Jabberwocky - 2. Dreams for Plans

II. Dreams for Plans

Brandon woke up the next morning in desperate need of a bathroom. He couldn’t remember much of what had happened when he was wrapped in layers of pain and hallucinations, but he was pretty certain that personal hygiene hadn’t been a part of it. His head was still pounding, but the pain from earlier, the screaming, debilitating pain he had suffered through daily, was gone. Jordan was still lying beside him, and Brandon again tried to rouse him, to no avail. It was like the In Between all over again.

There was a tiny bathroom from what Brandon could remember. He went in there to do his business and clean up the best he could, considering there was no bath or shower.

Brandon exited the bathroom and sat back down on the soiled, stained sheets of what he had dubbed “the pain bed” and watched Jordan. He reached out mentally, curious, but met nothing, just open space. Wherever Jordan’s mind was, it was somewhere he couldn’t reach. That worried him. He figured things were better now, because he didn’t hurt like he did while Jordan was away, but still…this wasn’t good.

Well, since Jordan wasn’t awake, he supposed this put him in charge.

He would have to find out some more about the people who had brought Jordan here. The fact that Jordan was here at all was a plus, but he still didn’t know Sumna and Jassa at all. He didn’t care if they were a Creator/Enabler team; that didn’t count for shit. Keith was proof enough of that.

Then he had to get back to the palace to find Leia and her baby. Jassa said that Leia was dead, but Brandon decided that she was lying. There was no way he could have come so far, to see her, talk to her, touch her, just to lose her again. No way. She had to be alive. People just thought she was dead. It had happened before.

Then he might have to kill Keith and Elizabeth, if the opportunity presented itself. Some people were just irredeemably evil. He knew that if Keith had his way, they would both be dead now.

Then get back to the In Between. Next stop, home.

And somewhere along the way, get Jordan to wake up. Sounded like an okay plan to him.

Something in Brandon's chest gave a painful twist and he tried to ignore it. Leia was not dead, she was not.

He tried to rouse Jordan one more time, even kissing him, but nothing worked. He wondered if he should take Jordan to a psychic healer, like Dathilda. Could psychic healers wake him up? From what Jordan had told him, Dathilda had been able to “talk” to his body using her mind. Maybe a psychic healer would “talk” to his brain? Tell it to wake the hell up?

Too many questions. Answer time.

Brandon got up. The room he had been confined in was simple. It was small, dark, lit by torches and candles, with a dirt floor and stone walls. The bed and an empty set of shelves were the only furnishings. Wooden steps led up to a door which he assumed lead to the rest of the house, or cottage, or wherever the hell he was. This tiny room felt like a dungeon, and with the absence of natural light, it was hard to tell whether it was day or night…it was very disorienting. Hell, he didn’t even know how long he’d been here. He hadn’t been able to count days while he was writhing on the bed, praying for the pain to stop, begging for another visit from the needle. He shivered at the memory.

He finally stood up, touched Jordan’s face because it felt good to do so, and ascended the stairs. He half expected to find the door locked, and relief flooded through him when the knob turned easily under his fingers and swung open.

The room Brandon entered was the complete opposite of the one in the basement with large windows filling the room with gorgeous sunlight. A large, bloodstained butcher’s block sat in the middle of the room, denoting the room as a kitchen even without the herbs hanging near the window and the pots and pans dangling from the ceiling.

Sumna was standing near the butcher's block, wrapping up what looked to be large parcels of bread and cheese.

“Um…good morning,” Brandon said, uneasily.

She looked up and nodded at him. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”

He was exhausted and hungry, but all he did was mumble, “Fine.”

She glanced up and tossed him a Charion version of an apple. It had the same appearance and texture, but the flavoring was slightly different, ranging from unbearably sour to horribly bitter. This one wasn’t too bad, a little tangy and sweet.

“It’s kinda nice, isn’t it, that your kidnapper left us with such a nice supply of food?” Sumna asked.

