Sweet Dreams

I'm gonna use you and abuse you
I'm gonna know what's inside
Gonna use you and abuse you
I'm gonna know what's inside you

-Eurythmics, Sweet Dreams

I knew it was always going to be this way. Always. He was going down. And while I put my foot on his chest and waved my arms around like a fool. Then the world would know. I would dominate the world!

Mwahahahahaa!

But instead of that idea, the snowball decided to hit me right on the nose. Probably making it a bright cherry red.

"Hayden take cover!" I heard someone's muffle yell.

Snapping my head to the side, partly from the inpact from the damn snowball, and partly to see who could possibly be screaming so loudly and obnoxiously.

When I saw a huge black shadow sprinting over the snow, I casually pounced behind the huge fir tree.

"Jake! Over here you creeper!" The voice continued to try and save my life.

I peeked behind the tree, not hearing anything. What a mistake. A pair of huge, burly arms wrapped around my waist and heaved me in the air. Then, following the direction of gravity, I went flying, booty first, into the powdery snow.

Trying to keep it cool when the monster strolled over to my place in the snow, I dazedly swayed. The cackling followed. Cool arms wrapped around my shoulders.

Keep it cool and collected Hayden.

"Karate CHOP!" I screamed and side chopped some unlucky person's head. Ooh, take that you sucker!

"Damn it Hay!" I was dropped unceremoniously to the ground, letting out a loud 'huff' and raising a flurry of snow, as the long arms let me go. Most likely rubbing the pounding spot just over his forehead.

Recollecting my thoughts, from the fall, I twisted around to see the ugly face of my twin brother.

Well not ugly…But unattractive because he just dropped me to the ground! From a six three height!

"Hello brother dear!" I said glaring, as I dutifully picked myself up from the ground.

But not before I scraped a handful of snow. Of course it was incredibly stealthily.

Amber eyes locked on my pale hand. "Are you doing what I think you're doing?"

Faster than the eye could see, in reality it was incredibly slow, I launched the hunk of snow at his face. He attempted to dodge the ball, but he was only human. It hit him with a satisfactory 'plop' before I fled for my life.

I did not get far before I was tackled from behind, and a hand slowly forced my head to the evil whiteness.

"I'm sorrrryyyy! Let me gooooo! Jakey please let me goooo!" I cried, squirming around.

More than amused, he shoved my face into a painful white wash.

"Mmfphmpfhtpmfth," I gurgled.

"Hayden!" From a distance, I heard my best friend Ace, the one who tried to distract my brother, laugh.

"Jake, are you rapingyour own sister?" His baffled voice echoed faintly around the clearing.

Although my face was in immediate pain, no one attempted to help.

"Shut up homo," Jake chuckled.

Taking advantage to Jake's minor distraction, I pushed my face up, breaking contact with his hand. I spat the snow out, and wiped the rest that was on my face.

"I take offence to that!" Ace squealed.

He is incredibly gay.

"But do you deny it?" I choked. Jake slapped me on the back, earning himself a heated glare.

Ace's gorgeous face broke in a charming grin.

"Depends sweets. Would you sleep with me if I wasn't?"

Returning his smile, I grinned. "Of course, you are incredibly attractive."

Jake growled and punched my arm. The second glare of the day I sent his way, was pretty intimidating.

"How the hell can you not be wet?" Both of the boys had been rolling around in the snow earlier, and now, they had not a single wet snow. We were, after all, surrounded by at least a foot of snow.

They shared a look and instead of answering my question both of them gathered themselves and started walking away.

Bemused, I jumped up, wiped the snow off my butt, and calmly walked after them.

Obviously, it was winter. And in a limited amount of time, I was off to a new school. Leaving my private one that I attended deep in the Montana forests. Abandoning all my close friends for a school on the other side of the state.

The winter green trees surrounded us. All capped with an excessive amount of snow. The leaden down branches angled towards us, letting some of the fluffiness slide. The path we were walking on had little prints of animals.

"Snap out of it!" A pair of dark fingers entered my view. Snapping they quickly retracted.

"Babe, are you alright?" Ace had a caring voice.

Before I could answer, a piece of dark wood sticking up in the center of the trail tripped me. "Muffins!" I swore. That stupid piece of wood!

"Mom's waiting,"

I slapped both of their helping hands away and raised my head to see a flaming head of hair standing on a pine porch.

"Mommy!" I squealed.

"Suck-up," Jake muttered.

It's a common fact that mothers like their daughters better than their sons. It's not my fault I'm a girl and he's a boy! Sucker!

"Hayden, go clean your room!" She said, a small smile playing around her full, rose red lips.

"But mommy, Jakey hurt me!," I whined.

"Suck it up hun," she crossed her arms that were cloaked in a gray shawl. She turned around and pushed the glass door open, stepping into, what I presumed, heat.

Huffing, I climbed the wooden stairs, conscious of the guffawing behind me.

The room that I walked into was warm and full of gooey light. And the woman that was at the counter cutting chicken was charming. Her head of burgundy gold hair sat on her head in a messy bun, framing an angular and hard face.

"Hey mum," Jake brushed passed me and immediately went for the fridge.

Humming a reply, she stabbed the red pepper.

Behind me, Ace wrapped his arms around my stomach and placed his head on mine.

