A Moment of Peace (Monroe x Adaryn)

[Lux]

Adaryn's dreams, surprisingly, have been free of Cain for the past few days now. The first night, she refused to go to sleep. She did not want what happened the other day to happen once more. The feeling of the dagger in her stomach felt so real, that every time it came to mind, she wanted to double over.

The second night, she couldn't handle it anymore and unknowingly drifted off into a dreamless sleep. That was at about 2 in the morning, and when she woke up at 6, she freaked out. It took her a moment to realize that she had not had a dream that night, and for the first time, she felt relieved.

The next few days were the same, including last night. She was actually in a decent mood, so she decided to go somewhere quiet and beautiful, which happened to be the Gardens.

Adaryn had never seen the Garden's of Veritas before, but she had heard from conversations between other people that it was one of the most beautiful spots in Veritas. The stone pathways between the brightly colored flowers, with places to sit scattered everywhere. She was mesmerized by the bright yellow, red, purple, and green flowers and plants all around her. She knelt down and touched a few of the plants gently before making her way down the pathway and sitting herself on one of the benches.

This is nice, Adaryn thought with a sigh. So very nice.

[Admin Sydnee]

Monroe was sitting in the garden, trying to calm himself. He had a book on the social sciences with him and he was sitting on a bench immersed in it. He was unbelievably tired and it could be noticed by the bags under his eyes, but ever since he'd entered that girl's vivid nightmare, he felt he was plagued by it, especially by the last words Cain had said. Why did that figure seem so real? He hated to think about it, so instead, he was in the garden, in a pair of jeans and a black hoodie, breathing in the autumn air and reading a book.

He wished the cut was on his forehead so his long hair covered it, but it was easily seen on his cheek and a constant reminder of the nightmare he'd been through and the consequences his power could have.

[Lux]

It was only for a moment that she sat down, because her head told her to continue to move. It was as if her body was not ready to really stop exploring this wonderful, beautiful, new place. The air around her smelled fresh, like soil, flowers and water. There was a lake beyond the garden, so it actually made sense. As adaryn walked, she picked up a few of the flowers and began toying with them in her hands gently, stroking the petals and putting some to her nose to take in the aroma. Thank god she wasn't allergic to anything.

After getting farther into the garden, she started to notice people, couples specifically sitting on red and white checkered blankets and having small picnics. She could feel how happy and in love they were from here. It was nice to be in a place with no misery. That is, until she was standing a few feet away from some boy sitting on a bench. Adaryn noticed he seemed troubled, and she wanted to turn away but something kept her there. That is when she saw it. The red cut of his cheek, his black hair, and his black clothing. Adaryn gasped and stumbled backwards, falling to the ground with a loud thud.

Seems like her dream boy wasn't actually a dream boy after all.

[Admin Sydnee]

Monroe only looked up from his book when he heard a thud, as if someone had fallen down. His eyes scanned the area to come across a girl who had stumbled to the ground. She was dark haired and fair skinned and...shit. Now the only words coming from his mouth were curses and he stood up quickly, slamming his book shut, pulled the hood of his black hoodie over his head and tried to make an escape through the garden, taking the path he'd used to get there.

He couldn't face her.

[Lux]

“Wait!”

Adaryn cried out, pushing herself to her feet as fast as she could manage. But by the time she stood up, he was practically gone. She was speeding to try and reach him, to grab his arm or something, just to make him stop walking and talk to her. He was the boy in her dreams, and she was sure of it. That scar wasn’t somebody could have gotten from any random occasion. It was neat, precise in a way that only a knife could make.

He tried helping her even though he didn't know her, and as anti social as she was, she still couldn't let him leave without her saying thank you. But adaryn wasn't fast, nor was she strong enough to hold him back. He was a good half a foot taller than her, anyway. " Wait! Please!" She was desperate now, her voice raising in pitch. She realized she was catching up to him and springer the rest of the way before grabbing onto his arm. " Please....Don't run away" Adaryn whispered.

[Admin Sydnee]

Monroe was just concentrated on getting away. He didn't like dealing with people after he was in their dreams. Most people called him a freak or were angry and wanted to just give him a piece of their mind. He'd learned to run away from them when they recognized him, but it didn't seem as if Adaryn was giving up, chasingafter him and telling him to wait up. He felt a pang of guilt because it wasn't as if he didn't want to get to know her. Adaryn seemed interesting, that and he wanted to know more about whoever this Cain was and her experiences. It seemed dangerous and he wanted to help, but he wasn't sure how to go about it.

Now she had a hold of his arm and he turned to her, the sun hitting his face and illuminating the cut on his face that was scarring.

