The Vampire Diaries(BxB)

Dinner Bites

I'm getting out of Mark's car, as does he, and shut my door. "I'm not saying don't date the guy. I'm just saying take it slow." He says, approaching me, as I point at him, and we start walking. "You were the one who said to go for it." I say, and put my hand down. "Now I'm saying take it slow." He says, smiling. "Why the about face?" I ask. "It's not an about face. You're single for the first time in your entire high school career. It's the perfect time to play the field." He says, and I laugh. "Oh, because I'm so that boy. I'm the school Nerd, remember? Who has only done one sport and that's Swimming. Seriously, what are you not saying?" I ask. "It's stupid." He says, and I stop him. "Mark.." I say. "What?" He asks, as I put my hand down. "Spit it out." I say. "I accidentally touched Stefan and got a really bad feeling." He says. "Is that it?" I ask, and he begins to walk off, and I grab his wrist, and he faces me, and I let go. "It was bad bad." I say. "Is this the whole Warlock Mojo thing again?" I ask. "You know what, I'm just concerned. This is me being concerned about my best friend's new boyfriend." He says, and I touch his arms. "And I love you for it, I do. But I feel good." I say, and put my hands down. "And I'm starting to kind of feel like things are getting back to normal again, or actually, even better. I've actually been eating and it didn't happen as much until I met Stefan. He's a big part of that. You know what he said to me when he tried to kiss me and I cried because I was afraid of getting hurt? He said, you're safe with me, and then we kissed." I say, smiling, and he smiles back. We're walking through the grass, and Stefan approaches us. "Good morning, Ethan." He says, smiling, and I smile back, and he looks at Mark. "Good morning, Mark." He says. "Hey, uh, I gotta go find Tony. He's not answering his phone." Mark says, as I look at him. "So I'll catch you guys later." He says, and walks off, and I turn to him. "Mark, wait.." I say, and he continues walking off, and I look at Stefan. "He doesn't like me very much." He says, and I step closer, smiling. "He doesn't know you. He's my best friend, he's just looking out for me. But when he does, he will love you." I say, and we start walking off. "That uh.. kiss was really epic, I guess you could say." I say, smiling. "You're shy, aren't you?" He asks. "Around new people, yeah." I say. "Also heard you're really smart." He says, smiling. "Oh, really?" I ask, smiling, and he laughs. "I'm uh.. the smartest kid here. According to.. um.. everyone. I mean, I don't brag, they just call me that." I say. "Well, I think it's adorable." He says, and I laugh. "Here's what we're gonna do. Are you free tonight?" I ask, and he steps in front of me. "Yes." He says, smiling. "Perfect." I say, smiling. "Dinner, my house. Eight o'clock. You, me, and Mark. You two will spend some quality time and he'll get to see what a great guy you are. Mission accomplished." I say, and he laughs, and a football appears, and he turns around, quickly, catching it, and I gasp, smiling, and he throws it back, and Tyler catches it, almost falling, and I laugh, and the bell rings, and we walk into school. "That throw was insane. I didn't know you played Football." I say. "I used to. It was a long time ago." He says. "So why don't you try our for the team? I'm sure they'll let you on, even if you like guys." I say. "Yeah, just don't think so. About me joining the team part." He says, and we approach my locker, and I begin to open it. "So you don't like Football?" I ask. "No, I love Football. I think it's a great sport. But in this case, I don't think Football likes me." He says, and I open my locker. "You saw Tyler over there, and we both know how Matt feels." He says. "They don't know you. To them, you're mysterious loner guy." I say, taking off my jacket. "Wouldn't hurt to be part of. Make some friends." I say, and look at my locker, and put my jacket in there. "Says the boy who spends his alone time in a Cemetery." He says, jokingly, as I look at him. "Hey, come on. There's more to me than just Gloomy Graveyard Guy." I say, as he smiles, and I look back at my locker. "There's a whole other Ethan that you have yet to meet." I say, and face him. "He was into swimming and studying. Very busy." I say. "Well, I look forward to meeting him." He says, smiling, and the bell rings. "And when will that be?" He asks, and I shut my locker. "Soon. He's working on it." I say, smiling, and we walk off to class. "World War two ended