Meet Me In My Dreams, After Romeo

Won't you come and meet me,

Meet me when I'm dreaming.

Let me know, let me know

Can you make it?

•~•

Matthias

That night, I had a really weird dream. For some reason, I was in a huge white space. It was full of nothingness and smoke. I couldn't see that well, and as far as I could tell, I was alone. Actually, it was kinda creepy. "Hello?" I called out, trying to wave some of the smoke away from my face.

Hello? Hello? Hellooo?

My voice echoed and bounced all around me. I listened carefully for anything. Was there really nobody and nothing here?

Hic . . . hic . . . h-hic . . .

I thought I heard something. It was really soft, but it sounded like . . . crying? It wasn't me. Was there somebody here?

I turned around, trying to pinpoint where exactly were the sounds coming from. Eventually, after taking a few steps forward, I spotted a tiny dot in the distance. Was that where the crying was coming from? Well, it couldn't hurt to go check it out, since I had nothing else to do here. I started walking to whatever waited for me.

As I got closer, I started feeling weird. My emotions were changing; I felt anxious and confused. That was understandable, since I didn't know what I was doing here, but shouldn't I feel more, um, excited and adventurous? I thought I heard some faint music though . . .

"How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down, into my core
Where I've become so numb, without a soul.
My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there, and lead it, back, home."

Finally, the smoke cleared, and I could see that the dot was not a dot; it was a guy curled up hugging his knees on the floor. To be honest, I've never seen him in my life before. He looked like he was younger than me, wearing some kind of sailor suit. His hair was light blond and fell in front of his face. I thought I saw a curl floating by itself. He didn't seem to notice me, shaking and whimpering:

"No . . . no . . . I don't want to be alone!"

I had the weird feeling that I should help him out somehow; his crying made me feel guilty for some reason. Even though I didn't even know him, I followed my instincts and sat down beside him. "Hey," I began, placing my hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay?" He was cold to the touch . . .

He froze, either from the sound of my voice, or at the sudden contact. I quickly pulled back. "I'm not going to hurt you," I told him as reassuringly as I could.

Slowly, he lifted his head up to look at me right in the eyes. This time, it was my turn to freeze. His face was a blur, but what held me in place was his colored orbs. They sharpened into focus, and I couldn't help but stop and stare at them. They were a deep, dark blue, almost purple color. Like a night sky, mysterious and full of secrets. They were blank though, empty of any stars.

His eyelashes were surprisingly long, framing those unusual colored eyes. Tears pooled at the corners, and judging from the red-rimmed eyes, it seemed like he had been crying for a while now. I felt like I'd know those eyes anywhere. Why did they look so familiar?

" . . .-ve me . . ."

"What?" I asked, moving closer so I could hear him. "Sorry, I didn't catch that-"

"Save me," he repeated, staring at my face intently. It felt like I was suffocating, but I could still breathe. I couldn't do anything but look at his eyes. Those eyes. What was up with his eyes? Was that really a natural eye color? His words, softly spoken, grew louder and surrounded us.

Save me . . . save me . . . . save me, save me-

"CALL MY NAME AND SAVE ME FROM THE DARK!"

My eyes flew open to the sound of my alarm going off. For a few minutes, I did nothing but stare at the ceiling, listening to the music, shocked by my dream. The alarm blared:

"Wake me up,

Bid my blood to run!

I can't wake up,

Before I come undone!

Save me―

Save me from the nothing I've become!"

Finally, I reached over to silence it. That was probably the weirdest wake-up call I've ever gotten from my alarm, the music selected at random on shuffle. I should pick something more normal. Maybe something classy.

As I got up to head to the restroom, I thought about my dream. About that boy. About those eyes.

What was that?

•~•

The clock is ticking slowly,

I'm sick of being lonely.

Tonight, baby when you close your eyes . . .

•~•

Luna

Emil insisted on practicing my lines in the morning as well, even though I was pretty sure I wouldn't be called out today. I didn't feel up to it after my first dream meeting. I was horrified by what happened and wanted to talk to Alice, but I had to get rid of my brother first. We were still in my car, going through what I hoped was the last rehearsal.

