Carter and Winter sat in the darkness as he began to regret even being born. He could still feel Winter's hand on his shoulder and wished she would take it away as it increased his feeling of regret. Without thinking, those three words slipped passed his lips and escaped into the world. He wished he could get a net and retrieve them. Maybe if he could take them out of the world, Winter and he could forget the words even existed. The next minute was Carter's longest. He could feel thoughts running through her mind. He hated that feeling. Knowing someone was thinking about what he said but he couldn't know what it was that they were thinking. Finally, Winter took her hand off and Carter let his body relax. Then, she hugged him from behind.

Putting her head in the nook of his neck, she whispered, "I love you, too."

Carter couldn't believe it. Well, maybe a little. He jumped up off the bed and turned on the lights. Then, he went back to the bed, lay down on his belly, and put his head on his hands while looking at her.

"Like, love love me?" he asked, suspicious of her words.

"Well, that is what you meant, right? Love love. Not like friend love. Right? Because that would be kinda awkward."

"Yeah, not the platio one."

"Platio?"

"Platonic."

"So, does that mean we're dating now? Oh my god, this is embarrassing," Winter facepalmed.

Carter chuckled and sat up, "In a way, we've been dating for quite some time now."

Winter let herself go limp, falling into his lap, "Yeah, I guess so. That makes sense."

"Mhm," he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a little squeeze.

"Wait," she sat up and bumped into his chin, "What, uh, what exactly do you do when your dating?"

Carter went blank, "Oh, uh, I suppose we could do whatever we feel comfortable with. Obviously, our relationship is gonna be, probably, very different from other people. I mean, would you want your love life to be the same those other people in YA novels? They make fun of each other, get attracted, maybe a fake date or something, the boy 'cheats' on the girl, she leaves him, he can't live without her, they make up, and get married."

Winter leaned back onto Carter, "Know what? They're always the same," she looked up at him, "Have you realized there's like, no relationship that's always happy in those books? As in 100% happy. Like, they separate for a little while before actually getting together or something. We'll make ours happy, right?"

He put his lips on her forehead, "Yep. We'll do whatever it takes to keep it alive and happy. Mwah."

Winter smiled, "What time is it?"

Carter looked down at his watch, "Uh, I'm not sure but I can tell you the time in 'stralia."

"Do you always keep that watch on? Doesn't it bother you when you sleep?" Winter looked down at his watch as well, "Why is in Australia time? Does that mean you have to 'translate' the time whenever we're in the U.S. and you need to know the time?"

"That, uh, that was a lot of questions. Um, yes. I always have it on, unless I'm like showering or something 'cause that's just weird. Uh, no. It doesn't bother me when I sleep 'cause I've already gotten used to it. It's in 'stralia time because it used to be Grampie O's-"

She interrupted him, "Grandpa Ollie! The funny one right?"

"Well, yes, but actually no. I mean, he is funny. He's more sporty if anything. Good ol' Gramp. Won the Margaret Rivah Pro once," he looked at Winter again, "He gave me the watch 'cause I bet that he would win. He said he wouldn't, so we bet on the watch."

"How old was he?"

"Uh... how old are your grandparents?"

"Good point. Now, continue answering my questions, please," Winter pointed at his watch.

"There's only one left so sure. Anyways, yes. I do have to 'translate' the time whenever we're in the U.S. and I need to know the time. It used to be a hassle but now, it ain't too bad," Carter started to rock side to side, like a mother trying to get her baby to sleep.

"Mmm, that's cool. What's the time?" her eyes started to close.

"It's currently 10:56. Lemme turn off the lights real quick," Carter got up, "It's too late to be doing this."

"Yeah," Winter softly sighed.

By the time Carter got back under the covers, Winter was sound asleep. It was a miracle. Winter was asleep before eleven. Carter smiled at the ceiling. That had gone much worse in his head. He had expected a slap or friend zone but nothing like what had happened. Either way, he was glad it worked out the way it did. If it hadn't, he predicted he would be looking for a job to get money for a plane ride home. Thankfully, that wasn't the case and he could still ride on the same flight as Winter on their way home. Carter thought about the ways he planned the confession would go. They all led to a bad ending.

"Wow," he thought, "I am such a fucking pessimist."

Carter continued to look at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. In, out, in, out. His breathing slowed and his heart rate slowed. His eyelids felt extremely heavy. Eventually, everything went dark. Suddenly, he heard a rustle next to him and seconds later, the lamp was on and Winter was writing on her sticky notes.

He groaned quietly but kept his eyes closed. Winter unclicked her pen and turned off the lamp.

"Why are you so bad at sleeping?" Carter whispered as he put his arms around her.

She wiggled a little, getting into a more comfortable position, "Why are you so bad at staying asleep?"

"Don't change the subject, Minty," he warned and opened his eyes.

"Just sayin'."

"Go to sleep."

"You can't tell me what to do," she said.

"Let us not forget who has the advantage here," he started to tickle her.

She laughed, "Damn it, Carter! Stahp!"

