Just a Bad Dream

"Well, then you go crawl in a hole and die!" Piper shouted into the phone before roughly hanging it up with a bit of a clatter. She sighed and then slammed the payphone again and again in frustration. Suddenly, a hand caught her wrist and quickly took the phone away from her.

"Oh, another productive call from the ever-charming Jane, I see." Leo said with a smile as he hung up the phone. He leaned up against the wall and looked at Piper who sighed and tucked some hair behind her ear.

"I just…want to talk…to my dad." She said, taking a deep breath. "He's apparently going to dinner at 4 o clock nowadays."

"He's a busy guy."

"On a Sunday."

"Being an actor is a commitment."

"Even though he had a 3 hour lunch an hour ago."

"I hear soups are making a comeback in mainstream dining." There was a pause between the two of them before Piper let out a tired laugh and stepped toward Leo, sliding her arms around his middle. She took in everything about him as he hugged her back. His slender frame. His smoky smell. His slightly dusty clothes. The strange warmth that he always seemed to emanate. Piper was really missing her dad and having Leo there, made her feel better. She could always count on him.

Their hug was cut short when Dylan shoved his way past them. Piper stood there a little surprised for a moment and then started following Dylan when Leo quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"Come on, beauty queen. Let's go for a walk." He said, turning her around and slipping an arm around her shoulders.

"Ugh…I never should have told you about that beauty pageant in 3rd grade." Piper said with a sigh. Leo laughed and gave her a squeeze.

"Hey, if I had anything embarrassing about me, I'd tell you." He said with a grin. "It's just a shame that I'm too perfect." He sighed and she rolled her eyes at him, but she had a smile on her face. Taking a second and looking up at Leo for a moment she leaned into him a bit. They walked to the elevator and she pressed the up button, before moving back under Leo's arm.

"So, what did you all day, repair boy?" She asked, watching the numbers above the elevator tick down.

"Oh, not much, I don't think. Went to class. That's about it." He said quietly. She nodded and finally the elevator doors opened. They waited for the car to clear then stepped on, hitting the third floor button. "Other than the lovely phone call to the ever-charming Jane, how was your day?"

"Oh, it was okay…" She said with a sigh. "I really hate this place." She murmured, running her fingers through her hair. "Except you. I like you." She smiled up at him and Leo looked down at her, laughing softly.

"Yeah. I like you, too." He said quietly. They stared at each other for a moment, their breath mixing in a cloud between them. It took the elevator door dinging and sliding open to break them apart from each other. The two of them stepped off the elevator and turned down the hall toward Piper's room. "We've got the Grand Canyon in three days. You excited?" Leo asked, hooking a few fingers with hers. She looked down at her hand in his and blushed a little before taking a deep breath.

"Yeah. It'll be nice to get out of these dingy hallways and away from…certain people." She said with a  sneer as Isabel walked by.

"Okay. Retract those claws, Piper." Leo said with a laugh as they stopped in front of Piper's room. She glanced back at Isabel for a second before pulling her key out of her pocket. Leo leaned up against the door as she started to unlock it. It opened and he caught himself on the doorway, lightly shoving himself toward Piper who he wrapped his arms around in a warm hug. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Beauty Queen." He said with a smile, running his hand up and down her back. "Sleep well. And when you have a dream of me, make sure I'm shirtless. It's how you probably want to remember me." She swatted him in the chest and then hugged him again.

"Good night, Leo."  She said quickly before slipping into her room. She leaned up against her closed door, taking a deep breath and listening to the sound of Leo make his way back toward the elevator. After another moment she pushed herself off the door and started getting ready for bed. Exchanging her cargo shorts and boots for a pair of sweatpants and bare feet, she tossed went to work tidying her room.

As she cleaned up, her mind couldn't help, but go back to Leo. He was the first person she met when she came to the Wilderness School. She didn't intend to become such fast friends and in three months have such strong feelings for him. It made it difficult sometimes to just try and avoid thinking about him. He wasn't the smartest or the most handsome, but she was comfortable with him and he had a warmth about him that Piper didn't have for a long time. She was in and out of boarding schools and in and out of county lock-ups, but Leo made it almost bearable to be in such a terrible environment. She placed her dirty clothes in her hamper then looked on the wall at the little metal gears on the wall. Leo had given them to her as a welcome present and she didn't know why he did it or what to do with them, but now it had become part of her nightly routine. She ran her fingers along the edge of one of the gears then pulled off her t-shirt, revealing a tanktop which she smoothed out carefully before slipping into bed.

She slowly fell asleep that night. Being with Leo had made her forget all about her frustrating phone call to her father's phone, but now it was the first thing in her dream. She yelled and hung up the phone, but when she turned around, she was on a mountain. Confused, she quickly turned around, looking off each side. Bright city lights on one side and a field of green on the other. She finally looked forward and saw a large fire burning, bright purple flames licking at the ground nearby, shadows dancing all around. She took a step forward when something large moved in front of her. It moved so much that it shook the ground, bringing Piper to one knee.

