Hey guys! I'm back. I feel like it's been years since I sat down to write something. This story is happening largely in part becasue of my sister wrote down the dream that begins this story, and I stemmed an idea from it. So the dream belongs to her, but she's allowing me to use it so I can write this story. I hope you guys like it and read it! Thanks in advance.
~KML92

Morning Person

My heart thundered in my chest. I was certain he could hear it in the darkly quiet room. He was there, waiting, watching, listening. I tried to quiet my breathing, slipping a hand over my lips. What use was hiding if my erratic breathing was just going to give me away? I could feel him standing just feet away from me, could imagine that cruel smile. He was beautiful as evil was—dangerous and wild.

"Where are you Jacelynn?" he purred, his voice quiet and soft. Used to entice me no doubt. There was nothing enticing about his voice to me. He was a murderer; a killer. I held my breath; my eyes open wide with fear. I could hear his footsteps in the room; careful, measured steps. I remained silent. If I could just stay hidden, maybe he would give up. Maybe he would leave me alone tonight.

"Come now Jacelynn," he laughed. "Don't be this way." I slammed my eyes closed tightly. He could call me and taunt me all night long if he wanted to—I would not budge.

He was moving again, taking slow steps. My heart beat erratically and stopped all together when he came to a stop right in front of my hiding spot. "Jacelynn." He said gently.

NO! NO! NO! NO!

I could feel him reaching, knew that it was only just a matter of time. The curtain before me shifted slightly and a scream built up in my throat. I was prepared to fight, to claw at his gorgeous eyes. The curtain shifted again as if he were taunting me.

"Jacelynn." He whispered. His voice was smooth like honey, but I knew better. I knew.

My alarm blared loudly in my ear and I jerked up in bed, pulse racing and sweat beading on my forehead. It was only a dream. I slammed my hand down on my alarm clock and rolled over in bed, groaning. What the hell was with that nightmare?

I forced myself up out of bed, thinking about the dream. It had felt so real, as if I was really there. What was weirder was that I felt as if I knew who had been tormenting me in my dream. Like I knew who laughed at my terror. And yet, I had never seen his face. I felt like I knew everything about this man from the way he walked, to the way he laughed without ever laying eyes on his face. I didn't even know his name. But he knew mine.

I shook my head in annoyance. "Get a grip." I snapped at myself. "He's not real, just a figment of your imagination." My heart still hadn't quite slowed down to its normal speed. I had never experienced a nightmare like that before and I struggled to think of why I might have started last night. I thought very hard for a moment, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"It must have been the nachos I had before bed last night." I decided, standing up. Giving myself another shake, I left my bedroom and headed for the kitchen. I could hear the shower running in the bathroom. Britney or Lindsay must be in there. I sighed and went straight to the coffee pot that someone had already started. I need coffee in my system to ease all the strange tension I felt after that dream. Coffee was sure to fix that.

I poured myself a cup and leaned my hip against the counter, looking around the kitchen in disgust. There were dishes in the sink from two nights ago and a juice spill on the counter from three nights ago. My roommates were not neat freaks and that was for damn sure. I sipped at my coffee slowly, letting the heat of it warm me from the inside out.

"Hey Jace." Britney said bounding out of her room happily. She was already dressed. Her red locks were perfectly in place falling lightly down her shoulders and her blue eyes were bright and wide awake. She was a morning person and I hated her for it. I looked completely opposite. My dark brown curls stuck out in odd directions from my less than peaceful sleep, and I was positive my dark grey eyes had dark circles under them.

"Hey Britt." I muttered around another sip of coffee. I still felt like I could sleep for hours and Britney looked as if she'd already been up for an hour. I sighed.

"You don't look like you slept very well Jacelynn." Britney said sounding very motherly. I glared at her using all my morning charm and continued sipping at my coffee.

"Gee thanks. I feel so much better now." I snapped. Britney laughed at my annoyance and shrugged.

"Damn it's early." Lindsay growled as she stumbled out of the shower. Britney and I laughed at her and she poured herself a cup of coffee and chugged it quickly.

"I know. I don't know what possessed us to take early classes." I mumbled.

"So we get done early with more time to party?" Lindsay asked. I laughed.

"Maybe that was your reason, but I think I only fall under the first half of that." I reminded her.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, you're all responsible." She said the word like it was a bad thing. Britney rolled her eyes. She was superior to Lindsay and my bantering. Neither of us were morning people so we fought the most in the morning when neither of us was coherent enough to care.

"Being responsible is not a bad thing. It's better than being a little bit slutty." I snapped back at her, putting the same disgusted emphasis on my chosen word for her. Lindsay just shrugged. She had her light brown hair pulled into a pony tail and her brown eyes were amused.

"I'd rather be slutty than be a prude." Lindsay countered. I was just getting ready to come back with another rude comment when Britney stepped in between us hastily, glaring at each of us as she did so.

