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The Nightmares
by Aivine
I ran, ran, and ran. But no matter what I did, I couldn't seem to go fast enough. I needed to get away from the thing chasing me. Wait... what was chasing me again? I wanted desperately to know, but I didn't dare turn back in fear of the unknown creature. The trees on either side of me continued to blur by, never getting thinner, and never getting thicker. The scenery didn't change. I just ran and ran and ran...
Hellish nightmares like this had always plagued my sleep. They were all different, but they all showed something... I was never able to get anywhere in any of them. In all of them, I just ran away from some unseen beast. Oddly enough, I never got tired in them. Whenever I ran when I was awake, I was out of breath by the time I reached a quarter mile. I guessed that I ran at least four or five miles each night in those nightmares. I tried my best to make them stop, to find some way... But what good did that do me? None.
"Miss Patricia Risce to the office please," a voice over the intercom stated dully. "Miss Patricia Risce to the office please. That is all." They had pronounced my last name wrong again. They had said "Risk", not "Rice", as it was supposed to sound.
I sighed as I stood up. What did they want me for now? Had I broken the rules some more? Did my parents want to take me out of school because we were going to move yet again? I never knew what to expect anymore. The only place where anything stayed the same was those dreams. But they were nightmares, and I wanted to get rid of them. Even if they were the only predictable and reliable thing in my life.
Arriving at the office, I entered. The young secretary, Jewel, smiled at me as I came in and pointed me to the principal's room. Jewel was only in her mid-twenties and understood me. I talked to her a lot and she seemed to like me. She understood why I did what I did and why I acted a certain way.
I knocked. "Come in, Miss Risce," the scratchy voice of the principal called from within. I opened the door and walked inside. I sat down in the seat. A boy about my age sat next to me. His chocolate hair hung messily in his dark eyes as he looked at the floor. His skin was tan and he wore a sweatshirt and jeans. Oh, joy. Another new kid. Was it my job to show him around?
"Patricia," the principal, Mr. Kohnas, said, "this is Trevor Lithen. He just moved here from Britain." That explained why he looked foreign and wore that British flag wrist band. "He doesn't know the school and I thought that showing him around and befriending him would be the perfect project for you." He didn't add what I knew he was thinking: That it might help my attitude a bit.
I rolled my eyes, crossed my arms. "Yeah," I said boredly, "sure, whatever." I turned to face Trevor, acknowledging him in a sarcastically enthusiastic voice. "Nice to meet you, Trevor! I'm Patricia Risce! I'm going to your new best friend!" Then I scowled. "In your dreams. I'll show you around, talk to you, whatever, but I'm not your friend. Capishe? You'll have to make those on your own."
Trevor was regarding me with a raised eyebrow. I knew what he was thinking - what an attitude. That's what everyone thought. And they were certainly right on the money. "Sure, Patricia," he said, smirking. "Like that'll be hard, anyway." He had a British accent. Not that it mattered, but it was a bit cute. No, stop. It may be cute, but there are lots of cute boys who can actually understand you out there.
I stood up. "Can I go now, geezer?" I asked the principal. He nodded, but not before handing me Trevor's schedule, locker number and combo, and slips to fill out. Why was I taking these? I shrugged and left the room. Trevor followed. Jewel waved as we left and I half-heartedly held a hand up. This was sure to be fun.
I looked down at Trevor's locker number. E498. Oh, great. The old geezer had placed him right next to me in the empty locker. What fun!
I led him over and dropped his stuff on the floor. "Your locker, kid," I announced, gesturing. He looked down at the discarded items and then back up at me. I smirked and gave him a look that challenged him to question it. And he did.
"Why'd you drop that?" he asked cockily. "You should pick it up, since you let it fall."
I glared. Who was he to tell me what to do?! I turned my back and held my head high. He was just some new kid from Britain. He had no right to boss me around. I heard a quiet sigh and the rustling of papers. He was probably picking them up. Then I felt a tugging on my hood.
Trevor turned me around and switched his grip to my collar. He was scowling. "Don't," he growled, "cross me. Arrogant and cocky people piss me off. That is not something you want to do." Then he threw the papers in my face. What a bastard!
I huffed and narrowed my eyes. He was some project. He was also a hypocrite. I brushed the papers away and stepped forward.
Slap!
I nodded as if to show my contentment. Then I felt a fist dig into my stomach. Wha-?!
I coughed and gagged a couple times before straightening up. Trevor was already walking away from me. How was this going to work if he was my assignment?
By now I had learned that Trevor had an attitude just as bad - if not, worse - than mine. And one of us was going to have to surrender at some point in time. I was hoping that it wouldn't have to be me. It being me, though, was extremely possible at this point. He was as stubborn as a mule and had the personality of an angry ape. He wasn't that bulky, though. Or that hairy.
He had been here now for almost a full week. He was already loved by the students, especially the female population. They all just "adored" his accent. I found it a bit annoying at times. The way he said "trousers" and "bloody hell" just made me seethe.
"Teevo," I said, "are you not going to say sorry at all for yesterday?"
"Not at all."
I growled. Yesterday, he had pissed me off after school. I had kicked him, then he punched me, then I slapped him, then he gave me a kick, and it just escalated from there. I had a nasty bruise on my side from his foot and a sprained wrist and he had a black eye and was missing a small chunk of hair on the left side of his head. I had found a scissors and had chopped it off at the last minute before we were pulled apart.
