Song- Saw You In A Dream by The Japanese House

I didn't think I could get any more restless than I had been last night, but I was vastly underestimating the fullness of my brain. I drifted in and out of a semi-conscious state, jolting awake every time my half-dreams got either too stressful or too scary. They weren't making any sense though, and that concerned me. Before this month, my dreams had been predictable; mostly consisting of stress dreams about college, strange scenarios with my friends, and the rare sex dream. But lately, they had been all over the place, only consisting of jumbled images and voices. It was like I was half-awake watching a TV show, only catching a frame every couple minutes- not nearly enough to discern the plot.

I had never placed much importance on my dreams, in fact, I had felt silly last week buying the journal to write them down. I even told the bookstore employee that I was going to use it for school notes. I knew I was being stupid, I was just stressed about school more than usual and it was jumbling my thoughts. I made a mental note to increase my therapy sessions.

I finally got out of bed, deciding that trying to sleep was not only futile but making the situation worse. I walked to the kitchen, hoping to make lunch- only to find the cabinets and fridge unusually empty. It only took me a second to realize that, despite the fact that I worked at a grocery store, Raven usually handled the grocery shopping. I didn't like going in on my days off, and trying to shop after my shift always resulted in at least one customer getting me to help them. I tried to scrounge something up, even if just a pb&j, but even our bread was expired. I sighed and looked at Moose, my American Shorthair cat.

"Well, looks like I am eating out for lunch..."

--

I only had about an hour and a half before my next class, so I figured I'd just head back to the coffee shop and get a sandwich. The walk there was oddly quiet for the college town as I only passed a handful of cars and a couple of people. In fact, the atmosphere was strangely quiet, as if the sounds of nature had just... ceased. I couldn't hear any birds and the wind flowing through the trees didn't make the leaves rustle at all. It was eerie. And those that I had passed refused to make any noise or eye contact with me- it was almost like I didn't exist.

I reached the coffee shop and the ringing of the bell as I opened the door startled me as it broke the silence so abruptly. I jumped a little, letting my ears adjust to the normal sounds of the shop- the grinding of coffee beans, the pouring of espresso, the tapping foot of a woman waiting impatiently. I was thoroughly confused. There wasn't a line this time, and I was relieved that there wasn't a chance of repeating this morning's happenings. I reached the counter and recognized the barista; her name was Kelly and she'd been working there at least since I'd been coming there. She smiled at me when she saw me.

"Finn! Good to see you! I don't normally see you here for lunch?" Her last statement rang more like a question.

"I didn't have any food at home, Raven's been gone for a while and I guess I just forgot to go shopping..." My face must've conveyed some emotion that told Kelly I didn't really want to talk about it because she quickly changed the subject.

"Well, I'll start your usual drink, what do you want to eat?"

"Can I just get a grilled cheese? I'm craving comfort food." I laughed, which made Kelly smile. She nodded and walked off. I called out to her- "Kelly! Don't I need to pay?" She waved me off.

"Nope, it's on the house hun!" I grimaced. I had received too many favors for comfort today.

I walked over to a small empty table in the corner, hoping to avoid all possible human interaction while I waited for my lunch. I scanned the shop, it was unusually empty for lunchtime on a weekday. There were only three other people in the shop, beside the workers and me; a couple sitting at a table by the windows and a guy around my age sitting a few tables away from me reading a book. I strained my eyes to try and read the cover- 'The Interpretation of Murder'- I was familiar with that book, it was a historical fiction based on Freud and Jung. I looked at the guy a little closer, he looked familiar... It took me only a few seconds to recognize him as the guy I had seen earlier on campus. But he looked more familiar than that... I didn't have much time to think about it because just then Kelly called my name for my order.

I grabbed my sandwich and my coffee and went to sit back at my table. I tried to push the thoughts of the guy out and focused on eating. I pulled my phone out, scrolling mindlessly through Twitter, but I could feel eyes on me. I thought he was watching me, but every time I'd look up he was just reading and looked completely unmoved. I honestly would've thought he was a statue if it weren't for the occasional sips of coffee he was taking.

What I didn't notice, was the fact that he never turned the page.

--

I continued to see the brown-haired boy around campus and in the coffee shop for the next couple of days. I couldn't fathom why I was just now noticing him, he was attractive and seemed to hang out in the same places I did. Maybe he was new? I decided that was probably the reason and didn't question it anymore. I just went about my days, that is until he showed up at my job Thursday night. I thought I had seen him walk in, but I wasn't absolutely sure until he came to my checkout line. I followed my script sheepishly, concerned at this point that he might be stalking me. The grocery store I worked at was not the closest to the school and not the cheapest either- I saw very few of my classmates here, which is part of the reason I had applied.

He didn't say much as I checked him out, only giving me short abrupt answers to my scripted questions. I looked at what he was buying- barely anything, just a case of water, a few fuji apples, and a bottle of expensive bourbon. I rang him up and asked for his ID. He looked somewhat confused by the question before his eyes met the bottle of bourbon I was placing in a bag and handed it over. I finally got to see his name- "John Smith."

I paused and looked up at him- this had to be a fake right? His face was unmoved and somewhat stern. 'Whatever...' I thought- 'I have to scan it anyway, and it won't scan if it's fake.' But to my surprise, it scanned without issue. I held out his ID for him to take back, and he plucked it out of my hands, almost as if he was intentionally avoiding touching me. I told him his total and he paid with his card. I went to hand his bags to him, but he held his hand up-

"That's alright, I've got it." he said harshly. I internally shrugged and went to attend to my next customer.

--

At the end of my shift, I had completely forgotten about my earlier interaction with "John Smith," finding myself far too exhausted to think about anything but getting my groceries to my car. I had finally run completely out of anything edible at home, and since Raven still hadn't returned, I caved and bought groceries. I reached my car, opening the trunk and shoving the plastic bags in. The parking lot was empty, save for my manager's car, my car, and one other one I didn't recognize. It was far too nice to be one of my coworkers- it was a shiny new Audi. It was also strangely silent again, and then suddenly far darker as my manager had shut off the store's sign. I silently cursed his thoughtlessness, leaving me in this parking lot alone, now in the dark. I tried to quickly finish putting my groceries in my car when movement caught my eye. I turned towards it, almost dropping the bottle of wine I was holding when I found myself face-to-face with "John Smith."

"Finley Davis- we need to talk."

xoxo- del