Amelie is used to nightmares.

They range from being unrealistically scary like an unknown monster chasing her to being realistically scary like losing all her friends.

When she was younger, her nightmares terrorized her. She would wake up in a start and then crawl into bed with her parents. They would tell her that they don’t mean anything. They are just nightmares.

But they were wrong. Nightmares expose the deepest thoughts and fears that she tries to bury in the farthest crevices of her mind.

They used to make her dread going to bed. She would try anything to stay awake. She’d read. Make up stories in her head. But somehow she would always end up asleep.

As she grew up, it became normal. The nightmares. In a world of soulmates and powers, sometimes her unconscious mind came up with fun new ways to torture her. She would have visions of people rejecting her for being soulmateless. People leaving her. All that jazz.

But the fear was familiar, so she didn’t mind them as much.

When she goes to sleep, she thinks it’s just any other night. Nothing is different. Her day was normal. She had friends now. She’s beginning to come to a place with not having a soulmate or powers. School is fine now.

That should have been her first clue. Never get comfortable.

Instead of the normal types of night terrors she has, she is in a field. No dark filter over her eyes. It is as bright as a children’s cartoon.

It’s strange. Everything feels so real. The grass beneath her feet is so soft. It’s like a carpet. It’s one of those lawns that you don’t feel bad laying down on because you know you won’t get dirty.

The breeze on her cheeks is nice and cooling. She can hear the rustle of the leaves.

It’s bright, but yet no blinding sunrays. A clear, deep blue sky.

Is this a dream?

“Hi!”

Amelie startles so badly that she falls on her face. Good thing the grass is a soft cushion.

“Hi?” Amelie responds, her voice a bit muffled from the ground. Pulling herself to a sitting position, the figure sits down across from her.

The figure is dazzling. Soft grey eyes. Pink and red highlights in brown, wavy hair. A spattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

Despite the cheery hair, she is wearing a black t-shirt and dark grey jean skirt with stockings visible between the skirt and her black combat boots.

“Am I dead?” Amelie asks outloud. It’s the only explanation that makes sense. She doesn’t dream. She only nightmares.

“No silly. It’s just a dream,” Freckle Girl corrects, plucking a beautiful rose from the ground. She twirls it between her fingertips while humming. Like she doesn’t have a care in the world.

Maybe this is the world trying to tell her something.

“Well that doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

Freckle Girl doesn’t respond which annoys Amelie a bit. But is that her fault since this is her dream?

How does this even work? Her brain just came up with this girl for what? Companionship? She has friends now! Maybe she would believe that her mind would make up this unique person if she had been lonely, but she’s not anymore.

“Dreams mean something. They always do. Maybe your unconscious is trying to give you a message,” Freckles advises.

“Ok, Freckles. If my mind is trying to say something, why wouldn’t it just give me a more direct message. One easier to read?” She asks what she assumes is a figment of her imagination. Maybe this is like an imaginary friend.

The nickname gives the girl a laugh. “Freckles? I like that. My most defining feature, obviously.” She gestures to the hair and her outfit, but does not comment further about that part.

“Dreams cannot be direct. That’s not how they work.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. It’s just not.”

This is going nowhere.

As Amelie opens her mouth to inquire something else, the once peaceful world shakes. It quakes violently.

“What’s happening?” She shouts, falling onto her stomach, grasping the grass to anchor herself.

Freckles looks completely calm. Not fazed at all. She is still sitting cross legged, no a pink hair out of place.

“You’re waking up.”

With those words and one last glance, Amelie jolts up. Her chest heaves up and down, labored.

Her eyes shift throughout her room to calm herself down. Ok, one desk, two chairs, five pencils, six notebooks, and seven unread books.

She repeats this until her breathing becomes even.

What the heck was that dream?

OoOoO

“It was the weirdest thing, Bell!” Amelie detailed her dream in full, hoping her friends might have some insight or advice.

“Dreams don’t always make sense. I don’t think that is abnormal,” Bell tries to comfort.

