Fever Dreams

guess who's back, back again?! bahaha hi you lovely strangers, nicki's here! i've been working on a lot lately, especially this story ... i put a LOT of work into this, and i hope that you guys like reading it as much as i do. yes, this story is called Fever Dreams! :-) it's named after one of my favourite songs by circa survive. shout-out to you if you like them/heard of them/listen to their music.

Chapter 1 : Fever Dreams & A New Face

His breathing hitched as he ran down the cold New York streets. It was late at night, he could tell, but he didn’t know the exact time. His phone had been dropped during the chase. He also didn’t know the date, which made it worst. He pushed his legs faster, peeking a look behind him. The man was gaining up. The kid was running for his life. The man behind him was chasing him. He had a gun, and he was determined to get what he wanted--the boy. He doesn’t know why, but he knew he needed to get away. He was a built figure, with a hood covering his face. They finally came to a dead end. The man pushed the boy up against the wall, putting the gun to his head. He slowly reached for his hood, pulling it up so he could see his face. Any minute now…

He woke up with a sharp gasp. Sweat poured down his forehead and his hands were clammy. He was breathing heavily, and he needed to calm down. “Relax,” He whispered over and over again. He needed to find out who was the boy in the dreams, the boy who was running. He looked around the room, seeing kids getting up and walking out the room. A bell rang, indicating that fourth period was over. The girl next to him looked at him worriedly. “Jace, are you okay?” She whispered sweetly. “I’m fine,” He muttered, standing up and grabbing his books in a hurry. “Why do you always sleep this period?” Katelyn asked, pushing in my chair and grabbing her bag. ‘Why are you worried about what I do?’ he thought to himself, walking out the classroom. His name is Jace, and he went to high school. He was a sophomore, barely making it through the year. He was only fifteen. His shaggy black hair almost covered over his eyes as he kept walking down the hallways. Katelyn kept her distance; everybody knew to stay away from Jace. He was a freak, a loser.Nobody likes him, he recalled one of the popular girls saying. It was true, he had no friends. Nobody would understand him, nobody. He zigzagged through the familiar faces, and didn’t realize a girl knock some of his books out of his hands. “Bitch,” He muttered, dipping down and picking them up. He could see a hand slowly reach down and grab the book Wuthering Heights, something he was reading. “This is a great book,” A small skinny kid mumbled. Jace got up, snatching the book from the kid’s hands. The boy looked up at him. Jace could tell the kid was a ninth grader by looking at his uniform. “You don’t belong in this wing,” Jace said, narrowing his eyes at the kid. The boy opened his mouth to speak, but rolled his eyes and held up a piece of paper. “I’ve got a pass.” He said, smirking. Jace took in the kid’s features. He had brown hair that went to his shoulders and lay on his forehead, and looked close to Jace’s height. “What’s your name?” Jace asked, eyeing the kid carefully. “What’s yours?” He asked back, watching Jace just as carefully. “I’m just joking, you’re Jace. I’ve saw you around a few times,” The boy said, flashing a pearly smile. “Okay?” Jace replied, pushing pass the kid. He was going to be late for his next class.

The day went by slowly, and Jace ran into the boy from earlier once again. His name was Alex, and he was a ninth grader. Jace had realized he’d seen the kid before; he was his next door neighbor. Overall, the kid wasn’t that bad. He was just like Jace in some ways. Jace laughed to himself, rolling his eyes. He grabbed his back pack, exiting the school.

