Wednesday
'Woah.' That thought still went through April's mind occasionally when she thought back on last night. That last dream was supposed to get Faith to open up and share. April wanted to get her over whatever was keeping her from just enjoying the dreams.
But when it finally worked Faith had turned out to be a little more take-charge in bed than she had expected. Jack hadn't said much but she got the impression he was very smug about something, like he expected exactly that.
April closed her locker and turned around to head to class when she stopped. The 'woah' that now went through her mind was also caused by Faith but not by April's memory of her but by what she was seeing. Faith wore the same clothes she wore yesterday and she had not undergone plastic surgery or had suddenly started wearing make-up but the woman that was now walking towards April was still very different.
'If I had to put it in words,' April mused, 'I would say that the old Faith seemed to be a little unsure, she didn't really fit in her own skin. But not this new Faith, she's like a...'
"Tigress," Jack finished for her. "I would say our cute kitten has become a proud pussycat."
There was no time for a retort from April because Faith had walked straight to her. "Hi, April. I just realized that we're neighbors but I haven't ever taken the time to get to know you."
"Uhm, hi. Eh, yeah."
Faith nodded as if she hadn't been given a semi-coherent reply. "Well, I think we should change that. Meet me for lunch?" April nodded and watched as Faith actually sauntered away. 'What. The. Hell.' Jack just snickered.
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"So how did you get into my dreams?" Faith asked in a lull in the conversation. April had indeed met her for lunch and the conversation had been eerily similar to the one she had experienced in that last dream. It had merely clinched it for Faith, April had been sharing dreams with her somehow.
April's eyes widened but she wasn't astonished or puzzled. She just looked busted but that didn't stop her from trying to feign ignorance. "What are you talking about?"
"You got sloppy, you just stopped hiding your identity after the first night and now that I think back, you didn't change that much about yourself even in that first night. But having three erotic dreams for three nights straight, all of which I can remember perfectly even now and all of which were featuring you. Funny thing is, if it weren't for that last dream I wouldn't have realized that it was anything but a dream."
April looked away for a moment and Faith felt a little bad for being so blunt, even in the short talk they had before she confronted April she could tell they clicked. But it was now Faith's turn to be surprised when April suddenly looked her in the eyes with black orbs.
The eyes returned to normal in a blink but they somehow took all the sound with them because the cafeteria suddenly went deathly quiet. When Faith looked around she realized that the reason for the quietness was that there were no people in the cafeteria anymore. Except for a guy in a trenchcoat sitting on the table where nobody had been a second ago. What really startled her were his eyes, they were the same black orbs April had sported for a second.
"What?" She wetted her lips and scraped her throat before trying to speak again. "What happened to all the people?"
It was April that spoke up though. "They're still in the cafeteria, it's us that are somewhere else. Jack connected us so we could speak in private. We're actually in your..." She turned to the man. "In whose mind are we?"
The man smiled. "We're in yours, April." He now took over the explanation. "You wanted to know how April managed to appear in the dreams you had and I am your answer. Although I must correct you, while the dreams were created by April it would be most accurate to say you shared the dream. It wasn't really yours or April's. As for why I helped April, I am an entity that requires pleasure to continue my existence. And I made a deal with April here to get it. I would help her to help you find the fun, as she put it, and in exchange I get to eat."
"Hey, why are you telling her all that, isn't that supposed to be private or something?"
"If the deal hadn't been completed, I would feel a certain obligation. But Faith has found the fun so technically, my side of the bargain has been fulfilled."
While April was digesting that, Faith had a few questions of her own. "So you did, what, make the connection and provided the theater?"
Jack's smile got a little wider. "An apt analogy, but why do you ask?"
"Because I think I deserve a dream too. April got to call the shots in all the dreams, I think it is only fair I got one too."
"Hey, now wait a minute," April began to say but she was interrupted by Jack.
"It does sound kinda unfair, but what's in it for me?"
"Well, it would be very nice and after I get to know April here a little better I think I would want to," Faith started to blush but she kept going, "try a few things with her."
Jack laughed, "Done! One dream for the little lady. And I do believe that is all the conversation I need to be included in. Have fun, both of you."
And just as abruptly Faith found herself in a crowded cafeteria facing an abashed April. "So, what kind of dream did you have in mind?"
"Oh, I don't want to spoil the surprise for you. After all, what would be the fun in that!"