Dreamer - Chapter 7

Disclaimer: This story has multiple parts. To read the previous chapter, click here.

He began to come more and more into focus as I rubbed my eyes. The hood was covering his face, and his shadow lingered behind him as he stood there silently. His hands were shoved inside his pockets and his shoulders were hunched forward just a slight bit. He wasn't smiling or frowning. He was just.. blank.

"What are you doing here?" I found myself asking him. I couldn't stop myself from keeping a sharp, keen focus on what he could possibly be hiding underneath his hoodie. The color of his eyes? The shape of his nose? The volume of his lips? I found myself imagining just how much I wanted to see every last detail of him.

"I had nothing else better to do," He spoke out.

"You didn't have anyone else to bother?"

He chuckled, stepping closer towards me. Surprisingly, I didn't move out of his way. It was almost as if my feet had been glued to the ground.

I have never had anyone else to bother," He let off a soft, cute chuckle.

"Great." I let out a sigh.

"You know you love this," I could tell he was smiling by the tone in his voice.

He took another step closer to me until his body was pressed up against mine.

"Take off your hoodie." I whispered.

"Why?"

"Just take it off," My eyes searched for his, "I want it off."

His hands moved up towards his head, pushing the hoodie onto his shoulders. My eyes widened as I bit my lip to keep myself from gasping out loud. He was attractive. His eyes. His nose. His lips. Even his hair looked soft enough to stroke. Everything about him was handsome as ever.

"So now that you see who I am," His lips curved t the corners of his mouth, "I hope I didn't disappoint."

I was speechless.

He leaned into me, closing his eyes as his lips pressed up against mine. Even his kisses felt heavenly against my lips. My hands moved up to the back of his neck and I curved my fingernails into his skin.

"Sorry," I pulled away and looked towards the ground.

He cupped his palms around my cheek, pushing my head up so my eyes could meet his, "Why'd you stop?" His index finger brushed against the tip of my nose, "I liked it."

"I don't know.." I mumbled softly. I ran my fingertips across my arm the same way I used to do whenever I felt embarrassed as a child. He leaned in for another kiss. The second his lips touched mine, I felt sparks. He stroked my back in circular motions as he began to claw and fight his way underneath my shirt.

I jerked myself awake. What the hell was that!?

I continued to lay on my back, staring up at the ceiling. I refused to close my eyes, even to blink, in fear that I'd end up seeing that nightmare again. Was it even a nightmare? It felt like I enjoyed it. No. Of course I didn't enjoy it. Why would I enjoy it? It's Ace. I hated Ace. Why was I even dreaming about Ace in the first place? He's a monster. Who I hated. He's a monster that I hate. Ace must have done something to me last night. That's the only explanation to what just happened to me. There is no way in hell that I had that dream just to have that dream. I readjusted my body around under the blanket before I realized that I had used the floor for a substitute bed. I pushed my body up onto my side, my left arm holding up my head, and grabbed my phone. Pressing the home button with my thumb, I watched as the screen began to light up. 9:55am. No new messages. Unlocking my phone, I went to Michael's messages.

"Good morning Michael"

I pressed send before pressing the home screen so I could just scroll endlessly through my phone to help procrastinate the fact that I had to eventually get out of bed and begin my day.

After spending for probably thirty five minutes doing absolutely nothing, a small blue box showed up at the top of the screen. Michael.

"Good morning. You going school shopping today as well?"

Shit. School shopping. I completely forget.

"Yeah.. I'm leaving right now."

I stared at the text for a minute before erasing the entire sentence. Somehow he'll just know that was a complete lie.

"I almost forgot about that."

I pressed send before placing my phone back down and rummaging throughout the boxes that were crowding my room. I probably should start to unpack soon, but I do want to wait till all the furniture comes in before I do so. I began searching frantically for the suitcase I had mixed up with all the boxes. It's where I stored my clothes for the move. I was pushing boxes across the floor and throwing items across the room. By the time I found my suitcase, which by the way was currently propped up against the wall by the door.. don't know how I never saw it before, I had reorganized all my boxes from one side of the room to the other side. I seriously wish I was able to have places to empty my boxes so they wouldn't crowd my room so much. I hated that.