"Go."

Grabbing his backpack, he straightens up and clears his throat. "My stuff is ready. Farewell, big sister, and don't forget to write. I'll be expecting many letters."

I can't help but smirk at his formal tone. "Do you doubt that?"

He ignores my sarcasm and replies, "For Hamlet, this is temporary. What you have is like a violet in early bloom; it's not going to last long."

"No more but so?" I ask, impressed by how serious he is taking this.

He continues, "Think it no more! For nature, crescent, the virtue of his will; but you must fear-"

"Okay, okay, that's enough!" I interrupted him with a laugh. "Seriously, you don't have to go through the whole thing-"

"Fear it, Ophelia." Emil forges on, "Fear it, my dear sister, and keep you in the rear of your affection-"

"Yes, yes, I know! That's good. You can stop now," I said mock sternly.

He rolls his eyes. "Oh, fear me not," my brother jabs before offering, "If you want, I can do Polonius too."

"No, really, it's fine." I insist, sighing. Hopefully there was still some time for me to find Alice . . .

"Okay." We see his friends at last, so he opens the door. "Farewell, Ophelia, and remember what I've told you."

I roll my eyes, even though he couldn't see behind my sunglasses, and answer, "'Tis in my memory locked, and you yourself shall keep the keys of it."

"At least you know your lines," Emil remarked, shutting the door with a "Farewell!"

"Love you too, lil' bror," I told him before we parted ways. Now, how was I going to find Alice? I sent her a text, but it turned out that I didn't have to go far. She was already waiting for me at my locker.

•~•

Now that I know what I'm without,
You can't just leave me.
Breathe into me and make me real,
Bring me to life.

•~•

"So, how'd it go last night?" she asked as soon as I arrived, leaning against the lockers.

I cringed as I opened my locker. "Not too well, I'm afraid."

"Huh?" Alice frowned at my negative response. "What happened?"

"Well," I began slowly, "Last night, I dreamed that I was alone. I couldn't see anything but darkness. At first everything was quiet, but then suddenly there were whispers. Voices of despair and malice. They taunted me, laughing about my problem. About how I would be alone for life. It was painful.

"I tried not to listen to them, covering my ears and raising my voice to drown them out, but they wouldn't leave me alone. I didn't know what to do," I shuddered, half-lost in the horrible memory of it.

"And then?" she prompted me patiently. I looked at her, startled; I almost forgot she was here. Alice nods at me in encouragement.

"And then," I continued with a small smile, "I heard his voice. When I opened my eyes, he was there, right in front of me. Warm and bright, burning away the darkness. He seemed concerned, but he didn't look like he recognized me . . ."

"So then?"

I grimace. "Then I think I scared him off, because when I told him to 'save me', his eyes widened and he disappeared. I woke up after that."

Alice looks thoughtful. I raised an eyebrow at her. "So, what do you think?"

"Hmm," the Brit ponders out-loud, "Well, it seems like your soul was distressed by the lack of attention from your other half, so you ended up reaching out to his soul in a dream." She gives me a cross look. "This wouldn't have happened if only you claimed him earlier-"

"I know, I know," I groaned, covering my ears. "Please, don't remind me of my stupidest mistake of all my lives."

"Not just your lives. Probably of all past lives in history," Alice chuckled, slinging a comforting arm around my shoulders. "Hey, now. I'm sure you've done worse in your past. Besides, you can slowly befriend him in your dreams this way, and eventually, convince him you're his other half!"

"Yeah, right," I laughed dryly back at her. "That is, if he doesn't think I'm crazy . . ."

"No, he won't," Alice rolled her emerald eyes at my doubt. "But that's enough about your Lunatics; we've got to do something about your eyes."

"My eyes?" Instinctively, my hands went up to my face. Nope, my sunglasses were still there. "What's wrong with them?"

"Well, for one thing, you can't wear those sunglasses forever," she pointed out. "Everyone knows you're not blind; I doubt that Matthias thinks that either."

