and the stars will all come out

chapter thirteen! ☆

"FUCK, LAN..."

He was perfectly aware that it was a dream, and it wasn't real, but Dave didn't care: his hand felt real, and Landry's thigh felt real, and in this weird, alternate version of the basement, he was more enthralled by her than he'd ever been in his life.

She was laying down on the couch, in the beige Foo Fighters t-shirt again, and he was scared to move his hand up her bare thigh. Her legs were in his lap, and they felt real. Real and smooth and soft to the point where his heart was racing in his chest - he really wasn't sure if she was wearing anything under this shirt, again.

In all honesty, he had never felt anything this intense. He wasn't sure if his heart was beating. It didn't feel like he was breathing.

Dumbstruck, he looked up at her eyes and stated the obvious: "You're fucking perfect."

Landry smiled her beautiful nervous smile, and Dave was suddenly struck by the most dizzying urge to lean in and kiss her.

He knew he was dreaming, but nervous, he couldn't help but hesitate.

When he opened his mouth, he was stuttering again. "Can - can I-"

"Yeah," Landry said before he could even finish the sentence, then she reached forward and tugged on his shirt, yanking him closer to her, spreading her legs to bring him closer.

Dave's brain was jammed.

Holy shit, holy shit, I'm on top of her, holy shit---

CRASH!

Bursting with fright, Dave's eyes suddenly shot open: he'd rolled directly off the couch and had narrowly missed crashing into the coffee table on the way down. Reality quickly came flooding back, and he was once again reminded that everything he'd just seen wasn't real, he'd been dreaming, but holy shit--

As he came to, his face was pressed into the carpet, the blanket was tangled around his legs, and he felt strangely wet. A drink had evidently fallen off the coffee table and onto him.

Confused, his heart racing because of the abrupt wakeup, he pulled himself to his feet and automatically replaced the half-full can of Coors Light that had been on the coffee table. Ever since they'd moved to Virginia, it was impossible to run out of those cans.

Holy shit. He wanted to calm down from what had just happened, but that seemed nearly impossible.

Damp with sweat and beer, Dave hoisted himself back onto the couch and pulled the blanket back over him, trying to comprehend what he just saw.

Quit acting like it was some kind of magical vision, a voice in his head complained. So you had a sex dream about the girl you like. Big deal.

Then--

She's not coming with you to Nashville, dude.

Exhausted, Dave glanced over at the clock: it was 6:06 AM.

That's not too early to start getting ready, he decided, flinging the blankets off of him once again. After all, he was going to Nashville that following morning, and he still needed to pack.

☆

LANDRY'S HEART WAS BEATING HARD WHEN SHE SHOWED UP TO EVELYN'S HOUSE THURSDAY EVENING.

Keep it cool, she reminded herself for the thousandth time, ever since she'd gotten into the car. No matter how many times she reminded herself that everything was okay and there was nothing she couldn't figure out, it didn't seem to stop the freezing sensation in her stomach, or her heart pounding in her chest, or the feeling of impending doom rushing through her veins. In all honesty, she wasn't sure why she hadn't started shaking yet, but she had no other choice than to reassure herself: just keep it cool.