Dream Walker

Chapter 36 | Bubbly

"You make it look so easy!"

"Just do what I tell you, okay?"

"Okay."

"Does it feel smooth?"

"Very smooth and wet."

"Now push your tongue through—gentle, gentle."

"Mhmm." Callie's mouth was otherwise occupied, so it came out as a hum.

"Now blow."

The bubble was the largest she'd managed thus far. The gum made a cracking noise as she popped it with her tongue and drew it back into her mouth. She felt a surprising amount of pride about successfully blowing a bubble with gum, considering she could hop between worlds at will. Until Alex had offered to teach her, though, blowing bubblegum had been beyond her natural abilities.

Their whole morning together had been perfect. She had slept soundly through the night and awoken to the sound of a whirring blender. While Alex's offer of a smoothie in bed might have seemed odd to some, Callie had been delighted. Plus, he streamed a cooking show they both liked on his laptop while they relaxed on his bed.

The gum came about after the delicious fruit-filled drink. She needed the feeling of a clean, minty mouth after her long night, but she drew the line at using someone else's toothbrush. Watching TV characters borrow a used toothbrush had always made her shudder.

While the sounds of frantic chefs talking about their recipes continued to stream from Alex's laptop, Callie chewed her gum pensively. She felt drained after the amount of emotion and tears that had spilled out the night before. Her eyes and cheeks were still slightly swollen when she touched them. A thought crossed her mind, escaping her lips before she could stop it.

"Why don't you just leave this organization behind? Do you even want to be a Guardian?"

He drew in a sharp breath, startled by her question. "The Order is a very...dangerous group to cross. Resigning my job and walking away is not that easy."

"What would happen if you left?"

She rearranged her body against the pillows so she could look at him. His hair was slightly messy, tousled by the static from his pillowcase. His long legs splayed out haphazardly, though he made sure she had plenty of space on her side of the bed.

"Eh, well, I know a lot of things that would confuse and terrify the general public, so..."

Callie waited for him to finish the statement. She tried to meet his gaze, but he was staring intently at the wall across the room. His jaw was clenched tight, making the angle of his jaw sharp enough to cut paper.

"So?" she asked.

"The Order does important things to protect us from other worlds. That's enough for me."

"Would they kill you if you left?" She felt sure that Alex's reticence was out of fear or some similar emotion. The threat of danger must be real if he wouldn't even consider leaving.

He cleared his throat, then finally met Callie's gaze. "Maybe. I don't know."

"I could protect you. Apparently, I have 'supernatural powers.'" A small smile split the corner of her mouth as she attempted to bring some levity back to their interaction, fingers bending to form air quotes.

"You probably could," he said wistfully. "But you need to lay low as long as The Order is paying attention to you. Obviously, they don't think you're too dangerous—they sent an inexperienced kid, after all."

A new thought occurred to her. "Will you follow me indefinitely? Or just until I'm determined to be harmless?"

"Aw, worried your stalker is going to abandon you?"