"So?" It was childish of me, I know, but I depended on my sunglasses to protect my identity. They wouldn't give me away.

"So, one of these days, a teacher is bound to ask you to take them off. Once everyone sees your eyes, what do you think they're going to do?"

"Oh." I breathed, finally seeing where she was getting at. Everyone would want to know who my soulmate is. I could tell them lies, but they would find out the truth one day. I wasn't ready for that to happen. But . . . "What should I do then?"

Alice smirks at my helplessness as she rummages around in her bag. "Don't worry, I've got you covered." She pulls out a small package and hands it to me. I examine it carefully. " . . . You got me contacts?"

"I thought you might need them," she shrugged as she holds out a bottle of eye drops.

"Thanks." I gave her a quick hug before opening the box. I should have thought of this myself. Why can't I think straight when it comes to my soulmate?

It pained me to cover up my eye color. But I had to; it would stand out compared to everyone else.

After putting them on carefully, I turned to Alice. "How do I look?"

"The way you used to before you met Matthias," she responds impatiently. "Now, will you get a move on already? The bell's about to ring!"

I smirked back at her as I slipped on my shades. "I'm still going to wear these just in case."

Luckily, no one asks for the most part of the day.

•~•

Frozen inside, without your touch
Without your love, darling
Only you are my life
Among the dead.

•~•

When lunch comes around, Alice, Tina, and Lovina pick a table as far from Bella's smug looks as possible. I'm so lucky to have them as my friends. Emil doesn't sit with us since he's 'too cool' with his friends at another part of the cafeteria. I made sure to wave at him.

Unsurprisingly, their soulmates follow after us with their food. Well, not really, seeing as we all had English next. When they took their respective seats by their other halves, an unexpected voice goes, "Hey, do you guys have room for one more?"

Guess who it was. No, wait, you don't even have to.

"Oh, hei Matthias!" Tina exclaimed, waving him over. "Sure, just sit by―"

"Why don't you go sit with your soulmate?" I said without thinking, managing to surprise everyone with the amount of venom in my voice, myself included.

The silence that followed was awkward, but eventually he answered, "Well, Bella is in a meeting with her cheer-squad, and I'd feel awkward sitting over there without you guys." He looks embarrassed as he admits that. I'd feel bad for him, but I felt like what I said was justified. Lovina's glaring at him too.

"Luna, don't be so rude!" My cousin scolds me.

"Yeah, Luna," Alice smirked at me, "Let the poor guy have a seat."

Ugh. Traitors, both of them. But majority ruled, seeing as Alfred, Berwald, and Antonio didn't seem to mind, so I removed my bag from the remaining chair and set it on the floor. "Thanks, Luna!" Matthias beams at me. I felt something in my stomach flutter, but I turn away to my salad, stabbing it angrily. Hopefully, I'd be able to ignore him . . .

It was impossible. With him sitting so close to me, my skin tingled with want to touch him. But there was no way for me to do so. Not like the couples with us. Antonio was showing off the tomatoes he'd grown at home, Tina was cooing over Berwald's latest project, and Alice was feeding Alfred homemade scones. Conversation was inevitable.

"So, uh, how was your day?" he blurts out.

"Okay." I deadpanned.

"Really? That's, um, good. . . um . . ." I watched him flounder around in silent amusement. His thinking expression was cute, all scrunched up. Then his eyes lit up.

"How far are you in Hamlet?"

"Far enough for me to memorize Ophelia's lines," I said nonchalantly. "You?"

"I'm almost done with Act I!" he stated proudly. I raised an eyebrow at that; I didn't expect that he'd be a fast reader. Probably speed reading or something.

"Wait . . ." Matthias frowns. "What do you mean by 'memorize'?"

"I mean that after lunch, we're going to the gymnasium to practice our lines out-loud," I told him, enjoying the look of horror that was starting to dawn on his face. "Mrs. Elizabeta always has us reenact Shakespeare's stuff for us to fully understand and appreciate the work."

He reached for his backpack to pull the book out and flipped through the pages frantically. "But Hamlet has so many lines!" he groaned. "How am I supposed to memorize them all?"

