"Nightmare: The Dreaming"

Warnings: AU, Modern Day. Rated for Language,

Active Imagination and hints of Adult Situations.

X+X+X

X+X+X - Eirika's entries.

'Thinking' or 'Emphasis'

"Talking" - Obviously

X+X+X

It's several days later before I actually manage to corner Tana away from the crowd at school. Most everyone else is heading towards the buses, eager to get home, but her mother is planning to go shopping today and decided to pick Tana up here at school.

Tana looks up uncomfortably as I approach; momentarily I wonder if she's ill. Then I remember the way that she looked at me when Innes was whispering to her - she looked over at me like that then as well. I decide to ignore it for the moment. Until she tries to surreptitiously inch away from me.

I'm hurt and I stare at her in surprise. "Tana?" My voice is suddenly less cheery than I intended to be; at least Tana stops trying to back away. She doesn't look at me however; content to stare at the cracks in the asphalt.

I swallow hard and try again. "Tana, what's wrong? Did I do something...?" I leave the statement open ended, hoping desperately that she'll fill in the blanks for me. I can't think of any reason, but that doesn't mean that somewhere along the line, I haven't offended her.

"No, at least..." She hesitates for a second, obviously discomfited by whatever she's about to say. "Eirika, you aren't lesbian, are you?"

I almost fall over from the shock. "What?" It's hard to keep my voice down, and I fight to think through whatever logic inspired the question. "No! Who told you that?"

She doesn't answer immediately and it takes a moment for me to draw my own conclusion. "Innes?"

A miserable nod confirms my breathless whisper. "But why? I thought he liked spending time with me. Why would he say something like that?"

I'm pretty distraught as Tana starts to explain, and that's when the sensation hits again. 'I'm being watched.' The creepy vibe is back again, and this time it's stronger than before. Coupled with the shock of my current conversation, it's too much handle.

I can hear Tana shouting my name as my world suddenly tilts and fades.

X+X+X

When I finally open my eyes again, I find myself staring at the uninspired drop ceiling that decorates the interior of the school. My head hurts, so I close my eyes again. Since I'm not lying out on the parking lot, someone must have carried me inside. 'Tana.' My eyes snap open again and I look around.

There's nothing to see but the curtains that surround the bed. I go to pull off the covers and stop when my wrist throbs. A gasp escapes before I can stop myself. "Ow...!"

Heels click on the floor as someone approaches the curtain barrier. I glance over and see the school nurse peeking in on me. She smiles and steps inside, stopping beside my bed. I've met her once before, when I skinned my knee in phys-ed. Her name is Natasha, I think.

Her voice is gentle as she asks me how I'm feeling. My feelings can be summed up in one word. "Horrible."

She shines a light in my eyes and watches for the reaction of my pupils and then busies herself with another half dozen tests. Eventually I find out that I fainted dead away in the parking lot, and that Tana and her mother are both waiting to see if I'm okay. Aside from a headache, I've sprained my right wrist. I grimace as I think of all the homework assignments that I still have to finish.

Natasha offers me a Tylenol and a paper cup with water. I take the pill and gulp it down, hoping that it will kick in soon and offer some relief from the pain. Afterwards, Natasha wraps my wrist firmly and writes out a note with recommendations for my parents. She thinks that I should go to the hospital and have the wrist x-rayed, just in case.

When I'm finally allowed to get up off the bed, I sway unsteadily on my feet for half a second before I finally find my balance. A gentle hand steadies me; I let Natasha help me out to where my friend is waiting. Before we go out, I hesitate. I open my mouth to ask a question, but no words come. Finally I shake my head and mumble, "It's nothing."

To my relief, Natasha only nods. "If you ever need to talk..." She offers in that way that only adults can manage.

I nod. "Thanks."

Tana is the first one to jump up when we finally emerge. She's pale- I've never seen her look so frightened before- and close to tears. It hits me that she probably thinks this is her fault. While I'm not entirely certain that it isn't, I don't blame her for her knee-jerk reaction. She helps me out to the car with her mother, and when we're driving back to my house, keeps giving me these frightened little glances. I'm pretty sure that she's as upset as I am, so when we finally reach the house and her mom gets out of the car, I whisper, "Call me later."

She nods and hops out of the car to open my door.

From there things degenerate into the frenzy that one associates with accidental episodes and over-emotional parents. It's the reason that Ephraim and I avoid telling our parents about any minor injuries that we incur- they tend to overreact to everything.

I'm pretty sure that's just a parenting thing though.

