• Later that night, after Cleo and I had gotten ready for bed, she giggled and said “You know, I know all your secrets, and you know none of mine.”
    “So tell me. I swear I’ll never tell anyone.” I replied, curious.
    “Okay, but none of it’s quite as interesting as your news. Well…hmm…I don’t have many secrets…Let’s see…” she muttered, searching her brain. “Well, I’ve kinda lived a boring life.” she said
    “Oh come on, there’s gotta be something.” I said.
    “There’s this guy…” she started.
    “Oh every good story starts with those famous little words.” I interrupted.
    “He’s in my math class, and my home room. His name’s Theodore, but he says I can call him Theo. He’s really cute, and nice, and sweet, and he’s a total math geek. And I really like him. He makes me…”she paused, searching for the right word, “…nervous, and yet I feel so happy when I’m around him. And even when I’m in a really bad mood, he makes me smile. And I can barely pay attention to what the teacher is saying, and I’m already bad enough at math as is. I’ve considered asking him to tutor me, so I can spend more time with him, but I don’t want to seem stupid. But I really, really like him.” she told me, seeming embarrassed.
    “That’s great! Do you think he likes you?”I asked.
    “I think he might.”
    “Have you asked him out?”
    “No, I’m too chicken.” she giggled.
    “Oh come on, have some courage. You know what I think?”
    “What?” she answered my question with another question.
    “I think we need to visit the wizard, and get you some courage, Mrs. Lion.” I said. “And while we’re there, I think I should ask for some brains for myself.” I added, laughing. “So, do you have any other secrets?” I asked.
    “Well, not really, except, umm… We’ve only had one test so far in math, and I…kinda…umm…failed it… and the teacher won’t even let me try to make it up, or do a retest! She’s so mean!” she exclaimed.
    “Yeah she seemed like a b***h when I was in her class. She made us do, like, 100 zillion problems.” I agreed. Then I prodded “Anything else?”
    “Nope, I’m afraid that’s it.”
    “Oh, wow, it’s later than I thought!” I said glancing at the clock. 11:36. We turned the lights off and climbed into our beds. “Goodnight Cleo.”
    “Goodnight Elly.”
    And I slept. Again, I had nightmares.

    It’s dark. “Where am I?” I call out through the darkness. I seem to be asking that question a lot lately. I try to walk, but something inside me tells me I shouldn’t, tells me I should keep quiet. I become slightly more aware of myself, and I can feel that I’m lying down. I stand up. It becomes lighter. I look down surveying myself. I am wearing a sky blue ball gown, and clear glass slippers. Why am I dressed like Cinderella? Then, a man walks towards me, coming out of the nothingness that surrounds me. He is wearing a tux. He looks at me and smiles. Ares! The scene transforms, and a ballroom emerges from the darkness. We are surrounded by the swirling, dancing figures, of women in their finest dresses and men in suits.
    “Have you come to dance with me, my prince?” says a voice that isn’t mine, coming from a person who looks nothing like me, but is me.
    “If I may have the honor of dancing with a woman as beautiful as yourself.” he replies, in a very charming way.
    “You may.” I say.
    He takes my hand, and pulls me close to him. We twirl and twirl around, our bodies moving as one. I feel so free, so happy, so, in love. I sigh. I smile up at him. He looks down at me, with a sweet smile.
    With one hand he tilts my chin up, and the other, he puts on my back, pulling me closer to him. We stop twirling. Slowly, his lips inch closer to mine, and when they finally meet, I throw my arms around him.
    He moves his lips, kissing my cheek, tracing the outline of my jaw, and then slowly making his way down my neck. “I love you.” he says, in a soft whisper against my neck.
    “I love you too.” I say. He pulls away from me. He gives me one soft, light, sweet kiss, and then takes a step back. “Don’t go.” I plead.
    “I have to.” he says. I can barely hear him, for there is a loud grandfather-clock ringing, it was midnight. He turns around, making his way to the door.
