Little Sweet Dreamer

Chapter 10

My eyes flew open, and I lay there for a moment, shocked. Grey kissed me. He didn't even care that I mentioned Sasha. He went ahead and kissed me.

I pushed my finger into my hand, a reality check needed after a lucid dream set in a familiar environment. My finger rested in the middle of my palm; my nail caused a slight pinching sensation. I was awake.

I hastily wrote down my dream in my dream journal next to my bed, making sure I didn't lose track of reality. I've torn through many of those, making sure I could still keep track of the real world and the dream world. 

But I hated how suddenly this dream snuck up on me. 

I closed the book and shook away any exciting thoughts. Who cared if Grey kissed me? Dream or no dream, he was still with Sasha, who was trying to ruin my reputation. And he was helping her. So, he didn't get the privilege of owning my feelings.

But he already did. 

***

Stupid dreams. I'd do it without hesitation if I could tear my subconscious to shreds.

I couldn't even look at Grey at school the next day. I acted like he didn't affect me as I passed him; he talked with some of his guy friends by their lockers. Swallowing nervously, I averted my eyes before ours met. Grey's friends continued talking, but he went quiet, and I could feel him looking at me.

I rushed down the hallway into homeroom and to my table. Ana and Blake looked at me curiously.

"You ran in here like your butt was on fire," Blake said teasingly. Ana laughed and said, "Right? Are you avoiding a teacher?" 

"No, it was nothing," I signed.

"You are such a horrible liar," Ana said in mock disgust.

I sighed and then signed, "Grey was around, so I tried to get away from him as quickly as possible."

"Did he do anything to you?" Blake asked. "Should we tell the dean or something?"

"No," I signed. "Grey did nothing. Besides, he has Sasha on his side. She'll lie about me and get away with it. I don't have the words to defend myself."

"I think you just don't want help," Blake said. "You don't have to do this on your own."

He was right—I hated help. I preferred to handle things on my own. Besides, I was terrified that Sasha would still be able to get the upper hand somehow. She was manipulative and convincing. She's had her fair share of drama in the past, and I always thought she was the victim—everybody hurt her, not the other way around. And now that I was finally the villain, a part of me felt Sasha spun every other negative interaction she had to paint her in the best light.

The bell rang, and I changed the subject as I stood. "Any tests coming up?"

"I have an Anatomy quiz," Ana said with a groan. "I can't do it."

"Yes, you can, ba—Ana," Blake said. They both looked at me, but I casually pulled out my phone.

"I have a calculus test this afternoon," Blake continued. "It should be easy since the class hasn't been too tough." I nodded. I wish I had more classes with them, but it didn't tend to work out that way because our grade is so large. So we separated in the hallway to get to the first period.

I entered ceramics class, one of the classes in school I was the happiest.

"Hey, Hazel!" said Jacob, one of my friends I wasn't close to but thought was cool. "How's it been going?"

I typed on my phone, "Good. How've you been?"

"I've been good. I have to finish this project today, though, or else Mr. Swift will kill me."

"You've been making good progress, though," I typed. I looked at Jacob's project he had placed on the table. His hands had globs of clay all over. He sculpted a baby turtle emerging from an egg, and it looked great. He messed with its nose for a second before shrugging. "It could be better. I still have so much I want to add to it. Anyway, how's your project going?"

I cringed. I wasn't nearly as creative as all my peers. I just sculpted a mug, which was why I was so close to finishing already. "It's fine," I typed.

I grabbed my project and then sat across from him. We worked quietly for some time as other students gradually filed in towards their projects. As they did, Mr. Swift told us to continue on our projects and that the deadline would be the end of our next class. Jacob squinted in concentration as he picked up the pace.

Jacob looked up at me a few minutes later like he remembered something.

"I heard Sasha was giving you problems!" he said. He looked angry as he looked me in the eyes. "Are you okay?" I smiled and nodded.

"If you ever need any help, I'm here for you, all right?" he asked. I nodded again.

At least he didn't believe her.

After Ceramics finished, I saw Grey and Sasha. They walked toward me, Sasha clutching his arm while she laughed and stared at him. Their increasing closeness filled me with anxiety, and I moved as far away from them as possible; I walked straight and avoided eye contact. Sasha's head began to turn in my direction as we got close to each other, and my stomach dropped in anticipation. But, Grey grabbed her face with one hand and gave her a quick kiss. It gave me enough time to slip past her without noticing I was there.

I was slightly relieved, disgusted, and jealous. I quickly got to Spanish class and sat in my chair with a heavy feeling in my chest.

Why did I have that dream? None of this would matter if I never entered his dreams in the first place. I would've never been on his radar at the party nor been bothered by Sasha.

This situation was all becoming crazy. I was going crazy.

***

I never tended to care that Evan was in my Spanish class. That was until he took notice of me.

My friend Nancy usually sat in the seat next to me; he took it before she got to class. I was surprised and quickly reserved the other seat on the other side of me so she could still sit beside me. Evan unpacked his stuff as he continuously glanced at me.

My teeth clenched. I kept my gaze away from Evan and strictly on the whiteboard or floor. Nancy got to class not too long after that and looked just as surprised as I felt. I just shrugged and moved my bag from the seat next to me. She sat down and then leaned over, whispering, "What's he doing up here?" I shook my head, just as lost as she was.

Did I even want to know what he wanted? Because it was something.

While the teacher was talking, Evan slyly passed me a note. I warily looked at him and back at it. I opened it slowly to see the words: I want to talk to you after class. I stole a glance at him, and he looked back. After that, I returned my focus to the lesson, although I heard nothing.

He wanted to talk to me! About what? He and I had nothing to talk about. A part of me was worried that he would deliver some bad news to me from Sasha. Was he going to threaten me with something else? What could he possibly want?

I tried desperately to get away from him quickly after class. But he pulled me to the side and trapped me between him and the hallway wall. "You and I should stick together." I looked at him, slightly terrified and slightly confused. "Date me, Hazel."

I swallowed, unable to form a coherent thought in my mind for a few seconds. My eyes searched Evan's face and his chocolate brown eyes. His hair was short and blond and covered part of his forehead. He wasn't unattractive physically, that's for sure. But, he wasn't a nice person; he cheated with Sasha.

I pulled out my phone and typed, "Why do you want to date me? You don't even know me."

"I've heard about how you've been defending yourself against those two losers, and it's impressed me. I want to get to know you more. Think about it?" I nodded because I felt obligated to, earning me a bright smile from him. He pulled me into a tight hug against his body, wrapping his arms around my lower back. My arms wrapped themselves around his neck.

It felt weird but warm. My body enjoyed the tightness of Evan's hug, the strength of his arms, and the beating of his heart.

But he's not Grey.