~*~*~ Dreaming ~*~*~

Hot. It's way too hot. I fan myself, seeing only darkness but feeling the sun's heat as sweat forms on my upper lip. I roll onto my side, trying to gather enough energy to crawl to Zeus rez, just a few feet away.

"Jessie."

I jump at the sound of his voice, then realize right away whose it is. A streetlamp highlights his lean frame as he crosses the lawn of dry, cracked dirt, bringing with him a welcome breeze. The darkness around us blurs and shimmers into a large expanse of university buildings and towering trees as the yellowed grass pushes out of the earth, revealing a blanket of lush, bright green blades in its wake.

He comes up the steps. "We just keep running into each other, eh?"

I roll my eyes. "Very funny."  I sit up as he lowers beside me on the top step, looking distracted. "Hey, what's wrong?" My heart speeds up. "Did it happen again?"

His eyes widen. "Oh! No, no, it didn't. Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

I let out a deep breath and watch him continue to look lost in thought. I soften my voice. "Are you okay?"

He lifts his gaze slowly, as though it weighs as much as a barbell. "I thought of something today. What if..." He takes a deep breath. "What if it does happen again? Will I..." My heart squeezes. "...wake up in time? Will someone be there to help? And what happens to swimming?"

I pause, digesting. When I had the same thoughts at the food court, he made me feel better. How? I try to think of something comforting to say, because he's right. And the fact that he admits he's thinking it means he's really worried.

I let out my breath in a whoosh. "Let's go back to your hypothesis about the nightmares. I know you've had them since childhood, but do you know why you might be having those dreams?"

"I'm not sure." He looks at me. "I've been asking myself the same thing and I'm coming up with nothing."

I wrap my arms around my knees, wracking my brain. "Could it be you're afraid of being helpless in the water?"

He looks pensive. "I don't think so. Well, not more than everyone else is. Maybe even less, since—"

"You're a competitive swimmer, yeah. So maybe not that. Did you watch a scary movie as a kid that keeps making you dream of that?"

He's quiet, thinking, then finally speaks. "I don't remember, but I doubt it." He lets out a frustrated huff, giving me a look that is both apologetic and pleading. "I think it's related, but I have no idea why I keep dreaming of that."

I nod, silent, unable to make the connection either.

I put an arm around him, feeling his muscles relax in response. "For now, just remember that it only happened once. And it might not happen again. Okay?" He nods. I take my arm back to cup my knee, gently knocking it against his. "It's our secret. And you know your secrets are safe with me. And that you're safe too, right?"

He gives a half smile. "Thank you." For a moment he actually looks reassured, then he lets out a sigh and shakes his head. "It's just another thing to think about."

He leans into his palms on the step behind him, dipping his head back to look at the sky. The dark expanse of glittering stars is breathtaking, but I can't let myself relax when his secret is looming over us.

I sneak a look at him—at the determined set of his jaw, the way his red-brown hair falls across his forehead, the troubled look in his eyes—and know that even if he hadn't already said it, I would have been able to tell what he's feeling: fear.

I feel a weight push on my chest, trapping my breath in my throat, and I immediately know why—it's because we haven't solved anything. We don't know why this happened or whether it might happen again. Despite what I told him, I know this might not magically go away; life isn't like that. We have to do something, before it's too late.

But what caused him to blank out in the first place?

The leaves on a nearby maple tree shiver delightedly as the breeze graces us again. Soon the green leaves that decorate the campus will fade to dazzling yellows, reds, and oranges. Soon everything will change.

He pushes to his feet. "Want to go for a walk?"

I almost joke that he's trying to distract me—he hates making me worry, and he knows I can't figure this out right away. But a distraction is probably the best thing I can offer him right now.

"Sure."

The grass starts to shrivel as he jogs down the steps. The trees move through the seasons as if on fast forward until bare branches are all that is left, and I find myself standing on the steps to nowhere.

I hop down to grass level. "Hey. Are you honestly okay?"

He smiles but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Always am."