Page 40 of See You in Your Dreams

He gives me an expectant look, and I realize all eyes are now fixed on me. My mind goes blank as the silence stretches, and for a horrified moment, I think I’m about to ruin the entire number.

Then, the words come to me as if from the ether. I grip Ash’s other hand so that both our arms are linked together. “I knew our bond was strong and true from the very first minute I ever saw you.”

Cheers ring out around us as the musical number continues, Ash and I spinning in a circle while the rest of the class rotates around us. I catch glimpses of Cat and Robbie and Alexis from the corner of my eye, dancing and singing along even though they shouldn’t be here any more than Greta. The entire thing is like a wild dream.

A dream…

Sudden certainty floods me. That’s what this must be: a dream! But then…why am I aware of it without waking up?

Vaguely, I recall some online articles I’d read for a class project about the concept oflucid dreaming, where you can learn to recognize when you’re in a dream and sometimes even influence what happens. Could that be what’s happening to me?

Perhaps. For now, I decide to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

The musical number ends with a final duet between Ash and me, complemented by an impressive belt courtesy of Mr. Simon and a chorus of background vocals led by Greta.

Ash and I dance out the door to a wave of cheers.

“Come on,” he says, tugging me by our still-linked hands down the hall. “There’s something I want to show you.”

I follow him through the sea of students clogging the corridor to the familiar cafeteria doors.Hold on—isn’t AP Chem supposed to be after lunch?I have time to think before Ashshoves the doors open and leads me inside. The sight that greets me steals my breath.

The usual lunchroom is gone, transformed into a romantic dinner. A single intimate table for two sits in the middle of the cavernous space, lit only by a pair of candles that create an inviting circle of light within the darkness shrouding the rest of the room.

“Ash, this is incredible,” I say as we step into the light. I reluctantly let go of his hand so we can slide into our carved wooden seats. Wonder fills me as I examine the perfectly seared steak resting on my plate beside a bed of fluffy mashed potatoes. “You did all this just for me?”

Ash grabs a carafe of water left on the table and fills my glass. “No. I did this forus.” His emerald eyes hold my gaze for a taut moment before he glances down, gesturing at my plate. “Now, dig in before it gets cold. And as the Ellingtons used to say,bon appétit.”

The meal proves as delicious as it looks. We make small talk while we eat, the sort of casual banter we used to have every lunch period.

This is all just a dream.

The thought saddens me. Dream or not, however, I’m determined to see where it goes next. As if prompted by my decision, Ash slowly rises, stepping over to stand beside me. I look up at him, something in the serious cast of his face causing sudden nerves to flutter in my stomach.

“What is it?” I ask.

My eyes widen, my breath catching when he reaches down to rest his hand on my cheek. “Just doing something I should have done a long time ago.”

He bends over and an instant later his soft, warm lips are pressed against mine. A quiet moan escapes me as I close my eyes and give myself over to the kiss. It’s everything I’ve wantedfor weeks—if I’m honest, since the very first time I saw him walking up Banton High’s steps.

The pressure of Ash’s lips vanishes, and I open my eyes, smiling. “That was—”

I cut off when I realize I’m alone at the table. I glance around the room but see no sign of him. Nor, I realize, of the doors we’d used to enter. There’s just me, the table, and the deep darkness.

Suddenly, the tiny halo of light doesn’t seem quite so romantic.

“Ash?” I call, a slight tremble in my voice. “Are you there?”

No response.

All around me, the shadows shiver and shift, almost as if something is moving within them unseen. I’m not sure if it’s my imagination, but the circle of light seems to slowly contract, the darkness closing in.

“This isn’t funny, Ash!” Fear compresses my chest as I stumble to my feet. Squinting, I scan for an exit, trying to remember which way we’d approached the table from. “Don’t leave me here all alone!”

The words tickle my memory. Ash had said the same thing to me last night. Or…perhaps it’s stillthisnight. If this really is a lucid dream, I should have some amount of control to alter things or even force myself to wake up.

A shiver racks my spine as some formless shape skitters just out of sight in the shadows, revealing nothing except a hint of far too many spindly limbs. I’m certain now that it’s not my imagination—the shadows are deepening, constricting around me like a tightening noose.

It’s only a dream.