I unzipped the suitcase, revealing everything that I felt I haven't seen in years. To be fair, it has been a couple months since dad first brought this over from the old house. My hands swept across the suitcase as if it had been a million bucks at a charity fundraiser. If anyone could see me right now, they'd definitely think I was straight off the looney train. I pulled out a plaid skirt and the matching button up; an outfit I swore I only brought simply because Michael told me it was giving me "intense Clueless vibes" and that I "just HAD to buy it". I smiled as I folded the items over my arms and searched the suitcase for underwear, as well as my makeup bag. After finding them, I slipped the handle of the makeup bag over my wrist and headed off into the bathroom. The one perk to this new house was probably having a bathroom so close to my room and so far from my dad's. No longer did I have to deal with him just walking in to take a piss while I was showering so that I had to yell for him to get out without leaving the privacy of the shower curtain. He never really understood to knock first before entering a room.. he just went on in. Mom used to tell him that he had to be patient and wait to see "the goods" until they went into the bedroom that night. I never understood it back then, and now I wish I still didn't.

After placing my items down, I glanced into the mirror. My brown hair was sticking out all over the place; some strands even looking as if they were trying to escape off the prison that was my head. I ran my fingers through to try and get them to unknot the small knots manually. I leaned into the shower after to turn on the faucet before I began to undress myself. The water shot down quickly, which caused me to quickly take stuff off and hop in immediately. I wasn't about to let the hot water go to waste.. dad already told me that we had a finicky heater in this new place.

Once done, I shut the faucet off and wrapped my palm around my hand to squeeze out all the excess water before wrapping a towel around my body. Stepping out in front of the mirror, I grabbed the hairbrush and began to push out my curls. After, I dried my body off before moving up to make sure I didn't miss any spots with my hair. Next up was to get dressed. I slid on my underwear before pulling up the skirt.. then the bra.. then the shirt. I ran my fingers through my hair one more time before heading back towards my room.

I unplugged my phone to see a text from Michael appear on the screen.

"You should really go school shopping, Lex. Get yourself prepared. You can't steal supplies from me anymore ;)"

I quickly typed back, "I am doofus" before throwing my phone into my pocket and rushing out into the living room. Dad was sitting on a box as he scrolled through his phone.

"Dad?" I asked. He didn't look up.

"Dad?" I raised my voice a bit louder.

He looked up at me, "Alexis?"

"I need to go school shopping, dad. You have to get dressed."

"Just go by yourself, Alexis," He shot me a look, "You're eighteen now. I trust you know how to do it by now."

"I don't want to go alone," I sighed, "Plus.. I don't even know how to get to the store from here."

"Use the GPS on your phone," He responded, "You have that on your phone, correct?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "I guess I can use that."

"Good," He smiled.

I took one last glance at the kitchen before heading towards the door. My stomach was letting off some soft growls but I ignored them. Grabbing the car keys off the screw dad put into the wall last night, I walked outside just as a giant gust of wind smacked me upside the face. I made a run for it towards the car, closing the door and turning the engine on immediately so I could blast the heat. I doubt dad wouldn't mind. If he was out in this weather, he'd probably do exactly the same.

After a few seconds of sitting in the car and enjoying this heat, I pulled up my phone's GPS app. This felt weird. I've never used the app, nor have I ever had a reason to use the app. Michael used to do the driving in our old neighborhood.. or my dad did. I was just lucky enough to know people that didn't mind me sitting in the passenger seat. I hated driving. Going into the little search window, I typed in stores and pressed on the nearest location that popped up. Only 45 minutes away. I sure do miss living away from stores that were only 10 minutes from my house; you turn the corner and boom, there it is.

I kept looking behind me as I backed out of the driveway. Dad would have probably figured out a way to turn around by the house, but there is absolutely no way I was about to risk running his car into the back of a tree.. or straight into the bumper of Rev's truck. Although, if he was here right now, he'd deserve it. The tires hit a small dirt pathway and I turned myself onto the main road. I drove down slowly, yet still fast enough to hit the speed limit.

