As Real as it Gets

Vacation and Relaxation (Chapter 6, Part 1)

Monday morning. A new start of another boring school week... or so you thought. After brushing your teeth and putting on your clothes you smelled something... a smell of burning. It scared the living daylights out of you. The thought of a fire and your house burning down nearly made you faint. You quickly ran downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Hey, you're up!" Rick smiled while he made pancakes on your stove, "I burned one, sorry."

"Rick, you scared the shit out of me!" you laughed, "I thought the house was on fire or something."

"Nope! It's just my amazing cooking." He spoke sarcastically. "You're hot when you're panicking." He joked and pulled you into a short, passionate kiss. Taking out a bottle of maple syrup, he poured it over the pancakes and gave you the plate.

"What are you even doing here?" you tried to talk with your mouth full, "I have work today."

Rick put down the syrup and turned to you, "I wanted to do something nice for you... because you're always so nice to me."

You blushed, "Aww, you didn't have to."

"I wanted to." He smiled, "I also wanted to ask you about... the idea of me moving in... with you."

"Honey, I would love that, but you have a family... " you put the empty plate in the sink, "you can't just leave them- "

Rick took your hands in his, "I told you they wouldn't miss me that much. They were doing perfectly fine without me, probably even better. Besides, your house is literally 5 minutes away, they can come over whenever they feel like it."

You let out a sigh of defeat, "If you say so... than alright."

He beamed with happiness and hugged you tightly, "It's gonna be great! Just you and me and we can do whatever the fuck we want and whenever the fuck we want."

"Oh, you know what I just remembered? Spring break is starts next week. We can go somewhere for a few days if you want."

"Perfect! I already have an idea. We could go to this amazing space spa. They have all kinds of things! Massages and Jacuzzis and other things..."

"I like that idea!" you smiled.

Rick thought about something for a few moments, "We won't go into their detox machine though..."

"Why not?" you questioned.

He cleared his throat, "Long story."

You finished getting ready for work. Rick offered to give you a ride to the school, which you gladly accepted. He dropped you off and you went on with your work day as usual.

-

Later you met up and got coffee with your friend Angela. The two of you sat down in a nice café and talked about what you've been up to and how you've been doing. Naturally, you told her about a special someone you've been seeing.

"YOU GOT A BOYFRIEND?!" Angela was in shock.

"Jesus, keep your voice down!" you tried to hush her, "He's not my boyfriend... I mean, he is... I don't know, honestly."

"And he's moving in with you?! This guy who you've known for barely two months?"

You sighed, "I know it's a little weird, but- "

"A little?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Listen, Angie... I know it seems a bit too soon, but we just kind of clicked together. He's a great guy, he makes me happy and...I love him, okay? I don't want to spend the rest of my days alone in that house... I think it will be a good change of atmosphere."

"Alright... but if turns out he's a dick: kick him out."

"I will." You laughed.

A strong sudden headache washed over you. Your vision was spinning and blurry. Heartbeat started raging and you felt like you were about to leave your own body. You closed your eyes and waited for it to stop. All the noises of the café and people talking fell silent. Everything was dark, whether you tried to open your eyes or close them. Feelings of confusion and fear made you lose your breath. From the darkness started emerging countless blue ones and zeroes, you couldn't see anything else other than the numbers. You heard a strange voice, "The program is working, sir. He's not suspecting anything."  After that, ones and zeroes suddenly disappeared back into darkness.

"Y/N! Hellooo?" Angela's voice brought you back to reality, "You okay? You went a little blank for a second."

This has never happened to you before. You were shaken, but didn't want to scare your friend. You placed your hand on your chest, heartbeat was slowing down, "Yeah, I'm okay. Just a weird... headache."