in.. anyone got anything? Miss Juan?" Tanner asks. "Nineteen forty five." I say. "Good work on redemption, Mr. Gilbert." He says, and I turn back to Stefan. "FYI. Our Team sucks. They could use you." I whisper. "Can't. I'm a loner." He whispers, and I give a small laugh. "Mr. Gilbert?" Tanner asks, and I look at him. "Hm?" I ask. "Pearl Harbor?" He asks. "December seventh, nineteen forty one." Stefan says, as I look at him, smiling. "Thank you, Mr. Gilbert." Tanner says. "Any time." Stefan says, as I look forward, and everyone but Tanner, laughs. "Very well. Fall of the Berlin Wall." Tanner says. "Nineteen eighty nine." Stefan says, as I look at him. "I'm good with dates, sir." He says. "Are you?" Tanner asks, as I look at him. "How good? Keep it to the year. Civil Rights Act." He says, and I look back at Stefan. "Nineteen sixty four." He says. "John F. Kennedy Assassination." Tanner says. "Nineteen sixty three." Stefan says. "Martin Luther King." Tanner says. "Sixty eight." Stefan says. "Lincoln." Tanner says. "Eighteen sixty five." Stefan says, as I look at Tanner. "Roe vs. Wade." He says. "Nineteen seventy three." Stefan says, and Tanner approaches him. "Brown vs. Board." He says. "Nineteen fifty four." Stefan says. "The Battle of Gettysburg." Tanner says. "Eighteen sixty three." Stefan says. "Korean War." Tanner says. "Nineteen fifty to nineteen fifty three." Stefan and I both say, and I look at him, and we smile at each other. "Ha! It ended in fifty two." Tanner says, laughing. "Uh, no." I say, looking at Tanner. "Uh, actually, sir, it was fifty three." Stefan says, as I look at him. "Look it up, somebody. Quickly!" Tanner exclaims. "It was nineteen.. fifty three." A guy says, as we look at him, and all the students laugh and clap, as I smile at Stefan, and the bell rings. I'm walking with Stefan, laughing. "How did you know all of that?" I ask, as he's smiling. "Years and years of Crossword Puzzles. It's a Loner thing. But I'm sure you would of known them, too." He says, and I playfully roll my eyes, and he kisses my cheek. "I'm going to go to uh.. swim practice." I say. "And I will go to the bleachers." He says, offering his left hand, and I take it, smiling, and we walk off. I arrive to the Swimming Pool, which is outside, and see Mark. "Oh, my God! You're here!" He exclaims, and hugs me, as I laugh, and hug back, and we release, smiling at each other. "Yep. I can't be sad boy forever. The only way to get things back to the way they were are to do things that were." I say, and begin stretching. "Oh, and you're coming to Dinner tonight?" I ask. "I am?" He asks, smiling, and he stretches. "You, me, and Stefan." I say, sitting down, and he rolls his eyes. "You have to give him a chance." I say. "But tonight's no good." He says. "Why?" I ask. "Have you seen Tony? I texted him like a hundred times." He says, and I give a small laugh. "Don't change the subject, Mark Bennett." I say, and he sits down. "You're going to be there." I say, and extend my legs. "Fine! I'll go." He says, as I look at my legs. "Good." I say, smiling. "Seriously, where is Tony?" He asks, and I stop stretching, and grab my water bottle, and sip it. "I don't know. It's not like him." I say, and sit my bottle down. "Try him again." I say, and he sighs, and picks up the phone, calling him, and I hear music, and see him in an approaching vehicle. "Uh.." I say, pointing at him, as Mark puts the phone down. "Oh, my God." He says, and I notice Damon. "That must be the mystery guy from the Grill." He says, as I see Mark and Tony, kissing, and then they stop. "That's not a mystery guy. That's Damon Salvatore." I say, as Tony gets out of the car, and Mark and I stand up. "Salvatore, as in Stefan?" He asks, and Tony approaches us, wearing a gray scarf and sunglasses. "I got the other brother. Hope you don't mind." He says, and walks past us. "Sorry I'm late, boys. I, uh, was busy." He says, and I look at Damon. "All right, Let's start with four sets of down and back, what do you say?" Tony asks, and Damon smiles at me, and drives off. We're in our lanes, swimming, as I'm on my last lap, and swim back to Caroline, and get out of the water, and put my goggles on top of my head. "Ethan, buddy, why don't you just observe today? K?" He asks, and I roll my eyes, and I walk over to the grass, and see Stefan running to the Football field in gear, and I smile, and walk over to the bleachers. They're running, and Stefan catches the ball, and I smile, and he takes his helmet off, and runs to the other players, and I look back at the Swimming