The GPS spoke up, giving me a slight fright at first, to let me know that I was to keep heading straight for the next couple miles. "I thought I muted you," I whispered to myself, adjusting the screen to face towards me so it was easier for me to see.

I headed straight, gripping the wheel for dear life and keeping my eyes glued on the road ahead. Michael and dad would always joke about how I drove like a fifteen year old that just received their permit, but I didn't care as long as I was staying safe. My eyes shifted over to a truck on the side of the road that looked familiar. I slowed down to get a better glance but there wasn't anyone inside the truck. I pressed the gas a bit to pick up speed. I could've sworn I've seen the truck before.. it couldn't have been my dad's, I'm currently driving it. The only other vehicle I've seen since moving here.. I took a peek into my rearview mirror to see a guy standing next to the car. My eyes widened. My foot slammed on the gas. The truck began to pull back onto the road. Shit. My eyes fell back on the road ahead while my fists were clamped tightly around the steering wheel.

The faster my car seemed to go, the faster the truck would go. Panic began rushing throughout my entire body. My cheeks were flustered. It certainly could not be him. No. Why would he just sit on the side of the road? He couldn't have known I'd leave my house alone at this time of day? Could he..? Was this even real? Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Yeah.. that's got to be it. There's no way the same guy who tried to attack me yesterday is currently trying to follow me down the street. I'm just being paranoid. Typical Lex.

The GPS spoke again and my eyes focused back to where my phone was sitting, "Turn left at the corner.. .05 miles away." I slammed my foot on the brake, not even giving the truck a single second to catch back up with me before starting the car back up again to take the turn.

Just as I thought I've lost him, he appeared behind my car yet again. I tried my best to keep my eyes focused on just the road without letting anything else cloud my mind. I even played the list over and over again in my head of the supplies I needed to buy for school. Should I get myself well-prepared for class, or just get myself barely enough to last me for the first couple weeks? What on Earth does everyone else do when they go back to school shopping? Usually, I "borrowed" my supplies from Michael. He was always real good about sharing.. plus, his mom used to stock up on everything he needed to last him for the next five years so he always had plenty to give.

"Take a sharp turn in .10 miles," The GPS spoke up again.

I wish this thing would just take me on a route where I know I'd definitely lose the truck. A confusing, windy route.. but not too confusing. I still have no idea where anything is in this town.

"A short turn coming up in .5 miles," The GPS stated.

Once I spotted the turn, I made it. The truck was still a few inches behind me but I just decided to ignore it and focus myself on what's happening on the road instead. Once the road began to flood with more and more cars, I began to see stores start to reveal themselves. I pulled between a dirty red pickup and silver SUV, losing the truck in the process. "Finally," I mumbled under my breath.

The growls from my stomach started growing louder and louder as I drove past all the fast food restaurants. I pulled over into the next lane and turned myself into a Mcdonald's drive thru. There had only been a couple cars sat in front of me, so I turned on the radio on a soft volume to break the silence. A pop song I wasn't a huge fan of played, but I just let it. I wasn't really in the mood to fiddle with each station. I always hated waiting in drive thrus.. it takes all the power out of the term fast food. My eyes scanned around the parking lot. There haven't been many parked, but I was mostly just double checking that I didn't see a truck pull in to wait.

Ace stood in front of the car.. his hood was covering his face again and his arms were extended onto the hood of the car. I stepped out, immediately hugging my chest once the cold air hit my skin.

"What are you doing," I asked him?

He didn't move.

"Hello," I asked again?

He still didn't move.

"Ace!" I shouted at him. As soon as I was close enough, I yanked his hoodie off.

His hand reached up, grabbing my wrist and twisting my arm towards me. I winched in pain, but focused on making sure he couldn't see that I was hurt.

"Ace?" Fear flushed over my cheeks.

He remained silent. Just stood there.. staring at me.. his grip was becoming a lot harder for my wrist to maintain. His eyes narrowed down onto my own as he began to shove me into the ground.

