Dream Lover - Extended - 6. Chapter 6

I spent most of my remaining Saturday afternoon rummaging through my stuff, still trying to see if I could come up with a decent costume. Cory's parties were always a pretty big event, so it was imperative that I go in and come out looking like a total rock star. I did buy a few scraps from the costume place, but nothing that I could really use together now that I think about it. I thought that maybe I could use one of my old plastic swords from a year or two ago. Maybe go as a pirate or something? Which would probably be fine for the party...but lame if I was going to the party with Austin. You know? I just...I wanted to find something cool that he would like. Something that complimented him. He's going as a vampire...soooo...what has hot passionate sex with vampires? Um...other vampires, I guess? No, I can't go as the same thing he is. That would suck. I want find something that seems kind of compatible, but not an obvious attempt to....

Ah, fuck it. You know...I think I just want to find something weird that won't smear if I end up kissing him on the lips. Hehehe, wow! That would be cool. After weeks and weeks of falling head over heels for a complete stranger, I find it hard to believe that I'm actually thinking about asking him out. Am I crazy or what? You know, this is all Jeff's damn fault for making me do this. If I don't ask Austin out now, he's never going to let me live it down. Then again, I'm probably going to end up kicking myself for it too. Ugh...homosexual peer pressure bites.

My parents called me down for dinner, spaghetti and garlic bread, with a little Italian sausage mixed into the meat. And since it was such a satisfying meal, I took the opportunity of my father's good mood to ask for a favor. “Dad? I was wondering if...maybe I could have a little bit of extra cash to get a decent costume this year for the Halloween party?”

I definitely got his attention, but he said, “I thought you were saving up from your allowance ahead of time? Didn't you and your friends go tot he costume shop just yesterday?”

”Yeah, we did. But...there wasn't anything there that was really good, you know?” I said. “I just need a little something extra. Nothing big, just...I want to look good.”

My dad sighed to himself, and my mother stepped in to say, “Donnie...money is a little tight right now. We're still paying off debts from the big move into this house. Can't you find something clever in your closet or something? Be resourceful. It might come out looking better than you think.” My mom...forever the peacekeeping optimist.

I didn't really push too hard for the added funds. I thought about maybe asking for an advance on next week's allowance, and maybe even the week after that. But I let it go. My parents, after a short adjustment, were fine with me being gay...but 'dating' had never really been an issue until now. The last thing I wanted to do was mention that I was doing all this to get closer to a super hot blond boy that I had suddenly gained interest in. I don't know...I just think that might have been awkward. When you come out of the closet at the age of 12, parents still harbor a silent hope that it's a phase and it'll come to an end by the time you reach high school. And even then, having an 'interest' in other boys, and actually 'pursuing' them for love, affection, and sex...becomes two different conversations altogether. I think I'd rather hold off on that until Austin and I are...you know...a couple.

Oh God...just thinking about that gives me a serious case of hormone inspired goosebumps.

Resourceful. Hmmm....

Resourceful...

I spent all Saturday night trying to find something that might work, but I didn't have much luck. I kept shooting down my own ideas, one after the other, hoping to find something that wouldn't make me look silly. I mean, I had some clever prospects out there...and they were fine when I was looking at myself in the mirror. But...whenever I saw myself through, what I believed to be, Austin's eyes...? Nothing was ever good enough. And the whole concept would get rejected immediately. Ugh! How do people do this every October???

I vaguely remember getting my dream journal out of my dresser drawer that night, putting a pen on top of it and making sure that it had ink in it. A dream can vanish from your consciousness so quickly if you go to write it down and end up looking for a writing utensil that actually works. The brain is easily distracted, I suppose. But...a funny thing happened when I woke up the next morning...

...For the first time in weeks...I couldn't really remember a thing.

Once you train yourself to remember your dreams, and make a habit out of it, it's pretty much a daily ritual. It becomes automatic, whether you're free dreaming or not. But I...I was drawing a huge blank as to what had been on my mind the night before. What's even more confusing was the dried and crusted texture of my boxers as I woke up. Indicating not just one orgasm...but multiple emissions throughout the night.

How the heck did I sleep through that? I can be a hard sleeper sometimes, but...sleeping through an actual orgasm seemed highly unlikely. Especially if it happened more than once.

I sat with my notebook in my lap, my pen tip pressed to the page...but the details were foggy at best. The harder I tried to force some kind of recall...the more blurred the events of the last few hours became. Vague flashes of sexual contact...a moan, a whimper, a kiss, a whisper. Another boy, slender and sweet...sitting in my lap. Facing me, his arms gripping my shoulders as I penetrated that warm tightness...feeling his lips breathlessly kissing the side of my neck as he raised and lowered his body on me. A sticky sensation as his leaking hardness rubbed up and down my abdomen...

But all I got were flashes. Vague and distant. I couldn't tell if it was an actual memory, or if I was just creating it as I attempted to write it down. Whatever it was, it had certainly had an affect on me. Jesus...

I got up and went into the bathroom for a long, hot, shower. I kept trying to see the 'face' of whoever it was that I was having sex with in the dream. Was it Caleb? Austin? Maybe somebody different altogether. It really bugged me that I couldn't seem to...focus. So strange.

And why am I still soooo tired? I've been asleep for hours, but all I could think about was...going back to sleep.

I dried off and kept the towel wrapped around my neck as I exited the bathroom, lightly patting my hair to take some of the dampness out of it. But as I walked towards my room...I noticed a shadow on the wall. The sunlight was coming through my bedroom window, and on the wall opposite from my open door was the silhouette of a boy...wearing a baseball cap.

I stopped dead in my tracks for a moment. The sight just caught me off guard. Who was standing in my doorway?

”Hello?” I said. No answer. And with a bit of a chill...I asked...”Caleb?”

The moment his name crossed my lips, the shadow turned and walked away from the door. So I quickly moved forward and looked in my room to see who it was. But there was no one there. I checked behind the door. I looked in the closet. I was even tempted to look under the bed. But nope. Nothing.

It took me a few minutes to shrug it off as...I don't know...maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me. I made sure to use one of Chucky's reality checks to make sure that I wasn't dreaming, and everything appeared to be in order. Nothing out of the ordinary. Am I cracking up or what? Get a grip, Donnie. For crying out loud, I'm making a basket case out of myself here.