“Yeah, like this one time I dreamt of Ajax swimming with me and Herbert, one of my turtles. He hates swimming. Well like many cats, he just doesn’t like getting wet,” Lou adds. She strokes the head of her little lizard that always comes to school with her, Greg.

“But I never dream,” she holds firm.

“Maybe one of the boys will have a better idea,” Bell offers.

“Better idea of what?” Roman and Cross pops up behind them.

Amelie sighs and begins to describe her situation, “I had a weird dream last night and I’m trying to figure out why. Or what it means.”

As the boys look thoughtful, she realizes that someone is missing. Evidently, she isn’t the only one. “Where’s Jeremiah?” Lou questions.

“He’ll be here soon. Wants us to meet someone,” Roman answers.

Just as one of them is about to ask about who, the grass outside the school becomes much greener and healthier, indicating Jeremiah is near.

“Hello, my people! I want you guys to meet my cousin!” Jeremiah practically shouts. His smile is stretched so much, she worries for his chapped lips. Everything about him is shining.

“Ria, these are my friends!” Amelie didn’t see his cousin until he stepped to the side, and then she sees her.

Oh my freaking god.

If she didn’t have the pink and red highlights, she wouldn’t have even recognized her. In the awake world, Freckles is wearing jeans with a pink flowery shirt and white wedges. Much different from the emo look from last night.

As Jeremiah is making introductions, Amelie can’t tell if Freck—Ria recognizes her. There’s no way that it’s a coincidence. Even the thought makes her feel silly. That must be her power or something.

Pulling Bell’s arm until they are a few feet from their friends, she whispers, “It’s the girl from my dreams.”

Roman inserts himself, having seen them break from the group. “Wow. Girl of your dreams? I didn’t know you fell so fast, Amelie,” he teases.

She swats his shoulder in annoyance. “I said ‘from my dreams’, not ‘of my dreams,’” she corrects sharply.

“How is that even possible?” Bell breathes in disbelief, staring at Ria.

“It’s her power,” Roman reveals. When they just eye him with confusion, he goes on to explain further, “She can manipulate people’s dreams, but she tends to not have much control over that when she herself is asleep.”

Great, so this new girl just worked her way into her dreams.

“Guys! I want to you to meet Ria officially,” Jeremiah beckons them back over.

Amelie hesitantly follows Roman and Bell.

“Ria, this is Bell who has been friends with Roman for a long time. And this is Amelie. One of my newer but great friends.”

She lifts her head up and makes eye contact with her for the first time. Or at least first time in person. There are those stormy grey eyes.

“Hi Amelie. Nice to meet you again.” Ria gives her a genuine grin.

“Nice to formally meet you too, Freckles.” She doesn’t know where the nervousness went. While she was taken aback at the acknowledgment of the dream meeting, she managed to banter back with the nickname.

“You two met?” Jeremiah’s eyes get comically big like a cartoon character. He never looked more like a cute, confused puppy than he does now.

Amelie says, “Sort of,” at the same time Ria answers, “last night.”

He doesn’t push for answers, which Amelie is glad of. She doesn’t need to explain it again to someone. It barely makes sense to even her. “That’s cool! I’m just so happy that all my favorite people are in one place now!” Jeremiah exclaims. His pure joy is infectious, and she can’t help but feel her lips curve upwards in response.

His face scrunches up and then he corrects himself almost frantically, “Except for Este, don’t tell her that I just said that.”

“You’re secret is safe with us,” Ria assures him. “I’ll just file it away for future use, in case you do something to tick me off.”

Jeremiah’s face lights up even more, apparently not put off by the blackmailing.

“Like I could do anything to tick you off.”

“That’s true. There are much worse people out there, and you, my dear cousin, are certainly not one of them.”

As they all talk and joke, Amelie observes the whole group. When she can, she likes to mentally take a step back and just bask in this feeling. The feeling of belonging.

She meets Ria’s eyes, and in a look that feels like they are the only ones privy to, she smirks, eyes intense.

Amelie feels her cheeks grow warm, but she doesn’t look away. She knows that she isn’t that experienced in the friend department, but she has this gut feeling about Freckles.

She just doesn’t know what that feeling is telling her. _Yet_.