"Ace," I shouted, "Stop it!"

But he didn't. He continued to shove my body into the ground, his knees pressing deep into my stomach. His fists grabbed at my throat as he lifted up my head, about to throw it back down into the pavement.

"Ace, stop it!" I screamed out loud before realizing I was still in the safety of my own vehicle. My eyes had flushed with panic.

A car horned blared from behind. I looked ahead to notice a huge gap between me and the car in front, pulling up quickly to fill it in.

"Hello.. May I take your order?" A voice spoke through the small box.

Since I already missed the breakfast round of the day, I ordered a cheeseburger and pulled up to the next window. The lady standing there was on some nice bright red acrylics and had her hair shoved into her hat. After I paid, I was directed to the next window. As I waited for them to prepare my food, my eyes scanned the parking lot. Fuck. The truck sat off to the corner, by the entranceway. How did he find me?

"Ma'am?" Another lady asked.

I turned my head, giving a nod to the lady as I took my food from her hand. I pulled into a parking spot next to the road, while still not being too close to his truck, just in case I needed to make a run for it.

The burger had looked as if it was wrapped by a five year old, but I didn't care. Even if the presentation didn't look alright, the first bite tasted heavenly. Especially for someone who hadn't eaten all morning. My eyes began to wander as I took my next couple bites. They scanned the cars passing by to the guy walking towards me. I took another bite before it officially registered in my brain. My eyes scanned back towards the guy, widening once they realized who it was. Throwing my food down on the seat next to me, I managed to get out of the parking spot quickly and back on the main road. I pulled between a large green SUV and a small red Toyota, checking my rearview mirror to make sure he still didn't show up again. I still couldn't figure out how he even found me again.. I could've sworn I had lost him before.

I spotted a large red Target sign in the corner of my eye and quickly turned into the main entrance. The parking lot was completely filled with cars, including some idiots who thought the best choice were to park up on the grass or in front of other parked cars like they owned the lot. It was truly the most obnoxious way to park. My eyes scanned the parking lot as I weaved my way through aisles full of cars until I found an empty one towards the back. It was pretty far away from all civilization, but I didn't want to keep trying to search for another spot. I jumped out the car, hugging my small torso as I felt the first wind, and closed the door behind me. Why didn't I remind myself to bring a jacket with me? Walking through the parking lot, I was noticing a lot of different cars with different types of plates. In our old neighborhood, dad and I used to play a game where we'd see how many plates we could find for one single state of our own choosing before we made it to our destination. Mom taught the game to him; she would always know how to guilt dad into letting her win in the end.. even if he had found the most plates. I remember thinking how cute my parents were in those moments.

Once I got inside, the air conditioning smacked me in the face. Shut. Why'd they have to turn that on? You don't need any AC when the weather feels like it does outside.. someone should be cranking up the heat. I grabbed a shopping basket and headed straight to the back to school section. I quickly found the back to school section and immediately began searching for everything I needed. Notebooks.. pencils.. paper.. pens.. I skimmed through the messy, picked over shelves for what had been left behind. I guess that's what I get for waiting this last minute for everything.

After a while of searching, I managed to find some plain blue notebooks, four packs of paper, and three boxes of those boring number.2 pencils teachers go so crazy for. I went to grab some boring white binder off the shelf when someone else reached for it at the same time.

"Go ahead," I moved away my hand.

He laughed before picking the binder up, "Are you really that scared to take it away from me?"

I recognized that voice. My eyes moved up to see the hoodie; he even wore it inside? Damn.. he's a weird one.

"Are you really going back to school shopping?" I joked.

"I'm not going back to school shopping," He mocked, "Who the hell does that!?"

I looked towards the young kids going shopping with their parents, mouthing the words "I'm sorry" before glaring back at him, "What else would you need a binder for.. if not for school?"

"I just needed one." He responded.

"Well I'm actually buying it for school.. what's your excuse?" I said, putting hard emphasize on the word excuse.

He threw the binder hard into my arms, causing me to take a step back in order to catch it, and stormed off. I found my legs following him close behind.

