When Dreams Come True

1. Seeing Things

On a warm autumn day, a certain girl named [F/N] sat in her garden just browsing through her phone gallery looking at the pictures of her crush. And who was that? It was not some guy in her class or a guy who lived next door, who you would casually run into while returning from school, no, It was someone who she could never meet because he was not even real. He was Gouenji Shuuya from her favourite anime Inazuma Eleven.

The first she saw that anime was when she was 14 and it used to air on TV. She loved it because she loved soccer, which was what the whole show was based on. That's when she first saw him. She thought he was cute and his calm and composed manner was so attractive. But that was then and after a while, that show stopped airing and although she missed it for a while, eventually she moved on with her life.

But suddenly 7 years later, out of the blue, she remembered that show and everything about it including that spiky-haired boy who she used to watch with such eagerness and swooned over him whenever he shot his famous "fire-tornado". She quickly looked it up and found out that the story had moved on a great deal in the form of new series and the people she used to watch when she was younger were now all grown up, just like she had.

Quite obviously, she was excited to see how Gouenji looked, and she was not disappointed at all. He looked more handsome than ever, with long, blond hair tied into a low ponytail and his complexion was slightly tan now. Suddenly, she felt the same way she used to feel 7 years ago, only this time the feelings were so much stronger. She didn't just have a crush on him anymore, she loved him. And sure enough, she was mocked by many for this extraordinary obsession of hers, they told her she was crazy to like someone who wasn't even real.

"So, do you like someone?" her best friend asked one day.

"Yes, in fact,I do." She said, blushing.

"Omg! Who is he? Is he from our class? Tell me everything!" Her best friend asked getting her excitement over 9000.

"No,its Gouenji Shuuya." She said.

"Oh c'mon! Be serious. You had me wondering for a while there." Her friend said with a hint of annoyance. All her excitement came crashing down as fast as it rose.

"I am serious." [F/N] said earnestly.

"No, you can't be. He is just a cartoon. You can't love someone who is not real. God! You're such a kiddo. When will you grow up?" Her friend walked away saying this and rolling her eyes which hurt [F/N] but it happened so often that she probably was used to it now.

But it's not like she could give a retort to her friend. What would she say? Deep down even she knew she was being unreasonable. But her heart refused to understand that logic. Her heart was stuck on him like a broken record, no matter what her friends said, no matter what she said to herself, she couldn't move on.

...

So, there she sat in her garden looking at Gouenji's pics (which were about 300 in her phone alone, God knows how many were there in her laptop), thinking of all the things she would say if she could meet him. She wished for it more than anything. If she could see him just once she wouldn't ask God for anything ever again. But it doesn't seem like she'll get what she wishes for the most, anytime soon.

Or will she?

...

After a while, her train of thoughts took a different direction which was closer to reality though a little less interesting. She started to think about her new college and how life was going to be when she will be there. She was excited but a little nervous too because it was so far away from home and everything was different from what she knew. She was going to study abroad and she had to leave in 2 weeks.

Finally, the day arrived when she left home and after a long flight, she reached her destination. She had no trouble reaching her college but when she reached there it was already dark. She headed straight for her dorm room. It was a nice room, neither too big nor too small. Her roommate had already arrived and she seemed like a nice person as she greeted her with a "hello" and a smile. They became friends in no time. After dinner, they took an early leave to bed because the next day was going to be hectic with the students getting their timetables and finding out the classrooms etc.

It turned out that [F/N] and her roommate, Tsuki had all the classes together which could not be anything but good for them as they had started to become good friends in just a day after finding out they had a lot of common interests and habits.

They were searching for the room where their first class was going to be and after roaming around in the corridors for a while they finally reached the room. There was still some time for the class to get started so they just stood in front of the door and started chatting about other classes when suddenly, [F/N] felt someone softly tapping on her shoulder. She turned around to see who it was...

and to say she was appalled would be an understatement. She froze in her spot, she no longer heard or felt anything around her. Her eyes were fixated on the person in front of her a little dazed, a little confused, maybe even a little horrified. She wasn't even sure if she was breathing anymore.

It was a tall Japanese guy who had long blond hair tied into a low ponytail and tan skin. He wore a red jacket and blue jeans. But his most distinctive feature was his eyes who had a gaze so sharp it felt they could look right into your soul.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where room 104 is?" He asked in a formal tone.

[F/N] opened her mouth to speak but nothing but a faint mumble came out of it. She was feeling the same way as one drowns and can't speak, or when you're in a dream and you try to yell but no sound comes out of it. She was so amazed to see this guy who looked a lot like, no, he exactly like Gouenji Shuuya.

By now, the blond boy had started to wonder why was [F/N] wearing such a strange expression on her face and he was getting a little uncomfortable. Tsuki, who was quietly witnessing the whole scenario until now sensed the awkwardness in the air and chimed in, "Yeah, it's right here" pointing towards the room in front of which they were standing.

"Thank you," the boy said and walked away into the classroom.

"What's your problem,[F/N]? You look like you've seen a ghost." Tsuki asked jokingly but deep down she was a little concerned about this strange reaction [F/N] had just shown.

"Umm..what? oh, yah! n-nothing, I am fine." Only then [F/N] came out of her stupor, "Let's take our seats before the class starts." She tried to sound normal.

[F/N] marched off to the class with quick steps. Tsuki stood there for a while, then she shrugged and followed her new best friend.

"What is wrong with me?"

"Am I hallucinating?"

"This can be the only reasonable explanation."

" Maybe I need help."

"Maybe it's gone too far."

"Or maybe it's just a coincidence. After all, people can resemble someone sometimes."

The whole time [F/N]'s mind had these thoughts running in a loop while she stared at the blond who sat across the hall in the other corner.

"Well, whatever this is, some cruel joke being played on me or that I really am seeing things, I need to get to the bottom of this before I lose my sanity." She determined in her mind as she stole one last glance of him before the class got over.