Sunday was a lazy day. One that I was thankful for. And while I remained pretty drowsy for most of the day, I kept myself just busy enough to keep from nodding off. Besides, I had homework due for Mr. Lipton, and I wanted to make sure that I had dotted every 'I' and crossed every 'T' before considering it ready to turn in...seeing as he hates my guts and all. He's going to be hard on me with the grade anyway. The least I can do is make him work harder to find legitimate issues to bitch about. Then I went right back to trying to solve my Halloween costume problem. I won't be able to rest until I at least get some sort of idea as to the kind of outfit I was going to have to throw together.

So I spent the rest of my Sunday night looking through my closet for more accessories. I must have been digging for quite a long time, because when I looked behind me there were heaps of clothes and old toys strewn about and piled five feet high off of my bedroom floor. Seriously...like...up to my shoulders. That was...odd. Come to think of it...I don't remember my closet being this big. I turned around to look back at my room again, and I saw Jeff, April, and Baxter, sitting on my bed. Silently watching me. Expressionless. But for some reason, Bax had his shirt off, and he and Jeff suddenly started making out like crazy. April turned to the side and quietly snapped a picture of it, smiling at me as the two boys leaned back on the bed to get hot and heavy with one another.

Wait a minute. This is...this is all wrong. This doesn't make any sense. Am I dreaming this?

The room seemed pretty normal as always, but when I searched for my alarm clock, I noticed that it was missing. I looked all around my room and it was nowhere to be found. Looking at the clock had become my one dependable clue as to whether I was awake or asleep. Finally, with a bit of concentration, I caused it to magically reappear on the nightstand next to the bed. And just as I suspected, the numbers were going all weird on me. This wasn't real. None of it. Geez, I don't even remember falling asleep this time. What was I doing here? How long had I been asleep?

Wait...ummmm....I remember eating dinner. And I remember that I came upstairs to my room. Then....uhhh...I vaguely remember sitting back on my bed to take notes and look over Caleb's info in his folder one more time...and then? And then....? Shit. That must have been when I dozed off. I've been so damn exhausted lately.

Nobody was saying anything, but the sound of Jeff and Baxter making out was clearly taking over the dream. It was a bizarre experience, watching those two go at it like that. Hehehe, I just stood back and observed them for a few minutes. It really looked like them. God, it was such a freaky thing to witness. I almost didn't want to stare. But that sickening sound of saliva swapping, lip smacking, passion would have just flooded the room and filled my imagination with the sights I was trying to avoid regardless.

Damn you, Jeff! Why did you have to put THIS horny image in my head?

The weirdest part was, now that I kind of get a chance to really look at him in a different light...I noticed that Baxter wasn't half bad. Maybe it's just my mind's version of him that's making his smooth chest and flat stomach so appealing. Maybe it's the dream that makes his shoulders look so broad and his ass look so tight. Maybe it's just my subconscious making that feathery mop of bright blond hair on Baxter's head look so...dare I say it? Sexy!

I never, in a million years, would have thought about Bax in a lustful way before tonight. But then again, I never really saw him kiss anybody before. I never really saw him be even remotely sexual with someone else, much less another guy. And now that my mind had been opened to the idea of it, I can't deny that he is actually pretty damn cute. I'm thinking that Jeff put some kinda hypnotic curse on me, and when I wake up, Bax is going to go back to being the same old lovable asshole that I'm used to. But for now...it's extremely hot to watch him make out with another boy like that. I was really turned on by it.

I looked up above me, and noticed that the ceiling had vanished. In fact, the whole roof was gone. There was nothing above me but a clear blue sky and bright rays of glorious sunshine. I lifted my arm up slowly, and gently 'stirred' the clouds with the tip of my index finger. It was almost like mixing paint, and it felt so warm to the touch. Wow...this is so cool. I'm never going to get used to this being possible.

I walked over to the wall and touched it, feeling the surface wrinkle up under my palm like paper. I crumpled up a decent sized handful, and pulled it away to get a fresh view of my neighbor's house next door through the open hole. I made the hole a little bigger by tearing away at a few more pieces, and when I let the ball of paper go, it floated out of the room and up into the clouds above like a helium balloon.

Ok. I know that Chucky and April told me that I should be free dreaming a lot more these days before I end up going completely mental...but this is just too cool! I'm always finding new reasons to go just a little bit further into the fantasy! What can I say? It's addictive.

Just ONE more night of fun! Just ONE, I promise! And then I'll stop. Cold turkey. I'll stop for a whole week. I swear.

I saw a quick flash of light from the side of me, as April had taken my picture. She smiled warmly at me, but her movements were so artificial. Kind of like a mannequin made of clay. "I'll save this one for the yearbook. The yearbook. Yearbook." She said quietly. You know, when you actually pay attention to the characters in your dreams, more often than not, they can come off as being kind of creepy. Real, but not real. Familiar...but an incomplete simulation at best. So very strange.

I looked back over at Baxter and Jeff, and smiled as I reminded myself that all bets were off when I was stuck here in my own little dream world. I wonder...I wonder if maybe I could just see what it's like. You know...to kiss Baxter. Hehehe, how many chances am I going to get to do something like this? Sample the forbidden fruit.

"Don't you go getting goofy on me now." April told me.

"Hehehe, I won't." I grinned.

"What happened to the free dreaming, Donnie? You're supposed to free dream." She reminded me.

"I will. Later. Just not right now."

She put her hands on her hips as I slowly approached the bed. "Please, Donnie...don't encourage him. Baxter is screwed up enough as it is." It was weird, but everything that April said to me seemed to just be a random collection of phrases, pieced together from conversations that we'd already had before. It was her, but it wasn't her at the same time. Sorry. Hard to explain. I'm still figuring this stuff out. It takes time.

I walked over to the bed, and I think that I actually felt myself blush as I boldly reached my hand out to touch Baxter's leg while he was still kissing Jeff on the lips.

Hehehe, Oh God! This is so wild! What am I DOING right now???

