I just couldn't hold this chapter any longer. It felt wrong to be keeping it on my computer and not letting you all read it. Besides, with a mild cliffhanger still looming around form the last chapter, things were nerve-wracking for me. I was fretting about this chapter and stuff.

More crazy dream for you all to take in. Enjoy.

CHAPTER STATS

Word Count (excluding A/N): 1374

Date Updated: 1-11-11

Current Review Count: 153

Vaughn turned around, not surprised in the least when he heard the voice. It was distinctly female and pleasant to his ears. He could listen to that voice all day. It was also familiar in a vague way, but it also sounded so similar to something—someone?—he'd heard very recently…

"Are you coming inside?"

Vaughn nodded, not of his own will, but not necessarily against it. He was hesitantly comfortable here—over the years, he'd made sure to be slow to get comfortable anywhere, but here... he felt like he could be safe. He watched the woman walk ahead of him towards a small, wooden house on the property. He couldn't tell exactly who she was. He saw her brown ponytail swish behind her and felt a twinge of a memory come up in his mind, but it fluttered away before he could grasp it.

He followed her towards the house. She opened the door and stepped into the darkness, leaving Vaughn right outside, staring after her. He felt himself just staring through the door, into the blackness. He wasn't walking anymore. The pleasant woman was gone, and it was cold outside, but he didn't really want to go in after her. It didn't seem right. That house—that darkness… It wasn't safe.

"Vaughn, get inside."

Hair stood up on the back of his neck at the sound of this smooth voice. His feet were nailed to the ground and he felt suddenly very small, like a kid again. The deep, threatening voice slithered out again, cunning, controlling and conceited.

"Get inside. Now."

A soft breeze came by and carried the voice closer to his face. A waft of some pungent aroma hit him like a punch to the face—alcohol.

He knew better than to fight. He knew better than to disobey. He really did. But he couldn't get himself to follow the woman into the darkness. The man behind him let out a growl, sending a shiver up Vaughn's spine. Vaughn could feel the air moving as the hand came closer to hit his head, but the impact didn't hurt as much as he was expecting. He felt the cold of the snow against his hands and face as he fell to the ground. He braced himself for another hit, but it didn't come. He moved his gaze over to where the man had been, but he wasn't there. All Vaughn saw was a flash of silver disappearing into the house. He heard the door close.

The snow was still wet and cold against his left cheek, but he didn't move to get up. With that man gone, he didn't feel like a helpless kid anymore, but he still couldn't feel comfortable.

The woman had gone inside and the man had followed her, but Vaughn wouldn't worry about her when she was in there. She was safe inside, even if he was there. People like her were safe inside. The man couldn't touch her anymore.

But Vaughn was still outside. The snow was cold and the nice woman wasn't here anymore. No one was. He suddenly felt very alone. The snow kept falling and the ground still felt cold. It seemed like people were walking by, ignoring him. If they were going to ignore him while he lay there on the frozen, snowy ground, then he could just as easily ignore them back. He didn't need them.

"Are you okay?"

The voice perked Vaughn's ears up. It was similar to the nice woman's but more candid and a little bit less graceful. Vaughn ignored her. He didn't feel like talking, and if he didn't answer, she'd go away. She was probably just like everyone else, anyway.

A moment passed, and then two. The snow seemed to start melting away and the clouds overhead cleared out. The girl behind him was still there. He knew that she wasn't going to leave now, but maybe he could still ignore her. He didn't look at her and instead focused on the vanishing snow around his head.

"Isn't it cold on the ground?" She asked. He shrugged, not realizing until a second too late that he was supposed to be trying to ignore her. She tilted her head at him. "Why don't you sit up?"

Vaughn sat up. He wasn't facing her—instead, he was looking over a green field. That field hadn't been there before, in the snow. He decided that he didn't hate the way it looked.

He felt the girl smile behind him. She came over and sat next to him, stumbling slightly on the way. He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. She could do what she wanted. It didn't really matter to him…

They sat in silence for a long time. He didn't know how long it was, but he was sure that it was too long. She had to be bored by then. He was even getting used to her sitting there—it really had been a long time. He glanced around and noticed that all the snow was gone.

"What happened?"

Vaughn looked at her when she spoke. Did she mean…?

"Are you okay?"

Vaughn scowled and looked at the ground. He wasn't going to tell her anything. She didn't care. No one did. He was all alone in the snow and no one wanted to help him. She couldn't be any different.

"You don't need to tell me," she sighed, "but I'd like to know."

Vaughn felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Shivers ran through his body. He shut his eyes. She didn't want to know… She was lying…

"Vaughn," she said, smiling as she leaned towards him. He felt his heart beating and looked over at her. Her blue eyes were so warm and honest and concerned and so, so much like the nice woman's eyes that it felt like a slap when he saw them. She stopped a foot away from his face. "You can let it go now."

Ooo

Vaughn sat up, his chest heaving and his heart going crazy. He ran his hand through his hair, collecting himself. A glance at his clock set his face into a grimace. Had he really managed to sleep in until noon? And with such a weird dream…

Vaughn shook his head, pushing the covers off his feet. He didn't want to think about it. It was just another bad dream… But it was different. It didn't end like the others did. This one ended… well.

He pulled his clothes on, trying once again to stop thinking about it. But it just kept plaguing his mind as he continued with his morning routine. Honestly, he could already feel a headache coming on and he'd only been up for ten minutes.

"Damn," he muttered, rubbing his face with one hand. He needed to get his mind cleared. Maybe Mirabelle had some work for him to do, even in this storm. He walked down the hall and out into the shop area.

"Are you sure we should have let her go, Ma?"

"Well, no, but she seemed pretty sure that she'd be alright…"

"But, still—it's gotten worse since she left! What if—what if she, I don't know, tripped and got stuck in some snow or something? Or—"

"What're y'all talkin' about?" Vaughn asked, walking towards Julia and Mirabelle at the counter. They turned to face him. He was expecting some sort of comment about his sleeping in, but they both seemed too worried about something to even notice what time it was.

"Oh, crap," Julia said under her breath, looking a bit nervously at Vaughn like she'd just realized something. He raised his eyebrow and Mirabelle frowned.

"Vaughn, dear, it's nothing. Chelsea just came by earlier for some fodder since she ran out." She explained, obviously trying to make light of the situation. Vaughn felt his mouth contort into a scowl.

"Earlier? Yesterday, right?" He asked, although he already knew what Mirabelle was going to say when he saw her anxious frown.

"No… not yesterday. She was here about an hour ago."

Vaughn didn't even think as he grabbed his coat and burst out the door, leaving two shocked women calling from behind him.

Oh, Vaughn. You goober. Did you even stop to think about what you'll say to Chelsea if you find her? Tsk, tsk. So brash.

So, I want to hear all of your guesses. Where will Vaughn end up finding Chelsea? (Or will he even find her at all? xP) Let me know! I already know where she'll be, but I want to see if anyone will be able to guess it before ths weekend, when I update.

Also, Vaughn's dream here also has very significant (and obvious - to me, at least) meaning. Lots of blatant analogy and metaphor used. What does it mean? I'm sure some of you have guessed. Anyone have an idea of what the house represents? I'll let you know later (later, later), but I'd love to hear what you think now.

I have a field trip on Friday to the Cathedral in Los Angeles and then it's Martin Luther King Day on Monday, so I basically have a four-day-weekend up ahead. Woo! Writing time! :D

P.S. Thanks to everyone for voting in my poll! It's still up, but I have a pretty good idea of you guys' opinions now. :3

Thanks for reading and reviewing, guys. You rock my socks xP