No Aliens Allowed

- Twenty-Two -

When the wind finally froze my bones, I went back inside, trudging up to my room and throwing my coat on the ground and kicking my boots into a corner.

I was utterly exhausted, and totally alone. My heart hurt. My head hurt.

But I hadn't given up, and that was enough. I'd get back on my feet and keep going. I'd get over what Penn had said. The fact that my feelings him were suddenly nonexistent made it ten times easier to function, because I only had two heartbreaks to deal with, instead of three.

I flopped onto my bed, plugging my phone into the speakers beside my bed and letting Imagine Dragons trickle out, filling the room with music.

I let out a deep sigh, wriggling out of my jeans and pushing them to the floor. I found a pair of guys' athletic shorts under my bed. Besides smelling like clean laundry, the familiar scent that belonged to Allen hovered around them.

I choked back some tears. I was done crying. I put on the damn shorts and crawled under my blankets. Tiredness washed over me, and I gladly let sleep take me.

———

When I opened my eyes, I knew I was dreaming.

Reason that I knew this? Well, Allen was in my room. And it was spring.

"Hey," he said to me.

I grumbled angrily, emerging from sleep. "Why'd you wake me?"

"This is a dream, Kali. Your body still rests. I did research on dreams, actually."

I snorted. "Of course you did."

Allen eyed me. "I only did it because I started having dreams."

"So?"

"I'm not human, Kali. I don't dream."

I sat up, patting the bed next to me. Allen was wearing a AC/DC t-shirt and sweats.

"I'm pretty sure that's Penn's shirt," I said. "He gave it to me."

Allen looked down at his chest, as if realizing just now that he was wearing it. "It was a male shirt in your dresser. I took it."

"Allen!" I exclaimed. "You can't just take things from me."

"I am 98.87 percent certain those are my short pants," he told me, gesturing to the ones I was wearing.

"Just call them shorts, Allen," I said, laughing. "And yes. They're yours."

We sat in silence for a little while. I looked out the window, and the hopeful green on the trees and the grass.

"Where are we?" I asked after realizing something wasn't quite right. The view was too expansive, and mountains so purple they were unreal were visible through strange, silvery clouds.

Not to mention, there were two suns.

Allen looked out the window, his face sad. "This is Eycloria," he said. "My home."

"Why are we on Eycloria, in my bedroom?" I asked. "Better yet, how do I know what Eycloria looks like?"

"It's a dream, Kali. It's all in your head."

I got up and walked to the window. Watery blue sky decorated with shimmering clouds stretched on forever, the twin suns casting light onto the field of grass that went on for miles.

Allen came up behind me. "It's beautiful, isn't it? We're in a private section of land, one of the few remaining spots that look like this. My family's lab is there."