Well hiya!
I've been gone for quite some time. I really thought I'd never come back, but here I am... and it feels awesome! Welcome to my 2am fever dream turned newest Manifest fic. (Yeah, this was pretty much all a long dream lmao) This came out of nowhere and hit me like a truck, though I've had this concept for a while. But getting pretty much the ENTIRE plot line in a dream is rare, and a huge blessing to someone who hasn't written in a while. Was I blasting the entire Sour album by queen Olivia while writing this? Yes indeed I was.
Welp, buckle up! I hope you guys enjoy the journey!
It's good to be back :)
Chapter I
A field of daisies and sunflowers.
The sun beat down on her as she ran through the open grass in a short white dress.
Her blonde hair wisped in the wind as he chased after her. He was so close to the hem of her, he could almost touch the dress.
But something kept him behind at a steady pace.
She extended her hand behind herself and held it to him, without even looking back.
It was like she new he was still here.
It was serene, peaceful.
He paused as she ran on, feeling the cool of the breeze on his face as he stared up into the blue sky. That was when her soft voice called his name.
Zeke woke up out of a deep sleep, his brain having finally somewhat shut off. For the first time in weeks, he actually slept fine through the night. Maybe because Michaela was there with him, or maybe because exhaustion was finally taking over... but he'd like to think it was the first one. He turned over, expecting to feel her body next to his, completely wrapped up in their blanket like usual. Normally when he woke up, he was surprised when there was some blanket covering his legs at least, but this particular morning, he felt all of it on top of him. And to his dismay, the bed was empty.
There were mornings where this happened more often than not. She always woke up at the 'ass crack of dwan' as he would say. She was most likely halfway out the door already. He reached over to the bedside table to check the time on his phone, but it wasn't 7:15 like he anticipated. It was only 6. Odd.
He slipped out of bed, pulling over a discarded shirt from the floor. It was probably clean, he thought. Well, if he was already awake, he might as well make some coffee.
Creeping down the stairs, he made his way to the kitchen.
That was when she startled him.
"Hey." He whispered as his anxiety settled, seeing Michaela cuddled on the couch. She was clinging to the windowsill. Though unintentional, she looked absolutely beautiful. Something he noticed even when she was doing the most most minuscule of things. She looked beautiful every second of every day, but today, as the rain pattered against the glass, she looked even more ineffable. She lifted her eyes, and looked over at him for a moment, and then found herself slipping to the pull of the outside world's rain once again.
"You ok?" He asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine." She replied as he sat down in front of her.
"It's early Mick. Why are you awake?"
She pulled the blanket she was clutching up closer to her, and shivered. "Couldn't sleep. You?"
He put his hand on her knees. "Huh. Well I had the opposite problem. I just woke up and you weren't there."
She smirked, letting out a sigh. "So you came down here to rub it in then?"
He laughed. "No. You know I'd never do that to you."
She raised her brow playfully, knowing full well his reply.
"Yeah, maybe I would." He said as they both burst into laughter. If Zeke was anything, he was sarcastic and full of jokes just to name a few.
She turned her head back to the window, laying her head atop the armrest on the couch. "Any weird dreams?" She asked.
She asked him this just about every morning, and he was happy to oblige. Compared to the callings, she often felt like her dreams were boring and meaningless. They usually consisted of a pen, journal, and a runaway cow? So gleaning off of Zeke's was almost like her way of vicariously dreaming through him.
"Nah. I dreamed of you though." He said with a smile.
She smiled too, meeting his eyes again, and pulling away from the window. "Ohh. What kind of dream was it?" She asked as she moved closer to him, turning from calm to sexy in a matter of seconds.
"Not like that." He laughed, almost like a whisper as she came closer to his lips. "Bummer." She said with a kiss.
"What do you mean? Running in a field of flowers in the hot sun is way better than a sex dream." He said sarcastically. But Mick didn't laugh. Her face turned, but not in a bad way. She seemed… confused.
"You've had that dream too?" She asked.
Zeke raised his brow, fixing his posture as he adjusted his seating. "What do you mean?" He asked. "I've had that dream a couple of times, but didn't think it was anything significant."
She pulled the blankets off, sitting next to him instead. "It's not." She spoke. "Well, I don't mean it like that because.. Well, I don't know."
Zeke stood up slowly, trying to understand. "Wow. Ok Mick." He said playfully. "My dreams aren't important to you?"
"No. No! It's not like that." She said with a laugh as she stood up too. "It's just I've had that dream before. Except I was the one chasing you."