Pool, and look back at the Football players, and turn around, and walk back to the Swimming Pool. It's later at night, as I'm with Mark in the kitchen. "You explain it. Last night, I'm watching nine o. A commercial break comes on, and I'm like, I bet it's that phone commercial!, and sure enough, it's that guy and the girl with the bench." He says, as I smile, and take out a bowl of Lasagna wrapped in tin foil. "He flys to Paris and he flys back. They take a picture." He says, and I laugh. "Oh, come on. That commercial's on a constant loop." I say, and set the bowl down. "Fine. Well, how about this? Today, I'm obsessed with numbers." He says, and I look at him, and open the container. "Three numbers. I keep seeing eight, fourteen, and twenty two. How weird is that?" He asks. "Maybe we should play the Lottery." I say, and he rolls his eyes, and I laugh. "Have you talked to your Grams?" I ask, and look back at the Lasagna. "She's just gonna say it's because I'm a Warlock. I don't want to be a Warlock. Do you want to be a Warlock?" He asks, as I put the Lasagna in a nice bowl. "I don't want to be a Warlock. Although, you probably could do some really cool spells." I say. "And putting it in a nice bowl isn't fooling anybody." He says, as I smile. "Ok, Serving Spoons. Where are the Serving Spoons?" I ask, going to my drawers. "Middle drawer on your left." He says, and I open it, and take out two Serving Spoons, and walk back over to him after closing the drawer. "Ok, so you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times." I say, putting the spoons in the bowls. "Yeah, that's it." He says, and the doorbell rings, and I look at the door, and back to Mark. "Ok, he's here. Don't be nervous. Just be your normal, loving self." I say, handing him a spoon, and walk to the door, and open it, and see him. "Hi." I say, smiling. "Hey." He says, and kisses me, and I offer my left hand, and he takes it. We're sitting down at the table together, as it's quiet, and I sip my Pepsi. "Did Tanner give you a hard time today? I heard Tyler Lockwood purposely knocked you down to be a jerk." I say. "Well, Tanner let me on the team, so I must have done something right." He says, and I give a small laugh. "I'm so talking to Tyler next time I see him. Mark, you should have seen Stefan today." I say, and look at him. "Tyler through a ball right at him, and." I say, and he interrupts me. "Yeah, I heard." He says, smiling. "Why don't you uh.. tell Stefan about your family?" I ask. "Um, divorced. No Mom. Live with my Dad." He says, and gives a small laugh. "Hm." Stefan says. "No, about the Witches, well, for you, Warlock." I say, and Stefan looks at me. "Mark's family has a lineage of Witches. It's really cool." I say. "Cool isn't the word I'd use." Mark says, and I look at him. "Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic Druids that migrated here in the eighteen hundreds." Stefan says. "My family came by way of Salem." Mark says. "Really?" Stefan asks, and Mark nods. "Salem Witches?" Stefan asks. "Yeah." Mark says, laughing, and Stefan looks at me, and I smile. "I would say that's pretty cool." He says. "Really? Why?" Mark asks, as we look at him. "Salem Witches, and Warlocks, are heroic examples of Individualism and Non Conformity." Stefan says, and Mark smiles. "Yeah, they are." He says, and I take a bite of my pasta, and give a small laugh, and the doorbell rings, and I look behind me, and back at them. "I wonder who that could be." I say, and stand up, and walk to the door and open it, and see Tony holding a pie, and Damon behind him. "Surprise! Mark said you were doing Dinner, so we brought dessert." Tony says. "Oh." I say. "Hope you don't mind." Damon says, as I look at him, and he smiles, and I take the pie from Tony. "What are you doing here?" Stefan asks Damon, and I turn around. "Waiting for Ethan to invite me in." Damon says. "Oh, yeah, you can just." I say, and Stefan interrupts me. "No, no, no. He can't, uh.. he can't stay." He says, and looks at Damon, and back to me, and I look at Damon. "Can you, Damon?" He asks. "Get in here." Tony says, as I look at him, and then to Stefan. "We're just.. finishing up." He says. "It's fine." I say, and turn to Damon. "Just come on in." I say, smiling, and Damon walks in, as I look at Stefan. "You have a lovely home, Ethan." Damon says, as I look at him. "Thank you." I say. We're all on the couch, talking. "I can't believe Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Oh, Tyler must be seething. But good for you. Go for it." Tony says, as I look down