"You don't have to memorize everything line for line," I tried to reassure him. That look on his face was gold. "We're allowed to paraphrase, shorten, and simplify the words. Besides, we're probably not going to finish all of Act I today. You still have time."

He looked worried though, so I sighed and leaned over. "Hey, Alfred! Looks like someone didn't learn their lines last night. Mind helping him out?"

"Sure! A hero always helps out others!" he grinned. We swapped seats so they could practice together. Matthias gave me a grateful look, but I turned away and talked to Alice instead.

•~•

I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems,
Got to open my eyes to everything.
Don't let me die here
Bring, me, to, life.

•~•

After we finished eating, we headed to the gym. It was multi-functional, able to hold many school fairs and events, with a huge stage. Mrs. E had gotten special permission to use the area for our practices. Everyone settled on the benches in front as we waited to be called up. She clapped her hands for attention.

"Alright, everyone, today we are starting Act I, Scene I. I want Alfred, Berwald, Heracles, Toris, and Vash up here!"

As we watched Heracles struggle to say his lines through yawns, I turn back to Alice. "So, how'd you get Alfred to play Horatio again?

"He wanted a heroic role, so I recommended Horatio," she replied. "He's a close friend of Hamlet and he has an important role at the end."

"Sure . . . but there's got to be more to it than that," I said doubtfully. She shrugs and turns back to the stage as Alfred steps on the stage. "The hero is here!"

"So, what's he doing here again?" Toris asks curiously.

"He doesn't believe our story," Vash answers, "So I brought him here to prove that the ghost is real!"

"W-what?" Alfred laughs nervously, "What a-are you guys t-talking about? There's n-no such t-things as g-ghosts!"

"Yes, there is!" Toris insists. "Come, have a seat, and we'll tell you what we have seen these past two nights."

"Fine, tell me your story." Alfred plops on the ground, ready to listen.

"Last night, when the North Star has traveled where it is now, around one o'clock, Marcellus and I—" he breaks off as Berwald enters the stage. He's always been scary to people, but for some reason, he's wearing a white sheet with eyeholes. . .

Alfred lets out a shriek of terror and scoots away. I look back at Alice in amusement. "Ghosts. Really?"

"Yes." She doesn't even bother to hide her smirk. I heave a sigh. "I don't suppose you're also the one who gave that sheet to Berwald when he doesn't really need one?"

"Guilty as charged."

I shake my head in amazement. "At least his fear is authentic . . ."

We spend the last moments of the scene giggling at Alfred's sad attempts to talk to Berwald. When Scene II begins, I partially listen to Ivan's speech as I read over my lines silently for the next scene. But when Matthias says his first line, "A little more than kin and less than kind," I jerk my head back up to watch.

"How is it that the clouds still hang upon you?" Ivan continues as if he didn't hear Matthias speak.

"Not so, my Lord! I'm too much in the sun!" My soulmate replies brightly. I wince at his cheerfulness. He really needs to tone that down; Hamlet's supposed to be a mourning son in depression. Watching him talk, he doesn't seem to be any different than usual. Did the dream last night not affect him at all?

Nonetheless, I kept my eyes on him, safe to stare as much as I wanted with the protection of my shades.

When the 'royalty' finally exits the stage and Matthias delivered a shortened version of Hamlet's soliloquies, Alfred hops back on the stage with Vash and Toris. "Hey there, Hamlet!" he shouts across the platform.

My soulmate blinks in surprise, looking out of breath from his hurried speech. "Ah, I'm glad to see you well, Horatio." he greets the bespectacled blond with some difficulty. "What brings you here from Wittenberg?"

Alfred coughs awkwardly. "I came here to see your father's funeral."

"Are you sure?" Matthias asks dryly. "You're not here for my mother's marriage?"

"Uh, no. I didn't expect that to happen."

"Me neither," he lets out a sigh, seeming to be dazed and distracted. "They probably wanted to save money by having both events at the same time. I miss my Dad."

"My Lord, I think I saw him last night."

"Saw who?" The Dane questions absentmindedly.

"My Lord, the king. Your father."