"Huh." Zeke said as he ran his hands down his face. "That's weird."
Mick waved it off, turning around and beginning to fold the blanket she was just using. "Yeah, but I've only had it once. I didn't think it was that significant either."
Zeke replied, confirming her theory. "Maybe it isn't."
Almost as if she was expecting for him to disagree, she turned back to him as she picked up a pillow from the floor. Maybe it is significant. Maybe she is wrong. All of these thoughts swirled in her mind until finally she as able to get out a coherent thought. "Zeke. Everything in our lives is significant." She spoke doubtfully as she put the pillow back to it's place on the couch.
He smiled, looking at the floor, then outside at the rain. "True. You're right… but." He said as he walked over and placed her hands into his. "But." She reiterated, their faces now almost nose to nose.
"But... What if it's just showing us how we're connected. A simple…" He paused as his hands gestured around the room. "...vision of the future." He continued.
"So us chasing each other in a field is our future?" She said in a mocking tone. But Instead of responding right away, Zeke leaned in closer, letting their noses come together fully. She released her hands, and wrapped them around his neck.
"I don't know. But if it's with you, I'm in for the ride."
She breathed out, almost like she was finally able to catch her breath. She didn't even realize that she was holding it, but she did that often. It was as if she felt like she couldn't inhale until the conversation was over or the shoe dropped. A defense mechanism she wasn't proud of possessing. But in that, she was reminded of just how much she loved him. And how she was nowhere near good enough for him.
"Ok. I'm tired." He spoke as she broke through the silence. "Wanna take this upstairs?" He asked with a wink.
"Why of course I do Mr. Landon."
He grabbed her passionately, picking her up and carrying her to the bottom of the stairs. Beginning to strip each other of their clothes, they stumbled up to their bedroom.
But as they were halfway up, that was when Zeke stopped, catching his body against the railing as he leaned backwards.
"Zeke!" Mick yelled as he collapsed. She felt her heart leap out of her chest in panic, but that was when she realized that he wasn't unconscious. He was staring right out at her, but grabbing at his heart.
"Zeke!" She yelled again. He was whispering incoherently, almost like he was halfway between awake and asleep.
"I hear something!" He yelled as he fought through the sound. He could barely keep his eyes open as the volume increased.
It was deafening.
"What do you hear?!" She paused, not getting a response.
"Zeke. What do you hear?!"
He let his eyes close as he gritted his teeth. All he could think of was getting through, and praying it would pass.
"Hold on!" He cried out. He was breathing heavily now, so heavy that he could hear his panting as if it was background noise. Ba boom, ba boom, ba boom kept playing over and over in his head. Eventually he made out what it was.
But it wouldn't stop.
Mick had her arms on his shoulders, trying to get through to him. But he was in a trance… almost like a dream state.
Eventually he cried out, trying to escape his mind, and grabbing his head. That was when the sound faded out. He felt the release of it's grip, almost like his body was suddenly thrown to the ground. He whipped his neck forwards and shot his eyes open, as breath engulfed his lungs once again.
"Oh my god!" Mick said worriedly. "Zeke, are you ok?!"
She stared on, his stare grounded, and full of intent. He took a breath, his pause feeling like an eternity. "It's… it was a heartbeat. The sound I heard was a heartbeat." He spoke as his breath became normal. Mick began to pace, her hands shooting up by her face.
"A heartbeat…? What do you mean a heartbeat?" She asked as her breath became panicked once again.
"I heard a heartbeat. It was strong, almost like the beat of a drum."
"But why? You don't get callings anymore… Was this a calling?" Mick was borderline frantic, but Zeke couldn't do anything just yet to calm her down. He was still trying to figure out what was going on.
"I don't know- I don't-" He stammered on, unable to speak out clearly.
They both turned their heads to the top of the stairs as they heard Beverly's voice emerging from her bedroom.
"I'll go help her." Mick said as she dashed upstairs, her worry not even starting to settle. She quickly looked down at Zeke once she reached the top. Her eyes said it all. "I'll be back."
Zeke took a log inhale, letting his head lean against the railing
He was saved.
He did what he had to do and lived.
He already followed the callings.
He served his purpose.
So why in the hell was he getting one now?
Sooooo, what do you think?! I'm planning this to be longgg, but I won't predict a number of chapters just in case I feel like exceeding it. I'll update as soon as chapter 2 is finished! Missed you all!
-The Color Gray