"This is your first warning, Piper." A voice boomed into her mind. She looked up and through the smoke she could make out a face. A horrendous gray face staring down at her with pupil-less white eyes. "You will do our bidding, if you desire to stay alive. Tell no one of our words. Disregard us, and we will kill you." It roared. "Kill you and your father." There was a movement near the fire and Piper saw her father tied up to a stake, unconscious. She called out to him, but her voice stuck in her throat. "Heed our words, girl. I will be watching."

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RRRRRING-RRRRRING….

"Come on, dad. Pick up. Please." Piper mumbled pleadingly into the receiver. She leaned forward until her forehead rested against the wall next to the payphone.

RRRRRING-RRRRRING….

She took a deep breath and hit the wall with her fist. "Pick up!" She shouted in frustration

RRRRRING-RRR—

"Hello, Tristan McLean's phone. This is Jane speaking." Piper clenched her fists and sighed into the phone.

"Jane, give the phone to my dad."

"He's busy, Piper. He's a busy man. Shouldn't you be studying?"

"Jane, dammit, just give him the phone! I want to talk to him for two seconds!" She said, her voice breaking for a moment.

"Let me ask him if he has the time." She said with an indignant sigh. Piper bit her lip and closed her eyes while she waited. It seemed like forever. "He says he doesn't have time. He said he'll talk to you during your next break and to stop calling."

"Jane, I just want to hear his voice! PLEASE!" She waited for a response, but was only answered by a dial tone. She screamed and then slammed the phone against the wall. Again and again. Again and again and again. After there was a hole in the wall. After the phone had broken. After she could feel pain in her hand. She let out a choked scream and slid down the wall burying her face in her hands.

"We're calling Jane a little early, aren't we?" She looked up for a moment as Leo slid down the wall across from her, looking at the broken phone for a moment before taking a small screw driver from his pocket and beginning to work on it.

"Could you hear me?" She said, her voice muffled through her hands.

"Well, my room is right below the phone." Leo said quietly, separating the handset into pieces. "And you were being pretty loud." She looked up at him and crossed her arms on her knees, resting her chin on her arm. She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "Oh, Piper…" He said quietly, setting the phone down on the shelf below the phone then sliding next to her. He carefully put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "There's gotta be something more to this. Now spill it."

Piper looked over at him briefly. If she could trust anyone here, it would be him. But her dream told her not to. She wasn't sure what it was, but this dream of this…being. It had her freaked out. But Leo was her…boy…friend. Her…friend…boy. Her…friend who was a boy. She could tell him.

"Okay. It's just…" She started to explain, but her dream played again in her mind. "You know…"

Tell no one of our words.

She flinched a little at the voice in her head.

"Leo, it's probably just nothing." She said, standing up. "I just didn't sleep much last night and I haven't had my coffee, yet." She explained, staring at her feet as she backed away from him down the hallway toward her door. Leo stood and followed closely, a concerned look on his face.

"You don't drink coffee."

"Well, not that you've seen. Oh my goodness, is it that time already?" She said, looking at her wrist. "I've got to get dressed and, well, you're already dressed. I'm quickly realizing that it's my period like right now, so I'll talk to you later. We'll get lunch or something or we'll talk. Bye, Leo." She said, almost in one breath as she swung her door open and closed it behind her before leaning up against it softly.

"Bye…I guess…" Piper heard Leo say quietly through the door. She wanted to just go back out and grab him and tell him everything. She remembered back for a moment when Leo had asked her out for the first time. They had known each other for a little more than a month and she was sitting in her room. As she reminisced, she stood up and walked to her desk where she pulled up a wrinkled piece of paper.

Leo had been really awkward that whole day and so it was the evening when he did it. Piper was sitting in her room on her bed when an envelope was slid under her door. She could hear someone running down the hallway and they were gone by the time she had grabbed the piece of paper and checked in the hallway. She unfolded it carefully and started to read the note.

"Dear Piper, I've been meaning to talk to you about this all day, but every time I'm about to I get all nervous and my hands sweat and not in a good way. If there is a good way. Anyway, I figured that since talking to you is too difficult because of how pretty you are, that I would try this. So...here it goes. Piper Mclean, will you go out with me? Sincerely, Leo."

She laughed quietly to herself at the memory because the one thing that Leo had forgotten to add on the note was how to respond. She left her room and went down to his room and knocked and when he answered, he played ignorant. Like it wasn't him that slid it under her door.

Piper carefully unfolded the piece of paper that she had read and reread dozens of times and laughed herself silly at the memory and how goofy Leo was. She would read it to remind herself of how important Leo was to her and if she didn't have this time with him like this, she would be doing a lot more than smashing a phone up against a wall.

Now, two months later, they were happy together, but it was still very casual and that's what bothered Piper. She adored Leo and there were moments where she would look at him and every instinct in her body was telling her to kiss him. To lean forward and land a big wet one right on his mouth. But she couldn't lose him and she was worried that he wouldn't be ready yet.

Now as she reread the note again, she finished and hugged it to her chest. She felt better, but as soon as she did, her dream from last night would play over in her head, driving the comfort away.

=========================================

"Mr. Jenkins, can I talk to you for a moment?" Piper said with a smile. Mr. Jenkins, a rotund man with greasy black hair and a few wisps of hair where a beard used to be before a lab accident involving a Bunsen burner and some magnesium.