Matthias turns to him in faux astonishment. I had to give him credit; he looked pretty surprised to me. "The king . . . my father?!" he repeats in 'shock'.

"Yup!" Alfred nods. "I saw him with these guys last night!"

"Where did you see him?" he demanded eagerly.

"On the castle wall where we keep watch," Vash spoke up.

"What did he look like?"

"Uhhh . . ." Alfred cringed as he recalled the 'ghost'. " . . . Well, we were able to recognize him because his helmet was up, he looked very sad and . . . pale."

"Alright then!" Matthias cheered up. "Tonight, I'll join you guys. Say, around 11 or 12, okay?"

"Our duty to your honor." They bow and leave the stage. "Your loves, as mine to you. Farewell." My soulmate turns back to the audience, pacing and frowning as if he's deep in thought. "My father's spirit―showing up now? Something's going on . . . I'm thinking foul-play. If only it was night already!"

With that, he walks off the platform. Everyone claps and cheers for the ending of Scene II. "Well, he's actually pretty good," Alice admits reluctantly.

I shrugged. "At least he's better than Alfred," I respond coolly, with a smallest hint of pride in my voice. Our English teacher clapped her hands again. "Well done, everyone! I'm sure we still have time for one more scene. Laertes, Ophelia and Polonius, come on out!"

Putting my book down with a sigh, I got up. "There's my cue."

"Break a leg!" Alice called after me as I made my way toward the stage.

•~•

And now I'm sending you a message

I hope you're not against it

Tonight, when you close your eyes

•~•

Whew. Thank God that was over. I wasn't sure how much longer I was going to last. Why did Shakespeare give Hamlet too many lines?

All the credit went to Luna though. If she hadn't called Alfred to practice with me, I definitely would've looked like an idiot up there, unprepared and all. I couldn't have that; I did ask for the main role. I had something to prove to everyone!

Tina's cousin is a funny girl. One minute she wouldn't even look at me, the next she was helping me out! I don't really get her, but she's cool I guess.

"Oh, Luna~" Mrs. Elizabeta called out sweetly.

She looks at our teacher, her face free of any emotions. "Yes?" Even her voice is empty.

"As fabulous as you look with your sunglasses, do you mind taking them off? I'm pretty sure that they didn't exist back in Shakespeare's time."

"Fine," Luna agreed monotonously. She reached up to pull them off. I watched her carefully. I had always wondered why she wore them to begin with. Did she have some kind of special eye condition? Was she ashamed of her eye-color?

Her shades were off, but her eyes were closed.

Or maybe she was―

Her eyelids snapped open, revealing a dark gray eye color.

Oh . . .

For some reason, I felt disappointment crash into me when I saw her eyes. But then again, was I expecting something else? I really shouldn't let my imagination get the best of me, but still . . .

Something about those gray eyes bugged me.

Shaking my head, I dejectedly followed Alfred up the bleachers where Alice was waiting and sat down, pulling open the book. As I scanned through my next scene, I overheard their conversation.

"So, how'd I do?" he asked his soulmate excitedly.

"You did wonderfully, my little Mcnugget!" she gushed back fondly.

I scooted away from their lovey-doveyness. You'd think I'd be used to seeing that by now, with Berwald and Tina like that all the time, but I thought they could use their space. It made me a little jealous; I wasn't like that with my soulmate. Hell, I didn't even feel like doing that with Bella. But maybe things like that would come later?

Turning back to the stage, I tune in just in time to hear Francis say, "Be wary, then. Best safety lies in fear. Youth to itself rebels, though none else near."

"I shall the effect of this good lesson keep as watchman to my heart," Luna deadpanned, "But, good my brother, do not, as some hypocritical pastors do, show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, while walking the primrose path of dalliance, ignoring his own advice."

This statement made most of the class laugh. According to Alfred, when he introduced me to everyone, Francis used to be a hot-shot player before he met his soulmate. Apparently, Alice had some bad blood with him in the past.

"O, fear me not," he protests, but there's a knowing smile on his face.