"You two really should learn to stay away from each other in the morning." Britney scolded. I grinned and so did Lindsay.

"Why? Are you afraid one of us is going to take a swing at the other and you'll be powerless to stop it?" Lindsay asked. Britney rolled her eyes.

"Are you kidding me? If you two get into a fight, I'm leaving you both here to duke it out." She lied. I knew she was lying because she would be way to worried that one of would get hurt.

"Yeah right." I called her out on her lie. Britney just rolled her eyes at me.

"Listen, we do not have time for this. Classes start today and I refuse to be late because you and Lindsay don't know how to wake up happily in the morning." Britney snapped. "Get dressed Jace."

I laughed and started walking to my room. I was almost there when there was a knock on the door. I turned toward it and reached for the knob.

"There better be a damn good reason someone is at our door this early in the morning." Lindsay shouted so whoever was on the other side would be able to hear. I pulled the door open to see Oliver, our other best friend, standing with two very handsome strangers. I realized then that I was still in my jammies with my hair all crazy. I frowned.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded paying no mind to the two men he had with him.

"Rough night?" he responded.

"You could say that, now are you going to answer my damn question?" I demanded.

"Ooh, kitty's got claws when she hasn't had her coffee." He teased as he stepped past me into the apartment motioning for the two men to follow him.

"I've actually already had my coffee, but I'm afraid it hasn't kicked in yet." I grumbled. I looked over at the two people with Oliver and saw they were both watching me. One had blonde hair with blue eyes; the other had black hair and green eyes. There was something about the way they both carried themselves that made me think they were related. It had nothing to do with their looks because they really looked nothing alike.

"Well, let's hope it kicks in and fixes your hair." Oliver said. I rolled my eyes.

"Leave my hair out of this. You have no room to talk either, your hair is pink." I pointed out.

"Yes, but it's actually styled. You look like you got into a fight with an egg beater and the egg beater won." He laughed.

"Okay, could we stop the chit chat and get to telling us why you're here and who these fine specimens you have brought with you are?" Lindsay interrupted. I glanced back at the two of them and they looked confused.

"Is that a compliment?" the one with the black hair asked.

"Ooh honey, you bet your sweet ass it was." Lindsay said appreciatively. The two shared a look and Britney and I burst into laughter.

"These are my new roommates. They moved in last night. This is Kane," he said pointing to the blonde one, "and this is Erik." He finished pointing to the one with black hair.

"Nice to meet you." We all said.

"Kane, Erick, this is Britney, Lindsay and Jacelynn." Oliver said gesturing to each of us in turn.

"Hey." Erik said looking at each of us, but stopping to look at me last. I smiled politely and turned away remembering how I looked at the moment. Kane just nodded his head with a smile.

"Are you guys related?" I wondered, wanting to know if I had guessed right in my assumption.

"Yeah, we're brothers." Erik said with a shrug. It was almost as if he wished that wasn't so.

"Twins actually." Kane interjected with a slightly smug smile. I was confused by his smugness until Erik spoke again.

"He's older by three minutes, and he never lets me forget it." Erik said with an eye roll. Everyone laughed and Britney sighed as if she was annoyed by all of our conversation.

"Well it was nice meeting everyone, but we're going to be late and Jace needs to get dressed." Britney said with a sigh. I nodded and moved to my room.

"I'll be ready in like, five minutes." I called behind me.

"All the time in the world couldn't fix that hair." Oliver called after me. I stuck my tongue out at him and closed the door behind me with a chuckle.

I pulled my jammies off and folded them to put them on my bed. I dressed for the day in a blue sweater and skinny jeans topped off with an adorable pair of knee high winter boots with fur. It was damn cold outside since winter started and it had snowed for the first time last night. I was excited to take my new boots for a spin. I ran a brush through my snarly brown curls and slapped on some simple makeup. When I was ready to start the day, I made my bed, grabbed my book bag and stepped out of my room.

Britney, Lindsay, Oliver, Kane and Erik were all waiting for me when I came out. Oliver grinned at me and stood.

"Damn girl, you look hot." He commented.

"Are you hitting on me?" I asked with a smile. I knew the answer was no because Oliver was totally gay.

"Trust me, if I was straight, I totally would be." He assured me. I nodded.

"Good to know. I like your hair like that by the way. I know it didn't sound like it earlier, but I really do." I assured him. His hazel eyes sparkled.

"Who's hitting on whom now?" he asked with a wink. I just laughed.

"Alright, can we go? I really don't want to be late for class." Britney sighed.

"Who cares if we're late when we have such fine men here with us?" Lindsay purred, scooting closer to Kane, who looked a little uncomfortable. I noticed Erik looking at me again. He saw that he had been caught staring and smiled at me without looking away. I smiled back and turned to leave.

"Yeah, let's get outta here. I'm with Britt. I don't want to be late on the first day either. It sets a bad example." I laughed, grabbing my coat and heading out into the snow with the rest of the group.