I had also gotten into the habit of calling him Teevo. He was a bit obsessed with his video iPod and was always watching it. That's where he got his nickname. He was calling me Rissy. It was short for Patricia and sounded a lot like pissy, which is where I assumed he got the idea from.
My vision swam. What was going on? I was fine a second ago! I stumbled and felt myself hit the cold floor. Everything in front of me was blurry and I found my eyes closing. Only one voice was heard before I passed out, and it was unmistakable by the accent:
"Rissy!"
I was running again. Did I have this dream when I fainted, too? Something was behind me. It was the same creature that I was always running from. Something was different this time, though. Trevor ran beside me, constantly glancing back to check on the monster. "Keep going, Rissy!" he was saying. "Just keep running! I think it's getting tired!" But what was it? Why was he allowed to see and I wasn't? What was so special about him? But the dream me just nodded and continued to run, and run, and run... And, amazingly, the trees seemed to get a bit thinner.
"Rissy, wake up," it was saying. "Come on, you've been out for a half hour now!"
I groaned and rubbed my head, slowly sitting up. Trevor sat on a chair next to the cot. I knew where I was; I had been there before: the nurse's office. But why was Trevor still with me?
"What happened, Teevo?"
He shook his head as if he couldn't believe it. "I don't know. One minute you were asking if I would apologize and the next you were on the ground, passed out. I carried you here. But you kept muttering to yourself... 'Just keep running,' you'd said, 'I have to keep running. He said so.'" He narrowed his eyes, suspiscion clouding them. "Why did you have to keep running? And who said to keep it up?"
I looked down and shook my head slowly. He couldn't find out. I wouldn't let him. It was my business what I dreamed about. Even if he was in it. "I can't tell you," I said.
"And why not?"
I looked up at him. "I just can't," I answered stubbornly. "It's none of your damn business!"
"Fine, whatever. Don't get all defensive..."
I scowled. I was crabby now. I felt so moody all of a sudden. But... I also felt happy. Happy that he was curious. And oddly happy that he was now present in my dreams.
One week later and he still wouldn't give it up. So I finally realized that it was I who had to raise the white flag and offer a truce.
He looked up, surprised. I just stuck my tongue out at him childishly before starting. "Ever since I was about seven, I've been having these nightmares. I'm always running in them, but I can never seem to get anywhere. And something is always chasing me. I'm too scared to look back, so I have no idea what it is. Everything is always dark and I can never stop running, or else whatever is chasing me will catch up and do... something bad. I don't know what. But that day that I fainted, something changed in my dream. You were in it, looking back at the thing, and telling me to keep running. And, somehow, everything seemed to light up just a bit and I was able to keep going, even though I didn't want to."
Trevor just stared at me. His eyes seemed to hold something similar to interest. "So... are these nightmares getting any better?"
I shook my head. "Never. But now, ever since that day, you've been in all of them. Up until the day I fainted, I was always alone, except for whatever was chasing me."
He looked thoughtful now. His expression scared me a bit. Trevor was never thoughtful or interested in me in any way. So what was up?
Then he shrugged. Standing up, he walked away. So... he just expected me to tell him and then let him walk off?! Over my dead body!
I pushed my chair back and rushed after him, steam practically coming from my ears. I saw him walking swiftly down the hall and I caught up, stopping him by grabbed his arm. "What are you doing?" I asked angrily.
"Retreating," he said. "I'm not ready for war yet."
"But I just surrendered. The war is over."
He gave me a small smile. I'd never seen him smile before. Only smirk, scowl, and glare. "Oh, no, that was just a battle. The war, I'm afraid, is just beginning. I need to make a battle plan." Then he was gone again.
So it was a war he wanted? Well, I'd give him just that!
I turned away from my locker, closing it. It was obviously Trevor by the accent. It seemed to be fading a bit now, though.
"I'm ready for war."
I grinned. Finally, just what I'd been preparing for. It was better that it was the end of the day and the kids were almost all gone, too. "Good," I said happily.
"Yes, it is." Then he was kissing me.
I hadn't expected that. Well, I hadn't really expected anything intimate of the sort from Trevor. But I found my eyes closing and my body leaning closer to his. My arms automatically wound themselves around his neck and I felt his own go around my waist. I had never asked for anything like this from him... I didn't think either of us had wanted it. But now that it was actually happening, I realized that I did want it. I wanted it a lot.
We broke apart. He was looking at me with eyes that were warmer than I'd ever seen them. I'm sure mine contained the same emotion. "My first attack," he said, smirking slightly.
I rolled my eyes. "I had been expecting a different kind of war," I said. "Not one that had any... kissing in it!"
"Does this mean I win?"
"Oh, no. You've definitely won the battle, but the war is never over, Teevo. Didn't you know that?"
His smirk grew. "I've heard it somewhere." Then he leaned his forehead against mine. "Will you be my girlfriend, Rissy?"
Watching the sincerity in his eyes, I grinned. "Of course," I stated matter-of-factly. "I can't guarantee that there won't be any fights, though. We're both a lot like wild lions."
"But I know how to tame you." Then we were kissing again.
I never had another nightmare again.
This is an older short story that I wrote. It's at least a year old, but I really like it, and I always have. I hope that you all like it, too!
Aivine
