Chapter 15: Nightmare
Summary: Everyone is at Alex's house once more. While the others play cards Dakota and Stephanie get a little closer...
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In the kitchen that night, at Alex's apartment, Alex, Cody, Brandy, and Danny played a card game and at brief intervals, screams would shake the plastic cups on the table.
But Dakota and Stephanie, sitting away from the group living room, talking quietly.
"It's a good thing that Alex's mom won't be home until eleven from work, otherwise I'd feel sorry for the poor woman." Dakota laughed.
"OK, back to the question air," Stephanie said. She turned the page of a question book Alex had bought at a tourist shop. "These are boring, I'm asking my own questions. First kiss?"
"Wow!" Dakota laughed.
"Too personal?" She asked blushing pink.
"No, no, it's OK, I'll tell you. Here's the picture: I'm a first grade loser with a GI Joe lunch box sitting alone at the lunch table when the cutest girl in the first grade named Kara comes up and kisses me."
Stephanie looked shocked.
"Turns out some kid had said I'd turn into a toad if she did, so they wanted to test it out." Dakota said smiling. "How 'bout you?"
Stephanie could hardly contain her laughter. "It was last year with my first boy-friend. I thought he was trying to lick my liver. We don't date anymore."
"Aww, because he was a bad kisser?"
"No, he decided that he liked another girl better than me. But I don't really care, high-school romance leads to nothing." Stephanie replied dramatically. Thunder purred quietly in the distance.
"Next question," Dakota said. "I'm not using the book either. Tell me if this is too inappropriate or not; have you ever...uh... are you a virgin?"
"Yes, and proud of it, I want it to be special," she said. "You?"
"A thing as precious as that should be saved for marriage. Special, like you said."
"You're beautiful babe, beautiful," Stephanie said. Her face reddened as she laughed.
"Wow, that's new, I've never been called that one before."
After a while, the card players got too loud for so they moved to Alex and Dakota's bedroom floor. They bounced more questions off each other until they ended up falling asleep on the floor, head to feet next to each other.
Stephanie slept very soundly until she woke up to awful grunting and groaning noises. She looked out the window. Little beads of rain covered it. She could barely see because of the dim light. The closet light shone on her. The only other light came from where Alex and the others played cards. She looked over at Dakota.
He writhed and moaned as if he were in pain. He groaned and mumbled quiet angry words.
Stephanie touched his arm. "Dakota...Dakota..." she whispered.
But he continued to mumble a name, moving a bit more frantically than before and grasping his head with both hands.
This time, she took him by the shoulders and shook him.
He sat up, then cried out, and tried to shove her away. It was as if he didn't see her anymore, as if she were something that he was terribly angry at. She held tight to his arms and looked into his eyes.
"Dakota, it's Stephanie, it's okay, it's okay," she said, trying to be reassuring.
His eyes seemed to open and he sat there gasping for breath. Feeling how tense his muscles were she pulled his head underneath her chin and stroked his head. "It's okay, it was just a dream," she whispered softly.
Dakota put his shaking hands on his face and drew his knees in. In his mind's eye he could see Julia being torn apart by wolf; a wolf controlled by Xander; and not being able to do a thing about it because Xander had his cold, icy hands around his neck.
Xander not only had the power to control the thoughts that entered people's minds, but he also had the ability to touch a person and do one of two things- kill them and keep their powers, or to "borrow" their powers for a short while. When he borrowed people's powers he could decide when to give them back, or even whether to give them back at all.
Stephanie stroked Dakota's hair and continued to hold him. It amazed her; never had she seen someone react the way Dakota had to his dream. When he had looked at her, his eyes were so consumed by fear that it frightened her. Whatever it could have been, it must have really happened to him; no terror like that came from just any nightmare.
"Do you want to tell me about your dream?" She felt like a mother talking to a small child, but sometimes everyone needs that.
Dakota sat up a bit and glanced at her, then looked at the ground. "My...girlfriend died a while back, and it still comes back to haunt me." His mind raced, trying to find an answer to the questions he knew she would ask.
"I can understand if you don't want to talk about it," Stephanie said. "But if you do now, or if you ever do, I'll listen."
Dakota smiled a weak smile. "Thanks Steph., it's nice to have someone to talk to... other than Alex." He grinned and shook his head.
The door swung wide open and the two turned to see their visitor.
Alex froze in the doorway with his mouth hanging half open and a very confused look on his face. "O-pp- Dakota, Steph, I think someone's been bad," Alex fumbled somewhere between trying to be clever and complete and total confusion. He rubbed his chest nervously, as if remembering an old pain.
"Don't worry Alex, nothing happened," Dakota said. "I'm not like some people." He felt his ears turn bright red. The implication embarrassed him.
"Hey Steph, if you need a ride home the others are leaving," Alex said.
Stephanie got up and walked to the door. Then she turned. "See y'all tomorrow...."
"Morning, actually," Alex said. "We decided to meet at the bagel shop at , y'all are gonna hate me, six in th' mañana." He grinned evilly.
"Sounds good. They have great bagels, bye, see y'all at six," Stephanie walked out the door.
Alex turned to Dakota, rubbing his chest. "Don't worry, it's too early for any sane person to be awake, oh never mind...you okay? 'nother nightmare?"
Dakota nodded. "It was worse this time, but I don't want to talk about it."
"I understand," Alex said. "Let's talk about Stephanie, and how obvious it is that you have a thing for her."
"Hey, I do not Mr. 'Oh Cody! My sun! My moon! Let me be your slave,'" Dakota said.
"Wow, wow, wow, was I that obvious?" Alex asked.
"Yup," Dakota hopped into his bed and popped two sleeping pills.
"You goin' to bed? We're not finished with our conversation yet," Alex said.
"Oh yes we are. You're the one who wants to wake up at five thirty in the morning and go eat at a coffee and bagel shop," Dakota said, pulling the covers up around his chin.
"Well at least you can sleep all day, I have to go to school...." Alex paused. "You still taking those sleeping pills?"
"Yup, like candy," Dakota said groggily. "Can you believe it? Six months...and still..."
Alex waited for him to finish his sentence, but it never came. He shook his head and kicked off his shoes. As he crawled into bed he glanced at the window out of habit. The rain beat the glass softly.
Six months, he thought. Six months and Dakota still can't sleep, and I still feel like I'm being watched.
