Adventures in Dreamscapering

suspect

I am mildly aware of the throbbing sensations in my broken nose and acutely aware of the rising feeling of suspicion in my stomach every time I allow Max to put pills in me that alter my perception.

I am also mildly aware of the purple and violet activity blurring in hyper speed in front of me and very, very acutely aware of the soft feeling of small rectangle of grass I was sitting on and the fact that Max was pressing his mouth all up and down the side of my neck. If this was real life I would definitely be covered in hickeys.

We were in a Tokyo karaoke bar in a room with an indeterminate theme. There were blue neon lights lining the perimeter of the ceiling and partygoers came and went in front of us. The scene outside the window was dazzlingly beautiful; a bustling cityscape that stayed perpetually at night even thought it felt like hours had passed. Max had dreamscapered this scenery himself based on a a real life dream of mine to visit one of these Japanese karaoke bars. (I mean, I would have preferred to actually sing but all Max wanted to do was make out, which I guess I was down for.)

I was no longer in class, but rather sleeping at home in my bed after being sent to the hospital with my aforementioned broken nose from my hard collision with the desk. If I didn't focus on my surroundings I could still feel the pain, which may have led to the dream's instability had it not been for Max.

Max--I'm pretty sure every part of his body was touching my own; he was virtually wrapped around me from behind with his chest touching my back.

His contact made me shiver; my senses were heightened incredibly and his lips (now on my jawbone) felt electric.

Good thing? Bad thing? Is it bad I couldn't determine a difference?

My eyes were wide like I was watching a horror movie and I gripped a handful of the out of place strip of grass that we sat on extremely tight. I pulled out a clump and it immediately grew back.

This whole thing was trippy as frick.

"This whole thing is trippy as frick," I said out loud.

Max laughed a breathy snort that sent ants up my spine given his proximity to my skin.

"I know. Isn't it great?" Max said into my ear. This was positively too much, I separated myself from him before I ignited into flames. Max seemed visibly dismayed at this but didn't say anything.

"Uh, not really, I mean I feel really weird. I think I want to wake up now, actually...?" I said, standing up. The activity in the karaoke bar slowed down enough to where I could see faces; group of girls singing a gibberish loop of pop song while two guys sat on the couch laughing and drinking something.

"Uh, why?"

"Because we are somewhere where you can do anything ever and I'm just letting you eat my face."

Max looked temporarily angry before shrugging, his eyes a lot more muted in color than they were when we first got here.

"Oh. Do you want to do something...else?"

"I think I'm just gonna bounce. Later." Max protested a bit, standing up as I went up to a blank wall and imagined myself phasing through it and eventually I was on the other side.

I fell blankly down the length of the skyscraper which was lonely on a flat purple desert, contrary to the scene outside the window inside the bar. I could see my reflection in the sparse windows, one for each level in a row all the way down.

Suddenly I could see another me falling too, perhaps from another karaoke floor? I turned to her, tucking a piece of my dark hair behind my ear and smiling demurely.

"Hey!" I said, waving.
Other me said something frantically.
"What?" I shouted back.
"You are in grave danger!"
"What?" I replied more out of clarification then for need for repetition.

Max bursts from one of the lower windows, the glass exploding forth dramatically and slow.

"Max?"

Max collides with me as hard as he possibly can, which makes my whole body hurt.

"Wha--?"

I hit the wall of my bathroom with Max smashing into my ribs and pressing the air out of my body. We must have done some midair portal pass-through to get here. Max quickly rolls off of me, murmuring an apology.

"Don't ever talk to her ever again." Max's flirtatious demeanor disappears and his eyes flicker black and grey on right and left.

"Why--"
"Gwendolyn I need to leave right now."
"What's going on?" I grabbed his wrist in a weak attempt to deter him.

"Gwen stop!--" Max's voice was the most angry I have ever heard it before it ceased in a glitchy halt. Max disappeared into pixels and nothingness; I blink and I'm sitting on the floor in the bathroom with the lights turned on.

"Max? Max?" I shouted, my voice echoed strangely in my shallow bathroom and suddenly all the soap dishes and knickknacks on the counters began rattling deafeningly,

"Gwendolyn!"

I woke up again (the first time must have been a false awakening); my mom appeared  standing over me.

I swore on accident and my head hit the wall I was leaning against in surprise.

"Gwendolyn! Why are you sleeping in the bathroom?" my mom shouted.

"Uh. I don't know, actually." I stood up slowly, feeling dizzy. My nose smarted dully and pressed my fingers to it.

"What do you mean you don't know? Gwen---ugh, forget it. Get ready for school, Pheobe's gotta leave early for some project which means you have to leave early unless you want to take the bus."

"No, it's fine I'll get dressed now."

"Okay. Don't let me catch you saying bad words again."

I peered into the mirror upon my mother's exit at my reflection. I wanted to touch it but I was scared that my hand would go through it. Something was terribly, terribly skewed.

Max was hiding something from me.

a/n: Thanks for reading guys! So the Wattys has come around and I have decided I might slide this story right in there, but I want to have more chapters up before I enter it so I'll be updating this story a lot in the next couple weeks. Enjoy ^_^