The moment I touched him, April and Jeff seemed to vanish into thin air, as did the rest of Baxter's clothes. He was actually laying there, NAKED, on my bed! Even in a dream state of mind, my first instinct was to shyly turn away from him...only peeking back to see him still there, waiting for me to continue. He was leaning back on his elbows, legs spread wide, with a nice piece of meat dangling there for me to feast on. I wonder if my brain was creating an accurate presentation of Baxter's...um...'size'. It seemed pretty believable to me, and he had plenty to be proud of. But, then again, I've never seen it in real life. So who's to say that I got the dimensions right? You know?

It took me a few seconds to actually get myself to a point where I could stare at his nudity without feeling weird about it. He had this classic Baxter smirk on his face, and he blew me a kiss as he waited for me to experiment further. Damn, he looked good. My mouth watered for just a taste of him. I mean...what the hell, right? It's not like Bax is ever going to find out about this. I sure as hell don't plan on telling him. So just, like, go for it, right?

"H-h-hey...Bax..." I said nervously. Wondering why I even bother talking to a dream character in the first place.

"Hey, dickwad." He grinned. He leaned back all the way on my bed, and spread his legs even wider, taking a hold of his hard shaft and lightly stroking it a few times for me. "Sweet dreams, Romeo."

Ok...this is a dream. All of it is just a dream. It's not real. So have some fun. It'll be my secret. Hehehe, geez, he's...really cute! I hope I can forget about this in the morning.

I slowly sat down on the bed next to him, and after a few seconds of hesitation, I reached out a shaky hand to lightly slide over the muscles in the softest part of his stomach. I swear that I could actually feel it tense up under my fingertips. I could practically trace the light ripples of his subtle six-pack underneath, and I let my hand move up to feel his erect nipples tickle the center of my palm. I could feel myself getting so hard, feel my breath getting heavy, it was all so real. I could smell his aroma. That scent that was uniquely 'Baxter'. One that I had known since the seventh grade. I had to look down at him to make sure that this was still just a fantasy and not the real thing. Damn. I have to admit..Jeff definitely had a point. Bax was a certified hottie. At least, in the dream he was.

My hand gained some added confidence and made a soft 'S-curve' motion down from his chest to his soft patch of pubic hair, and then further down to grip the hardness in front of me. I wrapped my hand around it, and my fingers were warmed by the sensual heat of it. I figured that I had better make the best of this quickly before I was awakened by the surge of excitement and ruined it all. So I gave him one last look before leaning over and taking him, deeply, into my mouth.

I could taste him. Oh wow...I could really taste him.

How can this be so amazing? How can this feel so authentic? I don't know, but it was like I could actually feel the length of his hardness sliding back and forth over the surface of my sucking tongue and lips. I could taste his flavor, curl my tongue around the circumcised ridge of his heavily blushed tip. And the overwhelming sensation made my heart race like never before. I 'willed' my clothes to disappear as I spread out on the bed and got comfortable. At first, my only concentration was on tightly wrapping my lips around Bax's hard shaft and milking him for all I was worth. But then I realized that he wasn't really moving or anything while I was doing it. I've had better fantasies than this. Let's step things up a little bit, as long as I'm going through with this.

I imagined him moaning a bit, and he did. I tried to make him pump himself up and down, pushing himself deeper into my mouth...and he obeyed, instantly. His hips began making a slow and sexy circular motion, lifting his butt off of the bed and grinding himself deeper and deeper into my lustful suction.

Jesus....this was HOT! Ok...what next? Um...I want Bax to touch me. No wait...rub my head. Like, run your fingers through my hair. Yeah...that's it. Now moan a little more. Awesome...

No...I want him to suck me too. Yeah...I think I want him to....

No sooner than the command had crossed my mind, before I could even complete my train of thought, I felt Baxter swivel his hot body around and this warm wetness engulfed me from the other end of the bed. Baxter's hands roughly gripped my ass and I moaned in response. It made me suck harder, and harder...my pulse racing. It was the kind of lover that I imagined Baxter would be. Being there with Baxter, lost in a heated moment of passion...it was the most intense craving that I have ever felt before. I was SO out of control. I never knew how much I wanted this until it became...possible.

We sucked each other rather hungrily, our bodies entangled with an erotic motion. Pumping. Grinding. Sliding. Baxter moaned every time I wanted him to. Pushed his hips into me every time I wanted him to. Licked my sack and teased the anxious orbs inside every time I wanted him to. It was heaven. Pure heaven.

Then, something changed. I thought, for a moment, that I had heard the far away rumble of thunder in the bright clouds above us. I stopped sucking for just a moment, and kept Baxter hard with a few slow strokes of my hand as I looked up through the nonexistent ceiling. But I didn't see any storm clouds or anything. So I shrugged my shoulders and went back to my lewd activities. It was so real. So unimaginably real.

I soon spun my body around to see Baxter face to face, his steel blue eyes piercing right through me, and I kissed him deeply on the lips. God, his lips were soft. What have I been depriving myself of all these years. I rolled over, pulling him on top of me, and grabbed two handfuls of his tight, ripe, mounds...pulling him into me as he began to hump and push himself into me at a fevered pace. It almost felt as if our bodies belonged together like this. Him between my legs, the flexing of slender muscle as his slim waist gave his hips the powerful thrust they needed to send waves of pleasure surging through me like an electric current.

Maybe I shouldn't write this one down when I wake up. I'd DIE if Baxter ever saw this!

He whimpered above me with the cutest little tone. A vulnerable tone. Something I had never heard from Baxter before. Our lips connected again, a passionate urgency in our labored embrace. And then....another rumble of thunder. This time it was a bit closer. A bit louder. A bit...angrier.

I opened my eyes, looking over Baxter's broad athletic shoulders as he pushed his hardness against mine, lightly forcing the air out of me in tiny sighs and yelps of unexpected delight. It felt soooo good. I didn't want to ever let him go. I kissed his neck as he wrapped his arms tight around me, nearly lifting me off of the mattress. My legs locked around him, my hands reaching for every last bit of smooth naked boy flesh they could hold...and we became as close as two bodies could possibly manage without merging into one solid entity.

