Crossed Dreams

Dream Boy

Melissa unlocked the door to the apartment. She found Connor and Emily in the living room watching Vortex music videos. "Staying the night?" She asked.

Emily shook her head. "I'm taking the last bus back. Take a shower first." She told Melissa when she saw the girl heading toward her room.

Melissa sniffed her arms. She definitely needed a shower. Doing dishes at the dining hall was a dirty job and she had pulled a double shift. She went into the bathroom and turned on the water. Hopping in, she made quick work, wanting nothing more than to be in bed.

Walking into her room, dragging fingers through wet hair, she unplugged the white Christmas lights that were her only light source in the small bedroom and climbed into bed. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep before her head hit the pillow.

Light slipped in through her closed eyelids. Grumbling, she turned over and used her arm to block out the sunlight. "Take that! And this!" A voice shouted from another room and was followed by the sounds of gunfire.

Melissa jumped out of bed. The sudden movement caused her to lose her balance. Using the bed for support, she regained her balance. Wait! When did the bedsheets change?

Now covering the bed was a dark grey comforter with green stripes and the matching bedsheet and pillowcases. The bedding wasn't the only thing that was different. The room had grown twice the size from what it was when she had gone to sleep. The walls were also covered in posters and the shelves were filled with Manga and action figures instead of her paintings and geology books. It was as if she was in a completely different room. Someone else's room.

She carefully made her way to the door and out into the hallway, heading toward the voice and what sounded like a game. She wanted to find answers and to figure out where she was.

The hallway ended in steps. Carefully and quietly, she made her way down the staircase. The bottom landing opened up into a large living room and kitchen area. A person sat in the large sectional. He hadn't heard her come down. His focus was solely on the large flat-screen TV that hung on the wall, scenes from a game flashed across it. "Take that!" The guy shouted. He jumped up and started doing a victory dance.

Melissa covered her mouth, trying to cover up her laughter. The guy stopped and went still. Without warning, he jumped around to face her. Her heart leaped, trying to free itself from its cage. "Gosh!" She exclaimed.

"Oh, it's you!" The guy ran to her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He laughed.

Melissa was ready to slap her dream boy's hand away then she caught his smile. The boy flashed the widest and dorkiest smile that she had ever seen. "It's fine." Her breath came out a little breathless. Oh, she was so glad that he existed in her dreams instead of in real life cause that smile of his was dangerous for her soul.

He gently wrapped his hand around her arm and guided her to the sectional. "You get to see my place this time." He flashed her another one of those smiles.

She shook her head, to clear her it and to deny his statement. "The seco...first dream that I had of you was here." She swept her hand through the air, taking in the living room with her gesture.

The dream boy, yeah, that was better than calling him handsome stranger, rubbed the back of his head. A sheepish grin flashed across his face, only lasting for a second. "You're right." He lowered his hand and sat up straighter. "What do you think?"

"You mean about your place?" He nodded at her question. "It's nice. Large but nice." The bedroom that she had woken up in flashed in her mind. "I love your room. It reflects you."

The dream boy glanced down, turning slightly away from her. It could have been the lighting but it appeared as if his face was slightly red. He cleared his throat and lifted the controller that was still in his hand. "Do you play?"

"Ah...no." She shook her head. The only games that she played were on her phone.

The dream boy got up and walked over to a nearby shelf and grabbed a second controller. "I'll teach you." He sat back down beside her and handed the controller to her. "It's easy." He explained what the buttons on the controller were for and the basics to the game that he was playing. It seemed easy enough.

It definitely wasn't easy. He wasted her avatar near the beginning of the game every time and she was pretty sure that he toyed with her on one of those times. "Okay, this game is definitely not for me." She laid the controller on the floor.

"You just need to practice."

"Oh, is that why you're so good?" She teased him.

He laughed. After setting his controller beside hers, he leaned back and placed an arm around her shoulders. It strangely felt right, as if her shoulders were made just for his arm. "Yeah, I play when I get the chance."

He lifted a lock of her hair with his other hand. "What are you doing?" His action made her slightly uncomfortable.

He gave a small, sheepish smile. "Sorry. You smell like vanilla. I really like the smell of vanilla on girls."

"Okay." She laughed, still a little unsure. The action seemed a little strange to her. "I use vanilla products when I shower."

He leaned away from her, his arm still wrapped around her shoulders. A large, almost devilish smile appeared. "Wanna take a shower?"

She pulled away and lightly punched him in the chest. "You're such a guy." She laughed. Somehow, that smile and comment relaxed her. He seemed just like any other guy from the waking world.

He held up his hands in surrender. "I'm just kidding."

She placed her hands on his and lowered them. She snaked her arm around his lower back and laid her head against his chest. "I know. The smile gave it away."

He pulled his arm tighter around her, shifting his position so that they were closer. "Is it just me or is it weird with how easy it is to talk to you. You don't feel like a dream, not exactly. You feel like someone I know. Someone from the real world." His words tugged at her heart with how close they were to her own thoughts. Being there in that situation made her feel as if she was with Connor if Connor was some hot, funny, dorky guy that she was attracted too. Okay, so Connor wasn't the best analogy but she understood what her dream boy was trying to say.

