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'Chloe!'

Inside her mind images swam, voices buzzed, one person's seeming to stand out in the haze. The distant woman's voice gradually approached, a dreamy misty hue to every syllable.

'Good morning sunshine~'...

"I'm not a sunshine!" She snapped, ducking her head under her pillow with a frustrated groan as it suddenly became way too bright, "I'mstilltireddd! Ten more minutes!"

Birds were chirping somewhere, she could hear laughter outside.

'Uh huh, I gave you ten minutes already...the birds are singing, it's a beautiful day and you're going to be late if you don't get up. Come on, I made you breakfast!'

"I'm fine with that!" Came her thick response, kicking her feet a bit.

'Come on Chlo, Brian'll be late too if he has to drive you.'

"Then tell him not to!" She snapped, waiting impatiently for her mother to leave so she might get back to sleep.

'You know he's busy with work now, don't make things...'

She shut her pillow around her ears as everything began to dissipate, the haze overpowering her again. The birds stopped chirping, her clock was ticking now instead, her old clock before she got the digital one.

'Get up!'

"Get outtttt!" She whined, only they didn't, they sat on the edge of her bed and began to tickle her. She shrieked, momentarily overwhelmed by the noise before coming back to and reaching over to smack her sister with her pillow.

'Ah! It's your turn to walk him, jesus Chloe, stop kicking!'

"I'm tired!" She cried as the pillow was wrenched away from her, her sister laughing as she turned the tables on her, "No!"

'Come onnnn, you promised! Gawd, you're such a brat!'

"I'm just authority challenged!" She retorted, snickering as her sister got up and started to leave, thinking she'd won. She sat up, watching her sister retreat into the swimming colors of her bedroom doorway.

'Yeah yeah, get up, smart a**. It's raining out, enjoy!'

"You have got to be kidding me--Ericaaaa!" She called, clambering to her feet and running into the gloom.

Things melted away again, as if she were falling back into a dream. She heard rain pelting the ground, and then felt the overwhelming heat. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking at the painfully bright lights and watching something blurry circle overhead. Then it was gone. The buzzing and haze returning, she lost track again and fell off her mind's beaten track.

The bright fluorescent lights had always bothered her. Blinking mistily through her tears, she noticed a window full of bunnies and let go of her father's hand, running over to plant both of hers on the glass and yell something about wanting to take one home. Her eldest sister had grabbed her hand and started pulling her away just as she began to tantrum.

'Holy s**t, what is he doing?' Her friend Katherine asked and she looked up, the cool air of nearly night-time kicking up a slight breeze as she spotted Temple in the distance and quickly reacted with 'What the <********> Temple!' before running over to give him a rough shove away from something. At their feet was a cat that seemed very newly dead, which he'd been kicking around. She hastily crouched down to give it a look-over as Temple laughed a bit.
'Eww, what the ******** is wrong with you!' Katherine was yelling from somewhere behind her.
'That is gross! You're sick!' Amanda told him as ******** off!' Temple laughed, 'I didn't kill it, I just found it here.'
'Like that's so much better?' She asked, standing and giving him another shove, 'What the ******** Temple!'
'Watch it!' He warned jeeringly before giving her a shove back, though he'd barely done so when Katherine stepped in and gave him a quick kick to the shin, 'Ow, s**t!'
'Get the ******** out of here before we call the cops!' Amanda chimed in.
She lifted her hand to rub her side, having bumped into the bridge's railing when she was shoved.
'Make me.' Temple said.
There came a lot more yelling but it all began to blend as the warm colors of sunset overpowered the memory and she stepped in once more.

'The animals have always shown a sort of adoration for you.' He said, and it was otherwise silent.

She stared into the lion enclosure, waiting boredly for any of them to show.
'It's hot out today so they're probably all hiding in the shade,' Jessica explained to her, 'Hey, want to go see the reptiles?'
'Okay.' She said, sounding a bit sullen. She'd been excited about seeing the lions most of all.
'Jeez Chlo, cheer the ******** up, will you?' Brian asked, giving her a quick pinch and producing a ********!' She snapped, rubbing her arm and quickly stalking off ahead.
Things melded together before Brad, Jessica's boyfriend, stepped out of the gloom in the reptile house.
'Brian can be kind of an a*****e, just ignore him.' He told her.
She looked away from the snake she'd been watching and up at him, his face swimming dizzyingly.
'Yeah, he's my brother, I kinda live with him so.' She explained.
'Well Jess and I think you're fine so don't worry about what he says sometimes, he's just looking out for you anyway.' Brad clapped a hand on her shoulder. Something felt out of place as they met eyes momentarily.
Turning back to the cage she said 'If you say so.'
Brad laughed a bit, 'Hey, Jess and I wanted to ask, do you wanna come camping with us for the long weekend?'
She mulled it over before saying 'I don't really like camping.'
'C'mon, it's not just camping, it's camping with us! Hey, we always bring drinks if that helps any! It's a blast!'
She looked at him for a moment before suddenly grinning '...Okay, sure!'
'Awesome, you rock. K, I'm gonna go check out the iguana, feel free to give Brian a smack next time he's a d**k. We won't stop you!'
She turned back to the cage again, smiling a little to herself before giving the glass a tap.