It was at that moment, just as I felt my orgasm building up to an Earth shattering climax, that I noticed a very dark storm rolling in overhead. I watched as small strikes of lightning shot back and forth inside the swirling dark grey mass of clouds, and the thunder caused the walls to vibrate gently around us. But I was so close. Sooooo close. I didn'teven want to try to think about changing the weather. I was too far gone. I wanted Baxter. Only Baxter. I had gone too far to stop now.

My breathing increased as a thin sheen of sweat appeared on my brow. I bit my bottom lip as Baxter's thrust became more impatient, pressing my thin body into the mattress over and over again, his lips mashed up against mine as he gently gave my blond hair an aggressive tug. He grunted. I moaned his name. Until, finally, my eyes rolled back and I held on to Bax with both arms and both legs as I felt myself bubbling over into an orgasm to beat all others. Oh God...hump me harder, Bax....harder....mmmmmm....more....give me more...

*GASP*!!!

I woke up in my bed just as the first few splashes of thick, warm, seed began to fill my boxers, soaking the material with a healthy offering as I was yanked back into reality. There was no stopping it. Nothing I could do. I rolled over onto my stomach quick to try to 'cut off' the flow, but having my hardness pressed against the mattress only made things worse. I reached down quickly with my hand to see if I could squeeze the shaft tight enough to prevent an even bigger mess...but again, my touch only increased the surge of heated bliss. By the time I had reached into my underwear, I had already been reduced to a quivering rag doll by the last remaining shivers of my unexpected explosion. My boxers had been thoroughly 'slimed' from the inside, and my late night rendezvous with Baxter had officially come to an end.

Shit...I should have known this dream sex thing was going to have some sloppy side effects. Looks like I need a shower now at...awww, man...4:30 in the morning??? That sucks.

I looked at myself in the mirror after cleaning up, and noticed that I was starting to get this darker shade of skin underneath both eyes. It wasn't extremely visible yet, but it was certainly more noticeable than before. I don't get it. I've been sleeping pretty regularly, and for a decent amount of time. It's not like I've become some insomniac or anything. To be honest, I've been sleeping even more than usual these days. And yet, I'm always tired, even when I've just woken up.

I went into the kitchen and poured myself a healthy bowl of cold cereal once the sun came up, setting it on the table. I nearly dozed off again while waiting for my parents to go to work, but managed to keep myself conscious with some upbeat music.

Thankfully, I remembered my homework from last night, and figured that I'd better get my English paper off of my desk upstairs before I forgot. That's all I need is to have old man Lipton start in on me on a groggy Monday morning. I double checked to make sure all the pages were there and in order before putting it into my backpack. Then...I looked at the spot next to it and saw the folder April had given me on Friday. All that searching and weirdness surrounding this Caleb Jordan boy...what the hell was that all about? Whatever. I haven't seen him since the night of that weird 'dream storm' of his, and I was really starting to think that it was all just some twisted nightmare that I would never have to think about again once I got it out of my head. Ghosts...psh! I should just toss this folder in the trash and forget it ever happened. If nothing else, my friends will stop looking at me like the town screwball.

"Hey Donnie! Open up, bitch! I'm hungry!" I heard Baxter shouting up towards my window as always, but I reacted a bit differently to it this time. Hesitant. Maybe even sprinkled with a touch of shame.

I have to admit, the sound of his voice made me squirm a little inside. I didn't think that last dream would really mean much of anything once it was over with. But now that I was actually going to physically 'see' him again, I was a bit nervous as to what I was going to feel about him being close to me. Do I look guilty? God, I hope I don't look guilty. Baxter can sense that kind of thing.

I made my way downstairs and took a deep breath before opening the door to let them all shuffle their way in. April gave me her usual friendly peck on the cheek. Jeff ruffled my already chaotic looking hair. And then...in walked Baxter. "It's about time, slow poke." He smiled at me, and it was like I could feel this rapidly building ball of infatuation instantly swelling in the pit of my stomach. Baxter had been walking through that door the same way for many years now, but this morning I felt myself blushing furiously from the major event of it. "Hey, does your mom still keep those Pop Tarts on top of the fridge?" He asked, searching for something to munch on before school.

”Yeah...” I mumbled softly. “....They're...they're up there. So...yeah.” Ugh! I'm stuttering now? It was a DREAM, for crying out loud. A very...hot...very sexy...dream.

Jeff looked pretty worn out, laying his head down on his arms on the counter next to him and groaning about just wishing he could stay in bed today.

"Didn't get enough sleep last night?" I asked, and he responded by lazily nodding his head.

"To be honest, I kept waking up every ten minutes. It was annoying." He yawned for a second, and said, "You know, you've been talking about your creepy dead dream boy so much that even I'm starting to dream about him now. I think you drilled him into my subconscious or something. That's so unfair." He was one to talk!

"They're not up here dude." Bax was still frantically checking the top of the fridge.

"I think his mom keeps extra in the pantry over there whenever they run out." April replied, knowing my own kitchen better than I do.

Baxter did a quick check, and, "Ahhh, got 'em! Score!"

My eyes bashfully wandered over his body as he plugged in the toaster and took the wrappers off of his morning snack. It wasn't just the dream that was making him look so hot, was it? I mean...he really was cute. His blond hair, his cute face, his blue eyes, his slim and trim physique...and his ass? Wow. Even in a pair of slightly baggy jeans, his ass was amazing. Seeing about an inch of his underwear above his belt seemed to get me even more hot and bothered for some reason today. All I could think about was his kiss, and the feel of his warm hardness in my hand...in my mouth....and him on top of me...my hands on his soft squeezable ass as he rolled those hips into me....

"AHEM! Are you even listening to me?" April said with a grin. Her voice snapped me out of my fantasy just seconds before I got hard enough for my erection to show, but failed to fill me in on the last few seconds of her conversation.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I said that I'm going to find out whether or not they're planning to use any of my pics for the yearbook today. Not only that, but I might get the chance to enter some of my other stuff into the art fair next month. I'm so psyched about it!"