    I run after him, turn him around and kiss him. I pull him closer to me, not willing to let him escape. And his response is instantaneous. He grabs me tight around the waist. It’s like we’re in our own little bubble, like all the dancing figures, and the ballroom, and all of the rest of the world just melted away. His hands are so warm, they almost burn me. Then I feel something sharp, digging into my skin. I feel his mouth change, from where his charming smile was, fangs grow. I pull away from him, screaming. He is not Ares anymore; he is no longer my prince. He is a great, black beast. He is a dragon. I scream. Someone yells “Wake up.” The scene melts away.

    “I’m sorry.” I said in a blurry haze, for sleep had not quite left me yet.
    “You were talking in your sleep again. Screaming is actually a better word.” she said.
    “I’m sorry if I woke you up, or scared you.” I said.
    “It’s okay. Did you have another bad dream?” she asked.
    “Yes.” I said, and then I proceeded to tell her about it.
    “What do you think it means?” she asked.
    “I don’t know.” I replied. But to myself, I thought Maybe I should reconsider being with Ares. Maybe I should just ask him what color he is when he’s a dragon. If he says black, then I’m probably right, like the other dream. But if he says some other color, and I hope he does, then I know not to press it any further. Yes. That sounds like a plan. Okay. I’ll ask him after class on Monday. But what am I going to say if he does say he turns black? ‘I had a bad dream, so even though I love you, I can’t see you anymore,’ or maybe, ‘did you kill my birth dad, and try to kill my mom?’ I didn’t even realize that I had just thought to myself that I loved him.
    So the rest of the day passed in a blur. I finished all my homework that was due Monday. I watched TV in the ‘common room.’ Why do they call it that? It’s just a fancy name for a living room. They have strange names for everything here. I thought to myself while Cleo and I were eating popcorn and watching some old Indiana Jones movie from forever ago.
    Then, after dinner, I went to my room. Cleo and I talked for an hour, mostly about how she hung out with Theo for an almost two hours this morning, and that he had agreed to tutor her, as long as she needed, for free, as a favor to a friend. Then we went to bed.

    I stand on a hill. I feel the warm sun, and the cool breeze. I look down from the top of the hill. There is a field of wildflowers that stretch on for miles, as far as I can see are dandelions, daisies, and other flowers, the names of which I do not know, there are mostly yellow flowers, with a few purple flowers mixed in. It is beautiful.
    “I’ve been waiting for you.” I hear a familiar voice call. I spin around to face him. Ares lies there, on the ground, his beauty so great it rivals that of the flowers he lays in, fiddling with one of the green stalks that came up from the ground. There is a small bud on the end of it. He picks it, and stands up. It blooms in his hand. “For my love.” he practically whispers the words, his voice as gentle and loving as their meaning, as he tucks the small purple lilac into my hair. It is then I realize he has no shirt on. He presses up close to me, and with my finger, I trace the lines and shadows his muscles make on his soft, warm skin. He kisses me. It is a soft, light kiss, but meaningful all the same.
    Then he pulls away from me and says “I’ll race you.” Then we lie down, and roll down the hill. It feels like a childish thing to do, but I don’t care. He reaches the bottom first, and I roll on top of him. He pulls me close to him, one hand on my lower back, and with the other hand, he gently pushes my hair out of my face. He kisses me, soft, gently, as if I am as delicate and fragile as the flowers that surround us.
    “I love you.” he whispers in my ear. The words seem to mean more that way, like a sweet secret, for only the two of us to share.
    “I love you too.” I whisper back. Then I rest my head on his bare chest.
    We lay there, forever. It’s peaceful, just the two of us, enveloped in the sweet smell of the flowers. The edges of my vision blur. I close my eyes, drifting away from this sweet, beautiful place, and the man I love. Slowly, the dream leaves me, and I drift back into the dark peaceful sleep.

    I woke up in a calm, peaceful mood, just a few minutes before the alarm would go off. I look out the window, seeing the first traces of light creep towards the building. I enjoy the silence, the time to think, the time to reflect on last night’s dream. It was so peaceful, so…romantic. Oh, if only it hadn’t been a dream. If only I could have stayed there, with him, forever. If only…
    Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm interrupted my thoughts, shattering the quiet. “Wow. No screaming. I’m surprised.” Cleo teased.
    “No screaming, but plenty of dreaming.” I said, thoughtfully.
    “Another nightmare?” she asked, her smile fading.
