherever you are!" A voice called, giggling in the way of the words. A girl with fiery red hair ran around the inside of the stadium, a boy, about the same age as her, running behind her, smiling. A giggle was suddenly heard and the two children stopped running, staying completely frozen. They crept toward where the giggle had come from. It was suddenly heard again.

"She's there." the little boy whispered, grinning and pointing to the back of the old fashion popcorn machine. The girl smiled and tiptoed around the other side. The giggle was louder and suddenly, it turned to outrageous laughs. The girl jumped aside just as another girl with silky auburn hair jumped up from behind the machine, laughing maniacally.

"Anais, what is your problem?" the girl demanded sternly, but she had a huge grin on her face and her dark brown eyes were smiling. Anais shook her head and smiled innocently, her laughter subsiding to mere giggles.

"Nothing, Angela, my dear, sweet best friend! I was just......uh....laughing about the fact that you didn't come to find me in my favorite spot first!" She stammered, trying to look as innocent as she always was, but she was fighting a losing battle. Angela and the other boy grinned.

"Anais, you're a very bad liar, you know." the boy said. Anais looked at him, blushed then grinned.

"You wouldn't know a lie if it hit you in the face, George!" she giggled. Angela stepped to her best friend's side and slapped her a high-five. George grinned like a pumpkin and walked behind the two girls to the popcorn machine. He reached behind it, then gasped as he pulled a tiny package out.

"Anais, what's this?" He asked quietly, examining the box carefully. Anais marched over and snatched it from him, blushing madly as she pocketed it.

"None of your business, George Finnegan!" She exclaimed. George frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because it's............not time to give it to you!" She yelled. Suddenly she realized what she said and blushed so red, she looked like a tomato. Her hand flew to her mouth as George worked to hide his huge grin and blush and inched his way toward his girlfriend.
"Please tell me, my dear." He said soothingly in that voice that just made her melt. Suddenly a lighting bolt clashed overhead and the sound of raindrops were heard. Angela and Anais screamed, George panicked and they all ran out. The package Anais had pocketed fell to the floor and rolled behind the popcorn machine, where it remained forgotten.

=End Dream Sequence=

I sat up in bed as yet another boom pierced the usually quiet night.

That dream again.......... I thought, frustrated. I looked at my clock. 12:00 a.m., midnight. I plopped back down on my pillow and tried to go to sleep again. But I was fighting a losing battle. Tomorrow was school and I had to get up early so as not to be tardy for school. I really wanted to make a good impression, but most of all, I wanted to talk to Phoenix. I hadn't seen her since Friday. I already talked to Tomoyo and Kero over the phone, but I had to make it quick because the long distance calls were expensive, so I didn't get to tell them all that much. Phoenix was the next best person to talk to, as for now she was my best friend. I needed to talk to her about the dream I kept having with two girls named Angela and Anais and little George and the stadium. It was getting annoying, to tell you the truth.

Sighing once again, I turned on my side to stare out the window..........

And almost screamed.

Someone-or something- was staring in at me. It took me only about a millisecond to notice who it was.

"Phoenix!" I cried, jumping up and racing to the window. I opened it and a cold chill swept into my room as Phoenix jumped in and smiled thankfully at me. Dripping wet, I noticed she had a red raincoat decorated with cherries, a red hat pulled firmly over her messy and now sopping wet hair, and black rain boots with the initials P. S. down the side in dark red.

"I am so sorry, Sakura-chan. I had to sneak out 'cause my parents are still mad at me." She looked pleadingly at me and I smiled.

"No need to apologize, Phoenix, just as long as your safe." And here......... I thought. Phoenix smiled.
"Thanks Sakura-chan!" She exclaimed, pealing off her raincoat and boots and laying them, along with her red hat, on the rocking chair near the window. I sat on my bed and she tried to dry off her wet hair with the towel I gave her.

"How did you get my address?" I asked.

"Well, everyone knows this house has been empty since George's family moved out-"
"WHAT!?!?!" I screeched then immediately covered my mouth. Phoenix frowned.

"Oops.......uh, sorry. This used to be George's house, you know. Heh, sorry, I guess I forgot to tell you." I frowned.
"Phoenix! It's bad enough I took a visit to a haunted stadium-"

"I already told you, no hauntings have been recorded-"
"Since the night of Timmy Turner, yes I know. But, it's bad enough I took a visit to a stadium that was once haunted, but now I find out this house was George's?" Phoenix nodded apologetically.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura. Please forgive me!" She got down on her knees and I couldn't help but smile at her puppy-dog expression. I finally nodded and she got up.

