I'm sorry this took a while to upload. I have semester finals going on right now along with final projects, not to mention all that work literally making it worse physically for me. I feel elderly when limping around. Stupid hipbone.

Anyway! Here is your darling little chapter seven. Hope it pleases you as much as I had fun writing this.

Chapter 7

That night, I slept soundly. The whole day of Sadie's birthday wore me out of all energy. I was exhausted, but happy. The darkness in my heart was slowly being filled up with light, and this time I wasn't refusing it. I firmly welcomed it. This is what acceptance feels like…

And sound sleeping feels just as good.

But I found myself waking up in the middle of the night, probably close to one in the morning. The sitting room lamp was still turned on, and I saw that Sadie left some of her toys on the floor near the couch I slept on and a brown, woolen blanket was thrown over me, probably due to her loving sister. I smiled, getting up and immediately looking outside.

An urge to feel the cold air against my skin caused me to appear in the dark night of the backyard, the trees casting spooky shadows that calmed me despite the moon's full glow. The stars glittered brightly...probably the brightest I've seen in a while, with faint colors I could not explain.

I saw Alice's form leaning against a tree, watching the blinking lights of the stars above, not hearing my approach. Maybe she did, because when I was right behind her she turned around and smiled up at me, looking like the happiest woman I've ever seen.

I don't know why I couldn't control myself. Something caused me to just reach out and gently cup her cheek, trace her cheekbone with my thumb and kiss her forehead. She sighed happily and wrapped her arms around my neck in a warm embrace.

What was going on? Why was this all happening? I can't control myself...I just had to touch her, feel her in my arms...it was a demanding feeling.

I didn't realize I was kissing her until I felt her hands weave into my hair, her other hand going down my back. I couldn't help but shudder in pleasure. God, it's been ages since I've been touched like this...it felt so good.

Yet so wrong.

Something wasn't right. Something about this was too unreal. She silently begged for more, and I granted that, but one thing for certain was that I couldn't control my movements. They were all automatically doing that. I didn't like it at all.

I knew her like the back of my hand. She wouldn't beg like this. No, she would be timid and shy about it until she was convinced that she herself wanted to be kissed and embraced, not because of this.

That was when I realized this was a dream.

I was woken up abruptly by the clatter of pots and pans being dropped into the sink, the taps noisily creaking on to wash off grime and dirt. I yawned before stretching my arms and then curling my back forward, feeling a relaxing crack work its way out of my discomfort.

I looked over to see Alice with her back turned, hastily washing the cooking trays and pans that were used to make Sadie's birthday cake and brownies. Silly girl left them out overnight so the leftover batter and mix stuck to the trays.

"Well, this is certainly a wake up call," I teasingly said as I sauntered up next to her.

She gave me an apologetic look, but after seeing my smile, she grinned back. "Sorry about this. Good morning! Need any breakfast?"

"No, but thank you. You are very generous." I said, touching her back.

"Yes I am!" she cheered, and that time I laughed loudly at her humor.

"You are definitely related to Sadie. Speaking of whom, where is she?" I looked around, noticing the odd silence that waited at the edge of our conversation.

"She's out at her piano class. After that she'll be back," she said happily, scrubbing the grime off the bottom of the pan with a green sponge, "so basically you and I have most of the day together!"

"That certainly is a gift on it's own," I smiled at her, "We rarely have time to ourselves. What's your plan?"

She shrugged, turning off the taps quickly to save water. She wiped her hands on her pants before looking up at me with a smirk. "To be quite honest I have no idea. I don't get to invite my friends over anymore, so you're one of the first."

"Interesting," I grinned, "So where do you think we should start?"

Her thinking face was cute. Her eyebrows curled upwards adorably and her lips pursed as if this really was something to deeply consider. Her fingers pressed against her lower lip, pondering deeply. Finally, she grinned at me once more.

"Dreams! I had a really weird one last night."

I raised a brow as we made our way over to the sofa. I found it amusing how we both sprawled on it lazily...Normally, I wouldn't in a lady's presence but I felt like I could be myself around her. Besides, it was a Saturday.

"Odd, because I did too. Not sure if I liked it." I commented, and she gave an interested look.

"If Sandman is really responsible for weird dreams, then he's a little...strange." she smiled at her own little joke.

"And a pervert too," I muttered under my breath when she wasn't looking, but then voiced my actual question, "What was it about?"