"Sweet! That's awesome, April. Congrats." I smiled, and heard Baxter's toaster go off so he could eat. I found myself secretly peeking back over at him as he hopped up to sit on the kitchen counter. April was still talking to me, but my sudden crush had almost deafened me to every word. I had to just...look at him. His legs were spread, and he was leaning back against the cabinets behind him. His first bite left this awesome design of sweet crumbs on the surface of his soft pink lips...and he just...sighhh...what the hell am I doing? Just dreaming about having sex with somebody cute doesn't mean that you're supposed to get...emotionally attached, right? I mean, that's just ridiculous. Bax is like my brother. It's silly for me to be swooning over him like this all of a sudden. My hormones are SO out of whack right now.

I had to shake myself free from the obsession of staring at him and get back to talking to April about something 'normal'. "So, which pics did you submit?"

"Don't worry, Donnie. I made sure that my best friends in the whole world got an advantaged opportunity to be immortalized in the lost pages of West Hill High School's yearbook." She grinned. "Besides, you guys are the only ones I know well enough to willingly let me photograph them anyway. Some of the other ones turned out kinda blurry."

I glanced back over at Bax again. I couldn't help it. I like the way he chews his food. He has a cute chew. I never noticed that before. Just then, he looked up, and caught me ogling him with my eyes. "What? What'd I do?" He asked.

"Huh? Wha...? Nothing." I said, turning away from him.

"Well, quit peeking at me then, weirdo."

"Psh! Yeah right. Whatever. Like...I don't have better things to do than peek at your sorry ass." I lied.

I glanced up at Jeff, and as a tiny smirk appeared on his face, I wondered if he could tell. If it was clearly written all over my face, and easily legible to for someone who shared a similar desire. Dammit, I bet you he knows what I'm thinking. Jeff always knows what I'm thinking. I rolled my eyes and tried to play it off as though it were nothing, but I think he noticed the deepening shade of rose in my cheeks anyway.

"Hey...is this him?" Baxter asked. When I turned to see what he was talking about, I saw him looking at Caleb's folder. It was just...sitting on the kitchen counter next to him. Funny thing is...I don't remember bringing it down here. In fact, I was pretty sure that I left it on my desk upstairs. Wasn't I just contemplating throwing it out a few minutes ago? "This is the guy you've been dreaming about, right? Caleb Jordan..."

"Um...yeah. Well, no. Not any more, I mean. I think that's kind of...over with."

"He's a freshman? Hehehe, cradle robber." Bax grinned, looking through the pictures. "Did you mentally rape him yet, or are you going for a big dreamy romance this time?"

I snatched the folder back from him and put it in my backpack. "Neither! It's just a dream."

"If you say so, 'Spanky'." He smiled at me, and it was...it was almost exactly like the smile he had in the dream right before I...touched him, you know? I pictured him naked and hard again, and I felt this weird giggly sensation rush through me as I backed away from him. I had to hide my eyes. I hope he didn't look me in the eye. Baxter wiped his hands and mouth on a napkin and hopped down from the counter. "Come on, let's get out of here. I've gotta get gas before we get to school." He tapped Jeff on the shoulder and said, "Wake up, cupcake. We're out of here."

I was GLAD to get out of that house and pile into Bax's car. The less time I had to gawk at his beauty, the better. Even though I did take a few glances at his ass as he walked out of the back door in front of me. I never watched Baxter 'walk' before. Not like this, anyway. Yummy.

”Oops! My bad!” Jeff giggled, bumping into me on purpose. “Just keeping the 'nerve to worry about your sanity', hehehe!” And he hurried to get in the front seat. Yeah...he knows. Dang it.

Despite my best efforts at self control, I took another few peeks at Baxter in the rear view mirror on the way to school. Those blue eyes. I really like his eyes. Thoughts of me taking him into my mouth and clamping my lips around that long, hard, shaft...waiting to be fed thick splashes of his nectar...it caused me to wiggle slightly in the back seat.

After catching me staring once or twice, Bax finally asked me, "Dude! What is WITH you today? You're being extremely weird this morning, even for you."

"Just drive, will ya?" I answered, holding in a blush. Jeff looked back at me, and his smile got even wider than before. My natural reaction was to silently give him the finger. It's not like I could help myself. I have this completely random emotion wrapping itself around my heart faster than my ability to understand it, and it just so happens to be connected to the gorgeous boy in the driver's seat right in front of me, based on the overwhelmingly sensual memory of a special moment between us that never even happened. I was doing better when I was sleeping with a ghost. At least I didn't have to look him in the eye the next morning.

By the time we parked and had gotten out of the car, I worked out a way to force myself to stop looking at him every fifteen seconds and thinking about the mind-blowing sex that we didn't have. But it was mostly just a mix of focusing on April the whole time and looking down at my shoes every time I got the urge to stare at his round tight ass in those pants. There is definitely a hidden pervert inside of all of us. I'm sure that I've found mine.

"Alright, I've got to get to class in a hurry. I'll see you guys later, alright?" I said. "Hey, April...good luck on the photos, hon."

"Thanks, Donnie. I'm keeping my fingers crossed." She replied, and we all went to our first period classes.

The beginning of the day had gone by pretty regularly. Nothing special. I think a part of me was just happy to be melting back into my life again after a few days of relentless panic and silly pursuits. It felt good to actually let it go. You know, Chucky was dead on when he was talking abut this dream stuff. It really does have an effect on you, you know? I guess the subconscious is not something you really want to play around with. Not with any level of recklessness, anyway. I've just got to get myself some good old fashioned sleep for a change, and wait until I'm evened out again. I don't even wanna know what I dream about for the next week or two. I just want to have a complete and total blackout for a few hours a night, and wake up with my mind clear and my body well rested. Nobody wants to be actively thinking like this twenty four hours a day. In fact, I'm starting to believe that that's the whole reason for us being unconscious in the first place once a day.

I know that Chucky has a special double period lab on Mondays, so going to see him would be a waste today. But I always make sure to walk the same halls anyway. Just to get another chance to see 'him' again.

If anything can break the spell and get my mind off of boning my best friend...it's Austin.

"Hey, Donnie." Austin said to me as we crossed paths again in the hallway. God, there was something so alluring about his smile. Every word that he spoke while he was smiling just sounded like fine poetry to me. Does he know how damn fine he is? He's got to know, right? He's probably rubbing it in my face. Like, 'Look what you'll never get, loser'. Damn...what am I about to do? What am I even thinking right now? Can I really get up the nerve?

