Scuttle Buttin'
Demons at bay
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2003
- Posts
- 15,881
If you want me tonight I'm yours
For as long as I can be
And everyone becomes invisible in the Land of Dreams
I watched the shadows dance, hear the crickets creak
Now I'm on the street
I've learned the robin's, song seen the mountain peak
Now it's time for sleep
So take me tonight I'm yours
And I've been craving your company
Everyone becomes invisible in the Land of Dreams
For as long as I can be
And everyone becomes invisible in the Land of Dreams
I watched the shadows dance, hear the crickets creak
Now I'm on the street
I've learned the robin's, song seen the mountain peak
Now it's time for sleep
So take me tonight I'm yours
And I've been craving your company
Everyone becomes invisible in the Land of Dreams
Hugh Kepler was tired. The end of the week was typically date night for he and his long-time girlfriend, and tonight had proven no different. Dinner had been nice, a little authentic Chinese place he'd stumbled across while wandering Chinatown a couple weeks back, and then they walked around in the cool air of an early summer evening in Chicago. Most of their time was spent hand-in-hand, browsing through cramped shops with ceramic tea pots and lucky cats arranged on various shelves, and though he was happy to spend time out with her, by the time all the light had been wiped from the sky he was ready to go home. They had a bit of a ride on the El, and he was happy he'd suggested she stay with him over the weekend so he wouldn't have to get off a stop earlier and walk her home.
A recent graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago, Hugh was 24 and living in a small one bedroom apartment in the city, within walking distance of three different El lines, two bus stops, and a 24-hour Subway that he ate far too many meals at. He was tall, nearly 6'5", and thin, always feeling a bit lanky when growing up. Despite filling out a little as he got older, he still felt like his arms were much too long, and he was often conscious of the way he moved them when he was out. More than once, he'd sent something flying off a shelf with a stray hand or elbow, and it never ended in anything but embarrassment and apologies. His hair was longish, a straight brown that hung to his collar and often fell in his face as he worked, his eyes a bright green that made him appear far more open and friendly than he truly was. This was not to say that he was unfriendly or rude, simply that he tended more towards the quiet and observant side, if not straight up awkward when put on the spot. But he had an easy smile and a good laugh when it could be coaxed out of him, and for the few that he was close to, he could be downright jovial at times.
He'd been with his girlfriend for nearly two years now, and the questions of marriage were starting to creep up now that they'd finished school and were working their way into their careers. He currently worked in the marketing department for a retail chain, designing the art that would accompany various advertising campaigns and in-store displays. The pair lived fairly close to each other, a short walk and a short train ride away, but their jobs were in opposite directions, and so they often didn't see each other through the week, the strange tangle of Chicago's El lines turning a 15 minute commute to work for each of them into a 45-minute gauntlet of packed trains and time spend waiting on platforms for transfers. Most every weekend, they made up for the time lost during the week, and he was happy for it.
As they made their way onto the train now, which was blissfully half-empty as most people were still out celebrating the arrival of yet another weekend, Hugh dropped into one of the hard plastic seats and slipped an arm around her when she joined him, his head falling against the window and tired eyes looking out at the city as it zipped past them. The rocking of the train and the warmth of her body next to his were the last things he needed in the struggle to stay awake, and his eyes were soon closed, his mind drifting...
He was in the house he'd grown up in, but it was... different. Arranged around the room he stood in were the various things from his bedroom now, his child's desk and dresser replaced with his own adult versions from Ikea, and through the open closet door he could see his own adult clothes hanging in the dark room. His gaze sweeping the room slowly, he was unsurprised to see that everything from his current bedroom was here...
Except.
He turned, knowing he'd find her there before he actually saw her. Laying across his bed was a woman he didn't know and had no memory of ever seeing before, naked as the day she was born. His gaze slid along the length of her body, from head to toe, and he realized then that he was standing before her in only a pair of boxer shorts. She reached out to him as this realization hit him, the tip of her index finger pressing against him just under his navel and traveling down until it came to the fabric of his boxers, where she curled her finger inside it and gave it a small tug.
His eyes flickered back up to her face, and he saw she was grinning at him. Her lips parted, pink tongue swiping over them, and then she said-
He was woken by a nudge, his head jerking from the window, eyes opening wide. With a glance around, he chuckled when he saw they were approaching their stop, and he hugged his girlfriend closer with the arm around her, head shaking.
"Sorry about that, I guess I'm more tired than I thought I was."
As the train slowed to a stop they rose from their seats and made their way out onto the platform and back into the cool air, the crisp chill helping to wake him more fully, and the strange dream was gone from his memory by the time they were descending from the platform towards the city street below.