[Lux]

Adaryn hadn't realized how long the cut was along his cheek, considering he had been in front of her when it happened. Then even when he was trying to speak to her and he was staring straight at her, she still hadn't noticed, mainly because there was a knife to her throat at the time. But now as the light lit up his face, and she was staring up at him in real time, she realized just how much damage had been done by this dream of her own.

It was not only the fact that he had a cut along his cheek, but it was also the dark bags under his eyes and the drained and defeated look in his eyes. Adaryn took in a sharp breath, realizing that her hand had been clutching his arm for far too long. Her face went red, and she looked down at her feet.

"I-I'm sorry." She started, toying with her fingers and making a quick mental note to try and stop biting her nails considering they were just nubs now. "I-I just wanted you to stop to make sure you were..." Adaryn stopped, the events that happened in her dream the other day flooding back. She clutched her stomach and grimaced before finishing her sentence. "R-real..."

She stood there awkwardly, waiting for his next reply. If he tried to walk away, she wouldn't stop him. She had confirmed what she needed, and he didn't seem to be in a great mood at the time. Adaryn knew she had no right to pry or keep him here, so she wouldn't, even though there was a small part of her that prayed that he would stay and talk.

[Admin Sydnee]

Monroe had a hard expression on his face, but it softened when he looked at her, and really realized just how freaked out she was. She seemed to be examining him as if he was under a microscope and Monroe did not like that feeling. When she finally let go of his arm, he exhaled a breath.

He could just make up some stupid excuse about how he got the cut on his face, act as if she was crazy and run off, but he couldn't. Mostly because since he'd seen her nightmare, been there with her, he had an urge to know her, to help her.

"I'm real," he said, cringing as he looked at her and remembering the dagger being dug into her stomach and all of the blood. He was glad he did not have a weak stomach. "And so are you."

[Lux]

I'm real

He responded to her simply, and she was actually glad that he didn't go and try and make an excuses or even try and have her think she was crazy. She had already went years trying to prove to people that she wasn't crazy, and them never listening. Either way, she knew that he was real, regardless if he admitted it or not.

"I am real," Adaryn agreed. Most people would have made a sarcastic remark at that time, but she was too in shock to even come up with anything like that. Plus, she wasn't the one to make those types of remarks anyway. Looking at him, seeing the cut on his face and those dark bags under his eyes scared her. It scared her because she knew that now, Cain could hurt anybody he wanted, not just her. She also came to the conclusion that Cain wasn't just hurting her, but he could possibly be hurting others too. How would a figment of her imagination hurt someone that was also real? Simple. He must be real.

Adaryn looked up at him, unsure of what to say to him, and then she realized he still didn't know the name of this boy yet. Really, they hadn't had any time to actually chat and find out. "Um... I-if you don't mind me asking... What is your name?" Start off lightly Adaryn. Make small talk... Really, she was forcing herself to stay there while her mind told her to run. Whether or not this boy tried to save her, he was still a guy, an older guy nonetheless, and she wasn't very comfortable with him.

[Admin Sydnee]

Monroe smirked slightly at her response. "Well, now that we've agreed that we are both real..." he trailed off, looking at her, and wondering what she was thinking. There was a certain terror in her eyes that Monroe took notice of.

"I assume you have questions for me," he said softly. "And I certainly have a lot for you." Standing in front of her made him feel as if the cut on his cheek was burning. That creature, figure, person or whatever it was, had left a mark on Monroe and Adaryn was the only one who knew where it was from. Still, Monroe was still horrified at the idea that his power was a lot more dangerous than he thought.

"Monroe," he replied, never one to introduce himself as Thomas. It was too formal, so not him so he went by his middle name. "And you're Adaryn."

[Lux]

Adaryn had more than a few questions for him, but she hadn't actually thought of actually asking thrm until he had mentioned it. She was afraid that maybe if she had said the wrong thing, he would flee. As it was, he already seemed ready to flee. Who could blame him though? He had been in her dream and most people probably didn't appreciate the intrusion. Adaryn was grateful for his presence the other night even if he couldn't save her. He had defended her as best he could, standing up to Cain with a tongue as sharp as the blade Cain had cut him with.

"Monroe," She said it slowly, as if she was unsure how his name would taste on her tongue. "I have never met anyone named Monroe." She added distantly, not really meaning for the statement to pass her lips. Adaryn gave him a quick nod when he confirmed her name, not really feeling it necessary to respond.

" So... Is that why you are here?" She started awkwardly. " Your ability to go into dreams, I mean."