at my coffee, and up to Stefan, and smile, and he smiles back. "That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it." Damon says, as I look at him. "Yeah, Ethan wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed Summer Camp. God, I don't ever know how you're gonna learn those strokes." Tony says. "I'll work with him. He'll get it." Mark says. "I guess we could move him lower down." Tony says, as I look at him. "You don't seem like the Swimmer type, Ethan." Damon says, as I look at him, and look forward, and sip my coffee. "Oh, it's just because his parents died." Tony says, and I look at him. "Yeah, I mean, he's totally going through a blah phase. He used to be way more fun. Besides all that studying part. And I say that with complete sensitivity." He says. "I'm sorry, Ethan." Damon says, as I look at him. "I know what it's like to lose both your parents." He says, and I look down. "In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die." He says, as I look up at him. "We don't need to get into that right now, Damon." Stefan says. "Ah, you know what, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry. The last thing I want to do was bring him up." Damon says, sighing and smiles, and I look forward. I'm putting dishes away, and hear footsteps, and turn around, and see Damon holding a glass. "One more." He says. "Oh, thank you." I say, smiling, and he tosses it to me, and I gasp, and he catches it, and holds it up, and I laugh. "Nice save." I say, smiling, and take it, and he laughs. "I like you." He says, pointing to me, and puts his hand down. "You know how to laugh. And you make Stefan smile, which is something I haven't seen in very long time." He says, walking over to the other side of the dishwasher, and I look up at him, and put the glass in the dishwasher. "Earlier, did you mean.. Alex?" I ask, as I grab a plate, and put it towards the dishwasher, and he takes it, putting it in. "Mhm." He says. "How did he die?" I ask, as he straightens up. "In a fire. Tragic fire." He says, putting another plate in the sink. "Recently?" I ask, as he straightens up. "Well, it seems like it was yesterday." He says, smiling, and I grab another plate. "What was he like?" I ask. "He was handsome. A lot like you in that department." He says, and takes the plate from me, and puts it in the dishwasher, and straightens up. "He was just very complicated and selfish, and at times but very kind. But very sexy and seductive." He says, smiling at me. "So which one of you dated him first?" I ask, picking up a plate and hand it to him, and he laughs, taking it. "Nicely deduced." He says  and puts it in the dishwasher, and straightens up. "Ask Stefan. I'm sure his answer differs from mine." He says, and closes the dishwasher, and straightens back up, and I give a small smile, and walk over to rags, and begin folding them. "I'd quit swimming if I were you." He says, and sits in front of me, as I look at him. "Why do you say that?" I ask. "Oh, I saw you at practice. You looked miserable." He says. "You saw that?" I ask, looking at the rags. "Am I wrong?" He asks, and I look up at him. "I used to love it. It was fun. Things are different this year. Everything that used to matter doesn't anymore, besides studying." I say. "So don't let it. Quit, move on. Problem solved. Ta da." He says, and I give a small laugh. "Some things could matter again." I say. "Maybe." He says, and helps me fold. "But.. seems a little unrealistic to me." He says, and I look down, and back up to him. "I'm sorry." I say, and he looks confused. "About Alex. You lost him, too." I say, and give a small smile. "Hey." Mark says, and we look at him. "Need some help?" He asks, and I give a small laugh. "Sure, why not?" Damon asks. I'm sitting on my bed, next to Stefan, with my AP Psychology book open, and look up at him. "Tonight wasn't so bad. I had fun." I say, smiling. "Hm. That makes one of us." He says, smiling, and I give a small laugh. "Come on. Your brother isn't as bad as you make him out to be.." I say, and he touches my bottom lip, with his right index finger, and I look at it, and he puts it down some, and touches my cheek with his hand, and kisses me, and I wrap my arms around his neck, and he takes my book, and tosses it to the ground, and we lay down on my bed, as I lower my hands, and I lay on top of him on the end of my bed, and he throws my stuffed Owl, and I give a small laugh, and take off my shirt, and so does he, and he changes to Damon, and I scream, and wake up, gasping, and get out of bed, and walk over to