    “No. This was anything but a nightmare.” I replied. She looked at me, puzzled. “I’ll tell you all about it later. Right now, we need to get ready for school.” I said, already grabbing my things for my shower.
    The day passed in a blur. I couldn’t stop thinking about my dream. When I got to Ares’ class, I told myself not to think about it, at least not until after class. But after about a half hour, I felt my thoughts drifting. I couldn’t help it.
    “Lost in a daydream?” Ares asked, shocking my head out of the clouds and bringing me back down to Earth. I smiled at him sheepishly. “Get back to work.” he said, treating me like any other student, so no one would suspect anything. I tried to stay focused for the rest of class.
    I lingered after class, waiting for all the other students to leave.
    After they had, he said “Sorry about yelling at you like that, but I have to treat you like I do all my other students, so no one will notice anything.”
    “It’s okay.”
    “So, about that daydream…” he started, a grin spreading across his face. I blushed, bright red, and looked at him sheepishly.
    “I was just thinking about a dream that I had last night.” I said. Oh that sounded even worse. “It didn’t mean anything. I just couldn’t get it out of my head.” Shut up! You’re just making it worse.
    “Oh it didn’t mean anything did it?” he said in an alluring, flirtatious way.
    “Well, not unless you wanted it to mean anything.” I said, playing along.
    “Oh but I don’t just want it to mean anything, I know it does.” he said, and then he added, in a secret whisper, just like the dream, “I love you.”
    “I love you too.” I said. Then, from a vase on his desk, he took a small purple lilac, and tucked it into my hair. Then he kissed me, in a light, gentle way.
    “I know you can read people’s thoughts, but can you send your thoughts to them too?”
    “Yes, I can even visit them in their dreams.” he said, smirking.
    “So that was you, in the meadow, and in the ballroom?”
    “Ballroom? What ballroom? I was in the meadow, but I didn’t come to you in any ballroom.” he told me, surprised.
    “Oh, never mind.” I said, then, remembering the reason I wanted to talk to him, I asked “What color are you when you transform?”
    “Blue.”
    “Thanks.” I said, giving him a quick kiss goodbye.
    “Oh, and Elizabeth,”
    “Yes?” I answered, turning around.
    “See you tonight?”
    “Sure.”
    “Wow.” Cleo said, after dinner, when I told her about the dream and about Ares’ power to visit dreams. “So are you going to see him tonight?” she asked. I nodded. “Well, goodnight then.” she said. And we went to bed. I fell asleep quickly, as if knowing I would see Ares helped me get to sleep.

    I open my eyes. I can hear jazzy, upbeat music. There are many men and women, dancing. The women are all wearing bright, flashy, knee length dresses. Most of them have ‘Bobs.’ What a stupid hairstyle. A word rings in my mind, like a bell, ‘Flappers’. It is a scene from a dance hall in the ‘Roaring 20s.’
    And then I see him. He is standing in the corner, the only other person not dancing. I wiggle through all the dancers.
    “You came.”
    “Well, I just couldn’t stay away.” he says, with a smile. “Care to dance?” he asks, offering his hand to me. I start to object, to say I don’t know how, but then, a thought strikes me: it’s my dream. If I want to dance, I can dance.
    I take his outstretched hand, and he leads me into the center of the room. We fall right into step with the other dancers. It feels so exhilarating, to dance, moving not just my feet, but my whole body, in sync with all the other dancers, all the other vibrant, swirling shapes.
    And then, he takes my hand. He leads me towards the door. It’s chilly outside. I shiver. He kisses me. Not gentle like last night’s dream. This time when he kisses me, it’s filled with such raw, fiery passion. And though the night is cold, he is so warm, and he warms me up, on the outside and the inside. He pulls me so close to him, trying to fuse us into one person. I wish we could just be one person. That way we could be together, forever, and we would never have to separate. Oh how I wish! And I do not feel the slightest shame in these thoughts, or in the fact that he can read these thoughts. I want to be with him forever. I want nothing more than to be his, forever. I just want to be held by him, forever. I just want to hold him, forever. I just want to be with him, forever. The world could end tomorrow, and I won’t care, just as long as I can stay with him, forever. I just want him, forever. But it all ends too soon.