Brandon didn’t answer, intent on devouring the apple. He finished consuming it in several large, almost desperate bites, and after he was done, he belched hugely, his stomach hitching and almost sending the apple back up.

“Take it easy,” Sumna said carefully. “Your body is still trying to get used to you being up, never mind eating. Relax, no one is going to take food away from you.”

Brandon’s head was spinning and he backed up against the wall and then let his weak legs fold so he slid down onto the floor. Jassa came into the room and almost tripped over him.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you? Are you alright?” She knelt down next to him, placing a hand on his forehead. “You look awful. Why don’t you rest for a few minutes? We’ve got a lot of ground to cover today.” And with that, Jassa hauled him up and half carried, half dragged him into another poorly lit room, depositing him on a dark couch that smelled of cotton and mothballs, a smell that he found oddly comforting.

He closed his eyes, dozed a little, and woke up later to Sumna shaking him. “Hey, wake up. We need to ask you some questions.”

Brandon sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “Sure.”

“Okay. First of all, Jassa says we really need to move. So, can you get your friend up here by yourself, or do you need help?”

Brandon remembered how hard it was to lift Jordan up onto the couch in the In Between and tried to picture himself carrying Jordan’s dead weight up those stairs. “I’ll need help.”

Brandon went back to the basement with Sumna, but her definition of help translated into her picking up Jordan on her own and carrying him up the stairs with ease. Brandon wondered if she was just really strong or if he was just really puny. He knew he wasn’t the strongest person around, but he never thought of himself as weak. Sumna deposited Jordan on the couch.

“One more question,” Sumna said as Jassa came into the room. “Do you ride?”

“Horses?”

“Yes.”

“Voluntarily?”

Sumna glared at him. “We need to move fast, Brandon. Can you ride?”

“I don‘t know.”

“Have you ridden before?”

“Once.”

Sumna sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fabulous. I guess it’s too much to ask you to be able to ride solo, never mind riding and managing your Enabler at the same time?”

Brandon glanced at Jordan’s still form and shook his head.

Sumna glanced at Jassa. Jassa shrugged. “There are only two horses. We’ll have to double up.”

“That’s going to slow us down,” Sumna said and Jassa shrugged again.

“We don’t have a choice. It’s faster than walking. You take the unconscious one; I’ll ride with this one. If we don’t make any unnecessary stops, we should be able to make it to an outpost by sundown. But we’ll need to leave now.”

Sumna knelt and picked Jordan up again. Jassa glanced at Brandon. “I have something for you,” she said, then left the room, returning shortly with Brandon’s knapsack in hand. “I took the liberty of bringing it with us when we stole Jordan from the palace.”

“Thanks,” Brandon murmured, slipping it on after giving the contents a quick check.

“Let’s go,” Jassa said, somewhat too cheerfully, leading him out of the house. Sumna was already gathering up the two horses. Panic seized him for a minute and he looked around wildly, before seeing Jordan tucked up securely against the side of the house.

“Bring the boy,” Sumna ordered, swinging herself up on the horse. Jassa carried Jordan over and they both helped secure Jordan against Sumna’s body using a couple of leather straps.

“Are you sure he’s going to stay up there?” Brandon asked.

“No,” Sumna replied. “But we don’t have a choice. If he was awake, it would be a different story, but right now, this is the best I can come up with.”

Jassa made quick work of checking their supplies, then swung herself up on the horse. She extended a hand to help Brandon and he managed to get on the saddle behind her without too much trouble.

He took a moment to study their surroundings. The house was set back in the trees, with a narrow dirt path leading into the dense forest, but he couldn’t see anything past that. Just trees and more trees. Whatever this place was, it was well hidden. Secluded.

“Are these your horses?” Brandon asked as they started to move, mainly to distract himself from feeling the movement of the horse underneath him. God, he hated this.

