4 a.m. // Jeggy

Chapter 15

Oh my God, my brain is totally going insane. He's wearing a short sleeved blue shirt and khaki shorts.

"Hi." He mumbled, smiling at me with slightly flushed cheeks. I blushed and looked away, smiling more than I think I ever have.

"Hi." I said back. He handed me the flowers and I resisted the urge to squeal out loud.

"Those are for you. I thought since yellow is kind of your color and roses are beautiful... not as beautiful as you though." He said, blushing more.

"Thank you! For the flowers and the compliment, I mean." I said. My dads butler (yes, butler. I told you he's loaded) took the flowers and told me he'd put them in a vase in my room. I thanked him and turned back to John, feeling happier than ever.

"Ready?" He asked me. I nodded and followed him out the door to his car.

"So I know this is kind of random, but I decided that I really just needed to ask you out and, you know, take you on a date." He said, starting the car.

"Well, I'm very glad you finally did." I answered. We drove in comfortable silence, occasionally making small talk.

After over half an hour of driving, he pulled into the parking lot at the beach. The beach that we saw each other for the first time at.

"Here we are." He said, smiling. I got out of the car and we walked hand in hand down to the water, walking for about ten minutes in the gentle waves before he stopped.

"What're you doing?" I asked as he pulled his hand away from mine.

"God, Peggy. Are you seriously this stupid?" He snarled.

What?

I didn't say anything as confusion washed over my body. Suddenly, John wasn't John anymore. He was James.

"You really think that I'd want to date you? That someone would actually love you? You're an idiot if you think anyone would." He hissed. I felt tears welling up in my eyes and begin to fall down my cheeks.

"Why would you do this to me? I really liked you!" I cried as he slowly moved backwards. He laughed coldly, which only made me cry harder.

"To prove a point. Things may seem better to you, but they never will be. No one will ever love you." He said. And then, out of the blue, he began to sprint away from me, down the beach and back to the car.

"Stop!" I screamed, trying to chase after him. I could hardly see with all the tears blurring my vision. I kept running and running, but I couldn't make it. He got in the car and began to speed away, abandoning me on the beach.

I fell to the ground, not caring that my legs were now covered in wet sand. I cried and cried, running my hands through my hair and ruining my bun that I spent so much time on earlier, trying to perfect.

How could he do this? Now I'm stranded, just before sunset, probably a solid four hour walk from home. How could he...

"Peggy! Peggy!" I heard someone say. It sounded a lot like Eliza.

And then suddenly, I wasn't on the beach. I was in my bed, chemistry homework spread out in front of me, tears on my cheeks.

I breathed heavily as Eliza placed her hand on my shoulder, sitting on the bed next to me.

"W-what happened?" I asked shakily, trying to catch my breath. The dream felt so real...

"We heard you crying, and then you kept screaming 'stop' and 'why' and 'come back'. We were terrified." She explained, rubbing my back.

"I-it was just a nightmare, I guess. I think I'm alright now though." I mumbled.

"Are you sure?" Eliza asked, giving me a look of concern.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm okay now." I said. She nodded and looked back at me before leaving the room, closing the door gently behind her.

Of course, as soon as my exhaustion caught up with me, I had a nightmare like that. Maybe dream John was right. Will anything actually get better?

a/n: poor pegs :(((