Shifter

X

I said goodbye to Desiree as she went home and walzted up to my bedroom. I sat down at my desk and pulled out my homework. I really have to study for the exam coming up, I can't fail it. My mom would kill me.

I opened my textbook and started reading. How bad could Marine biology be?

Hours passed, and it was now 9:32 p.m. I would be lying if I said I wasn't exhausted.

I wobbled my way over to my bed and plopped down. My whole body was ready to shut down. The events of today were exhausting.

I crawled under my blankets and set my alarms. Finally, I get to slip into the dark abyss of sleep.
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I woke up to the sound of birds chirping away again. I jumped up and looked around to see I was back in Peter's room. The soft fuzzy blanket over me. The plush mattress. The paintings. I was back in the same dream, right where I left off. But this time, it was light out.

I got out of bed and made my way downstairs. I looked around for Peter, but he was nowhere to be found. I went into his improvised kitchen and found a banana to eat. I then made my way outside, snacking on the banana.

I walked down the tall set of stairs to find the camp empty.

"What the hell?" I muttered.

"Now, is that any kind of language a lady should be using?" And there it was, the deep, gentle voice of none other than Peter himself.

I turn to find Peter standing behind me with his arms crossed.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, gesturing to the empty camp. Peter looks around, and a look of realization dawns on his face.

"Right, they're all down by the beach. Most of them are relaxing, the others, fishing." He explains. I guess it makes sense. There isn't much for them to do around here, considering it's an island.

"So, if everyone's down at the beach, then why are you still here?" I asked him. He looks at me in silence for a moment before answering.

"I wanted to make sure you'd be fine when you woke up. I must say, you slept in quite a bit. Most of the day is gone." A small smirk dances its way onto his lips.

"It's not that late in the day, I bet it's not even noon." I stated.

"Noon?" He asks. Confusion written all over rhis face.

"You know, mid-day?" I asked him. Does he really not know time? I guess my dreams are pretty accurate to the story.

"I've never heard someone call it noon before." I states blankly.

I sit there quietly, wondering if I should have said noon or not. Isn't there a rule to not bring up them in dreams or something? Like, if you bring up time in a dream, the people start melting, and things get scary and violent?

"Anyways..." I decided to change the subject before things could get too bad.

"What do you have planned today?" I asked him, walking over to a log to sit down.

"I don't make plans. I just go with whatever happens." He shrugs casually as if it were a dumb question to ask. I sit there quietly, contemplating my next words.

"We could always go down to the beach, where the others are, if you'd like." He states, he must've noticed my silence and wanted to make it less uncomfortable. I nodded in agreement and got up to follow him.

He walked off into the trees, and this time, I followed close behind so I wouldn't get lost again.

"Still no idea how you got here?" He asks out of the blue. I have to admit, it caught me off guard.

"No." I responded shortly. I do remember reading on how when you're dreaming, you aren't supposed to let the people I your dream know it's just a dream. He didn't seem to care for my answer and continued on in silence.

"Is it just you boys here?" I asked, breaking the uncomfortable moment of silence.

"Not a fan of the quiet, are you." He states it as if it were a fact he already knew. I didn't know how to respond, so I just stayed quiet.

"Yes, it's just us boys. Like I said, when you got here, we don't get visitors, let alone, a girl." He states as he pushes some branches out of the way.

In the story,  there's many people. The mermaids, the Indian tribe, Wendy. So why aren't they in my dream?

"What about Wendy?" I asked. He looked back at me with a puzzled look.

"Who's Wendy?" He asks, focusing his attention back in front of him.

"Never mind." I stated, i must not have thought of that part when falling asleep. To be honest, it was hard to think of anything but Peter.

A few moments of silence pass before we come to an opening. The beach was jaw-droppingly beautiful.
The water was crystal clear along the shore and faded to a darker blue the further out you looked. The sand was almost white. The sun hit the water, leaving an incredible shine bouncing off. Some of the boys were laying on the sand and some under the trees. There were one or two standing in the water fishing.

"Incredible, huh?" Peter's voice snaps me back to the present. I looked over at him just to see him watching me with intent as I gushed over the beach.

"Truly." I responded. His deep green eyes felt like they were piercing into me, as if they were daggers.

"The water is always warm, you'd like it." He states, turning to walk Iverson the the shoreline. I quickly follow behind him, wanting to feel the warmth of the water. I've been to the beach before, and the water was never warm. The ocean always seems to be freezing. I never went into the water due to it.

As we reached the waterline, I bent down and ran my hand through the water. He wasn't lying. It was incredibly warm.

"Wow." I stated with my hand treating in the water.

"I told you. The waters never been cold. Wouldn't lie. " He stated with a 'matter of fact' tone.

"So I've noticed." I stated, focusing my attention on the ocean.

It feels so real. The water, the sand, Peter.

For a dream, this feels way too real. Is it even possible that there are other realities? I've never been a believer in that kind of stuff.

But, maybe?