    “Time for you to wake up now.” he says, pulling away.
    “But I don’t want to.” I complain, and then I add, “I just want to stay with you forever.”
    “I know. But you have to wake up now. I’ve kept you too long already. Your alarm is about to go off.”
    “Okay.”
    “I love you.”
    “I love you too.” And then I open my eyes.

    Beep! Beep! Beep! Ares was right, and my alarm went off right as I opened my eyes. “So, how’d you sleep?” Cleo asked.
    “It was well, wow. It was really weird. We were in a bar in the 1920s. And we danced, which is something I normally can’t do in reality. And then he kissed me. But then he said I had to wake up, and I didn’t want to. I just wanted to stay there forever.” I said, my thoughts drifting, back to that other time, that other place.
    “Wow. That is strange. Right now we have to get ready for school, but promise you’ll tell me more later. You know, with all the juicy details, not just the summary.” she pleaded.
    “Okay. I promise.” I said, and then I took a quick shower and got dressed. We took a bit too long, and had to dash to breakfast, and eat in a hurry.
    I was very tired. I fell asleep in Math. “Wake up!” the teacher shouted, in my ear. I practically jumped out of my chair. “Is my class really that boring, that you’re falling asleep?” she asked rhetorically.
    “It’s not boring, I’m just so tired. I’m sorry.” I said.
    “Well then get some sleep on your own time!” she shouted. “Being tired isn’t an excuse! Get back to work!” she added. I was surprised she didn’t hit me with a ruler, the way you were always hearing that the nuns in Catholic school did.
    Later in Language Arts, I thought, specifically for Ares to hear me, Thank you for last night.
    Then, I heard an answering voice, ringing in my head, You fell asleep in math?
    Yeah.
    I need to talk to you after class.
    So, for the rest of class, I could do nothing but wonder about what he wanted to talk about. Then finally, after what seemed like forever, the bell rang. I got up and walked to his desk.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “For what?” I asked. What would he have to be sorry for?
    “I’m I kept you up last night. I shouldn’t have done that. It’s my fault you fell asleep in math.” he said, his voice heavy with regret.
    “Don’t be sorry. I don’t care. Math was boring, and I probably would have fallen asleep anyway.” I said, trying to make him feel better.
    “From now on, I’ll stop visiting you in your dreams.”
    “No. How about this, you don’t want me falling asleep in class, and I can’t bear to think of not being with you as often as I can so, maybe if you just visited me on weekends?”
    “Okay, but don’t sleep in class anymore.” he said in a very teacher-like voice.
    “I can try.” I said. Then Ares took a few steps closer. He pressed up close to me. He pressed his face into mine, and we kissed. And it was over, all too soon. He pulled away from me and said
    “Now go. Your friends are expecting you.”
    “But I don’t want to.”
    “Go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” he said in a voice that I couldn’t help but obey. I went to my locker, finding Cleo waiting for me.
    “So?”
    “So what?”
    “You said you’d tell me more.” she was practically begging for me to tell her all the juicy details. So I told her about the dream, and the kiss, and why I had kept her waiting at my locker so long. I finished telling her just as we reached our dorm.
    “Hi Stevie!” I called, seeing him sitting on the couch, watching TV.
    “Hi.” said Steven.
    “What are you watching?” Cleo asked.
    “I’m not sure. I was just flipping through the channels.” he replied.
    “Oh. Hey, I think Friends is on.” said Cleo.
    “Okay, I’m going to my room anyway, to do homework.” he said.
    “Oh, yeah, that reminds me, I have a lot of homework too.” I said.
    “Well, I do too, so maybe we ought to stay down here, so we can help each other with it.” Cleo suggested. So we did our homework, and before we knew it, it was time for dinner.
    We got our food and sat in our booth. Grilled cheese and tomato soup, it looked delicious. I took a bite. It tasted delicious too. Then, Daren slid into our booth.
    “What do you want?” Georgy asked, disgusted.
    “Hi. I-I’m sorry. For everything I’ve said to offend you guys. I’m sorry I acted like a jerk… So, what do you say, can we be friends again?” his face was placid, but his eyes betrayed him, and I could see the worry and the longing beneath those dark brown eyes.
