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Post by Micaela on Dec 6, 2010 14:44:26 GMT -5
Frankly, it was kind of weird to go to sleep in a college dorm room and wake up in 19th-century Paris. Well, that was where she assumed she would wake up, as it had been there since she'd started this. She had last stayed for about 5 minutes before fizzling out, and the amount of time almost doubled each night she showed up here (thankfully it had stopped during midterms).
She was surprised when tonight, she found herself popping into what appeared to be a relatively-modern apartment. There was an overwhelming sense of Not Paris.
Crackling sounds like a radio trying to find a station echoed as she appeared, then faded out, then sputtered back in (it always made her want to say 'Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you're my only hope'). Finally she stabilized, in a grey Tufts tank-top and patterned sleeping boxers.
Where the heck was she?
An attempt to move resulted in her bumping quite loudly into a table, which groaned across the floor.
"Shit," she hissed, louder than intended.
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Dec 6, 2010 15:05:25 GMT -5
Adrian, always something of a light sleeper and made even more restless by impending events, was startled awake two stories above.
He nearly sat up in a hurry, then relaxed himself enough to make a more quiet getaway with Adrien, still exhausted and pink from the office Christmas party, lying prettily against his pillow.
Adrian went to pull on a dressing gown, still listening for more sounds from the intruder, and then stealthily crept downstairs to investigate.
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Post by Micaela on Dec 6, 2010 15:08:00 GMT -5
Noises the intruder provided, hitting a foot, already bruised from rehearsal, against a chair. A hiss of pain and the bump from the actual impact were sure to attract attention. Goddamn it, why did it have to be so dark?
She sucked in air noisily, and prayed nobody was home. There had been no sounds of waking from the house, and maybe she could just sneak out...
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Dec 6, 2010 15:19:01 GMT -5
"Whoever you are, I can hear you," he called as he came down the stairs, "and I hope you know I have no trouble risking my other hand..."
He stopped at a small panel in the wall that concealed the light dimmers for the staircase leading to the main floor and turned the lights to a dim glow, then began downstairs.
"If you don't try anything foolish, we may be able to negotiate."
He rounded the corner to the main flight and started down those as well, then stopped short in shock.
Micaela- Micaela alive-
If he were the sort of man to stumble back, he would have, but instead he only paused and stared for a long moment.
"You're- this isn't-"
He muttered to himself and then looked back at her.
"Micaela?" he asked disbelievingly.
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Post by Micaela on Dec 6, 2010 15:28:37 GMT -5
Panicked excuses flashed through her mind when she heard someone coming, each stupider than the last.
Except she recognized the man speaking.
"Adrian?" Her tone was more what-the-fuck-are-you-playing-at-universe but disbelieving nonetheless. She stood there bearing an unfortunate resemblance to a fish for a few moments, trying to figure out what precisely was going on.
Then the emotions crashed through her and she again couldn't figure out what to do or say. Tears welled up and she wasn't sure just what she was feeling.
Now she knew why she'd been popping up in Paris, and felt like an idiot for having taken this long to figure it out. Her business with Adrian was unfinished--she'd disappeared from his life without a trace and for some reason the universe, after removing her, had decided to put her back. At least a little bit. Enough to explain herself.
She took a step towards him but faltered.
"I--"
Oh fuck it.
Words were not forthcoming and the only alternative was a hug.
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Dec 6, 2010 15:44:12 GMT -5
"You're rather too early to be the Ghost of Christmas Past-"
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Post by Micaela on Dec 6, 2010 15:45:50 GMT -5
"I'm not a ghost"
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Dec 6, 2010 15:53:13 GMT -5
The only other option was, simply, that it had finally happened and his mind was gone.
"Micaela-"
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Post by Micaela on Dec 6, 2010 15:56:54 GMT -5
"No, see, remember how I couldn't go home? Well I was suddenly home one day and I couldn't get back and I couldn't make stuff move anymore see" she waved her arms vaguely and was evidently attempting to move a vase "but when I was dreaming I kept getting these flashes of Paris that felt real and then I realized they were real and I was lucid dreaming but also in Paris."
This was a terrible explanation.
"Or I'm insane. Either way, when I wake up in the morning I'm going to be in my dorm in Boston. When I go back to sleep, bam, Paris. Or... in this case, I'm guessing New York."
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Dec 6, 2010 16:09:40 GMT -5
"No, it's... never mind, I'm fairly certain I'm the one dreaming-"
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Post by Micaela on Dec 6, 2010 16:11:58 GMT -5
"Nonono, I'm really here, well, not-here. I'm both places. I wasn't where I was supposed to be, and that could only go on so long before I got called home, but because I was so involved in the universe I wasn't supposed to be in, I can be halfway-there, or some karmic bullshit--"
She paused.
"See, look. If you were dreaming, I'd have gone Ivy League, right? Princeton, or Yale. But I go to Tufts and I'm studying Chinese..."
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Dec 6, 2010 16:20:42 GMT -5
"That's..."
He sighed.
"Never mind How long can you-"
The full implications of the invitation he was about to offer suddenly hit him, and he quickly retracted the idea.
"No, never mind... going home would probably be best, at this rate-"
He realized he was still holding onto her and abruptly let go, looking like someone who had perhaps had too much coffee. Jittery, almost.
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Post by Micaela on Dec 6, 2010 16:22:59 GMT -5
"Five minutes, tops, but it's approximately twice as long each time I show up..."
She grabbed his hand, looking concerned.
"Are you--"
Alright?
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Post by Adrian Veidt on Dec 6, 2010 16:55:44 GMT -5
"Hmm? I'm fine- go sit, I'll- I don't know. Do you think you have time for tea? Of course you do, I'm dreaming this-"
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Post by Micaela on Dec 6, 2010 17:02:22 GMT -5
"No, I'm going to disappear in a few minutes, because you're not dreaming, I'm dreaming and I've had to train myself for months to be able to stay this long and I've got Chinese class in the morning--"
But she was starting to flicker--going slightly transparent and her words getting fuzzy.
"God damn it..."
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