Nikki stretched and sighed. It was the middle of the night, she knew, but she had to pee. She threw back the covers and strode to the door, knocking into her dressing table. Cursing under her breath, she headed for the bathroom across the hall, and went to relieve herself.

The necessity done, she returned to her bed, confident that she wouldn’t fall back asleep. She could never sleep after having woken in the middle of the night.

The clock on her dressing table said, Three twenty-five AM. Great. Another early morning rise. With a sigh, Nikki climbed back into bed, and pulled her book from the dresser beside her. She switched on her light, sat up and opened the book. Her eyes couldn’t focus on the page, though, and she sighed, leaned back, and then caught sight of him.

He was standing in front of her window, cowering it seemed, terrified that she would see him. Being an intelligent young woman, she did the most intelligent thing possible. She screamed.

In a second, he was at her side, covering her mouth with her hand. “Shut up!” He hissed. “Do you want to wake the whole neighbourhood?”

iThat’s the idea/i, she thought fearfully. She could never help getting in a sarcastic remark, even if no one heard it.

“Well, I don’t want to be found, okay?” He said, narrowing his eyebrows at her. He had jewelled green eyes, like emeralds. Nikki had never seen such bright green eyes before. They were really quite beautiful.

“If I remove my hand, do you promise not to scream?” The man asked.

She shook her head stupidly.

The man sighed, and removed his hand anyways. He ran his palm through his jet-black hair. He was wearing all black clothes, which was the reason why she hadn’t seen him until she’d turned on her lamp.

“Who the heck are you and what the heck are you doing in my bedroom, let alone my house?” Nikki demanded, the fear evident in her voice.

“I’m here for a tea party,” he said sarcastically. “What does it look like?”

“It looks like you’re waiting until I fall asleep so you can rape me,” Nikki retorted, not feeling anymore that he was really a danger, but hoping that he would get the hint and leave. Maybe she could make a break for it and reach the phone?

He snorted, and Nikki realized he was laughing at her.

“What the hell’s so funny?” She demanded. She really needed to watch her language, but now was not the time to start. The language made her seem angrier than she probably was, and in her mind, that was a good thing. “Or did you already rape me?” She hugged herself. Now that she’d said it, it seemed all the more likely.

He sobered at that, and said quite seriously. “No; not at all. I was running from a very bad man who wanted to capture and kill me.”

“Don’t patronize me with that ‘bad man’ talk,” Nikki said. “I’m not a child. I’m eighteen years old. And I certainly am not stupid, and I want the real reason.” She folded her arms over her chest, partially to seem angry, and partially because she remembered just then that she wasn’t wearing a bra.

The man sighed. “Where do I begin?” He muttered to himself.

“You could start with your name?” Nikki suggested.

He sighed again, looking quite tired, and he sat down on her bench. She turned to face him, keeping her arms crossed.

He raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to turn around so you can put on a sweater?” He asked, most politely.

Nikki blushed, embarrassed that he had caught on to what she was trying to do.

When she said nothing, he stood and faced the wall anyway. She grabbed a giant sweatshirt that she used in wintertime for bed, and pulled it over her head. Overtop of her purple satin nightgown, it looked silly, but at least she was covered.

When he turned around again, he raised an eyebrow at the sweater, but said nothing. “My name is Steven,” he said, “and I come from a place called Willowmere.”

“Never heard of it,” Nikki said. “Is it some far off little town in the middle of nowhere?”

“Not quite,” he said. “It is also known as the Third Dimension, by the Society of Sorcery, or SOS.”

“SOS?” This time, it was she who raised an eyebrow, disbelievingly. “Yeah, right. You expect me to believe that bullshit?”

“You don’t need to cuss so much,” Steven said, “it does not become a lady.”

Nikki blushed at being called a lady. “Continue,” she said, forgetting her earlier disbelief.

“One of the Sorcerers in this Society is named Luther,” he continued, prepared to give the shortened version to save time.

“And let me guess, he’s evil and wants to kill you?” Nikki suggested, thinking she’d seen this in a movie.

“Yes,” he nodded. “He wants to rule by force, and raise an army to take over all of Willowmere. I live in just a small area of the world of Willowmere, and –”

“Whoa, whoa, back up,” Nikki said, picking up a particular phrase in that sentence, “the iworld/i of Willowmere? It’s a iworld/i?”

“I thought that was clear,” Steven replied, sounding slightly confused.

“No,” Nikki replied. “Not even remotely. Did you not hear me ask if it was a small town?”

Steven shrugged, without answering, and continued his tale while Nikki tried to wrap her head around the concept. “Anyways, there is something I have that Luther wants, and I refuse to give it to him. He’s willing to kill me to get it.”

