My eyes squint at him, my body welcoming the uneasiness. It's like I forget how to breathe and speak at the same time when he sits down on my bed, never breaking eye contact. Knowing it's going to be a long explanation, I sit down on the edge as well, still not finding my voice.

What does he mean? My brain tries to connect the dots together, but fails to conduct a stable solution that can expound his answer reasonably well. I don't—

"2016 - I dreamt of you too."

My jaw ticks. "This sounds impossible." I sputter out nervously, unable to comprehend what he just said. He dreamt of me too? Is he joking?

"I kept having dreams of you for the past five years. Once a year as well." He continues, his eyes blazing. I stand up abruptly in shock, and he reflects my action. "I didn't do anything about it, but I felt this... connection towards you.

"You kept appearing in my dreams, and I couldn't shake the feeling that we were bound together. So all the girls who wanted me— it was over for them."

That makes me take a step back. His face falls. I recall Leo saying Dom had plenty of admirers, and that he even rejected Leo's cousin. "I... I wish I knew." I had him, even before I knew him. "That's not fair. I... I got a boyfriend-"

"It was my choice, Ann." He insists. "I couldn't be with anyone, not when I felt that way about you. That wouldn't be fair to the girls I'd get exclusive with."

I look away. That makes so much sense. Unlike me, he did something about the dreams, while I somewhat ignored them thinking it was just a weird coincidence (well, at least during the times I was dating Cornell).

"No one caught my attention. I told myself not to get involved with anyone until I find the girl in my dreams." He clears his throat. "My goal was to wait for you, and so I did."

My mouth opens to protest, but nothing comes out. Five years. "What do we do in the dream?"

He holds my gaze. "We dance."

"A tango," I cover my mouth with my right hand, flabbergasted. Oh my god. Oh my god. "Weird, right?" I can't help but state, failing at acting all natural. "I mean... don't you find this all weird? You have to find this weird at some point."

He stares at me for a few seconds. "Remember when I said I was thankful because I was given another day to pursue my dream?" he brings up the first day I saw him onscreen, ignoring what I said, "that was because I had a dream about you that very day. It was my sixth dream about you. And my goal was to find you - to wait for you. And so I did, and here we are."

Plastering a huge smile, I nearly let out a happy sob. "I had my dream about you that day too..."

His smile matches mine, and for a moment I feel alive again. "When I saw you onscreen... I didn't know what to feel. I thought it was a dream, but then I saw you again the next day. And we got grouped together for research, then suddenly we were calling each other almost everyday."

I sigh, pretending to be pissed when I'm actually quite relieved and happy about the whole thing. "Oh my god, Dom. This is... I don't know what to feel."

Dominic's face brightens. "I'm happy."

"Mmm?"

"I'm happy you did not stay a dream."

I look away so that he doesn't see me blushing. What does he mean when he says those stuff? When I gather the courage to meet his eyes, I realize he's sitting down on my bed again, deep in thought.

Despite the unexpected exchange, the feeling of safety I get when around him gives me butterflies and reassurance. I sit down close to him without warning and he looks up at me, surprised.

"I never really had any specific expectations in store for you, or for us in general," he mutters, "and yet..."

"Yet...?"

He breaks eye contact. "Nothing."

I don't push him. "Are we crazy?" I immediately ask before chuckling.

He throws me a disapproving look, but not in an offensive way. "No. I like to think we're just... special."

I heave a sigh. "Nothing special about me." I can't say the same about you though. You're literally perfect.

"That's what the main character in books always says."

I look at him and lift up my index finger to correct him, but eventually consider his statement. "That makes so much sense."

"And yet the main character ends up being special," his eyes gleam. "You're special. Trust me."

Batting his opinion away, I lie down on my bed and let out a sigh. He moves so that he can look at me without occupying so much of the bed. What a dork. "Do you believe in destiny?" I couldn't stop myself from asking, the question popping in my head all of a sudden.

He slowly nods. "I believe in destiny, but I also believe we can't always rely on it."

"What do you mean?"

"People rely on destiny when it comes to their fates - they tend to forget that they are the ones who make their own destinies."

Makes sense. "It's like hoping for something to happen, but not doing anything to make it happen."

He murmurs in agreement. "Exactly. We can't just sit around and rely on the whole destiny thing, you know? We have to make it happen."

I sit upright, remembering the first time I joined a voice channel in Leo's server. "Do you recall the first time I joined you and Leo in call? He was acting so weird—"

"Nina was in the call before you joined. Leo was trying to make her jealous - telling her she wasn't the only girl in the server anymore and that he might have a crush on you," when he sees the face I make, he hangs his head back and laughs, "exactly my reaction. Obviously the dude is in love with his own best friend and can't tell her."

I scoff. "Everyone knows Leo has a thing for her, but who wouldn't, right?" I turn to see his reaction, knowing he has Nina on his contacts and that they communicate occasionally. Or regularly. "Nina's pretty and smart. Don't you... don't you agree?"

He shoots me a weird look before shrugging. "Dunno. I've never seen her in person, but yeah, she's cool."
That response somehow stings. Why am I being like this? "What do you mean she's cool?" A part of me feels guilty for wanting a different response, but I bury the guilt.

"I mean - she gets along well with Leo and Sean. I think she and Joshua are, uh, friends too. She's basically a sister to the group." He answers nonchalantly, looking down at his shoes, barely making eye contact.

My stomach churns, and I can't help but feel uneasy. Is this because of the trauma my past relationship brought me? "You've been in here for too long."

He turns to me, a look of concern on his face. "What?"

I quickly get up, and he imitates me. "I think it's time for you to go," I tell him, slightly panicking. What if Dom and Nina become a thing? "Kate wouldn't like it if you were here for too long."

"Ann—"

"And I have to clean my desk." I take his arm and he flinches, still unused to my touch. I let go immediately with humiliation and point to the door, indirectly telling him to exit.

The look on his face breaks my heart, but his disappointment fades the moment he nods, walking towards the door. He looks back at me and waves awkwardly before closing it behind him.

When Dominic leaves, I find myself having a hard time getting out of bed. I don't even have the right energy to pick up my phone or use my iPad. I go downstairs for dinner and avoid talking to my sisters about Dominic.

Of course Kate keeps bugging me, but I couldn't shake off the possibility of Dominic and Nina getting together - what if he's just like Cornell? Gratefully, he hasn't shown any red flags yet. Cornell used to joke around about how pretty my best friends were, and it made me pretty insecure; nonetheless, I just ignored it.

And look what happened.

If Nina and Don were to get together, I shouldn't care this much. Dom never established that he has feelings for me, and I don't feel anything towards him.
Right?

No. Dom is nothing like Cornell. He would never disrespect me like that. The reminder of the words at the back of my sketch settles me, though I know I might rethink about the possibility soon.

The odd idea of Dom and I dreaming about each other for five years doesn't stop hitting me. It keeps me awake at night until my eyes start fluttering and I let out a yawn, feeling more and more tired.

My phone buzzes. For some reason I finally find the energy to lift up my hand and snatch it from my bedside table lazily.

I have three texts from Dominic. One was sent two hours earlier.

Dominic Archer: hey. don't forget to eat dinner

The second and third one are recent - sent just seconds ago.

Dom: goodnight, sleep well.

Dom: hope u get a good dream

Unexpectedly, I end up texting back.

Ann: I hope I dream of u