“No, they belonged to the woman who was keeping you here,” Jassa said. "We went ahead and released the horses that brought us here so it would be harder for anyone trying to track us."

Brandon remembered the woman who would come and slide the needle into his skin, inject him with hallucinations and pain relief. “Where is she?”

“Dead,” Sumna said.

Brandon’s jaw dropped. “What?”

“We killed her Brandon. We had to,” Sumna said, her voice calm and patient, like she was explaining something painfully obvious to a slow child. “You don’t think she was just going to willingly let you walk out with us, did you?”

“Well…” Brandon was at a momentary loss. “Couldn’t you have just… knocked her out or something?”

“No,” Jassa said. “She would have eventually woke up and tried to contact Keith. He’s going to find out about your escape sooner or later, and the later the better. It gives us more time to put some distance between us and them. At least this way, he won’t know something is up until he attempts to contact her.”

“I still don’t-”

“Listen to me, Brandon,” Sumna said. “Your Enabler is comatose. You’ve been under extended and severe bond strain. You and your Enabler will be considered fugitives once it’s discovered that you are missing. You’re in a bad situation. Besides, this woman did nothing but drug you and torture you while you were in her care. She doesn’t deserve your compassion.”

Brandon could tell he was on the losing side of that argument, and not wanting to get on the wrong side of the people he and Jordan were depending on right now, he chose to remain quiet on that subject.

“Where are we going?” Brandon asked.

“An outpost, first off,” Jassa said. “From there, we head north until we hit the North Forest. Then we can regroup and figure out what we want to do. We’ll be safe there, at least.”

“Is that where you are from?” Brandon asked.

“We’re not from Charion,” Sumna said. “We, Jassa and I, are outworlders like yourself.”

“Really? Did you come in through Torran?”

“At the stonestack?” Sumna asked, raising her eyebrows. “No, we came in elsewhere.”

“Where?” Brandon asked.

“You’ll see.”

They rode most of the morning in silence. Brandon was occupied with watching Jordan and thinking. He thought about the strange couple they were traveling with, that had rescued him and Jordan, the conversation they had the previous night. He thought about Leia and how she had betrayed them to Keith. He thought about Dathilda and the nameless woman who had cared for him, both dead because their lives had involved his own. He thought about his home and his friends and his family and how badly he wanted to be among them again. He thought about Keith and how it must feel to have an entire world you created at your fingertips. How that kind of power might affect a mind like Keith’s. He shivered.

He thought back to when Leia had been giving birth. He had been paralyzed, unable to move, only able to watch as Leia had squirmed and writhed, finally giving birth to… something with one last agonized scream. To his pain warped brain, it had almost sounded like a scream of triumph.

He couldn’t remember much after that. A creature in someone’s arms, smeared with blood and fluid. Pain crashing over him, wave after wave. And then…

He shivered in the heat of the day. Nothing after that. Nothing important. Nothing relevant. Just pain and hallucinations and a permanently messy bed.

The hours passed and Brandon’s legs began to cramp, his ass going numb. They would take an occasional break for nature’s call, but aside from that, he was riding all day. He was grateful that he was able to ride with Jassa instead of riding by himself, but he was painfully aware of how riding with her compared to riding with Jordan. Riding with Jordan had been fun. Brandon had teased him a little bit as they rode, sliding his hands up his thighs or stomach, kissing the back of his neck or biting his earlobes. At one time, he had let his ambitious hand wander down to press against Jordan’s groin before Jordan had gently smacked his hand away, telling him if he didn’t stop, he would be too distracted to control the horse. The thought had scared him enough to stop, but he still remembered how much he had enjoyed being pressed up behind Jordan for a few hours.

He glanced over at Jordan again, still tethered to Sumna, his face slack and expressionless.

Wake up baby, I miss you.

Jassa was true to her word, getting them to a modest outpost inn right as the sun was beginning to kiss the horizon, casting a fierce orange glow over everything.

“Okay. Let me go in and see what is available. You guys stay here,” Jassa decided.