It crossed my mind, and I wondered, briefly, if I should wait until I was a bit more ready and less shaky. But...if I didn't do it now, I know I'd just find reasons to not do it later. And the longer I wait, the harder it's going to be, right? Shit...I TOTALLY hate myself for doing this....but.....here goes.

I turned around in the hallway, and I stealthily followed Austin to his locker as he opened it up. I could feel my heartbeat pumping so hard that my chest was vibrating, and suddenly, my hands felt like they were twenty times their normal size. I tried to put them somewhere where it would look cool and casual...but they ended up just awkwardly flopping about like a set of seal flippers as I tried to get enough breath in my lungs to speak. "Um....hey, Austin...?" I said, slowing down my bashful approach.

He peeked back around his open locker door, his light blue eyes turning me into a stuttering idiot instantly. "Hey..." He smiled.

"Um...you know...my friend, Baxter, has a car...so..." I nodded, and wondered if that made ANY fucking sense to Austin at all. Did that come out right? In my mental game plan, I think I had like 100 more sentences to add in order to explain that statement. But I was too scared to give him the whole speech. Shit, I probably could have given him a little bit more to work with, though. He wrinkled up his forehead a bit, and I forced myself to keep talking. GOD, was it hard! The talking, I mean! "Well...I figured...since my friends and I were going to Cory's party on Friday...and you wanted to go to Cory's too...that...um..." I got lost with my train of thought, and simply repeated, "My friend, Baxter, has a car." Did that come out any better this time? God, I hope so!

"Oh...you mean, come with you guys to the party?" He asked. Omigod! He looked so fucking CUTE when he said it! I nearly collapsed when I heard the words come out of those kissable lips.

"Uhhh...yeah..." I whimpered helplessly.

"Sure! That sounds cool. Thanks, man. When should we meet up?" His blond locks were gorgeous, his eyes were mesmerizing....I could hardly contain myself.

"Um...er...how about seven O'clock? Is that ok?"

"Sounds great. I'll be sure to get dressed up before then." He smiled. "Thanks, Donnie. It would have sucked if I had to ride my bike there. I'll see you then?"

"Yeah....I'll see ya then. Sure. Friday. Hehehe! Cool." I grinned, and hurried to walk away from him before I literally exploded into a burst of glitter and sparkles! It felt that good. I can't believe he said YES!

I was walking forward, trying to keep from smiling until my cheeks split open, when I ran right into Jeff at the end of the hall.

"Dude, I TOTALLY saw you!" He said with a playful grin and a bit of shock.

"Hehehe, saw me what?" I giggled.

"Dude! You just fucking asked Austin to come to the party with us! Didn't you?" He beamed.

"Maaaaaybe. Hehehe, so?" I couldn't stop smiling! And Jeff was making it worse.

"Holy shit, Donnie. You are, like, my hero from now on. Seriously. You're the man!" With that said, he walked all the way to my next period class with me. Asking how I did it, what I said, what HE said in response! Hehehe, to be honest, it all happened so fast that I hardly remember what I told him at all. All I could recall for certain is the part where he said 'yes'. That part was my favorite.

At some point during the next class, still giddy over the lingering feelings inside, I let my mind drift off to thoughts of what it would be like to actually connect lips with such an absolute hottie this coming weekend. Seriously. Not in some kind of fantasy world...but in real life. Something beyond my control...and yet, more magical than anything I could come up with in a dream. The very idea of it kept me completely preoccupied, believe me. However, while I was sitting there doodling in my notebook instead of taking class notes like I was supposed to, I experienced a moment where I suddenly felt...very strange. I wasn't really sleepy, but I couldn't really focus either. It was like this 'pull', you know? This gravitational yank on my conscious mind that just kept preventing me from paying attention from one second to the next. Not just because of Austin. Instead, it was this random haze of untrained thought that swept in and seemed to cloud my eyes with this surreal need to escape. I didn't understand it. Everybody daydreams from time to time, but this was different. This almost felt like it was being forced on me.

I straightened up in my seat and took a deep breath, widening my eyes so that I could concentrate. I couldn't really afford to have my mind wandering off in here for too long. A little bubbly moment of glee to think about Austin holding me in his arms was fine, a few seconds at a time. But this new sensation seemed to be trying to scramble my thoughts and keep them that way.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, books off of your desk. We're having a pop quiz." Our teacher told us, resulting in the appropriate groans and grumbles of a class that really didn't want to hear that today. "Oh boo hoo, quit your complaining. It's an open note quiz. So if you took proper notes on the lesson, you should do just fine." Great. The open note quiz. The last acceptable line of betrayal between teacher and student. Keep the lectures as boring as humanly possible and then give us a test on the stuff we practically slept through so our teacher can say, 'See? You should've been paying attention.' Sighhh...legal torture is what it is.

I took everything except for my half empty notebook off of my desk, and he handed out the quiz sheets, row by row. Three whole pages. Shit, my average is certainly going to slip a little from this one. The room got quiet, and I looked down at the paper, hoping that I'd at least be able to bullshit my way through some of the answers if not all of them. Teachers give you credit when they think it was just a matter of you explaining your ideas in the wrong way instead of simply not knowing what the hell you're talking about. But, as I tried to read the words on the page...that 'pull' maintained its presence. Still strong. Getting stronger. Until...I heard a drip coming from the corner of the classroom. It was very...slow, and steady, and pretty quiet. But I could definitely hear it. I looked over towards the empty corner...and I noticed that there was a small puddle on the ceiling. Naturally, I focused on it for a moment or two, trying to figure out what it was and why it was there. And then I heard another drip. But it didn't come from the ceiling. It came from the floor.

I looked down, leaning over to the side of my desk. Sure enough, a small droplet of water stretched out of the tiling in the floor, released itself, and then floated upwards until it hit the puddle on the ceiling, causing small ripples from the impact.

"Donnie?" I heard my teacher call me and looked over in his direction. "The quiz has to be finished by the end of the period. More work, less daydreaming, ok?" He said.

