Forever Young

Chapter Eleven

"You live here?" My eyes widened as I took in the dream village. Boy, I sure had a wild imagination. Speaking of imagination, shouldn't I have woken up by now? I would have screamed no and shook my head to clear then thought, if one of the most gorgeous guys I'd ever laid eyes on hadn't been within spitting distance. But I was certain Leo already thought I was rude, not to mention a bit strange; I didn't want him to add full-blown mental patient who talks to herself to his list, dream boy or not.

"Yes. I was born here, and I've lived here all my life." A smile flashed across his face, and my heart rate picked up a notch or three. "Except," Leo said, turning his smile on me before he continued, "except for the time I've spent in your world."

Okay. Now I was thoroughly confused. "What do you mean, 'my world'?"

His brilliant smile turned cryptic. "You'll soon understand what I mean." Before I could ponder the meaning of that, he held out his hand. "Shall we go down?"

There it was again, that glimpse into another time and place far, far away from twenty-first century Virginia. I slid my hand into his once again, expecting him to give the back of it a courtly kiss, or bow, or call me mi'lady. To be honest, I was a little disappointed that he did neither of the three. Probably because you're not his lady, my traitorous mind said. Look at him. He probably has half a dozen medieval floozies waiting for him down there. What makes you think he'd want you? Even if he isn't real.

As much as that stung, my inner voice was right. I may have been average, but I was so far out of Leo's league, even my dreams couldn't conjure up anything more than friendship and a little innocent hand-holding. I sighed.

"Is something wrong?" Leo asked. "Do you not want to go down to the village?"

"No." He gave me a look. "I mean yes. I mean, nothing's wrong." I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. "I'm just a little nervous," I lied.

"About meeting the people?" I shook my head, but he continued, "Most of the villagers are asleep. I doubt we'll meet anyone."

I looked down to judge the distance between the top of the hill and the bottom. I hadn't realized how high - or how steep- it was. Maybe it was the darkness, or maybe it was because I was in a strange dreamland I couldn't wake up from, but my head swam. My breath came in short gasps. Please, God, not a panic attack. Not here. Not now. I sank to my knees and closed my eyes, hoping that would help.

I didn't notice Leo had pulled me away from the edge until I heard the soothing cadences of his voice. I may not have been able to fully understand what he said, but I felt the smoothness of his skin as he stroked my cheek. I kept my eyes shut and focused on those things, and my heart rate began its return to normal, as did my breathing. Tears of humiliation pricked my eyes, but I refused to open them. At least this way I wouldn't have to see Leo's reaction to my breakdown. So much for trying to show him I didn't belong in a "facility".

"Hey now, don't cry." He wiped the tears away with the pad of his thumb. "It's okay. Many people are afraid of heights. Here, can you stand?"

I opened my eyes to find him kneeling in the soft dirt in front of me. I didn't trust my vocal cords to work right, so I nodded instead. I'd had panic attacks before -namely while studying for the SAT, or applying to a college that I knew my mom and Brian would never let me attend- but they'd never been so...intense. And I'd definitely never had one in the middle of a dream.

Leo stood, then offered his hand. I took it, and he pulled me to my feet. He wiped a rogue tear from my cheek. "Are you okay, Elaine?"

"Yeah." Crap! My voice came out rustier than the hinges on Dracula's coffin. I cleared my throat. "I think so," I tried again, with much better luck. "Look, I'm sorry-"

Leo dismissed my apology with a wave of his hand. "No need to be sorry, love. Happens to the best of us."

Love? My stomach flipped before I could stop it. I looked away and pretended to study the mountains that lay beyond the Village Ambrosia. It's just a word, I told myself. Doesn't mean a thing. How could it? Just remember the floozies. That settled my stomach enough to allow me to turn my attention back to Leo without a trace of hope on my face.

"Well?" he asked.

Crap! While I'd been having my inner monologue, Dream Boy'd asked me a question. Heat flamed into my cheeks; they had to have been as pink as the clouds over the mountains. "I'm sorry. What?"

Leo smiled. "I said it's almost dawn, and I'm sure you'd rather return to your own world before your family notices you're gone. Can we meet here tomorrow night?"

"Sure, I guess." A thought flashed through my mind. Leo opened his mouth to speak, but I held up a finger and cut him off. "One question, though. How can I control my dreams so I'll be here again?"

Leo laughed, loud. The sound echoed off the forest walls. "Dear, sweet Elaine. You know how to return to this place. You've been doing it for years." Before I could ask him to clarify, he bent and kissed my cheek. "Til we meet again."

He turned and walked into the forest, leaving me standing there as the day broke over the village.