Black and White and Streaks of Love

Chapter Eight: Pacifica's P.O.V. I Dream of You

The forest grows blurry, until everything is black. I sink into a dream.
And immediately, my surroundings turn black and white. I regret falling asleep. I want to wake up now, but I'm already so tired that there's no hope. I'm so comfortable with Mabel by my side.
"Aye, Paz! You're dreaming of me, how sweet," says a yellow triangle coming into view.
"I'd rather not be," I reply with agony. Why does this happen every time I sleep?
"Yeah, well I've been dreaming about the universe, and I'm getting impatient," he tells me.
  "How in the world would I ever give you the universe?" I snap. "And if I could, I wouldn't!"
  "It just takes a little persuasion, that's all," Bill taunts. "And of course, I could always give you something in return."
  "I have everything I need!" I yell. I begin to notice that I'm too easily annoyed by him.
  "Really? Do you?" He comes closer. "It's okay to want things. It doesn't make you greedy. It's part of your silly, pointless, human life!"
  "I have Mabel. She's all I want and need. With her, I'm happy."
  "You only need her, then?"
  I nod, confident.
  "Only her," he whispers, and as he fades to a glitch like a television screen, I realize that I'm waking up.
  I wake up with Mabel staring up at the stars next to me.
  "Hey," I mutter to her.
  Without looking down at me, she murmurs back, "Hey."
  "Looking at the sky?" I ask as I sit up.
  She nods. "Back in California, there's so much pollution in the middle of town that you can barely see them. But here, in the middle of the woods in a small town, they're all so bright. Stars are so beautiful."
  "Just like you."
  She smiles and snorts, which causes us both to crack up.
  She is truly all I need.