He stopped," Will you sleep?"

"Fine, dammit," she grunted and plopped her head on her pillow.

Carter closed his eyes again and went to sleep. After some time, he noticed everything was black, he questioned this, and then his world was filled with color. He blinked to help his eyes adjust. When they did want he wanted, he found himself in a large library that resembled the Georgia Tech library. This made him wonder why he was there as he hadn't been there in a very long time. Tonight his brain placed him in an aisle located in the book space. The light above him was a single line, interrupted every now and then by some vents. He took a deep breath and yelled out. His voice echoed as it bounced off every surface. Another voice echoed and this time, it was shushing him. This confused Carter more. He walked forward while looking down the bookshelves. He turned when he decided it was a good idea.

When he reached the end of the bookshelf and looked out. He saw that it led to places he had never seen before but dismissed that as just never actually exploring most of the library. Carter yelled out again and was answered by a very stark response.

"Hey, kid! Shut up!" a voice said.

Geez, very touchy. He continued his way through the library. Though he never really went, he could feel something was off. The aisles were too long and there was no exit. He started to jog as he began to panic. Repetition. Carter hated it. Everything was the same. Nothing... special. As he was off thinking about the things he hated, in the corner of his eye he saw a person in white. He paused and leaned back to get a clearer look. As he had thought, it was Winter. Not a sock puppet, thankfully.

"Wintah!" he said in a hushed tone.

She looked up from her book, "Carter!"

His heart fluttered. She always made him feel warm and happy inside whenever she was near.

Carter walked towards her, "Hey! What're you doing here?"

Winter jumped on him and held on in a hug, "Shhhh, let's take some time to enjoy this, okay?"

"Oh, uh, okay," he held her to make sure she wouldn't fall.

So, Carter stood there, holding Winter. She was surprisingly warm, but he didn't think much of it. It was a nice temperature. He put his lips on top of her head. She gave a faint giggle, making Carter smile. It was nice. Just him and her. Taking time to enjoy each other's company. It was a library so it was quiet and there was no one else there. They whispered to each other for a little while. Just short taunts, nothing too extreme.

Carter looked at the book she was reading. He saw that it was "And Then There Was None" by Agatha Christie. If it was in his dream, he had to have seen it before. And that was true, as it was his favorite book. It had nothing to do with the details or author but instead the suspense. He loved looking back and laughing at himself as he had to stop reading the book every now and then. He had to read it for ELA in highschool. Winter never let him forget it and Carter was glad she wouldn't.

In the corner of his eye, Carter noticed a dark figure peeking around a corner. He lifted his head to see better. The figure moved out of sight. Feeling the urge to follow it, he let go of Winter, but she wouldn't let go of him.

"Hey. Oh, c'mon, Wintah," Carter kept trying to gently push her off, "Pleaseee?"

She looked up at him, "You better not go after him."

They stared at each other, neither of them blinking. Carter's eyes started to sting.

"Dammit, Wintah. Fine."

She let him go and ran after the figure. Carter sighed as though he had expected it. Probably because he did. He couldn't let her get lost in the library maze his brain, for some reason, came up with, so he followed her. Usually, Winter would have already been out of breath by now, even if she was walking, but she wasn't and kept running. Carter was better at pacing himself but, of course, his brain didn't feel like it. He was out of breath by the time he had already passed ten bookshelves.

"One more. Just gotta run past one more. UNO MAS, CARTER," he thought.

Finally, he got past the eleventh bookshelf and promptly collapsed. Eleven was his lucky number, even if it wasn't round or pretty as ten. People often questioned why it was and he always replied, "El even".

Winter looked back at him and told him to hurry up. She seemed nervous. Carter groaned and threw some aggressive compliments at his legs to get them working again. Not wanting to waste any more time, Winter grabbed his arm and ran.

"Holy fuck! What's going on!?" he cried.

"Don't worry 'bout it and just run!"

"Why?!" Carter's heart was pounding.

She stopped. Carter opened his mouth to say something but she covered it with her hand. In an attempt to get her to stop, he licked her hand. No reaction. The once bright, white lights turned to a deep red.

Winter looked up at them, "Oh, fuck."

Carter was super confused at this point. If a person could die from confusion, he would have been triple dead. He tried to ask Winter what was going on but realized his mouth had been sewn shut. He gave a muffled shout.

"Mhph! Mhmhmmmmppp!" Carter tried to ask her anyway, hoping she could decipher what he had said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's super weird. Don't worry though, you get used to it," Winter looked around the corner, "Alright, c'mon."

They made their way down a hallway and through a door. When they opened it, Carter saw that they were in a car.

"Dreams, man. They really fuck with you. Damn."

"How are we on the gas?" Winter asked.

He looked at the fuel meter, "Eh, we're decent. Gilda, are you decent?"

She smiled and leaned forward, letting her hair fall forward. In a single move, she flung her head back and turned towards Carter.

"Me?" Winter started to chuckle.