 Jace woke up with a scream, his hands covering his face. His blood was boiling and goosebumps were growing on his muscular arms. He was shaking, though it was hot in his room. He yanked the blankets from over his body, stumbling his way out of his bed. He peeked at the clock on his way out, reading 3:14. In the morning. He grabbed his shoes and a hoodie and ran down the stairs. The dream this time was different, not the one with the boy running down the city’s streets. This time is was a girl in an alley, being held against her will by a hooded man. Jace went through the shelves, looking for the switchblade he’d use to protect himself. He stepped out into the brisk air, regretting not putting on a t-shirt. He was bare-chested, but he didn’t care. He looked around once before taking off to the closest alley near his house. “Damn,” Jace whispered, not finding the girl in at least four alleys. He couldn’t have been late. He knew he wasn’t. He put his back against the wall, his head looking up to the sky. He sighed, closing his eyes, and tried to remember what else he saw in his dream. He remembered seeing a motel sign, and realized it was a few stores across the street. Just on time, a loud woman’s scream filled the air. Jace took off, making sure to get his knife ready. As he slowly entered the alley, he could see the street lights illuminated the young girl’s face. She looked too familiar. He eyes flickered to Jace, and she looked like she was going to say something. Jace put a finger on his lips, indicating that she should be quiet. She looked away and Jace began to slowly make his way in the alley. “Excuse me, sir?” Jace said loudly. He man looked at him and the girl—, who was Katelyn, now looked at Jace. “Go away, kid.” The man said seriously, reaching in his back pocket for something. “Not until you let her go.” Jace said bravely, taking out the switchblade and flipping it. The man showed Jace the shiny object. It was a gun. “How about you just leave now?” The streets went eerily quiet. Katelyn was still crying, but now she was hiding being Jace. “Relax,” He whispered, hoping she’d hear. Katelyn hung onto Jace’s arm for dear life, and at that moment, he hated her for it. The man jumped at Jace, and both Katelyn and Jace tumbled to the ground. "Go, get out of here!” Jace shouted at Katelyn, pushing her roughly. She stumbled, but still stood there. “Go, are you stupid? You’re an idiot!” Jace screamed, smacking away Katelyn’s hands. She backed up slowly, and before Jace knew it, she was out of sight. He wanted her to run, but he hadn’t expected her to. Jace was used to this, anyway. Helping people and all, he meant. His dreams would force him to help the ones in need; if he didn’t the dreams wouldn’t stop… of course, unless the person died already. Jace knew how to tell if someone had died, of course. He felt sharp pains most of the time when he woke up. Jace was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a sharp stab in his stomach. He looked down, realizing the man was in front of him with shaking hands. He felt the blood spilling on his fingers and through his hands and his breath sped up. He tugged the knife out of his body and threw it across the alley. The cut wasn’t too bad. “I’m sorry,” The man whispered. “I am so sorry…”Jace shook his head. He just backed away slowly, keeping an arm pressed up against his stomach. It would have to do until he got home. As Jace stumbled down the cold streets, his vision got worst and worst. He was exhausted, and he felt light-headed. He knew sleep would take over soon. As he began to fall to the ground, he felt as if someone was keeping him up. As if someone was dragging him along, telling him not to give up yet. Telling him that he would be okay soon. And that someone was Katelyn. She came back for Jace.

Jace sat still on the kitchen’s counter as Katelyn bandaged his waist. All blood that was visible on his body was gone. “I—“Katelyn started. Jace stopped her. “Just go. Please.” Katelyn ignored him, moving forward and closer to Jace. “But—“ She took Jace’s hands and tingles ran up his wrist. “You’re hard-headed, aren’t you? Don’t you realize what happened? You’re so stupid! You could’ve gotten hurt, and then I would’ve had to take the blame! What were you doing out this late at night anyway?” Jace screamed in her face. Katelyn looked more than surprised. “I—I was getting home late from some kind of party, I didn’t have a ride home, or any money to call a cab.” She swallowed quickly, looking away. He forgot that Katelyn was actually somewhat popular. And that pissed him off. “Get out, get out of my house. Go away.” Jace said, jumping off from the counter. He winced, quickly regretting it. He’d expect her to smack him in the face, he was asking for it. But she did nothing. Katelyn overall was a nice girl, she was beautiful on the inside and the outside. She’d never take anything or anyone for granted. He hated her for it. “Thank you for helping me tonight.” She whispered, and swiftly made her way to the front door. Jace quickly followed behind her, and she turned around once more. She opened her mouth to say something but Jace took the chance to slam the door in her face. He felt like a moron. Why was he being so cold to her? More regret washed over Jace’s body and he yanked the door open once more. Katelyn was gone.