    “Hmm…We’ll consider…” Cleo said, teasing.
    “Yeah sure, I guess.” Lilly said.
    “Welcome back.” Georgy said.
    “Yeah, nice to meet you. I’m Elizabeth.” I said. Only Steven hadn’t responded. We all looked at him.
    “Well?” Cleo asked.
    “Yeah, sure, whatever.” Steven said.
    “Thanks man.” Daren said, taking a seat. Which we all knew was guy talk for ‘Welcome back to our crazy little circle,’ and ‘Thanks so much, I’ll never say or do anything to hurt you, ever again.’ Okay, so maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but who cares? I don’t.
    Later when we were in our room, Cleo told me more about Theo. She told me about him helping her in math class. “And he sooo cute when he gets all smart and geeky. And he was just sooo adorable when he was scowling at the text book, because he didn’t know the answer to one of the problems. And he’s just sooo wonderful, and cute, and smart, and geeky, and cute!” Cleo was rambling.
    “Uh, Cleo?” I said when she paused for a breath.
    “Yes?”
    “We kinda have to go to sleep now.”
    “Oh, right.”
    “Goodnight.”
    “Goodnight.” she replied, but the sweet, dark waves of sleep were already washing over me, dragging me down into their beautiful, deep ocean.
    When I woke up, Cleo was already awake. “What’s up?” I asked.
    “I got up early because I have to go to detention before school.” Cleo said, smiling sheepishly.
    “Really? What did you do?”
    “Actually, it’s what I didn’t do. I kinda forgot to do my homework for math. Theo was really disappointed, so, now I feel kinda guilty.”
    “Bye.”
    I quickly got ready for school, and went to breakfast. But of course, I got there almost ten minutes early, so I had to wait forever. Lilly and Georgy were late, again, and Daren was always ten minutes late for breakfast, but at least I had Steven to keep me company.
    “Hi Elizabeth.” he said.
    “What’s up Stevie?” I asked.
    “Nothing really interesting. Where’s Cleo?”
    “She had detention ‘cause she didn’t do her math homework, she’ll be here in, like, five minutes.”
    “Oh, she didn’t seem like much of a trouble maker.” he said, laughing. People started moving closer to the doors, and finally, they let us in.
    Again, the day was boring, even in Ares’ class, the minutes seemed like hours. Finally, the bell rang. And of course, as usual, I didn’t leave the class room.
    “You know, I didn’t even dream last night. It’s so boring when you don’t visit me.” I complained.
    “But when I do visit you, you sleep in class. Don’t worry, you’ll live. Besides, life can be boring some times. It would do you some good to learn that now, rather than later.”
    “You know, I like it when you get all smart like that, you sound like a teacher. It just reminds me how, dangerous, and forbidden we are.” I giggled.
    “Yes, very dangerous, but doesn’t that make it even better?” Ares asked in his usual, charming, flirtatious tone. Then, he got up from his chair behind the desk, walked around to the front of his desk, and gave me a light, sweet kiss.
    And then, he pulled away from me and said “You know, I think I love you more and more each day.”
    “I know, and I feel the same way about you.”
    “But, now you have to go, because, unfortunately, I have a meeting to go to.”
    My smile drooped, and I said, “Okay, if I really have to go.” And then I grabbed my books and went to my locker.
    He walked past me and whispered in my ear, “Meet me by the big oak tree, at midnight.”
    A while later, as I sat underneath the towering tree, whose branches donned an array of colors, there was yellows, reds, and oranges mixing together to create a master piece. But it was dark now, and I couldn’t see their magnificent colors. Instead, the branches that hung overhead simply obstructed my view of the stars and bright, glowing full moon.
    I glanced at my watch. 12:08. Where is Ares? I thought to myself. “Right here.” I heard a familiar voice answer. Then I saw a figure, emerging from the shadows. He had come.
    He said nothing as he slowly walked closer, one step at a time, and I knew he knew it was torture for me, him drawing out a simple few steps, making me wait, filling me with anticipation. Finally he reached me, and sat down next to me. He pulled me close to him, and hugged me. He moved my hair out of my face, and gently stroked my cheek. Then he leaned in and gave me a light kiss. And finally, he broke the silence.