Then Lars steps on the stage to lecture his 'son' on how to behave in France. (lol) When Francis finally runs away to his boat, he then turns to Luna to tell her off as well. "What is it, Ophelia, he hath said to you?"

She rolls her gray eyes at him. I feel another twinge of weird. "So please you, something touching about Lord Hamlet."

"Aha!" He exclaimed."I've seen you two spending time together recently. Tell me, what is going on between you two?"

I stifled a laugh. In reality, there was nothing between us. She barely responded to my ice-breakers and all, and I kept on trying―for what? I didn't know. It was fun, though, trying to get a reaction out of her.

Luna looked vaguely amused by this, saying dryly, "He hath, my Lord, of late made many tenders of his affection for me."

"Affection? Pfft!" Lars retorted disbelievingly. "You speak like a schoolgirl. Do you believe his 'tenders', as you call them?"

"I do not know, my Lord, what I should believe." Her heavy sarcasm is more obvious this time, causing more laughter from everyone.

"Mary, I will teach you!" he grouches, and proceeds to instruct her on how to act around me―er Hamlet.

The scene ends with Luna's flat "I shall obey, my Lord." Mrs. Elizabeta claps her hands enthusiastically, the class following suit. "Excellent job, you three!" She glances over at the clock. "That'll be all for today. Have a great day everyone!"

Luna walks up the steps to grab her stuff. "Luna, you were amazing up there!" Tina squealed excitedly. Alice nods in agreement. "I loved your take on Ophelia's words."

"Thanks." She nods at them, returning back to her usual calm. "Don't forget that we have a mandatory practice later today."

"We'll be there!" They chime at the same time as the bell rings. She raises an eyebrow as in 'you better be there' before slinging her bag over her shoulder and leaving the room. That strange feeling to follow her comes back and I give in, rushing out the door and calling out, "Hey Luna!"

She stops in her tracks this time and turns around, giving me enough time to catch up. Her gray eyes threw me off, and I almost collided with someone on the way. "What?" It isn't a question, more like a statement of annoyance.

Still, I ignore her sudden unfriendliness and go, "Great job up there!"

" . . . Thanks," she mutters under her breath, resuming the walk to World History. I keep up with her since I have that class too. The silence bugs me though, because there aren't that many people around on this route, so I try again. "So, mind sharing your secrets to pulling off a performance like yours?"

"Practice." Well, that's true. I laugh awkwardly, not missing that subtle jab. "Oh, right! Thanks for getting Alfred to help me."

"You're welcome." Luna suddenly ducks her head slightly. I tilt my head to get a better look at her face. I wasn't sure, but for a second there I thought I saw the corners of her mouth curve up into a smile. But it was gone in a blink of an eye.

So she does have feelings. It's good to know that she's not a heartless robot. I feel like saying something, but the silence is comfortable now. I don't want to mess it up.

I settle for a quiet chuckle.

•~•

Just tell me that you'll be there

Tell me that you'll be there, be there

Promise that you'll be there

Be there . . .

•~•

At practice, I find Berwald and Tina saying their goodbyes. "I'll see you in a few hours, Ber-ber!" She tries to console him, his face still in stoicism. I try my best not to throw cheese at the scene. Soulmates and their dramatics, I swear.

When they finally separate, Tina blows a kiss as she walks away. "Hey, where's she going?" I ask him curiously. I was used to Tina hanging out on the benches with Alice. Wait a minute. Looking around, I don't see Alfred's green-eyed soulmate anywhere.

"Tina has to practice with Alice and Luna before their gig today," Berwald replies in his deep rumbling voice, pointing to the building where Luna ran into me before.

"Really?" That was interesting. Berwald notices my excitement and raises an eyebrow. "Want to come and watch after school?"

A/N: And there we have it, the first dream. It's pretty bad, I know . . . *Cringe* But, things will get interesting from here~ If you get the references that I hid between the lines, namely which Dennor fic did I get the line "Save me" I'll give you a wuggle (heart)

I've been thinking, after I read some fics about the parallel nations and alternate universes, that the past lives will be from . . .

Fanfictions that you guys wrote!

What do you think?