“Yes, I think if I went in with an unconscious boy strapped to me, it might be a little awkward,” Sumna said. “Hurry up.”

While Jassa was inside, Brandon decided it was pointless to stay up on the horse and dismounted, feeling his muscles scream and cramp as he did so. He stretched his legs cautiously, taking a few steps. Jassa came out of the inn a few moments later, two keys in hand. “We’re in luck. Two rooms left. They won’t be the most luxurious, but manageable.”

Jassa went to Sumna and helped unlatch Jordan, letting him drop into her arms. “I’ll take the boy.” She turned to Brandon. “Can you take care of the horses?”

“What do I do with them?”

Sumna pointed. “Stable is right over there. There should be someone there to take them for you, just tell him you want one night, okay?”

Brandon followed her orders, handing the horses over to the long, lean gentleman at the stables. The stable hand asked for his horse's names and Brandon, momentarily caught off guard, blurted out the first names that came to his head: Sonny and Cher. The stable hand gave him a friendly look and took the horses with no complaint. Blushing, Brandon hurried back to the inn. Sumna was waiting for him and as he neared, she draped a cloak around him.

“Just a precaution,” she said. “Let’s keep your face hidden when we can, okay?”

Brandon pulled the hood of the clock up to shadow his face and quietly followed Sumna inside the inn. It was warm and bright inside, crowded with a wide variety of people and creatures. He glanced a group of long faced beings gathered near the staircase with hoofed feet and a long, striped tails brushing against the top of their boots. It was weird how normal stuff like this appeared to him now. Maybe he should be grateful. He doubted he could handle any more surprises.

He went up the staircase and Sumna led him to a room, unlocking it. Jassa was already inside, depositing Jordan on the bed.

“We’ll give you some time to get settled in,” Jassa said. “Be sure to get some rest; we’ll be doing another long day of travel tomorrow.”

“Wonderful,” Brandon murmured as Jassa and Sumna left. He sat down. There were two beds in this room, a fire crackling in the fireplace and a small table. A diamond beveled window was set into the hard stone, reflecting the fire light, and plenty of lanterns were hanging from the walls. Brandon pulled the cloak off, laid it at the foot of the bed and studied Jordan stretched out on the other one.

“Rough ride today, huh?” Brandon asked, just for the comfort of hearing his own voice. “Guess you’re kinda glad you weren’t awake for most of it.”

No response. Brandon moved to his side, touched his face, which was cool and dry. He brushed his knuckles against Jordan’s temple, cheek. He sighed and drew a bath, bathed in the warm water and scrubbing off with the harsh soap until his skin was pink and sore. He undressed Jordan and washed him as best he could using a damp cloth and the same soap. Afterwards Brandon covered him with the sheets, then dumped all their shirts and undergarments in the tub and washed those too. He spread them by the fire to dry and then sat back down on the bed, watched Jordan sleep some more. He heard a knock at the door and after tying a bed sheet around his waist and double checking to make sure Jordan was covered, walked to the door and pulled it open.

Sumna came in, holding a tray. "Here. Eat," she said, placing it on the desk. "You're not as bad off as he is, but you need to get some strength back, too."

Brandon offered no argument. The bathroom had offered a slightly warped mirror that was tinged yellow, but it has still offered him a good enough view of how he looked. His face was a bit more angular and bony, his skin was sickly pale and shiny, and he had deep purple circles ringing his eyes. He looked awful...sick and exhausted. Fuck, he even saw some wrinkles, and he was sure if he took the time he might catch a couple of gray hairs.

He moved over to the table, listless and poked at the food. Because Sumna was there, he brought a helping up to his mouth and swallowed it. It woke something up inside him and he attacked the meal with a ravenous hunger, cleaning his plate in a few minutes. Sumna chuckled slightly and Brandon blushed a little. He was beyond giving a damn about social graces at this point, but even so, he couldn't help feeling a little bit embarrassed for acting like a pig in front of Sumna, who was so beautiful and ladylike.