“What is this thing, and what does it have to do with the rest of this fictional story – which, by the way, would make an excellent book?”

“It’s not fiction,” Steven replied. “It’s all true. I’d show you, but that’s against the rules.”

“Show me?” Nikki asked, her eyes beginning to shine. “You can show me?”

Steven looked at her nervously. “No,” he said slowly, “I said I iwould/i, but it’s not allowed.”

“Says who?” She demanded. “You yourself said that there was an evil sorcerer in charge in Willowmere, meaning his rules are wrong.”

“The old king made the rule, not Luther,” Steven replied. “I follow the old rules.”

“A ‘knight of the old code’, eh?” Nikki asked, beginning to get really interested.

“Something like that,” Steven said, nodding.

“Show me,” she demanded.

“No!” Steven exclaimed, then realized he was loud, and lowered his voice. “We just went over this; I can’t show you.”

“Then why did you tell me instead of just saying you were a rapist or murderer and leave it at that?” She demanded.

“First of all, because that would be a lie,” Steven began, “and secondly because I didn’t want you to scream and call the police.”

“If you’re from this Willowmere, then how do you know about Earth?” She asked, testing his story.

“I’m from another dimension,” he said, “I’m not stupid.”

“And I am because I didn’t know about Willowmere?” She demanded, folding her arms over her chest again, but this time in just anger.

He shook his head. “No one in your world believes in Willowmere. They are all ignorant, and that’s what we want. That way, you cannot find it, and pollute it with your lack of magic.”

“I feel so appreciated,” Nikki remarked sarcastically.

Steven sighed. “It’s not you personally,” he tried to explain. “It’s everyone in your world.”

“Strange, that doesn’t make me feel any better.”

Steven rolled his eyes. “Look, I have to get back, before Luther does another insane thing.” He stood.

“Wait, one more thing,” Nikki began, and Steven stopped.

“What?” He asked, getting frustrated.

“What does Luther want that you have?” She asked.

“A key,” he replied.

“A key?”

“A key.”

“What’s if for?” She asked.

“Luther believes it can allow him to influence everyone in Willowmere to do his bidding,” Steven replied.

“Couldn’t he do that instead with his magic?” She asked.

“Everyone in Willowmere has magic. Something that simple a baby can resist,” Steven replied.

“So this key is supposed to be the most powerful magical object in Willowmere, then?” She asked.

“Pretty much,” Steven replied.

“And you have it?”

“Not anymore,” he said. “I hid it where Luther would never think to look.”

Nikki’s face contorted into a number of expressions before she seemed to come to a decision. “Hang on for a minute,” she said, grabbed something from beside her bed, and headed out the door. “I’ll be right back; just wait.”

Steven sighed, ran his hand through his hair, and prayed that she wasn’t planning on following him through.

When she returned, she was wearing a pair of odd trousers, a sweater, and was carrying a bag. “You’re not stopping me, so don’t even try to protest,” she said, approaching him. “I’m going with you.”

“Not going to happen,” Steven replied.

Nikki narrowed her eyes at him, becoming angry. “Did you not hear me?” She demanded. “I said; don’t even try to convince me otherwise. I’m coming.”

“And I said that there is no way in hell you’re coming, got it?”

“No,” she said stubbornly. “If you try to leave without me, I’ll just follow you. You won’t be able to get rid of me that easily, Steven.”

“Look, Lady,” Steven began, realizing that he couldn’t very well tell her he knew her name, “I can’t be there to protect you.”

“My name is Nikki,” she retorted, “and I’m coming.” She folded her arms over her chest.

“There’s no way I’m going to convince you otherwise, is there?” He asked habitually running his hand through his black hair.

“Nope,” she replied, daring to smile a little.

“Then I guess I have no choice but to let you come. I just hope the Maker knows what He’s doing.”

“The Maker?” Nikki asked.

“The Willowmerian equivalent to your God,” he replied.

“Ah.”

Steven turned and faced towards the window. Then he began to mutter under his breath, and drew an oval in the air in front of him with his finger. The air shimmered for a moment, holding its breath as it caught the magic. And then it bloomed, revealing an image of dark trees and grasses, and two full moons – one creamy white, the other yellow-orange.

Steven turned to Nikki. “Are you coming?” He asked, hoping she’d say no.

Numbly, she nodded, and with a smile on her face, ran ahead of him and through the portal.

With a sigh, Steven followed, hoping he didn’t bring about the doom of his people for this.

AN: Chapter 2; hope you guys enjoy. I know there isn't a whole lot of description here, and a lot of dialogue. If something doesn't make sense, let me know. :) R&R, please. :D CC is welcome, flames are not.