    “I love you, so much. And I’m so happy when I’m with you.” Ares said.
    “I love you too.” I replied. Then he kissed me, with such raw passion, such love, that it made me dizzy. And it was at that moment that I realized, I would do anything for him. I would go to the ends of the Earth if he asked. I wanted to spend my whole life with him. I wanted nothing more then to be held by him, forever.
    “And I know that I’m your teacher, and it’s wrong, but, four years from now, after you graduate, will you wear this ring on your finger?” he paused, slipping a beautiful ring onto my finger. It was made up of many small diamonds, and one big one in the middle. The moonlight shined through it and reflected, throwing dazzling little rainbows over my hand, and his. I was speechless.
    “And I know, I’m asking you too soon, and you need time to think, and I understand that. But you’ve got four years to think. And that’s all I’m asking, is for you to think about it. And I completely understand if you say no, or you don’t want to keep seeing me, actually that would make a lot more sense, because you’re young, and you have your whole life ahead of you, but please, just think about it.” he continued.
    “I don’t have to think. I love you. From now till the end of forever, and I would do anything for you. Yes.” I said, suddenly finding my voice.
    “Are you sure?” he asked. He seemed surprised.
    “Yes, I love you now, and for always and forever. I’ll never stop loving you, and it only seems right to make it official.”
    And then he said, “I think I should probably take you back to your dorm now, it’s late.”
    “Okay.” And we walked together, hand in hand, right up to the door. “Goodnight.”
    “It won’t be, not without you.” I replied, and I knew he could hear the longing in my voice.
    “All right. If you really don’t mind the fact that your going to sleep in class, and get detention, then fine, I’ll be with you in your dreams.” he said, sounding very relieved. I wondered if it was hard to stay away. Then I mentally scolded myself, for thinking such and arrogant thing. He seemed amused. “I’ll see you later.” he said.
    When I got to my room, Cleo was fast asleep. There was a note on the nightstand by my bed. In a very sloppy hand writing, scrawled across the paper were the words ‘You’re telling me all about it in the morning’
    I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my makeup off. Then I quickly put my PJs on. I laid down, and, as if my body knew what a wonderful man awaited me in my sleep, I instantly slipped into the dark, expansive nothingness. But it wasn’t nothing for long.

    Darkness. It surrounds me. I blink. The scene gets clearer. I’m in a ballroom. Not the one from the other dream. This one is all black. There are black walls, and a black floor. And there is a red light, shining on me. It’s like a spotlight. I look down upon myself, and I’m wearing a black dress. It’s strapless, and flares out at my waist.
    Then I hear footsteps. Because of the tile floor, they echo throughout the whole room. They are right behind me. I turn around. Ares stands there, wearing a fancy tux. There is music, somewhere far away, drifting in and out of existence. He says nothing, but stretches his hand out to me. I take it, and we dance something like a waltz and a tango, mixed into one.
    Then we stop dancing. He pulls me close, and kisses me. I cling to him. He pulls away and says “I love you.” His words are sweet, like music.
    “I love you too.” I reply. Then we just dance, our bodies moving as one, not a single word said. The song goes on and on. Until, after many hours, but not nearly long enough, the music drifts out of existence for the last time. I open my eyes.

    “Good morning, you blushing bride to be.” Cleo said in a cheerful, sing-song voice, holding up the glittering ring that I had left on my nightstand the morning before.
    “He proposed?” she asked.
    “Yes.” I answered, and then went into a detailed account of last night.
    She hugged me. “We aren’t getting married until I graduate, and I can’t even wear the ring, because it’s still a secret, and no one can know, but, will you be my bridesmaid?” I asked praying she would say yes.
    And she did, “Of course! Sweetie, I’d be honored to!” she exclaimed.
    “Thank you, so much!” I said. I wanted to dance a jig, and it felt like I was flying, I was just so happy!
    “It’d be my pleasure!” she said, and then, with a laugh she added
    “You know, it’s really killing me, having to keep this a secret. Are you sure I couldn’t tell someone?”
    “Nope, sorry, no can do, your not aloud to tell anyone. Although I know it must be absolutely terrible.” I teased. “Now come on, let’s get ready for school.”