[Admin Sydnee]

"Well, it's not a name that people usually have," Monroe said with a shrug. It wasn't technically his name either, but to him he was Monroe, not Thomas. Of course he wouldn't tell her that. That was just giving someone ammunition, especially girls. He was not a Thomas, or a Tom and definitely not a Tommy. "Adaryn isn't very common either though."

He wondered why they were talking about their names instead of what had happened in her dream, the important, terrible subject and then she brought up his ability, which made him sigh. "Yeah, it's called Dreamwalking. I mean, I don't know if that's the official name or whatever, but yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking around the garden before his eyes landed back on her. "Once in a while I stumble into a real nightmare and it's really hard to pull out of intense dreams like that. I tried to stay away from you in your dream, to not be noticed, but then your dream turned into a nightmare." He realized he was rambling and sighed. "I didn't know that I would really be hurt. I had no idea that my power malfunctioned like that." How was he supposed to? He wasn't actually in someone's dream, it wasn't his real form, was it? He didn't understand.

[Lux]

"It was a thought... I kind of didn't realize I said it out loud." Adaryn said timidly, her cheeks reddening from embarrassment. She had a bad habit of doing that, speaking her thoughts out loud, and it tended to get her into some trouble back home. Home... She thought with a sigh. It brought back some troubling memories when she thought about her life back home with her parents. The medicine... The psychologists... Adaryn's chest felt like it was being constricted and she gasped.

She quickly apologized for the sudden outburst and then, to keep her mind off of her thoughts, listened to his explanation of his power, and suddenly she felt bad for him. How many dreams had he been sucked into? What if they were about something 'private'? Adaryn shuddered, not even wanting to think about the things he probably had to deal with. "Well, That is...um...an interesting power to have."

Then he was on about how he had no clue that he would be hurt, and she figured he never had been put himself into that situation to be hurt. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and got sucked into Adaryn's dream. If it had only been a day later... he wouldn't have been pulled in... She stopped having the dreams, after all. What happened to Cain that made him stay away from her? He had admitted that he wanted to kill her, what changed? The black under Monroe's eyes seemed to stand out now, and a sickening though came to mind. What if Cain was coming to his dreams?

"Are you okay...? I mean, your eyes have bags under them... Is he...?" She couldn't bare to bring up his name in conversation, so she just hoped he would get the idea.

[Admin Sydnee]

"Don't worry about it," Monroe said with a shrug. Lots of people made comments about his seemingly odd name. And it was odd because it was his middle name, but he didn't feel the need to explain his preference because of his first name that did not fit him at all, so he just let them be weirded out.

She suddenly looked faint and scared all over again, like he'd seen her in her dream and then she gasped, apologizing for her outburst as if she'd simply hiccuped or sneezed. He tried to muster a smile at her. "Interesting?" He chuckled slightly. "Hell yes is it interesting. Fun? In no way. I mean, it was at first. It was all fun and games, driving people bat crazy by appearing in their dreams...but...then I realized that it's not all fun and games." His power had consequences.

She suddenly seemed immersed in thought and he examined her thoughtfully waiting for her to say something. And then she asked if he was alright. "My eyes always have bags. It's part of this damn power. I can get sleep but it usually involves falling into someone else's dream and it isn't the most restful sleep. I usually choose not to sleep in general. It's kind of rebelling against my power, I guess." The second part of her question is what threw him off. "Is he...?" he repeated before realizing what she was insinuating. "No," he said a little quickly. "No, he isn't. I just...don't sleep. That's all."

He had so many questions about this so called Cain, but he wouldn't overwhelm Adaryn.

[Lux]

After her random outburst, she saw a hint of a smile on his face. Adaryn could have thought he was trying not to laugh at her random outburst, but he seemed tired and maybe even concerned. It took her a moment to register that though. Nobody really seemed to care much about her over at school. It was hard for her, being a freshman and also an introvert. It was as if they didn't care who she was, that she was the pest of the school. This was really the first smile she had ever gotten out of anyone at Veritas.

"I can relate to some of that. My power has never been fun... It has been very painful actually."Especially when my parents thought I was bipolar..."I have always had my power, and I hated it." Adaryn muttered softly. The wind picked up slightly and blew her hair to the side, exposing her neck and sending chills down her spine. She never liked the cold air, and really, any temperature drop bothered her. She moved her hair back once the sudden gust of wind subsided.

"So every time you fall asleep, you get sucked into the nearest dream?" Adaryn asked curiously, a virtue she had never had until now. She understood the whole 'you-get-sleep-but-really-don't' because of Cain. Waking up is as if she had just been to Gym and had to run 3 miles in 15 minutes. She hadn't noticed she was holding her breath until he had answered no, and she exhaled, practically gasping. "Good. I..uh.. am sorry you had to watch that..." She mumbled, looking away quickly.