Kingdom Hearts: Dream Team

Chapter 8: The Perfect Hideout 💜

"Aislynn!"

The sound of my name woke me up. The door swung open and asleep, "What is it, Beat?" Without warning, Beat grabbed me and started shaking me. "Okay, I'm up," I said, more alert. "The 'sleeping arrangement' is jank," he told me. Jank; I don't like that word. "I got mosquito bites everywhere, yo," he went on."

"Beat's sorta right, Aislynn," Rhyme's exhausted voice called out. "That wasn't comfortable." Turns out they weren't the only ones who thought so. Everyone was complaining about the sleeping arrangement. "Can't we sleep somewhere else?" Neku asked. Then, an idea struck me. "I've got an idea," I said, "and this time, it's good."

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"A clubhouse?!"

"Yes," I firmly stated. "I'll ask my mom to drive me to town so I can get the materials." After I had explained my plan, I woke up my mom. Of course, she wasn't for it, but thankfully, I was able to convince her to do it. That afternoon, we drove the hardware store and bought wood, nails, and screws.

Being in the hardware store was uncomfortable to me, mainly because of all the people. Never have I been that comfy cozy around people, especially men. Whenever I'm around them, I turn into a stuttering, blubbering mess. This hardware store was full of men much older than me, so me and my mother were a sort of oddity. Thank goodness Mom did most of the talking, or I would have fainted where I stood.

I began constructing the clubhouse. For hours, I worked without any help and no breaks. Into the night, I hammered and screwed; all the while, I felt the sweat bead on my forehead. There is a possibility that I might have been working too hard, because I started to feel dizzy. "You're gonna wear yourself out," I heard Joshua say. His voice made me jump a foot in the air.

Joshua was holding a wet hand towel; he probably got it from the bathroom. He grabbed my shoulders, but it didn't feel the same as two days prior. Instead of a hard touch, this was a softer, gentler touch like comfort you get from a hug. Joshua placed the towel to my forehead. "But you guys need this," I rushed. He pressed his finger to his lips. "Shh," he said. "I understand, Aislynn, but you can't do this alone."

I was dumbfounded, but I didn't want to be rude to Joshua like I had been previously. "We all should held," he told me. "But," I started. "Aislynn," he said, silencing me with a look, his eyes frost covered lavender. "Aislynn, it's not a sign of weakness to ask for help. Maybe you should take a break and we'll finish the clubhouse." Seeing the progress I had made (which was quite a bit), I agreed. "Thank you, Joshua."

And so, Neku and them all pitched in to finish the clubhouse. The five of them are surprisingly very skilled with tools; they got finished before noon on Friday. However, there was a problem with space. Beat shook me hard; I could feel my eyeballs vibrating in my skull. "How is this supposed to be any better than the sleeping arrangement?!" Neku asked. To be honest, I didn't know how to make this better, but then, I got a crazy idea.

Looking at each of them individually, I asked, "Have any of you guys seen the movie Beetlejuice?" All I got were confused looks until Joshua said, "Shh, don't even say his name. I love that movie." Glad to know at least one person knew what I was talking about, I went on. "The Handbook for the Recently Deceased says 'In case of emergency, draw a door.'" Getting chalk from my closet, I brought it back to the clubhouse and drew a chalk outline of a door on the back wall.

Joshua raised an eyebrow at me and smirked. "Aren't you forgetting something?" He started fussing with a piece of his hair like Squeaky fusses with a piece of string. That was when I remembered the most important step: in order for the chalk drawing to work like an actual door, you had to knock three times. Doing such, I stepped back to see what would happen... but nothing did. I turned and gave Joshua an angry look. "You did that on purpose!"

Joshua tried to look innocent, but I knew better than to believe it. "Did what on purpose?" he asked. I growled; I hate when people do this. "Look," he started, "I'm sorry. Try it now." I turned to the chalk drawing which, to my surprise, had become an actual door. It was a large, carved door; very intimidating to someone like me. Reluctantly, I gripped the brass knob, unsure about what I would find beyond it. But what I found surprised me.

Beyond the door, the room opened up into a large space. In the center of the room was a red, horseshoe-shaped couch surrounding a crystal-like orb. Branching off from this room were two hallways. The hallway to the right led to what looked like a dining area and a kitchen. Down the hallway to the left, there were six doors (three on either side).

"They're bedrooms," Joshua explained. "We will each sleep in one. My room is at the end of this hall on the left side. The rest of you will figure out where you will sleep." I was astonished. "I didn't know you could do this," I said. Joshua turned his gaze on me. "There's a lot of things about me that you don't know, Aislynn." His eyes returned to his phone.

"This room's empty," a voice called from the end of the hall. Shiki poked her head through the door on the right hand side. "Shouldn't this room be for Aislynn?" Still playing with his phone, Joshua answered. "I suspected that Aislynn wants to sleep in her room in the main house."

He was right. I love my room and everything in it. I love sleeping in my bed, watching movies on my computer, reading my books. I especially love it when Squeaky comes in to visit. Plus, I didn't want my parents to get suspicious. "He's right," I said.

Continuing with the tour, Joshua showed us the side door in the main room that leads to the bathroom. Changing the subject, I pointed out some flaw that I had just discovered, mainly if this new space was visible. Joshua smirked. "This space exists in a pocket-dimension I just created. On the outside, it can't be seen or felt." He gestured to the entrance, "The main entrance is still a chalk drawing and if it's washed off, the door will seal itself."

Wow, Joshua is really good at planning ahead. Reminds me of a certain someone I know. "That's amazing, Josh," I said. "It's way better than anything that I could come up with." I was really happy that they all could have their own space. "But," I added, "new rule. Don't come down to the main house unless if it's an emergency." Everyone nodded, showing that they understood.

After watching them get acquainted with their new rooms, we had a celebratory dinner. Once that was over, I returned to the main house (that's what my house will be referred to as from now on) to sleep. As previously mentioned, I was happy that my new friends were happy to have their own space. The problem was... it felt sort of lonely without them. Maybe it's because no one but my family talks to me. Sure, I have Squeaky, but it's not the same.

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In the middle of the night, I woke with a start. I had had the dream again. It played through in my head; hearing the voice, Heartless Aislynn emerging from the pool of darkness, it attacking me, and everything fading to black. All of that bothered me, but the fact that I dreamt it again really bothered me. I can sometimes predict the future in my dreams, but it's usually just small stuff. Also, if you dream a dream more than once, that means it's going to happen in real life in an unexpected way. If this dream meant anything, probably no good could come from it.