"Oh, and I'm so sorry I didn't give you my phone number on Friday. I guess we were just so busy still trying to know each other and then the fact that it began to rain, and well, you know." She said. I motioned for her to sit down next to me, which she gratefully did while looking around.

"Nice room!" She exclaimed quietly. I smiled. In the corner near the door was my bed, the walk-in closet right next to the door across from the bed, a large white vanity with a big mirror on the other side of the room next to my writing desk, a long bureau with my TV and PS2 system on top of it (as well as a whole bunch of other little trinkets), and a chest at the foot of the bed finished off my rather large pink-and-white room. I hate to brag, but it truthfully was very nice.

"Thanks. Anyway, I really need to talk to you about something. Well, a lot of things." Phoenix turned to look at me, truthfully concerned. I felt a pang of sadness because at that very moment, she looked exactly like Tomoyo.

"Ok, shoot."

"Well, first of all, remember when you were telling me the story of the stadium? You said no hauntings have been recorded since the night of Timmy Turner. Can you tell me about it PLEASE!?!?!?!" Phoenix smiled.
"Sure. Well, perhaps twenty years after George's death, it was the night of Halloween and a bunch of kids were here in the stadium, partying late at night, way after most of their curfews. A boy name Timberland Turner, nicknamed Little Timmy Turner for his height, was hanging with his friends and they were playing a game of truth or dare. So one of Timmy's friends dared Timmy to go downstairs in the basement alone for five minutes. Timmy, trying to look good in front of his friends, took the dare and went downstairs. His friends played a more-than-harmful trick on him and closed the door to the basement. That was when Timmy faced the ghost of Mark.

"He was looking around, relatively scared of course, to amuse himself for those five minutes, when suddenly the ghost appeared, holding something heavy in his hand. Timmy screamed his very last scream as the ghost hurtled whatever it was holding towards Timmy, killing him. The ghost probably felt mortified that it had killed another person and disappeared, never to be seen again." Phoenix finished, panting. I frowned.

"Wow. How do you know all these stories?" I asked, suddenly feeling suspicious. Phoenix shrugged and turned toward the window.

"My.......grandfather told them to me when I was younger." I decided to shrug it off and tell her about my dreams.

"Oh yeah, I have to tell you something. I've been having these weird dreams lately......" And so I told her all about them.

"Wow! Hey, maybe the little box is still there! How about we go to the stadium after school tomorrow?" She asked eagerly. I smiled widely.

"That'd be great! You never know if we'd actually find it. It may unlock some sort of secret to George's past." We both smiled.

"I can't wait until schools over tomorrow!" I grinned.

"Yeah. Anyway, do you have a lot of friends at school? Maybe they can come with us. " Phoenix's face suddenly fell and I wished I hadn't asked her.

"Well, no, not really. I mean, I AM on the cheerleading team, where most of the popular girls are, but I am mostly a loner. I have friends, but I know they're only my friends because I'm popular. I really have no-"

"Real friends." I finished for her. We smiled at each other. I took her hand in mine.

"Well, we'll be real and best friends, right?" I asked. She smiled and tightened our grip.

"Of course. Friends forever?"

"Friends forever." We hooked our pinkies in a little friendship-promise, and smiled, knowing we had a secret only we would ever know. After that, she got up and tucked me in like a mother would do. I worked to keep from frowning; Tomoyo would do this after every visit to me when I was sick. She gave me one last hug, then pulled on all of her outer clothing and climbed out the window, disappearing into the night. I glanced at my clock.

2:00 a.m.

"HOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!"

~~*~~

"So, she knows?" A voice asked the darkness of the stadium.

"Yes, they both know now." Another voice answered.

"Why did you have to tell her?" A long silence followed this question.

"Because.............she has magic and so does the other one. They might be able to help us."

"They won't. Neither of them believe in........well, us."

"It can't hurt to hope, can it?"

"Since when did you start hoping, Mark?"

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Author's Note:

Ooh, another cruel cliffhanger! *grins evilly* I hope you all are happy! Now, you can enjoy threatening me into finishing the next chapter. I haven't decided if I want to make that one a cliffhanger, too, but I'll think it over. 'Till then, keep flaming and reviewing! But please, *puts on puppy-dog eyes* go easy on the flames. I'm a beginner.

*Holds a pretend microphone* So, is it really the two ghosts of Mark and George talking? Will Sakura and Phoenix actually to back to Finnegan's Wake? Will Sakura wake up early for school? Will we actually be able to dominate the world with a pack of toothpicks? Uhh, oops, shouldn't have said that *sweatdrop* heh. Well, all of these questions and more will be answered on the next Stadium of Dreams! 'Till then, later days! (Always wanted to say that line from "The Weekenders" - lol)