Carter only saw a white flash but he knew exactly what she did. He smiled and leaned back into the chair. Life was going to be great. Out on the open road, hanging out with Winter. The girl who could never run out of ideas or things to say. Exactly how he liked it. Free but thinking about everything and anything. Carter loved it here, he never wanted to wake up. Here, he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Carter would never get sick of lucid dreaming.

"Alright, Carter! Here's our stop!" Winter said pointing at a hotel.

He pulled up to the hotel and went inside. The doors slid open and Carter went through. Obviously, his brain didn't get the memo of not wanting to leave that part of the dream. When he passed through the door, a girl appeared next to him.

She had charcoal black hair and was just a tad taller than Winter. Just an inch taller, if anything. Her hair was shoulder length and straight. Her eyes were brown and had eye bags. She had pretty good skin but it was obvious she had no idea how to take care of it. She wore a t-shirt and khaki shorts. Her lips were moving as though she was saying something but not a sound was coming out.

Carter tried to change the dream but he couldn't. It was as though he was part of her dream. They were walking in a brown hallway that seemed to go on forever. It looked like the floor, walls, and ceiling were one. Even though Carter's mind was there, his body wasn't. It just kept talking and talking to the girl. They seemed to be having a very nice conversation from what he could tell. She was mid-sentence when Carter was transported to another room. It was the same as he was just in, but the girl was gone and he was facing Winter. They began to talk about the girl. He couldn't hear anything but that didn't mean he couldn't read lips.

Again, he was transported. Back to the girl. They were still walking and talking as if Carter had never left. Then, she began to fade. Carter regained control of the dream again and got out as soon as he could. This time, he didn't enter another dream but woke up instead.

Much to his relief, Winter was still asleep in his arms. Either that or she was dead. He shook her a little and she didn't wake up.

"Yep," Carter whispered, "She's dead."

He got up to get some breakfast. In the refrigerator were some fruits and leftover dinner. Can't forget the ice cream in the freezer, of course. Carter picked up an apple and washed it before sinking his teeth in. When they sank to the depth he wanted, he tried to pull the apple away so the part between his teeth would come loose and he could eat it. Obviously, his teeth were stuck.

"Egh," he groaned.

"HAH!" a voice came from near the room.

Surprised, Carter spun around and saw Winter on the floor, laughing uncontrollably while pointing at him.

"You- you. You look like those pigs! Hahaha! Like, the ones with, ha, the apples in their mahoutahahahahahahas!" her words were consumed by laughter.

He rolled his eyes as he successfully bit through the apple. Winter kept laughing as she somehow made her way to the kitchen. She got a banana but had to put it back down. Carter suspected it was because she was laughing so much, she must have been unable to focus on her grip. It happened to him all the time. He still wasn't sure why that happened, maybe there was a paper on it somewhere.

"Hey, Carter!" Winter finally took a bite out of the banana.

Carter continued to eat the apple and nodded.

"What if we really are in a movie or something?" she paused, "I mean, just think about it! I have white hair, you have amber eyes. And we steal for a living. Well, find. Wh-whatever. That's beside the point. Anyways, we steal things around the world for a living!"

"My gosh," Carter stopped and thought, "My gosh, you're right! What are the odds? Man, oh, man. This is a good apple."

Winter wagged the banana at him in agreeance and went back to the bedroom to change. Carter threw away the apple core and followed suit. By the time he got to the room, Winter was already changed.

"What is that?" he opened the closet, "A new world record or something?"

Winter was sitting on the bed looking at her midnight notes, "Oh, the changing? Nah, I've done it in less. Wanna hear what I wrote last night?"

Carter thought back to last night, "Less? Huh. Alright, hit me."

Her eyes lit up, "Alright! So, you know that Pokémon Exeggcute and Exeggutor?"

"Wintah, what is with you and Pokémon?" Carter asked.

"But, you do know them, right?"

He sighed, "I-I. Yes, I do."

"Okay. Now listen. Exeggcute. Eggs are cute. Exeggutor. Eggs are cuter! They're both basically living eggs and eggs on trees!"

Carter paused while putting on a shirt and stared at her, "Holy fucking nuggets."

Winter lifted an eyebrow, "I know, right?"

"Oh, shit," he slipped into the rest of the shirt and put a hand on his mouth, "Oh, my holy fucking cheese."

Winter pat his back as she left the room. Carter, still in shock, slowly turned around. He followed her out of the room.

"What, uh, where are you going?" he watched her put on her shoes.

"Just getting some numbers that all," she got up and turned to him, "You might wanna put on some shorts to match that shirt of yours before you go out."

*Kumon sucks. Anyways, how are you? While I was away, I had this super weird lucid dream with Winter and Carter. I also had this other lucid dream where some weird shit happened and then all of a sudden I knew that it was about to turn into a nightmare, so I told myself to wake up and I did. I also had this awake nightmare thing about Kumon. Really freaky. Oh! I also had this one dream inside a dream. Can you remember your dreams? How often do you lucid dream?