"But I..." I looked at the corner again, and the drip was gone. "...Nevermind." I looked back down at my paper, trying even harder to concentrate on what I was doing, but it wasn't easy. My attention kept slipping. Following a call that I couldn't hear...but I knew it was there.

A few more minutes of struggling went by, and I was ignoring every possible mental distraction that I could. That's when, all of a sudden, 'something' physically snatched the pencil out of my hand. I watched, bewildered, as it hit the wall. Then...instead of falling to the floor...it did the reverse. It dropped up towards the ceiling, and it stayed there.

What the hell???

Unsure of my surroundings, I tried to do a reality check. The class was there. My teacher was there. The words my quiz and the numbers on the clock seemed to be stable. But I couldn't be fully awake. I just couldn't be.

I stared up at the puddle of water hovering overhead...and it began to slowly creep towards me. I looked back down to tell somebody what was going on, but quickly noticed that everyone else in the classroom was gone. Vanished. This isn't happening. It can't be happening. I'm awake. I know that I'm awake. I didn't shut my eyes, not for a second.

"Hi!" Came a cheerful voice from the desk beside me, causing me to jump in horror as I was startled to see someone sitting here.

"C-Caleb?" I couldn't believe that I was actually seeing him again. What was he doing here? Why here in school? Why right now? I thought...I thought I was done with this madness.

"I missed you." He grinned.

"What...what's going on?"

”I wanted to come see you. I was bored.” He said.

”I don't...understand. I...” Looking back at the clock, I noticed a bit of distortion, but not as bad as usual. It was almost as if I was moving back and forth between the real world and the dream. “How are you doing this?” Caleb just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

”Maybe you are. Maybe you missed me too.”

”You brought me here? You...you pulled me in...?” I asked, and he nodded with a wink. How is that even possible. Where am I? What's going on in my high school desk if I'm locked in here with Caleb?

He suddenly leaned forward to hug me lovingly around the neck, but I jumped away from his touch. Cringed at his display of affection. What IS this???

Caleb's eyes lowered for a moment, hissmile fading slightly from the rejection. But he was quick to cover up his disappointment and returned to his charming disposition. "Look, I'm sorry about...you know...running away like that last time. That was rude. I was just being stupid. I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have hid from you, but I was afraid you'd think different of me. I should stayed right here with you, Donnie. I love you. I should have known better." I felt my chair mysteriously slide closer to him, and he leaned in to give me a gently kiss on the cheek.

"Donnie!" I was yanked out of my daydream, and swiftly snapped my head back to my teacher. "Are you going to take this quiz seriously, or are you going to spend the rest of this class period staring off into space? Because honestly, you can do that out in the hall."

The room was back to normal. But after switching from one world to the next so seamlessly, I couldn't tell if any of this was real at all. Or if it was just...'part' of a dream. Or...if it was all dream with a part of it being real. For all I know, I might never have gotten out of bed at all this morning. The wet dream, my shower, my infatuation with Baxter, everything leading up to this very moment...might have all been some kind of a surreal joke. "Sorry." I said. I guess I can assume that I'm really in school. At least for now, right?

I really sat up straight at my desk and dug in to give my blank quiz maximum attention. But even then I could feel the alluring draw towards something outside of this place. The more I tried to fight it, the harder it worked to sink its claws into me. Until, at one point, the words I had written down on the page began to move and warp and stretch on their very own. Right before my eyes, I saw my pencil strokes turn into random scribbles and start spinning around with a high pitched laugh.

"Donnie..." I looked to the side, and the room was empty again. It was just me and Caleb. "...Come on, Donnie. Talk to me. You're not mad at me for last time, are you?"

"Caleb, this has to stop. You can't be here. I mean...I can't be here. Whatever. What are you doing to me?"

"I'm not doing anything to you. I just wanna talk." He said, and he moved over to wrap his arms around me. "And maybe...kiss a little bit more. Hehehe! I like the way you kiss. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

"Wait...you're not...you're not REAL. This is all in my head. I'm making all of this happen on my own and I can stop this whenever I want." I said, standing up from the desk and backing away from him.

"Hehehe! No you can't, silly. Why would you want to?" He said. "Come on...take a little break with me for a while. Tell me you love me again. Just like you did last time. It made me feel so good to hear it last time."

"What the hell are you?" I asked him, and he got a confused look on his face. He walked towards me, and I suddenly gasped and pressed my back up against the wall.

"What's the matter with you, Donnie?"

"Get away from me!" I jerked when he reached out his hand to me. "STOP IT!!!" I shouted. He tried to lean in and kiss me again, but I fought him off and held on to his wrists to keep his hands off of me. "You're not real, Caleb. Do you understand me? You're not real."

He got the most seriously hurt look on his face when I told him that. He gnashed his teeth together for a brief, but angry, moment...his eyes filling up with tears. "Why do you keep saying that? I AM real!" His voice changed to something as deep and guttural as a lion's roar, and his eyes turned completely black with a single blink. "I AM REAL! And you LOVE me! You SAID you loved me! I heard you! I was there!"

"Caleb...try to think...ok? Where are you right now?

"I'm here...with you..." He sniffled.

"No. You're not." I said, trying to make sense of all this. Hoping this...'phantom' of a boy could give me a solid answer. "Caleb, think hard. What happened to you?" Caleb's eyes returned to normal, and tears were preparing to fall at any moment. As he struggled to remember, his entire mood softened. He suddenly seemed so lost. So fragile. I asked him where he was, and I don't think he knew. "Did you...did you hurt yourself, Caleb?"

The tears began to fall, and he whispered, "I don't like this game."

"Caleb..."

"I DON'T LIKE THIS GAME!!!" He screamed. The boom of his demonic voice echoed throughout the halls of the entire school and it startled me to the point where I could barely breathe. He began to sob quietly to himself as I noticed something warm and wet running over the fingers of my right hand. Blood. It was blood. "No...I didn't want this. I wanted...I wanted love. I wanted love." He mumbled as the blood began to gush out of his wrist and completely cover my hand in his life essence. I immediately let go and it began to sputter and spray the front of my shirt, some of it splashing up into my face as he reached down to grab the wound with his other hand. "You wanna hurt me. That's what you wanted all along! You LIED to me!!!"

"No, Caleb. That's not true."