"You two could be the cutest couple!" Mum cooed, catching the act of tenderness.

"Except that Ace likes penises." Jake said, poking his head out of the fridge.

"Jake, mouth." Mom said as I looked up at Ace, waiting for his reply.

"I might like your penis." Ace wiggled his eyes suggestively at Jake.

Quickly, I danced away and jumped the seat at the kitchen's island.

"Watcha makin'?"

"Quesadillas," Aurora Erickson replied. She had kept my father's name when he left her. I guess that she loved him too much and in the end held on to the thing that reminded her of him.

"How was your day?" I sang at her.

Instead of replying to me she passed me a knife and potato.

So instead I just cut.

And cut.

In a matter of minutes my attention span wandered over to my brother. He was bent over; shoving god knows what in his face. Ace was sitting on the counter, kicking his feet. And mom was pasting some gooey looking sauce over a pie crust.

In a week I was leaving for a year. A whole flippin' year.

I was going to miss my mountains. All the crazy stuff that went around here. Especially my mom. She was going to be my main problem. I lived off of her. She fixed all my problems and sorted all my clothes out. And she never gave me the sex talk! You gotta love the parent that skips that. Although now I have no idea what happens in sexual intercourse. I could ask my brother but that would lead to the 'are you a virgin' talk. And I don't want that talk right now.

And my house! The log cabin I lived in for the past 14 years. A HUGE one. In the middle of nowhere too. It resembled a snow lodge, well the size did. We had a fireplace that roared in the living room and plush chairs that sucked you in when you read. And my little cat Mouse. Ironic, I know. But she looks more like a mouse than a cat. And all the snow. All the coldness.

I drew my eyes to the knife again. The steel glinted.

What would I do with my brother? We were close and stuff but I mean…I would have no one there except him and Ace.

I saw my short, tempered mother put the pan in the oven and laugh at some joke that Ace had just told.

I saw my twin chuck a bottle of Pepsi at my mom. I saw her catch it and place it on the counter. I saw so much and still, it wasn't close to enough.

So in the end I looked down at my little pale hands and the knife I clutched.

I shoved the stool back and stabbed the knife into the cutting board.

A headache was forming and I needed to sleep.

Jake's amber and gold eyes flashed to mine and flattered at something he saw. I rubbed little circles into my temples and lightly walked out of the room.

Weaving through the halls I came to my poster covered door, and twisted the glass knob. The door moaned and arched open.

Suddenly very emotional, I slammed the door shut. Anger bubbled inside of me and made me want to light something on fire. Watch it blaze. See it destroyed.

I hurled myself on the bed, panting and wanting to slam my head in the wall. My fists curled and my head pounded harder and harder. As forcefully as I could, I crashed back on my pillows.

It was like everything was mocking me. I wanted to burn. I wanted to scream and rage. Turning into my bedding, I screamed and screamed, but no one heard.

It was blazing in my room. It was so hot and sticky.

Slowly I saw the blackness coming. When it hit me, I went under.

It all burned.

The wood came crashing down and the flames licked the sides of the walls.

Heat.

It made me think of passion. The fire blazed and roared in the house.

The oranges and blues and reds reach towards the sky. The pinks and greens expand to the sides, consuming everything. Black fire that is cold comes cascading into the mix. It is all varied and soon, a picture of devastation is painted. It is all pain and hurt, the story of someone's life.

Then gold flames came. They consume everything, battling the blackness back. Silver plays around the edges, waiting for the black. But it is in the center. So far in, the gold trying to purge it is losing. But the black is slowly withdrawing and the gold is rising above it.

The only two colors are left, the proud gold and the endless black. They explode in clouds of chaos.

And in view comes a boy. With black hair and green eyes. The fire parts from him. His golden skin parts the blaze in a sweep of nothing.

And he is beautiful.

The scene changed.

Two people stood away from each other. Others milled around the sides.

One was a beautiful raven haired boy with piercing green and gold eyes.

The other was brown haired boy with silver grey eyes.

It was a battle.

Both of them squared off.

The raven boy started to dance with the other boy.

It changed again.

He was laughing with a familiar blonde boy.

And then he was looking at me.

And his gaze was so intense I wanted to burn. Like his flames of blue and red and orange.

He held his hand out to me, and confusion etched everywhere, even the air, a wall of gold and blue swirled around us. When out hands touched I was the fire. We were the fire.

It changed for a third time.

It is a box of gold and blue. Sapphires and emeralds. Gold and silver. Water and fire. Earth and Air.

Somewhere inside I feel the heat. The devastation. The love.

The lid, so tightly sealed, opens. Inside, sitting on red velvet a roaring dragon necklace is placed.

Bending over it, I see the details of feathers and scales. The gold body isn't twisting, it is solid and leads off to two wings that spread over its head. The claws filed to points are grasping at air.

And suddenly, her eyes open. Sparkling blue orbs stare out of the necklace.

Bolting up in my bed, I grabbed at my neck. Always conscious of the fact I was scorching and the sweat that lazily ran down my neck and back was ice cold.

My fingers came in contact with a chain. When I looked down, a thin rope of gold was looped around my neck. Hanging off in, almost languidly, was a bullion outline of a dragon.

And the only thing that I could do was listen to the beating of my heart.