"Listen, Brandon, you need to do something about your Enabler," Sumna said, nodding towards Jordan. "That’s something I wanted to talk to you about. He's in bad shape."

"I know," Brandon said.

"No, I don't think you do know. He's dying. He's dehydrated and he's starving. It takes everything we have just to get some water into him occasionally. I think being back in close proximity to you has helped, but I'm serious, Brandon, he is not doing well. He needs to wake up. Soon."

"How do I wake him?" Brandon asked desperately.

Sumna shrugged. "I don't know. This has never happened before. Most people don't survive bond strain the way you two did. The theory is that since Jordan was asleep during the bond strain, that protected it from breaking. You probably also disengaged, am I right?"


Brandon nodded.

"So he was unconscious during the separation and that helped, but it also kept him from waking up. Like a defense mechanism. And now he is reunited with you and is out of danger. But his mind refuses to wake up. We don't know why."

"Then how can I help him?" Brandon asked, his exasperation overriding his desperation momentarily. For Christ’s sake, could the woman at least tell him something useful?

"Wake him up. You're his Creator; you're the only one who can reach him."

"How?"

"You two are a bonded pair," Sumna stood. "Try that." She walked to the door, opened it. "Good luck."

Brandon sighed as it shut behind her. No help from that corner, he was sure. He turned and looked at Jordan on the bed. "Well, it looks like it's up to you and me, babe." He climbed onto the bed with Jordan, pulled him into his arms, stroking his hair. "I never should have left you. I never should have disengaged our bond." He pressed his lips against Jordan's hair. "I thought I was doing what was right. Safe. It was a bad time for both of us. But we're safe now. Far away from Keith and all that." I hope. "So come on and wake up, okay? I miss you."

Brandon waited patiently for a response. None came. He sighed.

"Come on baby," he whispered, staring at Jordan's face. He could see Jordan's eyes tracking back and forth, underneath closed eyelids. Like he was... dreaming. Slowly, cautiously, he opened up his mind, let his link drift out tentatively. At first, he met just open space, like he did before. But instead of drawing back and closing his mind off again, he kept reaching. As soon as he came across a presence he didn't recognize, he was going to retreat like hell, but until then...

Come on baby, come on, I know you're out there…

He stopped for a minute, held his breath. He felt something, a stirring, something relaxing slightly. Still holding his breath, he gently reached out and felt something respond to him. He reached out further, pushed just a little and felt something breach and accept him, felt it embrace him and pull him in. Resisting every instinct to jerk back and pull himself away, Brandon relaxed and let Jordan’s mind speak to him. Let himself fall into that embrace as the rest of the world faded away.

Brandon opened his eyes, squinting. He was on his back, lying on something, looking up at a bright sky. Sunlight filtered in through thick leaves, gold and green. He sat up and found he was lying on a park bench. Trees and neatly arranged patches of flowers surrounded him. There was a small pond filled with ducks and a scattering of playground equipment. He frowned. He didn’t recognize this place.

“Incoming!” An achingly familiar voice called out and Brandon looked up to see a Frisbee careening towards his face. He reached up, more of a reflex than any conscious thought and caught the Frisbee flawlessly in a maneuver he knew that his body could not perform again, no matter how hard he tried. “Nice catch,” Jordan said, jogging up to him. Brandon smiled, his insides melting in relief.

“Jordan,” he breathed, moving forward and hugging him tightly. He briefly pressed his lips against the side of Jordan’s neck, breathing him in before pulling back and kissing him. He kissed him with a little bit more enthusiasm than was appropriate for a public venue, but seeing him here, healthy and alive and looking so damn happy was almost more than he could take.

“Easy,” Jordan murmured, pulling away and moving his head a little so that Brandon’s lips were resting on his temple rather than his mouth. “My parents are right around the corner you know.”