'Brad?' She asked, sitting up a little in the back seat.
'Mm?' He asked, 'What's up, Chlo?'
'Um...I don't mean to be like pushy but...you said you were going to tell Jess?' She looked pointedly away and out of the window, hugging one of her knees close.
'Yeah, yeah I am,' He said heavily, sitting up and then waving a hand in front of her eyes to get her attention, adding 'Hey. I am. I promise.'
She smiled a bit, feeling sheepish before reaching up to take his hand and hold onto it. Through the fuzziness of his features she could tell he was smiling back as he leaned in to kiss her, the two of them sinking back down.

Staring down at her phone, she was getting anxious.
"Hello?" She texted, "Did something happen?"
Jiggling her knee uncomfortably, she stared at the phone a moment longer before tilting her head back and sighing heavily. Then it started buzzing. She scrambled to open the text before reading.
"Hey...sry, wanna meet me somwhere? need to talk."
She hastily wiped at her eyes and tucked her phone into her pocket, clambering to her feet and grabbing a sweater before running out of the room and into the haze, her mother's voice calling 'Chloe? Erica, tell her it's her turn to take down the laundry!'
'Later!' She yelled, slamming the door and disappearing into the mist.

She stared down at the clothes as she folded them, that same eerie silence stagnantly sticking to the blurry memory. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and got chills, closing her eyes before she turned, the words being hard to make out as they passed between her and MK.
She sunk down onto the bed, putting her head in her hands as things fragmented fuzzily around her.
'You are thinking a little too deeply on this. And I hope that you will take the time to understand better your situation.'
Things became almost incomprehensible, but she found herself asking to an otherwise incoherent gloom of undefined fuzzy images...
'W-What is that?'
'Little chemical I've been working on...Seems I've been having some issues in testing it. '

Through the haze a merry-go-round creeked a little in the breeze.
'So you got ******** over, literally.' Temple said, coming into view.
'That's one way of putting it.' She agreed uncomfortably.
'Well, good ******** job.'
'Whatever, I just don't want to see my friends right now. They're going to think I'm some kind of whore.'
She glanced at Temple, who shrugged, before pushing herself a little in the swing she was sitting in.
'Anyway, thanks. Somehow it wasn't horrible hanging out again.'
He shrugged once more.
'I didn't want to come out alone, that's all, it's pretty late.' She justified.
'Yeah, I don't really care.' He responded, 'Speaking of late, I should probably go home. You ready to go back?'
'No, but I guess I have to.' She said, standing as he did.
She paused for a moment.
'Hey, do you remember when we used to play?' She asked.
'No, I'm braindead. Of course I do.' He said, looking around and stopping.
'I liked dragons the most.'
'That's because you liked ******** slaying me.' He said, shaking his head with a dry laugh.
'Yeah, that's exactly right!' She agreed enthusiastically.
'Right, whatever, come on. It's getting ******** cold out.' He said, turning to leave. She followed after into the dark.

'Ew, what is he wearing today?' Katherine asked, the classroom sharply coming into view.
She looked up and saw Temple, stifling a bit of a laugh.
'Hey, do you just wear whatever you find on the street?' Amanda called across the classroom, producing a giggle from the rest of ******** off.' Temple said as he turned to look at them.
'Someone's got a TEMP-er!' Teased Katherine.
'That was terrible!' She said, burying her head in her arms and shaking with laughter so much that her desk trembled.
'Someone broke Chloe!' Amanda called as she continued laughing.
'How old are you again?' Katherine asked through her giggles.
'I thought we were in grade nine now!' Amanda chimed in.
'S-shut up!' She retorted, looking up and stifling a few more giggles as everything began to get brighter.

The sun beat down on her. She stared up at the passing clouds, the grass tickling her legs. She smiled a little bit, reaching up to shield her eyes and listening to the mumble of Katherine, Amanda and Melissa chattering away.
'That one looks like your a**!' Melissa told Katherine, much to the others' mirth.
'Chloe, when's your thing?' Amanda asked.
'Tuesday.' She answered, looking over at her friends.
'Are you putting on a strip show after?' Melissa asked, producing a snort from Katherine.
'Yes, yes I am, I'm going to strip naked in front of the my entire friggin' dance class and my family and shout "LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?" at the top of my lungs.' She joked as the others cracked up. She laughed a bit too, shaking her head and adding 'You freaks.'
As she looked back up at the sky, everything seemed to get dark around the sun.