Mom finally gives up fussing over me when it's time to start supper. Ephraim gets dropped off at the house about that time, having caught a ride with one of the other boys on the basketball team. He's understandably upset when he finds out about the events of the day, but I manage to calm him. Fortunately I've moved to my room; with mom preoccupied downstairs, his outburst goes unnoticed.

"Bro, chill!" I let my voice carry the warning. I shake my head, glad that the headache isn't plaguing me anymore. "Tana probably just misheard or misunderstood something and took it out of context. Or maybe Innes got mad and didn't think about what he was saying. It happens."

Ephraim doesn't look happy, but he quiets down nonetheless. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. I didn't find out about it until after practice was over."

He sits down on the bed beside me, looking for all of his fifteen years like a whipped puppy. I take his hand with my left and squeeze gently. "It's okay. I know you would have been there if you knew. Besides, Tana and her mom were there. And I'm fine now."

He doesn't look totally reassured, but he squeezes my hand back and sighs. I sigh too. "You know... there is one thing that I didn't mention to anybody."

When I'm certain that I have his attention I continue, my voice a whisper. "Yesterday at the mall, I felt this really creepy vibe, like someone was watching me." Ephraim nods, listening. "Well, right before I blacked out, I felt the same thing. Only this time it was worse."

He's frowning now. "Was it Innes?"

I shake my head, slightly amused at the notion. "No. If it was, I'd have never gone off alone with him at the mall. Besides, today he was with you at practice."

"Then who could it have been?"

"I don't know." The simplest answer I can find. A thought strikes me, and I shiver suddenly. "And I don't think I want to find out."

My brother doesn't say anything. He simply sits there beside me, allowing me to take comfort in his presence.

X+X+X

Tana calls later that evening. When mom brings up the cordless phone, she reminds me to not stay up too late talking. I assure her that I won't, and wait until the door closes behind her before I cradle the device to my ear and start the conversation.

"Hey."

"Eirika? God! I'm so sorry!" Tana opens with an apology. I smile while I listen, knowing that despite the happenings of the day, she's still the same girl who befriended me. "I talked with Innes after he got back; he laughed at me for taking him seriously. But then he told me he was sorry, well, as much as Innes ever apologizes for anything." I can hear her shifting something around in the background. She's probably figuring out what she wants to wear tomorrow.

"Okay. So what was that all about?"

"Well... he was kind of upset with you for pushing him away, and then he came back and got upset at Ephraim and me... and then he kind of stated that if I didn't just shut up and come along, he'd tell mom that he caught us making out in the dressing room." Tana pauses and I hear a drawer close. "I really should have figured that it was just him being mad. But I let my imagination run wild again. Sorry."

I can't help it. I laugh.

"So all this was just your imagination? That's good to know." I shift around on my bed so that I can stare out of my bedroom window. "And I forgive you Tana - after all, if you didn't have that wild imagination, you wouldn't be yourself. Just try to remember to tone it down next time. I'd like avoid any repeats of today."

She giggles and I can hear the relief in her tone. "Okay! I'll warn you next time!"

From there the conversation degenerates into 'who-is-doing-what' and 'what-did-I-see-while-shopping'. It's comfortable ground, and by the time we hang up, we're firm friends again. Not that we ever really stopped; we've just confirmed it with each other.

Later I'll take the phone back downstairs, but for now I'm content to just lie on my bed and watch the shadows lengthen.

X+X+X

AN: Having pushed myself to finish Part 2 of this mini-drama, I've decided to post all of Part 1. So all the little scenes that make up this portion will be appearing sometime in the near future. Having finished Part 2, it's on to the third portion of the story.

Comments, criticism, and requests for autographs welcome. :P

Note: I know that people have varying viewpoints on life and how people should live it and I realize that people make their own choices to that effect every single day. That being said, if this piece offends you in any way, please note that such is not the intention of the author. I'm not trying to advocate anything through my writing, unless it is to be the best person that you can be.

While there are things that I don't condone, I know that life happens. People make choices. Not all of them right, not all of them wrong, and definitely not all of them choices that I would make. I choose not to throw out some blanket condemnation, since I am not 'God' by any stretch of meaning or definition.

There may be elements mentioned in this tale that twist you one way or another. If that's the case and it offends you beyond the pale, please find yourself another story to read. I won't be offended if you so choose. For those of you who can stick with it, I hope that this tale continues to be pleasing and interesting.

That said, please continue to leave comments. I want to know what works (or doesn't work) for you all. That's the only way that a writer can progress, and I'm not that far along the road, no matter how much I'd like to delude myself in thinking otherwise.

To all of you out there, happy reading and writing!

Trev X

PS- No rotten eggs or tomatoes, please!