A/N: Let me first off say that I had no idea it had been so long since my last update. I already wrote this, but I tend to give you guys a few days to R&R before posting a new chapter. Thanks to Allie-Dee, jhhhhjfjk89, and Crizzy4RFR for wonderful reviews. I now officially have over 50 and I feel so loved! But now it's time to set a new review goal. So how does helping me get to 75 sound? Wonderful?Good! I knew you'd beexcited! Oh and BTW I know it doesn't look it, but this is really about the same length as most of my chapters it just has less lines skipped.
Part 17: Dreaming
Why were they doing this to him? They'd backed him into a corner. He was lost, alone, afraid. Why couldn't they see? Why was he letting them do this to him? Why didn't he just ask them to stop? They would, he knew that. Even Ray was smart enough to know when it was time to quit, and if someone didn't quit bugging Travis, you could be certain that Ray would put his foot down to stop them. Ray was the kind of person that took the time to actually try and understand other people; it frustrated him so much that Travis was so good at hiding the truth about himself, his feelings, and his past. Ray didn't know that he was doing it; it was simply an instinct there from his birth, it was something he couldn't avoid. But it made Travis all the better learning how to fool Ray. Maybe it was hard to keep things from his friends, and maybe that's why Travis didn't ask them to stop bugging him. Maybe he was afraid that if he did then they'd see something they didn't see before, and maybe they would exploit his new weakness.
They didn't understand the memories, how could they? Travis was so lucky, no siblings to bug him, his parents let him roam free, and he was the best when it came to history and a lot of machinery. He was the one who had made RFR possible, and yet, Robbie had been the only one of the 3 who was truly grateful. Maybe that wasn't true, but it didn't matter. He was trying so hard not to remember…
Suddenly, Travis woke up. It was 5:00 in the morning; school didn't start for a few hours. Normally he wasn't up till 6:00, but he could make an exception. He had a little thinking to do after having that dream last night. He'd had that dream so many times throughout the years that it was second nature to him, but every time he had the dream it managed to be different. This time he'd been at the Underground, and now he felt like walking there…maybe to set something about his dream straight. It didn't matter he was already walking there, he couldn't turn back after starting something.
He kicked an aluminum can along as he walked, the crunching noises of the can against his foot and as it rattled to its next resting place calmed him as he remembered something about his friends, and he even smiled once. The walk seemed longer than normal, but maybe that was because he hadn't taken the time to get out of his pajamas into proper clothes before heading out into the chilly morning. He could feel the stones beneath his shoes as he walked, they seemed to welcome him and guide him toward the Underground. Good thing no one who wasn't an RFR DJ ever got that feeling, or they might just be ruined.
He opened the door to the station, and the chilly air mixing with the air of the Underground made him shudder. The inside of the station wasn't much warmer than the air outside, but he felt more welcome there than anywhere else, he truly mattered in the Underground. He fiddled with some of the buttons back in his station, checking to make sure they still worked. It was lucky not many people lived in the area, as at night when there were so few other noises you could hear the echoes of the sounds from the Underground from outside or in the closest buildings.
Travis shrugged as he settled down onto the couch in the main area of the Underground. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but he kept thinking about them. His friends would never understand what he went through day in and day out, so he hadn't told them anything. And he probably never would.