Back to the Dream Page
"Nicholas!" cries out the tall, black haired beauty. "Don't leave me!"
"Why not? I'll only be gone for a few minutes," Nicholas answers. "I just have to get some things in order before tomorrow."
"Just please, don't! Don't leave me."
Nicholas laughs. "You're just being silly! Nothing is going to happen to you. I swear it. Please, just relax. I'll be back soon, don't worry."
The girl looks at him, pleading silently for him to stay. To her dismay, he walks through the door, letting the darkness creep into the room.
Twenty minutes later, Nicholas comes back into the room and drops what he is carrying. 'Oh my God!' There, on the floor, is the love of his life, pale and unmoving.
Nick sits up in bed and finds himself in a dead sweat. 'What in the world was that?' he wonders. 'That felt so real and so familiar, yet I have never seen that girl before outside of these dreams. What could it mean?'
He lies in bed staring at the ceiling, too afraid to fall back asleep. 'That's the seventh night in a row where I've had a dream like that. It has to mean something, but what? Too many scary movies lately? The lack of not having someone in my life that means that much to me? What is it?' Nick stays awake the rest of the night, letting his thoughts probe his conscious mind, trying to find a logical reason for having the same type of dream for a full week.
"Man! Nick, what's the matter? You look like crap today!" Nick's younger brother, Drew, exclaims as Nick finally makes it to the studio for recording.
"Well that was a wonderful way of putting it, Sprout!" Justin exclaims as he too notes the dark bags under Nick's blood-shot eyes. "What's wrong Nick?"
"I didn't get a good night's sleep. That's all," Nick replies, leaving it at that.
"Are you sure that's all it is?"
"Yes. Now, why don't we get down to recording?"
"Okay. We're just waiting for Jeff at the moment. He was supposed to have taken Amaya out on a picnic somewhere this morning so he should be coming any minute now. Why don't you take a seat on the couch? I'm sure he wont be too long."
'That actually sounds like a good idea,' Nick thinks as he walks to the couch and crashes next to his brother.
"Nicholas! Please, don't go off to fight in that war!" begs a girl with beautiful black hair.
"I have to protect my country, even if it means sacrificing my life. Don't worry lass, I'll be back for you," Nicholas responds.
"No! Please, I can't lose you!"
"You won't lose me! Lass, I will be back, I promise," Nicholas says, disentangling himself from her. He walks out the door, with one last look at the beautiful vision. Outside, there is a war going on, dead bodies spread throughout the land. Nicholas looks back and realizes that the house is no longer there. He turns around just in time to see someone, presumably the enemy, rush at him and point his sword directly at Nicholas. Before he could move though, he feels the cold metal of the sword enter his body as he hears his beloved scream, "Nicholas! You said you wouldn't leave me!"
"Dude, wake up!" Drew says, shaking his brother. "Nick!"
Nick slowly opens his eyes, finding himself breathing heavily, covered in sweat. 'Oh God, not again.'
"What were you dreaming about, bro? You were screaming and twisting around like crazy!"
"No, not again," Nick mumbles, feeling his heart beating rapidly in his chest. "I can't handle this anymore!"
"Can't handle what?" Jeff asks, walking into the room.
"Nothing!"
"Geez, sorry I asked. Sorry I'm late. Traffic was really bad. Want to get started? Nick, did you bring the lyrics we just wrote?" When Nick doesn't respond, "Nick?"
"Huh?" he asks, earning concerned looks from his three friends.
"Did you bring the lyrics?"
"Oh crap! I'm sorry. It totally slipped my mind."
"Great! Now what are we going to work with?" Justin asks. "I guess we'll have to call it a day then. Besides, with the way Nick looks and sounds, I don't think we could have had a good recording session. Nick, can you remember to bring them to the next recording session?"
"Yeah."
"What's going on with you man?"
"Nothing, nothing," Nick responds, grabbing his stuff. "I guess I'll see you guys later?"
"Nick, I think I better take you home, or at least follow you," Drew says.
"Why?"
"You don't seem stable enough to make it home."
"I'm fine! Will you just leave me alone?"
"Nick, you haven't been drinking have you?" asks Jeff.
"No! I just haven't gotten really good sleep lately. I'll go home right now and get as much as I can so that I'll be a better asset to the group next time we record, okay?"
The three other guys look at one another, unable to find the right words to express all of their worry in the sudden change they see in Nick.
Without another word, Nick leaves the studio, gets into his car and drives off, not caring that he surprises the security guard by how fast he drives out of the lot, hardly giving the guard time to raise the gate out of the way. 'Great Nick! You just told your best friends you'd go home and sleep when you know you can't possibly do that. There is just no way you can do that, not with the possibility of that dream occurring again. No Nick, there is no sleep for you tonight,' Nick thinks to himself as he speeds down the California highway, blind to what is about to happen next in his life.