"You wanna hurt me! You're just like everybody else! You don't love me! NOBODY loves me! You all HATE me!"

"Who hates you, Caleb? Who's trying to hurt you?"

"He let me die, you know? He let me die." Caleb began to weep until he was weak in the legs, as a rapidly growing puddle of blood spread out at his feet. Soon, the blood on the floor began to prickle up and float towards the ceiling like the drip from before, creating a rain of crimson both above and below him. For every 40 or 50 drops of blood that levitated up to the ceiling, another 40 or 50 drops would rain back down to the floor. And as his open wrist bled more profusely, both puddles began to grow in unison until half the room was covered in the gore of it.

It was quickly turning into a violent indoor storm. The sound of it was almost as loud as a crashing waterfall, and small flashes of lightning began to spark up underneath it all. I slid to the side and backed away as far as I could. I was being drenched in blood. It was so thick in its sickening texture. Sticky. I felt as though I was almost drowning in it.

Caleb looked at me with sad eyes. “I saw you with him last night. I saw you. I SAW YOU!!!” He screamed, a crackling thunder emphasizing the pain in his blackened eyes. “You just want to hurt me. Just like everyone else. You never loved me at all.” I tried to put some distance between us, but Caleb's feet slowly lifted off of the floor to hover just a few inches above it. His body turned towards me...and he glided forward to follow me. "He let me die, you know? He...let...me...die..."

It was then that the clock on the wall began to spin in circles, and a record needle bent down to touch its surface. I heard the distinct snaps and pops of old vinyl again, and the familiar haunting tune of an old jazz song playing over the school's announcement speakers.

"Somewhere, someday....we'll be close together, wait and see. Oh, by the way....this time the dream's on me."

He began to mumble something over and over as he now turned his back to me, his voice changing and warping every few words. It seemed like his whole dream body was vibrating wildly, as though in torment. The very outline of him was a blur, shaking violently beyond perception...and it didn't stop until he rotated to face me again.

"Now I lay me down to sleep...I pray, the Lord, my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake. I pray, the Lord, my soul to take." He said. He repeated it over and over again, as he slowly rotated to face me. His face was almost blue, pale beyond comparison, and his eyes were dead and cold as he continued to chant to himself. "Now I lay me down to sleep...I pray, the Lord, my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake. I pray, the Lord, my soul to take. Now I lay me down to sleep...I pray, the Lord, my soul to keep..." Then, he stopped, and looked directly into my eyes. "...And if I die before I wake.....if I...if I die...before I wake..." His voice got softer and softer...until it was barely a whimper. "...And if I die........."

Suddenly, Caleb's hands LASHED out at me! He grabbed a hold of my arms, his palms smearing my skin with coagulated blood! It took a strong hold of me, and pulled me into the constant rain of scarlet horror surrounding him, soaking me in it. My clothes, my hair, everything! I fought to pull back but I couldn't get a foothold! The blood beneath my feet made me slip and slide down to the floor as he dragged me closer to the center! Then he pulled me up to a standing position right in front of him, holding me tight! I couldn't get away! I couldn't move! And his pale, bloodless, face moved closer to mine.

I slammed my eyes shut as he kissed me deeply on the lips. It was dead and frigid, his icy tongue prying my lips apart as it slithered its way into my mouth. The warm blood showering us in the center of the classroom. I couldn't even bring myself to scream. His tongue was so long, soooo cold. It lewdly licked its way past my gag reflex, touching the back of my throat. And just as I thought I was about to be sick from it all....I heard the sound of a bell ringing in the background!

It was soft at first, but it quickly got louder until it finally penetrated its way through my daydream and pulled me back into reality. The jolt was so startling that my entire body was almost sore from the sudden transition. I gasped out loud, and had to fiercely grip the sides of my desk to keep from being thrown to the floor by my own disorientation. I was breathing so hard, beads of sweat dribbling down my cheeks, my eyes open wide as I tried to regain a grip on my sanity. I looked around the room to see the other students staring at me as though I was some kind of raving lunatic. I heard a few giggles here and there, but most of them just took me as being some freak with a bad acid trip going on.

"Everyone turn in your papers before you leave. It's the only way you're going to get credit for being here today." The teacher said, and I took another opportunity to look around me and examine my surroundings for any of the horrific images I had just been exposed to in the last few minutes. I even reached out to touch the wall to make sure that it was solid.

Everything was back to normal. Perfect. Just like it was before.

I stood up on trembling legs, afraid to step forward for fear that I would walk right back into that nightmare, or possibly even something worse. It felt so real. I could still sense the lingering taste of his disgusting tongue in my mouth. I could still feel the warm slickness of Caleb's blood on my arms and shoulders. It was difficult to put one foot in front of the other after such an ordeal. My mind simply didn't feel safe letting it go.

But...the strangest part came when I looked down at my test paper.

It wasn't blank. Not like I expected it to be. Not anymore. On the front and back of each page...I had written out the same sentence. Over, and over, and over, again....

'Donnie Loves Caleb!

Donnie Loves Caleb!

Donnie Loves Caleb!

Donnie Loves Caleb!

Donnie Loves Caleb!'

There were cute little hearts drawn all over my quiz paper. Smiley faces and heartfelt kisses. It practically filled every inch of the paper, and I don't remember doing ANY of it!

I was quick to crumble the test up and shove it into my backpack, making my way out of the classroom before my teacher realized that I hadn't turned it in. I dashed out into the hall, and just began walking really fast towards my next period class. I looked up at all of the smiling faces around me. All of the lockers. All of the 'normal' things that I could recognize and be a part of again. But in the back of my mind, I couldn't tell what was normal and what wasn't anymore. I didn't know if one of the kids in the hall was going to suddenly burst into flames, or if the ceiling was going to disappear, or if the floor was going to change from white to purple with just a thought. I was stuck between what I knew to be real, and what I believed to be fantasy. I never had the line between the two get so thin before. Becoming so blurred that I couldn't distinguish one from the other.

I shouldn't be seeing these things. It's not real. It's not real. Calm down, Donnie. You're losing your balance here. Just...breathe.

Breathe....and remember.....

You're in control. And you can end this whenever you want to.

Right???