Brandon’s heart slowed and skipped in his chest. “Your parents,” he said flatly. The Frisbee dropped from numb fingers.

“Yeah.” Jordan looked up at him, his expression slightly puzzled. “You okay? You’re acting weird.”

“Yeah, I’m just…I don’t know. Tired, maybe,” Brandon said. He wasn’t tired, he was confused as hell, but according to Jordan, he wasn’t supposed to be. He was going to go ahead and hazard a guess that he wasn’t in Charion anymore.

“You can catch a quick nap after we eat if you want,” Jordan said. “Speaking of which, it’s about time. Let’s go get the food set up, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Brandon said and followed Jordan back through the trees. He saw a small knot of people in a clearing, spreading out a large blanket, in a cheerful white and red checked pattern, out on the grass. He saw Dylan, looking much the same as always, but the other three threw him for a loop. It was Jordan’s mom and dad; he could recognize them from the photo Jordan had showed him so long ago. The woman was kneeling down next to a basket, pulling out sandwiches and containers of fruit. The man was standing with his back to the two of them, talking to Dylan, but as he turned, Brandon could see the infant he was cradling in his arms. Mattie. Jordan’s whole family, frozen in time, here with him.

So I must be in Jordan’s dream or fantasy or something, Brandon reasoned. Still, Brandon sat down with Jordan and his family, chatting with them and eating tasteless food.

“How are you doing Brandon?” Jordan’s mother asked. Alice, Brandon recalled.

“Very well,” Brandon lied. “A little worn down.”

“You look a little tired,” Alice said, nodding. “You tell Jordan if he’s taking up too much of your time so you don’t fall behind at school.”

“Mom!” Jordan hissed, sounding embarrassed. Jordan’s father, who was a very quiet man, chuckled a little bit.

Brandon smiled weakly. It was interesting enough, to see Jordan interacting with his family, the way he would if they were still alive. But he was watching the baby, Mattie. He wasn’t sure how much Jordan’s parents would change with age, but Mattie should be about six or seven at least. Not still a baby. But he was, here, because that was how Jordan remembered him. So, yeah, he was somewhere in Jordan’s mind. Freaky.

In a quick, twisted transition, he and Jordan were on the blanket together. Brandon was stretched out on his stomach, letting the sun warm his back and Jordan was sitting Indian style, holding Mattie and playing with him. His parents and older brother were nowhere to be found. He felt good. Comfortable, lying here with Jordan nearby.

“So what’s wrong?” Jordan asked. “You’re being really quiet.”

Brandon turned slightly so he was watching Jordan. “What’s going on here?” he asked softly.

Jordan gave him a slightly amused look. “I think it’s called a picnic.”

“Jordan,” Brandon hesitated slightly before deciding to plow on ahead. “You do know that none of this is real, right?”

Jordan arched an eyebrow. “Going all existential on me Brandon?”

“C’mon Jordan, think about this. You know it’s not real.”

A flicker of doubt passed across Jordan's face. “Of course it’s real. It’s perfect.”

“Life isn’t perfect Jordan. You know that.” Jordan frowned and shook his head. Brandon continued. “C’mon Jordan. You know this isn’t real. You know that your parents aren’t alive. Your brother either.”

Jordan shook his head again. “Yes they are. I see them every day.”

“When was Mattie born, Jordan? How old were you?”

“Eleven.”

“So why is Mattie still a baby and you are eighteen right now?”

“No. I-I made a mistake. He was born… he was born recently.”

“Before or after you moved here?”

“B-Before?”

“Why did you move here, Jordan?” Brandon pressed.

“Dylan got that job that he wanted.”

“So why did the entire family move? Why didn’t Dylan just move?”

“We wanted to stay together…” Jordan said, sounding uncertain.

“Is that why you moved to Chicago? To stay together?”

“We never moved to Chicago…” Jordan started.

“How did you meet Nikki and Dalaja then? How did you learn about Creating and Enabling?”