my desk, and pick up my glass. It's the next morning, as I'm walking out of the shower, with a towel around me, and walk over to my bed, and look at my Swim Jacket, and walk over to my mirror, and look down at the picture of me in my Swim Jacket with goggles on top of my head, and touch the picture. I'm at school, as there's a big game tonight, and I'm wearing my black shirt and jeans, carrying my red Jansport bag and see Stefan in his jersey, smiling at me. "Ooh. Look at you. You look great in your jersey." I say, smiling. "What happened? No more Swimmer?" He asks. "I quit. I'm a Quitter." I say, and he holds my hands, gently. "No, hey, you're not a Quitter. You suffered a great loss. You're not the same person. You should be looking ahead." He says, as I'm looking down, and back up to him. "You should be starting over. Ok?" He asks, and I smile and nod. "Um, last night when I got home, Damon said that he noticed your left side is more tense than your right. You okay?" He asks. "I got injured real bad, and.. I can't lift my left arm above my head or out all the way." I say. "Oh, I'm sorry." He says. "It was a long time ago." I say. "Uh, I hope you don't think this is too soon or too weird, but.." He says, smiling, and I see he pulls a box out of his pocket. "I, uh, I wanted you to have this." He says, and opens it, and I see a golden bullet necklace, and I pick it up, gently, as I give a small laugh. "Oh, my God. It's awesome." I say. "It's something that I've had forever, and, uh, I've never wanted to give it to anyone until now." He says, as I look at him, and smile. "I'd very much like it if you'd wear it for me, for good luck." He says, and I look back at it, and I smell something, and smell the necklace. "Is that Rose that I smell?" I ask. "No, it's, uh. It's an herb. It's nice, huh?" He asks. "I love it." I say, and turn around, and put it on, and he hooks it. "And, uh, I wanted to thank you for pushing me to try out for the team." He says, and puts his hands down, and I look back at him, smiling. "It feels really good." He says. "We're a pair. I quit, you start." I say. "Right." He says, smiling, and looks down, and I laugh, and he looks up at me. "We're a work in progress. We'll figure it out." He says, and I stand up on my heels, and kiss him, and put my heels down, and I smile at him, and he smiles back, and begins to walk off, and I grab his wrist, and he looks at me, and I stand up on my heels again, and kiss him, and put my heels down. "That one was for good luck." I say, smiling, and he laughs, and walks off, and I turn around, and see Tony. "And you're not in your Swim Jacket because?" He asks. "Because I'm not cold?" I ask. It's later at night, as the game's about to start, and I see Stefan, and smile. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait. Now let's be honest here." Tanner says into the microphone, and I see Stefan smiling at me, and I smile more. "In the past, we used to let other teams come into our town and roll right over us!" Tanner exclaims, and we all boo, and stop. "But that is about to change." He says, and we all cheer, and clap. "We got some great new talent starting tonight on the Offensive line, and I'm gonna tell you right now, it has been a long time since I have seen a kid like this with hands like these." He says, pointing to Stefan, and puts his hand down, and I cup my hands to my mouth, and cheer loudly, and put my hands down, and clap. "Stefan Salvatore!" He exclaims, and we all cheer louder, and stop. "We have a school that has been waiting for us for us to put a check in the win column, I only have one thing to say to you. Your Timberwolves are hungry." Tanner says, and we all cheer again. "And the Central High Lions are what's for Dinner!" He yells, and we all cheer louder, and I see Stefan walk off, as I stop cheering, and follow him, running, and see Jeremy on the ground, picking up broken glass, and stands up, quickly. "Jeremy, no!" I exclaim, and see Stefan push Tyler out of the way, and he gets cut instead, and I gasp. "Tyler! Knock it off! Stop!" Matt yells, shoving Tyler back, and I run over to Jeremy. "What the hell, Jeremy? Put your head up you're bleeding." I say, touching his forehead, and he shoves my hand off. "I'm fine!" He exclaims, and I can smell alcohol. "Yeah, you smell fine." I say. "Just stop, ok?" He asks, and I see him walk off. "Come on, man. Come on." Matt says to Tyler, and I hear shoving, and turn around, looking at Stefan's hand that's bleeding. "Oh, my God, your hand." I say, running over to him, and reach