Looking down from the bright stage lights, she waited a few moments before taking her cue.
'Oh no, what ever has happened to the good doctor.' She unenthusiastically read from the script she held in her hand.
'Hang on, hang on! Chloe, you have to put a LITTLE more feeling into it than that!' Their teacher called over the giggles of her friends.
She sighed a bit.
'Oh NO! What EVER has HAPPENED to GOOD doctor!' She said, causing several of them to burst out laughing.
'...We'll come back to it. Your turn, Matt.'
'MAHAHAH! I AM DOCTOR JEKYLL NO MORE!' Matt bellowed theatrically, much to the amusement of her friends who were continuing to laugh off-stage.
'Sorry sir, but you really aren't much of a writer.' She told her teacher, who looked mortified for a minute.
'Alright, that's it for today! Chloe, a word?' He finally managed to splutter.
As she heaved a bit of a sigh and waved to her friends, they began to blur, and her teacher's directions for others going off-stage began to sound farther and farther away.

The world swam around her. She saw someone walking into the strange little room she had woken up in, a man, MK. He was fuzzy and hard to make out. She felt a lot of things, like fear, and bewilderment. She was thirsty. After a brief exchange, he offered her some water and she didn't hesitate to drink it. Things got a bit hazier as she settled down into the bed, his hand reaching out to touch her forehead and the low rumbling of words she couldn't make out reaching her. Everything was tinted brighter than it should be, she was sure. She blindly reached out to clutch his arm.

...Doctor...

'I have something to tell you.' Brian said as he started the car up.
She turned away from looking out of the window and looked at him, 'Yeah?'
'Me and Jess are engaged. I asked her last night.' He said.
'Seriously?' She asked, smiling a bit.
'Seriously.' He said, backing out of the driveway and turning them onto the road.
'Cool...' She said, leaning against the window and looking back out.
'We both want you there, okay?' His voice drifted over.
'Okay.' She agreed, a little less enthusiastic.
'She doesn't care anymore.' He told her.
Not knowing what to say, she continued to watch other cars pass by.
'You know family always comes first, right?' She heard him ask.
Glancing back at him, she shrugged a little and said, 'Sure.'
'I'm not mad about it anymore, it was two years ago. I just wanna be friends again, Chlo.' He explained.
She remained silent, leaning her head against the glass.
'Can we?' He asked after a lingering pause.
'I guess.' She said, lifting her gaze to watch the buildings whip past again.
'Okay.' His voice drifted over.
She remained silent, blinking the light out of her eyes as the glare from the sun hit the mirror on her side.
'So what are you learning today?' He asked, sounding a little forced.
'Nothing new, just more practice.' She responded, not bothering with details he wouldn't get anyway.
'I bet you're the best in the class, right?' He asked.
'Not really.' She admitted.
'Well, you're better than I am!' He joked.
'Yeah, I guess so.'
She heard him sigh a little and focused on the scenery outside again, feeling a pang of awkwardness. The objects blurred together dizzyingly as whatever he said next became inaudible.

A few seagulls squawked in the distance and she turned to look at Allison, laughing a bit.
'He said that?' She asked.
'Men, I tell ya'!' Her sister shook her head.
'Do you think I'm ever going to meet one who likes me back?' She asked.
'Are you kidding me? Of course you will, look at you!' Allison said, giving her sister's hair a ruffle, 'I wish you hadn't cut it all off though.'
'I like it like this!' She retorted.
'Does Eeeethan like it like that?' Her sister teased.
'Shut up!' She laughed, 'I may as well not freaking exist.'
'I bet he looks at you all the time and you just don't notice.' Her sister mused, pausing mid-walk to lean down and pick up a rock.
She watched her sister toss the rock into the water and then continued along with her.
'He doesn't. He's all "look at me, I'm unreasonably sexy and talented and I'll never be partnered up with you because fate is a cruel unrelenting b***h"!'
Allison laughed, shaking her head 'You're funny.'
She smiled, looking off at the water.
'When's your next lesson?' Her sister asked, drawing her attention back.
'Next week, I just had one yesterday.'
'And when do we get to see you dance again?'
'I dunno, no one's mentioned anymore shows.'
'You should dance at Brian's wedding, man, he'd love that!'
'No, it'd be weird.' She said, frowning a bit.
'It would not. You used to all the time when you were little! Sometimes in your diaper!'
'Eww, ugh, shut up.' She laughed, giving her sister a light shove.
The sounds of waves crashing overwhelmed her sister's response, and the brightness of the sun on the sand became too much.

Carrying a small shopping bag in one hand, she followed MK along as he lugged several others through town. The people passing by were more like colorful blurs. She stopped suddenly, a window catching her eye. Automated ballerinas were dancing around on a little pretend ice lake. Becoming transfixed with the amusing spectacle, she tilted her head a little.

'I... I don't know how to break this to you, my dear. You... You were practically left cold and alone on my doorstep.'

She put her hand on the glass, watching them spin fuzzily. She heard him call for her distantly and turned away, following after him.

You couldn't be more wrong.