Me and jay stayed up until at least 4 in the morning.... And so we slept until 2 in the afternoon. When I awoke, I saw Ellen with her foot caught on the top of the curtains. I had to rub my eyes to make sure I was really seeing the truth.

"Ellen?" I said grogily as I sat up. Jay was still passed out. "What the heck are you doing?"

She looked at me startled. Like she expected me to hit her. She started to talk really fast "I'm sorry! I don't know, I tripped and threw star up here and I had to climb it to get him down but I got my foot stuck and-"

"hey!" I interrupted. "I don't care how you did it..... Do you need help getting down?" I looked up at her again. Of course she needed help, she'd probably been hanging there quietly for quite a while now. Her face was pretty red.

I stood up and walked over. I couldn't reach her foot, it was stuck on the top of the curtains near the ceiling. Sigh... How did she punch a hole in it with her foot? I guess the curtains are old....

I left and brought back a few books to stand on. "Uh, ok grab one of my hands so you don't fall." I told her. She shook her head. Then I saw that she was wearing a skirt a little above knee length. If she grabbed my hand, her skirt would fall. "Ok...." I sighed. "Um, how do we so this...."

"Worst day to wear a skirt...." I heard her say. Her face was getting redder from being upsideown too long.

"Here, how about this..." I pushed the top of her up so she could grab the place her skirt was at.

I helped her undo her foot, and she fell. I fell off the pile of books I was standing on, and somehow she got under me. It was a miracle that I didn't squish her. I somehow pushed my hands down on either side of her and only our foreheads touched for a second. Then I accidentally flung myself onto jay trying to get off her.

"Ggwwaaahhh!! DUDE! NOT COOL!" he screeched as he sat up and clutched his stomach. Ellen sat up.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." she mumbled to herself while staring at the floor. I put my hand on her back.

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry about! It was a complete accident, ok?" I said. She looked at me and nodded. Oh that's so cute, so cute...

"Did I miss something?" Jay said.

I punched him in the arm "No."

He laughed and punched me back. "Dude, if you wanna be alone with the girl, just ask. But if you don't want her, I might try...." He said glancing at Ellen.

I glared at him. Ellen stood up and left the room. I wondered what she had been doing all day. I stood and followed her. She didn't notice.

"I'm nervous starlight...." I heard her say. I peeked into the kitchen and saw her talking to the cat. It was sitting on the table.

"Sigh... I've never had to serve at a ball before, why are they having one so soon? I wish I had at least some practice.... Hopefully jeff instructions will be enough to go on.... Will they beat me if I mess up? Like the others? I haven't broken a bone yet. I will soon." She said.

What was she talking about? "This dream is nice...." She said. Dream? "I wish it was real. But one day I'll wake up and never return to this place." I moved to walk away. But of course, I stepped on a sharpish thing and fell, right into her line of vision. Now she knew I had been eavesdropping....

She gasped and looked like a cornered animal. Her eyes filled to the brim with fear. "Hey! Hey, its ok, its ok." I said. She was shaking. "I'm not gonna beat you! Jeeze..." I said.

She bowed her head. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Why are you apologizing?!" I said.

She looked at the floor.

"I was the bad one. I shouldn't have eavesdropped. I'M the bad one. NOT you. Ok? Now tell me, what were you talking about?" I said.

She wouldn't look at me.

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Ellen's POV.

I didn't look at him. He must have thought I was crazy now, hearing me talk about the real world.... This dream character I made up. I must have made up.

"Tell me." He commanded.

"I.... I... I was talking to s-star about..." I said.

"About what?" He asked.

"The ball...." I said.

"Ball?"

"I have a recurring dream, and there's a ball in a few days." I said. I could lie and pretend this was real just so Nolan wouldn't doubt his existence. "Its in two days..... And I've never served at a ball before..." I said. I put my hands to my face.

"Well, why would you serve at it?" He asked.

"I'm a slave." I replied.

"What? Why-" he started.

"Because my father left, my mother died, and a child living on the streets is easy picking in the slave trade!" I said, frustrated.

Nolan put his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry." He said.

"It wasn't your fault...." I mumbled.

"But it's a dream right? It shouldn't be that bad... Can't you tell its a dream?" Nolan said.

"No, I can't tell witch is the dream anymore..... I can't tell if its that world or this world." I said

"Woh, that is a serious problem. You might wanna see a doctor...." He therozized.

"No!" I shouted in panic.

"What? Why?" He asked in confusion.

"I, I don't want anyone to know...." I tried.

"Well... I guess I can keep a secret." He answered.

I looked up at him hopefully. He blushed and patted my head. "So uh, do you want lunch? I'll make sandwiches...."

I nodded. Nolan served me and jay sandwiches. They were the worst sandwiches I'd ever eaten. I gaged on it.

"Uh, Nolan! I don't think kitten here likes mustard!" Jay called. Nolan remade me a sandwich without mustard. That one wasn't horribly putrid.

"Thank you." I told Nolan.

I stood up and left as soon as I was finished. The forest, the jungle... I wanted to explore it. I started to walk towards it. It was very humid in the jungle.

"Hey!! Ellen!! Don't go in there!" Nolan called.

I stopped and looked at him. I must have looked like a mistreated puppy.

"Awww, no! Don't be like that! Just, don't go in there ok?" He said, embarrassed.

I nodded and followed as he led me back to the house. But.... I still really wanted to go in and explore...... Oh well. I had enough to think about, with the ball and all...

When we were back in the house, Nolan apologized. "Sorry I slept in so late, I was gonna take you into town today...."

"Oh, that's OK..... You must have stayed up late..." I said to him.

"Tomorrow then?" He said.

I nodded, looking at the floor. Nolan was really nice.... I wished he could come to the ball with me. Nolan had me and jay sit on the couch, and he put in a movie. 'Howl's Moving Castle' it was so interesting! It was the first movie I'd ever seen. The first full one, I'd seen bits and lives of other movies that my masters had watched.

Nolan must have seen how much I liked it, because he played it over again once it finished. I watched it the second time while he and Jay played a game called battleship.

Jay went home, and the movie finished its second run. I asked nolan a question. "So.... W-where should I sleep?"

He looked at me weirdly. "Uhhh... Good question.... Hey dad!" He called. His dad came in the room. "Where should Ellen sleep?"

His dad was confused to. "Hmm... I didn't think that far ahead...."

"I-I'm fine on the floor...." I said.

"Nope!" They both said at the same time. OK, I guess my opinion was invalid.

"The closet?" I said. They looked at me like I was crazy.

"Hey! How about the box room? We could finally look through the boxes, and she can have a room! I think there's a bed in there, somewhere under all the boxes.

Nolan and his dad talked, so I just drifted off to sleep there. I tipped and my head fell on Noland lap. I heard him shout in surprise, and I felt him pet my head....