for it, as he closes it, and puts it behind him. "No, no, no, it's fine." He says, and I grab it. "Is it deep? How bad is it?" I ask, and he won't open it. "Come on." I say, and he opens it, and I see dried blood. "But.. I saw it." I say, and he interrupts me. "He missed. It's not my blood." He says, wiping his hands on his pants, and holds his hand up. "See? I'm fine." He says, and puts his hand down. "No, no, no. I. I saw it. The glass cut your hand." I say, and he interrupts me. "It's okay. I'm okay." He says, nodding, and I look back his hand. "It's almost kick off time, all right?" He asks, and I look up at him. "So, um, I'll, uh, I'll see you after the game." He says, and I nod, and he walks off, and I turn around, watching him walk off. I approach Tony, as he's directing the other Swimmers, and Mark approaches me. "Hey! Where you been?" He asks. "Can I ask you a question and you give me a really serious no joke response?" I ask. "Of course. What is it?" He asks. "The Bad Mojo. When you touched Stefan and you had that reaction." I say, and he interrupts me. "You know what, forget I said that. Your little Dinner Party Plot totally won me over." He says, smiling. "No, Mark, seriously, what was it? Did you see something, or.." I say, and he shakes his head. "It wasn't clear like a picture. Like today, I keep seeing those same numbers I told you about. Eight, fourteen, twenty two." He says. "Yeah?" I ask. "When I touched Stefan, it was a feeling. And it vibrated through me and it was cold, and it." He says, and stops. "And what?" I ask. "It was Death. It's what I imagine Death to be like." He says, nodding. I'm walking to my silver Jeep, and press the trunk buttons and my alarm chirps, and I pull the window down, and put my bag in, and close the window, and lock it back, and turn around, and see Damon, and gasp. "You scared me. What are you doing here?" I ask. "I'm hiding from Tony." He whispers. "And why is that?" I whisper. "I needed a break. He talks more than I can listen." He says. "That could be a sign." I say, nodding. "Well, he's awfully young." He says. "Not much younger than you are." I say, and he gives a small chuckle. "I don't see either going anywhere in the bigger picture. I think he'd drive me crazy." He says, smiling. "Tony does have some really annoying traits, but we've been friends since the First Grade and that means something to me." I say. "Duly noted. I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable. That's not my intention. How's your left side?" He asks. "It's fine. I got injured a long time ago. I can't lift my arm over my head or out all the way. Yes, it is your intention. Otherwise you wouldn't put an alternate meaning behind everything you say." I say, and he smiles more. "You're right. I do have other intentions, but so do you." He says, as he stops smiling. "Really?" I ask. "Mhm. I see them. You want me." He says. "Excuse me?" I ask. "I get to you. You find yourself drawn to me. You think about me even when you don't want to think about me. I bet you even dreamed about me." I say, and notice his eyes flicker. "And right now.. you want to kiss me." He says, smiling, and leans forward, and I shove him. "What the hell? I don't know what game you're trying to play with Stefan here, but I don't want to be part of it. And I don't know what happened in the past, but let's get one thing straight. I am not Alexander." I say, and walk off. I'm by my car with Stefan, as he's helping me put my jacket on. "What kind of animal could be doing all this? Why would it come out of the woods and attack someone in the middle of town?" I ask, shivering, and he rubs my arms. "I don't know. I don't know." He says, touching the sides of my face, as I face him, and look at his left hand, and sigh, and hold it, and he puts his other one down. "I was so sure that you cut your hand. I saw it." I say, letting go of his hand, and he takes mine, gently. "I'm gonna be fine. In gonna be fine, okay? We're fine. And that's what matters." He says, letting go of my hands, and touches the sides of my face, and I nod, and he puts his forehead up against mine, and I stand on my heels, and wrap my arms around his waist, and on top of his shoulders, as he has around my back, right below my neck with one hand, and my waist with his other. I'm asleep in my bed, and feel something brush against my cheek, and wake up, and sit up, and see my journal, and notice my lamps on. I pick up my journal and put it on the table next to me, and turn off my lamp, and put my hand down, and go back to sleep.