I'm The Geek Who Slapped A Football Player.

56 - Panic is a Choking Hazard

Chapter 56 - Panic is a Choking Hazard

I'm dreaming.

I know that I have to be dreaming. I mean the sky is PURPLE for fuck's sake.

It's warm and cold and windy and frozen all at once and I'm just trying to find my bed. My hair is moving in some warm breeze but the full-bloom purple and white lilac bushes are disturbingly still. I'm outside but where's my bed? Turning, I see my cousin Kathryn. She's picking lilacs and holding them in a giant bouquet. She smiles at me and makes a 'cheers' motion with her bouquet of lilacs, then goes running into the maze. I want to follow but she's gone already! I step forward, my body feeling heavy - as if with sleep - and I wander through a maze of fragrant lilacs, seeing nothing but green leaves and spindly brown branches and hundreds and hundreds of white and purple flowers. The sky above is an endless expanse of wisteria dreamscape. 

Spinning, seeing nothing but plants, I half panic. Where? Where'd she'd go? And where's my room? Where's my bed! I'm supposed to be sleeping, not dreaming--

The lilac bushes all suddenly lunge forward as if magnetized to me, then--

Sebastian is here, beside me. We're at my cousin Margaret's wedding dance, standing out on the floor with DJ lights trailing over us, soft purple and white, but we're alone. He's holding both of my hands and OH GOD OH GOD he's beautiful he's BEAUTIFUL. My heart POUNDS in my chest like a herd of galloping horses run awry. He smiles, teasing and sweet and wicked and charming all at once. His eyes glitter like golden coins on fire. He pulls me close. He's spinning us now, dancing dancing dancing and I'm keeping up, I want to, don't I? Don't I? DON'T I? My heart POUNDS POUNDS POUNDS and its all I can hear, almost all I can feel other than Sebastian's hands holding mine.

The floor begins to fall apart around us, and each tile falls into darkness with a splash. I immediately know what he'll do and am about to yell at him but Sebastian is faster, and with a sexy smile he pushes me backward into the darkness. Water, I'm under water now, great bubbles everywhere and I can't breathe I CAN'T BREATHE and Sebastian is pulling me up, lifting me from the depths by the armpits like he had in the pool, except he's pulling me from the deep. 'I'm sorry I'm sorry It was a joke!' Comes his muffled voice. I come up with a WUSP for air and a splash. Effortlessly I'm lifted onto the edge of the pool, it's dark like it was before, but I'm wearing my dress, my purple homecoming dress, and it's soaked and dripping but Sebastian is here, he's here and his eyes are hungry, starving, my heart is like a balloon in my chest, swelling with each beat and I can't breathe I can't breathe--

He kisses me.

I let him.

But my heart just POUND POUND POUND POUNDS--

and in that moment he's gone and I find myself somewhere else. I don't understand where, the WHERE doesn't matter, I'm wearing a giant polo, a HUGE polo. It's bright orange and it drags over my feet, and the sleeves balloon down and billow over my hands, but it cinches tight around my throat like a cruel dog's collar. It won't come off, it won't FUCKING  come OFF! I curse and swear and fall over trying to remove it, sweating with the effort.

I hear a noise and turn, hoping for help but--

PugFace Flora Harkin is standing over me, ten feet tall, an oversized bump bulging over her eye, grinning at me with gorilla teeth. She's HUGE HUGE FUCKING HUGE JEEZUS FUCK-

I sprint away, tripping over the giant polo restricting me, getting up and falling down and getting up and FALLING AND OHMYGOD SHE'S RIGHT BEHIND ME. The MONSTER FLORA is chasing, laughing manically, screaming 'I'M GONNA SMEAR YOUR BABY BITCH BLOOD ALL. OVER. THE FLOOR.'