In The Dreaming: Chapter Thirty Five "Sneaking Out" (Fantasy Y/A Novel)

-I wrote the following novel nearly two decades ago. In the years between then and now I've honed my craft, and my perception of this world; my thoughts and ideas; have changed dramatically. However, I still enjoy the premise and have decided to do an overhaul of revisions and rewrites, though likely not until sometime next year. (Though I'm sure I'll do a little as I post chapters)

For now I hope you will enjoy a glimpse into my book writing beginnings...

They are the closest of friends though they have never met in waking life.

Prologue-PT1 Prologue-PT2 Chapter 1

Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7

Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10

Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13

Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16

Chapter 17
Chapter 18 Chapter 19

Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22

Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25

Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28

Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31

Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty Five

They changed quickly, it was chillier than earlier so they needed some warm clothes. Once again they each admired the other in front of the full length mirror. Aliyah had opted to leave her hair down and used a tiny bit more makeup than usual. Amy did the same. They finished up at 11:25. The put the T.V. on low and dimmed the brightness so the bed wasn’t easy to see. They put pillows under the covers in what looked pretty much like sleeping bodies then crept out into the hallway. Aside from the foursome downstairs, all was quiet. They shut the door to their room, opened the front door and closed it softly behind them.

They got to the road and the boys were already waiting a few houses down.

Aliyah felt exhilarated. This was freaking exciting! She actually had an adrenaline rush. This is why people sneak out, she thought, because of this feeling.

They caught up with the guys and both of them erupted in nervous giggles.

“Are you okay?” Chris asked with a smile.

“Yeah, we’ve just never done that before.”

“You are inexperienced aren’t you?”

“Afraid so.” Aliyah smiled.

“All right listen, if you hate this idea than don’t worry about it, but hear me out. We have a few other friends that really want to join us.”

Aliyah started to talk and Chris held up his hand. “It’s just three other guys and three other girls, they are not assholes, they won’t break anything or in anyway attract too much attention. I just thought it would be more like a party with a few more people. If you don’t like it we’ll just tell them no.”

Aliyah thought about it. If there was one thing keeping her from saying no outright it was the fact that she wasn’t quite sure about being basically alone with Chris Carey.

“Are they couples?”

“No, not exactly.”

“I don’t know. I guess it’s okay.”

“Hell yeah, now we have a party!” He started dialing his cell phone and indicated for them to wait. He talked, called, talked, and finally shut it.

“Okay, they’ll meet us at the swings, ready?” With that he held out his arm.

Aliyah smirked but took it anyway.

Amy whispered “Are you upset?”

“No,” she whispered back, “It might be fun.”

“Good.”

Amy and Mike were holding hands, looking like a real couple.

Chris looked smiled at her as they walked. She caught it and smiled back thinking that he better not be hoping for anymore physical contact. Then he started talking and she found that their might actually be a real person she could like.

“I’m sorry I was such a jerk earlier. I come off that way sometimes, my personality is loud and at school it does actually win points believe it or not. Most girls I meet are silly and like me that way, they see it as outgoing. But I can tell you find it obnoxious.”

She shook her head trying to deny it, but he stopped her.

“No, Mike told me enough about you for me to know you don’t like superficial people, so for the rest of the night, though I can’t promise not to be loud, I will try to carry on real conversations. So tell me about yourself.”

“What do you want to know?”

“What are you interested in? what do you do for fun? What makes you tick?”

She thought for a moment. “I have to be honest, what I was just doing is sizing up who you are, or rather who I think you are and formulating my answer based on what I figure would most intrigue you. What Mike said was true, I don’t like superficial people, and if you hadn’t mentioned that I probably wouldn’t be saying this now, but trying to be someone that I’m not is tiring! Listening to other people trying to be something they’re not is downright exhausting. So instead of answering your questions, at least for the moment, I’ll ask you instead, what do you want to get out of tonight?”

She had succeeded in taking him by surprise as she had intended and he actually came to a stop for a moment to look at her before continuing on. He didn’t answer right away, just stole glances at her as they walked, still arm in arm.

He finally spoke. “The thing I said about upstaters being slow, I take it back, I have definitely been misinformed. What do I want? I’m not sure now.”

“Okay, then tell me what your intentions were before.”

He shook his head. “I hoped to charm you. Girls who don’t appreciate the loud guy appreciate the guy who knows he can be loud. I have never met someone outside of this category until now. I think you’re intelligent and perceptive, as well as beautiful.” He smiled a winning smile then, and laughed at her skeptical expression. “I have a new plan for tonight, however.”

She raised her eyebrows, waiting.

“I hope we can have a great time, maybe get a little drunk and dance foolishly, talk more than it is necessary to talk, and part as friends who hope to see each other in the future. That’s all, whatta you think?”

Aliyah prided herself for being able to read and understand people, but this time she'd been wrong. She turned to him and said with complete sincerity, “That, Chris Carey, sounds like a great plan for the night. I hope I don’t disappoint you.”

Once again he shook his head. “No, I don’t think that you could.”

They had made it to the park and could see people hovering around the swing sets. Chris let go of her arm at that point but made a point to give her a personal smile, then strode forward to meet his friends. Mike let go of Amy’s hand, saying something that made her smile and hurried off with Chris.

Aliyah was glad for the chance to talk to her friend before they got on the boat.

Amy spoke first, “So what did you guys talk about, do you still think he’s a jerk?”

“Actually, no, I think that we can be friends after all.”

“Just friends?”

Aliyah laughed. “Don’t be disappointed, that’s a good thing. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to stand him by the end of the night, now I think that I will not only enjoy his company, but I might actually look forward to seeing him again.”

“Really? What happened?”

“I gave him a glimpse of myself and he actually saw me! I’ve done that before, been completely straightforward with people and usually they don’t get it. They end up saying something completely stupid and irritating me. But he didn’t, he has a lot more going on upstairs than I first gave him credit for. Believe me, his initial intentions were not honorable, he basically said so, but now that he sees who I am…we’ll have a good time.”

“Oh good, you’re smiling, this is going to be fun, isn’t it?”

“I think so. Now let’s go meet the crew.”

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