She shrugged, as if it was uninteresting. I knew it was, otherwise she wouldn't bring it up. "You were in it, along with Sadie and some people I didn't know. But Sadie looked a lot older than she does now, almost twice her height and even longer hair than she does in real life. It must've been a party or something, because there was happy laughter and chattering. Even I talked to some strangers and people from the past that I knew."

"What was I doing in your dream?" I asked. Was I hoping for her dream to be a little like mine? Not really. Because if it was I'm pretty sure she wouldn't talk so freely to me like she is now.

She smiled, promising me it was good, "You were playing with kids. You had a toddler on your lap and bouncing him on your knees while this other little girl, much younger than Sadie was talking to you while another was pulling at your leg. It was cute."

Whenever she smiled, I did the same. No one used to be capable of doing that, and who would know a human would be able to after centuries worth trying. What I loved about Alice was that despite the rough patches and horrible loss she's faced, along with the difficulty of raising her sister, she's still able to find happiness in her days and smile when she could. It warmed my heart knowing that she was strong and brave like that...I had her to thank for changing my views on people.

"I don't see anything weird about that. It sounds rather desirable." I said, bumping her knee with mine.

She grinned and bumped her knee back playfully, saying rather plainly, "As an introvert, it's weird. I'm not fond of large gatherings. Besides, usually my dreams are vague and hard to remember, or lonely and blue."

"I see…I'm like that as well. But uh, normally it's just blackness. Sandman isn't very fond of me, so I don't get dreams that often." I nodded, not sure how to make the situation feel less sad. The way she ended her topic even made my heart feel heavy, knowing she wasn't happy in her sleeping life.

"But last night he did? How weird was it?" she asked, stretching her arms forward.

...Damn, maybe this wasn't a good idea. There was no way in Hell I was going to tell her that she was the, well, main reason it was a strange dream. I wasn't even sure about it myself that I was happy with it. I mean...the thought of having her in my arms excited me, but….since it was so unreal it bothered me.

"This woman...well," I awkwardly started.

"Who? Did she have a name?" she excitedly leaned forward, "Did you like her?"

That prickling sensation took over my face again, and in response she grinned wildly and said, "I knew it. Who was she?"

"Well...I don't know." that was a lame response. Nice work, Pitch. Truly brilliant.

"So she kind of was a random person there?"

"No, I-uh-I mean," I stammered. Her questions were making me uneasy, "I know her. I know her very well…"

She widened her brown eyes, a blush dusting her cheeks adorably. "Oh. You mean biblically knowing her?"

"No!" I blurted, then covered my mouth from the shock of such audacity. God, was it hot in here or was it just me? I was on fire. At least, my face was. But now that I was getting visuals in my brain, a fire was in a place that wasn't very PG rated.

"Ugh! You're so vague!" her head rolled back annoyedly, slouching against the armrest of the sofa, "Come on, Pitch. I was straightforward with you. It's not like I have anyone to tell."

"Fine." I couldn't help but chuckle, crossing my legs just to hide any, well, proof that those thoughts were working it's stupid magic, "I know the woman in the dream. It was outside in this very backyard, probably the middle of the night."

She listened attentively, eager to hear more. I don't know why it was so interesting to her. Maybe it was because she's just lonely and likes hearing other people talk...I have no idea.

"And then...she kissed me."

"Ooh. So this is a naughty dream?" she grinned impishly, leaning forward ever so closely to my face. Blush again. Damn.

"Not at all. It was just kissing...but I didn't like it." I shook my head.

She stopped, an eyebrow raised upwards in question. I knew exactly what she was thinking. Don't men like that sort of thing? Some do. Not all. Definitely not me. It wasn't because she was bad, but…

"It was because it didn't feel right. It felt forced. And I had no control over my own movements. Something else was making me kiss her back."

Silence. It wasn't a cold silence, but a quietness that was filled with questions. Questions that weren't being asked aloud. Alice honestly looked intrigued, in awe that someone would say that. I didn't blame her. Some people would embrace a dream like that, then yearn to make it happen. It wasn't very often people would dream up such things and not revel in the idea of being loved.

Besides, reality was much crueller than that. Dreams were our escape route to another world that was a place we could embrace, be safe in as well as happy. Reality was a realm of survival.

"If you could have changed it, what would you do?" she finally asked, sounding a bit shy about the subject.

I thought for a moment, before looking at her. Her beautiful eyes blinked slowly, or maybe that was just time slowing down so I could remind myself how much this girl reminds me of an angel. What would that make me? A demon?

So truthfully I told her my honest answer. "I would stop her and ask if she really did love me, if she really meant it through bittersweet gestures."

Alice blushed a bright pink and gave a small smile, looking away when I said that.