“I-I don’t know. I can’t remember.”

“How did-”

“Stop, okay?” Jordan clapped his hands over his ears. “You’re confusing me.”

“Jordan.” Brandon reached over and tugged on his wrist. Jordan glanced at him. “Where is Mattie?”

Jordan looked around madly, scrambled to his feet. “He was just here-”

“No he wasn’t. He was never here. Jordan, come on. You know none of this is real.”

“I can fix it,” Jordan mumbled, sitting back down. “Fix it so it all makes sense.”

“Why, Jordan?” Brandon asked. “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up. You’re dying. You get weaker every day, and I need your help. Why don’t you stop this and wake up?”

“Because I don’t want to wake up,” Jordan answered. They were alone now, lying in the middle of the forest that bordered the back of his house. “I like it here.”

“This is nothing but a dream. It’s not real.”

“I know that. But I have my family here. If I wake up, I won’t have that anymore.”

“You don’t have your family. Your family is dead. All this is just some illusion from your mind.”

Jordan shrugged. “Soon I’ll forget that it’s not real and it’ll feel like it is again. So what if it’s not real? I’m happy here. I have my family back. And you, too, now. I have a perfect world. Why should I give it up?”

“Because this isn't real. Because you are dying,” Brandon pointed out.

“You're a Creator, you won’t die. And if I die, I’ll be with my family again for real.” Jordan shrugged. “It’s win-win for me.”

Brandon sighed and shrugged. “Okay then. Where to?”

Jordan frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, if you want to stay here, I’ll stay with you. I want to be where you are.”

Jordan looked perplexed. “Don’t you have things you need to do? Like saving Leia and stuff?”

“Yeah.”

“So go do that.”

Brandon shook his head. “No way, baby. I’m not leaving you. I’m staying right here with you.”

“But-but your family-”

“They’ll get over it. I won’t ever come home, but they have two other children.”

“But Brandon, you have family. And friends. And a good life.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“You can find another Enabler.”

“I could. But I won’t. If you’re going to stay in this place while you rot away and die, then I’ll do the same thing. If this makes you happy, if this is what you want, then it’s what I want, too.”

“Brandon, stop. I don’t want you to die.”

“I don’t want you to die either.”

“You’re not supposed to. Go away.”

“Fuck no.” Brandon leaned against Jordan, wrapping his arms around his legs. “If you’re staying, I’m staying.”

“Get out,” Jordan said, his voice taking on a commanding tone. The ground around them vibrated and shook slightly while a rumble of thunder rolled across the sunny sky.

“No,” Brandon said.

“Dammit, Bran, this is not how it is supposed to work.”

“What?” Brandon asked, anger coloring his words. “You hang out in your nice little dream limbo while I sit around in the real world and watch you die then carry on without you? Well fuck that, Jordan. It’s not going to work that way. We’re a team and it’s all or nothing. If you’re out, then I am, to.”

“You have something to live for Brandon,” Jordan said. Their surroundings were shifting rapidly around them now, mostly places that he didn't recognize

“And what, you don’t?” Brandon asked. He tried to keep his voice cool, but the raw, ragged edges of hurt still seeped through.

Jordan’s eyes grew wide. “Shit, that’s not what I meant.”

“Of course not,” Brandon said. He sat down, his back stiff, keeping his hands tucked in close to his body. They itched to reach out for Jordan, but Brandon wasn’t sure if they would caress him or slap him, so he decided to play it safe. “One way or the other Jordan. I’m sticking with you. You can decide whether it’s going to be here or there.”

Jordan looked around, the world darkening around them before he sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead.

“So be it then.”

Brandon woke with a jerk, his entire body spasming briefly. He was still on the bed. He instantly looked at Jordan, who was breathing evenly. Brandon brushed a hand over Jordan's forehead and Jordan’s eyelids fluttered open briefly, catching sight of Brandon and springing into focus.

“Welcome back, blue eyes."