REM // Van McCann

6. Jealousy

Bondy's dreams are more predictable than Larry's. They're often whimsical in nature and a great yet odd experience. Larry's dreams on the other hand are darker, revealing his worries and deepest insecurities. Even though he's embarrassed, we never question him about it which makes him more willing to share his dreams with us. Everyone has their insecurities. Larry is already light years ahead of us being willing to share them with us.

When I opened my eyes, I was stood outside my work building. For a moment, I questioned whether I was dreaming or not. The accuracy and detail of my surroundings were spot on. Having done this before, I've learnt that there are many telltale signs that you're dreaming. Things aren't always what they seem; you have to look closer. Your brain is accurate for the most part but it doesn't have all the details. Something will be off but you have to look carefully to notice.

I've taken the bus many times before and know the schedule by heart. I walked over to the bus stop and read the schedule which was inaccurate. The route numbers served by this stop were all wrong and the times weren't every fifteen minutes. Larry usually drives to work so of course he doesn't know the schedule. All he knows is that there's a bus stop here.

The longer I looked, the more I noticed. He must've never took note of the bronze statue of a horse on the east side of the building because it was missing entirely from this dream. Another thing I noticed was that he got some shops across the street wrong. He knows the name and location of the restaurants and pub we frequent but never took notice of the ones at the end of the block. There was a bookstore where the vegan restaurant Lotus was supposed to be, but since Larry isn't vegan, he pays no attention to that restaurant. I could honestly go on but I haven't got all day. I had to figure out where to find Larry.

I entered my work building. My first instinct was to scan my badge but I didn't have it on me and no one paid me any attention so I made my way up. The doors opened and I got off, entering the code to our door. I slowly pushed the door open looking for signs of the room being occupied but it was empty so I stepped in, letting the door close behind me. Although the room was empty, there were signs that people were here not too long ago. The clock said it was 4 PM and our bags were still lying around so I figured we went across the street to happy hour.

I slipped out of the room, took the lift back to the ground floor, and crossed the street to the pub. There were quite a few people inside so I stepped inside looking for us in our usual location and that's where I found him. If he was alone, I would've approached him but he had company. He took a swig from his beer bottle saying something to the person sat next to him but I couldn't make out what he said. There was too much chatter in the pub so I sat down at a table close to him but out of his peripheral vision as I didn't want to be seen just yet.

The two people sat next to him vaguely looked like Bondy and I but I couldn't see their face to confirm. I don't think I've ever encountered myself in a dream before so I was intrigued. They were dressed in dark clothing and of the same size and build as us. I was expecting Molly to take their order but someone else appeared instead and I could see Larry tense. I've never seen him this tense before. It wasn't that he was on edge or uncomfortable; he was nervous and being self-conscious about his actions.

The lass asked if they were ready to order and I was stunned by her beauty. Her dirty blonde hair was braided back but there were loose strands of hair that fell in her face from the long day. Despite being tired, she still had a radiant smile on her face. One by one, she wrote down their orders. By the time she got to Larry, I saw him quickly look down, blushing. She waited for him to speak but he didn't. I saw dream me nudging Larry.

"You alright, mate?" dream me asked.

I couldn't help but stare outright. There was no question that was me but no matter how much I craned my neck, I couldn't get a good view of dream me. Larry looked up.