"It's just you." She teased him.

. . .

The weekend had finally arrived. Since finals were two weeks away, the three of them decided to take the weekend to relax and have fun. Connor even decided to skip the parties for the weekend to hang out with the girls.

The three of them wandered around the mall. "Look at this." Emily held up a pink pearl bejeweled phone case.

Connor walked over and looked down. "Eh, they're okay but they are way overpriced."

Emily c****d an eyebrow. "Since when do you care about prices?"

"I don't, but I know you do."

"While you two are discussing money or whatever, I'm going in there." Melissa pointed to a*****e that was a little way down the hallway. The store had a picture of a dreamcatcher with a wolf in the middle plastered on the window.

"Was that here last time?" Emily asked.

"No." Melissa walked into the store followed by the curious siblings. They went to this mall at least once a semester and this was the first time that they had seen this store. Shops were coming and going all the time so it was a new experience just about every time they came.

The walls of the store were decorated with dream catchers of various sizes. The middle of the store was double lined with tables that had giant wicker baskets on them. Melissa picked a side and walked down. The baskets were filled with rolled-up blankets. She ran her hand along them, taking in their cottony smoothness.

When she reached the end, she turned and went down the other side. The baskets on that side were filled with various multicolored polish and unpolished rocks. Something blue caught her eye. Reaching into the basket, she pulled out a two-inch cylindrical polished Kyanite. The icy blue color was beautiful and mesmerizing. Somehow, it reminded her of dream boy's smile.

Clutching the rock in her hand, she walked up to the glass counter. Inside it were various spools of wire. "Can I have a silver spool." She asked the clerk.

After buying the rock, the spool of wire and a black chord, she met up with the siblings. "You guys ready to grab something to eat?"

Emily threw her arms up into the air. "Ice cream bar, here I come!"

The three of them made their way to the dining court. They found a table to lay their things and went to grab some food. Emily stayed true to her word and went straight for the ice cream. "So, Mel." Connor slid his tray onto the table and sat down beside her. "You making a necklace?"

"Yeah. The stone reminded me of someone." She left it at that. She wasn't ready to share about her little crush on someone made from her imagination.

"You have to try this. It's a new flavor." Emily held a spoon filled with dark blue and grey ice cream that had colored sprinkles in it.

Connor shook his head. "It looks questionable."

"It does." Melissa leaned over the table and opened her mouth, Emily put the spoon full of cold sweetness in it. Melissa licked her lips. "But, it tastes really good."

They finished their food and walked around for a little while longer. Melissa drifted into the mall's Hot Topic. She found her a couple of shirts that were on sale for two dollars each. "I love their sales."

"Is that why your wardrobe is filled with black, plaid, and chains." Emily lifted up a jacket that was half black and half red plaid that had chains hanging off the pockets. "I'm pretty sure you have this one."

"Nope." Melissa checked the price tag and decided that it wasn't too much. She picked out her size and folded it over her arm with the other shirts. "I have the purple version."

They left the mall after that. Connor decided to drive on the way back since Melissa drove up there. She climbed into the backseat. After buckling up, she leaned her head onto her arm propped up against the window. Like clockwork, the thrumming of the tires lulled her into blissful sleep.

Melissa found herself back in the dream boy's bedroom. He was also there. When he saw her, he broke into a wide grin. "You're back."

"This definitely seems to be a recurring thing." She laughed.

"Good. Hey, do you wanna play another game since you're here."

Melissa barked out laughter. "No, not after you creamed me last time!"

"I didn't cream you."

"Yes, you did. You even toyed with me one time."

He laughed. His brown eyes sparkled, competing with his pearl white smile. "I did not. At first. I was trying to give you time to fight back but then decided to put you out of your misery."

"Ah!" She picked up a pillow and threw it at him. "I'll never play a game with you again." The pillow soared through the air and completely missed its target.

He picked the pillow up off the floor. "This is why you lost. You have no aim." She stuck her tongue out. He doubled over in laughter. "Thanks for this."

"For what?"

"For distracting me. My album comes out today and it always makes me nervous."

"Your welcome." Then his words hit her. "Your album? Wait, you sing?"

He nodded his head and sat down beside her. The bed sunk in with his added weight and she found herself sliding toward him. She thought he was joking when he told her that he was pretty good at singing. Of course, he would be if it was what he did for a living, but didn’t he say that he danced for a living?

“I thought you danced for a living?”

He nodded. “I do. I have to do both.” He grimaced. That had to suck. Melissa wouldn’t be able to sing to save her life, let alone dance.

"Can I hear a song?" His voice sounded so good when he just talked. She couldn't imagine what it sounded like when he sang.

He patted a hand against hers. "Maybe next time." She opened her mouth to plead with him but he stopped her. "I'm working on a song right now that I would like you to hear when it's finished."

A new song. "Okay!" It felt like Christmas. She couldn't wait until she actually heard it. It amazed her with how creative her subconscious was making this guy. Maybe this was the kind of guy that she wanted to date in real life.