Stolen Dreams

"???"

   Ah, so it seems they finally have found each other. At long last! They'll be coming soon. It seems there is hope for this land after all. At long last, our saviors shall arrive!

    Delilah stared in shock at him. She could barely believe her eyes. She had just (literally) bumped into the (literal) boy of her dreams.

"A-a-are you C-Carter?" Asked Delilah in a half whisper of wonder.

Could it really be him? Was such a thing even possible?

"You..." Carter quietly spoke, his eyes widening. His arms trembling as he picked himself off the floor, and reached out to help her up too. And when their hands touched they knew that this was no longer a simple dream. "You're Delilah, aren't you?"

"Y-yeah. I'm Delilah, that's me." She said with a shy giggle. Wow. He was even cuter in real life than in the dreams.

"I-uh... are you okay? I was running pretty fast." He asked a bit sheepishly. Real Delilah was kind of short, but in a cute way. Sort of like a tiger, lion, or bear cub. Adorable now, but get them angry later and you'll be dealing with a lot of trouble.

"It's okay. I'm alright." She replied. She was even better now that she had found him. Some dreams do come true after all.

"Ahem." Coughed Grace which startled the two, who just realized they had been staring at each other for a bit too long, and quickly pulled apart. "Now that you've finally found your Carter can we please go to lunch? I'm starving."

"Sure. Want to join us, Carter?" Asked Delilah with a smile. He had to say yes. She couldn't lose him right after finding him.

"Okay then." He said. But in his head, he was thinking two things. One, this is the strangest and coolest thing ever, and two, at least there aren't any other random monsters attacking me.

Since it was the first day, there was pizza available for everyone as a "welcome" lunch. A few students still opted out for a home packed meal, but most were feasting on cheesy goodness. All the tables were almost full, but they managed to find a few seats by the windows that faced south onto the tightly filled parking lot.

As they ate, they discussed the dreams about each other, with Grace giving scientific explanation as to how this was possible. It was typical of her to destroy beautiful fantasies with facts.

"The human brain cannot simply create a face in a dream, therefore, both of you have seen each other before, possibly unknowingly, which is why I believed and told Delilah that you had to be real. The question was to find you." She stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

"So now what? We go save the world or something?" He asked jokingly in spite of himself before taking another bite of his pizza.

"Well fate or your choices could lead you on a fantastical adventure... " she rambled on, daydreaming about all the possibilities. That was another thing about her. She ended up creating lots of fantasies as well.

"Well about that..." Carter interrupted. The girls turned and looked at him, wondering what he was going to say. "Well, I uh..." he paused for a second. Why was he going to tell them about that 'thing' he fought off in the janitors closet? Why was he even being friendly with them? And why did Delilah make his heart beat faster? He just had to ask himself these questions. Maybe these people could become temporary friends. Why ruin it by making them think he's crazy by saying "I turned a mop into a sword and battled some nightmarish creature"? He decided not to risk it. So instead he said "Isn't it possible to change your fate? By making decisions and stuff?" He asked. "Great you messed up despite what you just told yourself, great going Carter" he thought to himself quietly.

"That's a great philosophical question! What is fate anyway? Is it even real?" Pondered Grace out loud.

While she kept questioning, Delilah said "Sorry about her. She gets carried away a lot like that."

"Nah, it's cool. At least she understands the whole dream concept we're going through." Replied Carter.

"Yeah. So, uh, which school did you come from?" She asked in an attempt at small talk.

"Just plain old Hartsdale North Central. It's a bit southwest of here." He said casually. After a bit of thoughtful pizza chewing, he asked "And which one are you from?"

"Oh just Streamfield middle school, it's actually just a few blocks away."

"That's cool." he mumbled. Obviously, she was from this town and knew more people in this school than he did since she was from around here. Of all the new people in this school she could get to know, she had chosen him.

The bell annoncing the end of lunch interrupted his thoughts and everyone streamed out of the lunchroom, tossing their trash into garbage cans as they went along.

    "So, umm, same time tomorrow?" Asked Delilah hesitantly.

    "Yeah, sure. So, I guess I'll see you around, then. Bye." Carter said with a wave and a small smile. He then turned around and left, wondering a bit about what had just happened. It puzzled him, yet it was quite fascinating.

    "Delilah? Delilah Juliet Hollins!? Earth to Delilah, it seems you're stuck on planet Carter. Hello?" Gracie said while trying to get Delilah's attention. Delilah, a bit starstruck, had been staring off in the direction Carter had walked off in and it took her a moment to realize it.

    "Oops." She giggled nervously. "I guess I got a little distracted there."

    "Distracted? More like completely lost in a daydream." She murmured under her breath. "Come on, we have to go back to our group for the rest of the tour, and then the pep rally."

   "Yeah, I'm coming"
   
    Soon they shall come to redeem this tarnished and diseased homeland. We shall put an end to the decay and misery. We shall rise again, the dawn of a new age is on the horizon!