"Why did you even come here?"

He didn't respond. He just continued walking straight ahead. His legs were obviously longer than mine, so I had to practically run just to keep up with him.

"Ace," I spoke out, "Answer me." The words flowed out of my mouth before my brain even had a chance to stop itself. What the hell was I doing? Why am I following him like some lost puppy dog? He clearly doesn't want me doing this. Why else would he be ignoring me like this? There is something that feels so messed up about him, yet I still keep trying to become his friend. Why? Why do I keep doing this to myself? To him, I'm probably just that annoying newbie who wants to hang out with him because he "saved my life" or whatever. I'm not, by the way. There's just something about him.. something that urges me to want to find out more. He seems different than what he lets himself out to be.. different from who I saw Rev as. He seems like some regular dude who fell into the wrong crowd. He pretends to be all tough and badass, but I'm pretty sure there is some guy underneath that hoodie just begging to come out. Maybe there's a small part of me that wants to pry into his life just enough to let that guy out.. or maybe I just want to get myself into more trouble than I already am in now. I mean, what the hell? What's worse than the amount of trouble I'm in at the moment? Nobody said I couldn't at least try and break him down.

Ace stopped short, causing me to fly straight into his backside. "I don't have to answer you if I don't want to," His tone came out much more of a whisper than an angry yell but I still found myself taking a step back just to be safe.

"Do I have to come here for a specific reason?" He turned around to face me.

"Well.. no," I answered, "But doesn't everyone at least have some kind of reason to come to the store? Not everyone completes that one task they originally needed to fulfill, but they at least have a reason for coming here."

His head drifted off into space, staring at the aisles of food.

"Are you.. hungry?" I quietly asked, trying to get his attention back on me again.

"No," He snapped back. His tone was harsh yet again and I just let out a sigh. Why me? He turned back around and began walking towards the exit. I looked down at my basket full of school supplies and followed an older lady towards the checkout line. She smiled at me and I just nodded my head to say hello. The line was moving quite quickly and I was soon next to go up. I lined out my items onto the conveyer belt while keeping my stuff separated from the lady ahead of me so the cashier won't get them mixed up.. I'm pretty sure the older lady wouldn't be able to tell which was hers or mine if it had gotten mixed up as well.

Hot breath hit the back of my neck before a hand briefly touched my shoulder but moving away, "Say goodbye to him." Fingertips swept across my neck for a brief moment before the feeling disappeared. I glanced behind me only to find a mother standing there with her young boy; the mother's eyes were widened in fear and her gaze was shocking. I looked back to see the old lady placing her bags into her cart as the cashier began to ring up my items.

"That seemed like a nice gentleman before.. where'd he go?" The old lady smiled at me. What nice boy? Ace? There was no way she would've seen Ace before. Wait.. was that the boy who was behind me a second ago? Did Ace come back inside just to play with my emotions? The look on my face must have gotten her attention because she spoke again.

"That boy with the black hair," She informed me, "He was standing right behind you just a second ago."

The boy with the black hair.. Ace wore a hoodie.. I know I've never seen his hair color before, but I doubt this lady would have seen his hair color if I wasn't even able to see it. There was only one boy who I knew for sure had black hair.. Rev.

"Say goodbye to him." What does that even mean? Was he just trying to scare the shit out of me? Was he talking about Ace? No.. No. Ace was his friend. He would never try and hurt his friend.. I think. Well.. Ace did try to shoot him last night. He did hold up the gun. My eyes widened in fear at the thought. No. He doesn't mean Ace. He was just trying to scare me. That's it. That's all it is. Why should I even care about what he chooses to do to Ace anyway? There was absolutely no way that Rev could affect my feelings by doing anything to Ace. It's not like I knew the guy before last night.

"Ma'am?"

I looked back at the cashier, who was holding a shopping bag out to me, "Cash or credit?"

"Cash," I replied before handing her the money, "Keep the change." I grabbed my bag and ran past the crowds of people towards the exit. I had to find Ace before it was too late.