"Of course, Piper. What can I do for you?" He said, straightening his glasses and looking at her attentively.

"Mr. Jenkins, I know how this is going to sound, but I want you to hear me out." She said before taking a deep breath. "I just got a phone call from my dad's assistant. My dad got into an accident involving a chariot and a few horses and she told me that she doesn't know how he's managing."

"Oh, Piper. That's terrible. Well, is there anything I can do?"

"Mr. Jenkins, I saw your car out in the parking lot and I was really, really , really hoping that I could maybe…borrow it. I don't know how long my dad will, you know, be—"

"Yeah." He said with a nod before reaching into his jacket and retrieving his keys.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Jenkins." She said, snatching his keys and then making her way toward the door. She didn't run to the door, but she walked quickly, hoping that no one would stop her. After waking up the day before with her dream, she couldn't get her mind off of her father and the chance that he was hurt. She moved quickly and soon enough she was heading into the parking lot.

As soon as she was outside, she ran to the red jeep, unlocking it with the remote and getting in. She set her bag in the seat next to her and then brushed her hair back, taking a second to put the key into the ignition and turning it. Nothing. No sound at all. She looked at the dashboard and then looked at the ignition. Nothing seemed off. She turned the key again. Dead.

"I don't know why people keep giving you cars, but you've got to stop this." She looked up a little frantically and saw Leo looking at her through the window.

"I'm borrowing it, Leo. Just…leave me alone." She said quickly. She couldn't tell him about her dream and every moment that she was around him it felt even more difficult to hold it in. She had been avoiding him since the previous morning. Now it was the afternoon and a field trip to the Grand Canyon the day after next. Why couldn't she just not have to worry about her father and finally kiss Leo in front of the Grand Canyon?

"Well, if you know where this goes, then I'll leave you alone." He said, holding up a small piece of metal. She hung her head a little. Leo opened the driver's door and pushed her to the other side of the seat. He got in and looked over at her. "Piper, just tell me what's going on. Please." He said quietly. She knew that she had hurt him by avoiding him so much, but she couldn't tell him. She couldn't lose her father.

"Leo, just…leave me alone." She said with a sigh. "And fix Mr. Jenkins' jeep."

"Look, Piper. I don't know what's going on, but either I'm going with you or we both get in trouble." Leo said with a shrug, looking her in the eye.  "Or you can give the keys back to Mr. Jenkins and we pretend this never happened and you go back to ignoring me."  Piper sighed then took a deep breath. She knew that Leo was right. Taking this car and driving all the way to LA was just a terrible plan.

"Fix the car." She said quietly as she opened the door to the jeep and started heading back into the school. She heard Leo pop the hood and get to work on the car.

"Piper." He said clearly. She turned to look at him. "Whenever you're ready to talk, I'll be here."

"I can't, Leo." She said softly. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

==========================================

"I can't tell you." Piper said with a nod. Leo stopped fiddling with the small metal parts in his hands, letting them fall into his lap. "Not that I don't want to, Leo, but I…I just can't."

"So, you called me to your room in the middle of the night, on the basis that you were ready to tell me what has been bothering you, only to tell me that you can't tell me?" Piper nodded. Leo laughed briefly and then slid next to her against the side of her bed. "Listen, Piper. Did someone tell you not to tell me?"

"Not you specifically. Just anyone."

"Okay…Who told you not to tell anyone?"

Piper opened her mouth to answer and then stuck her lip out again. "I can't tell you. Anyone, I mean. I can't tell anyone." Piper said uneasily, looking into Leo's brown eyes. She could tell that he was getting frustrated, but she hoped that he would understand. How was he supposed to, though? He was her…friend who was a boy. She could tell him. No, she could tell anyone. It was just a dream, but what if it wasn't a dream. Jane wasn't letting her see her father, so she had no idea if he was safe. Who could talk to her in a dream though?

"Hey, uh…beauty queen? You still with me?"

"I had a dream." She said quickly, her eyes focusing back on his face from the zoned out spot on the wall behind him.

"Just now?"

"No. Two days ago."

"That's what's been bothering you?" He said with a grin.

"Well…" She started, sitting up a little in preparation for a comeback in her defense, but there really wasn't one. "Yeah…" She said, taking a deep breath and sweeping her hair behind her ear.

"Well, it was just a dream. I mean…Unless this is a Nightmare on Elm Street situation, there's nothing to be afraid of." She could tell that he was relaxed now. Why didn't she feel the same way?

"Well, it just…I don't know. There was something about it."

"What was it?"

"I was on this mountain. I could see lights from some city down below me and in front of me was this really big, like…bonfire. And it was just really, really hot and the fire was purplish instead of red. And so I'm standing there and then I see this face—like a really big face just push through the smoke and I hear this really loud voice." She took a deep breath and then tilted her head. "This is your first warning." She growled in a deep gravelly voice. Leo put a hand over his mouth and nodded. Piper ignored it and kept recollecting her dream. "Follow our orders and you will walk alive." Leo let a laugh escape and Piper took a second to slug him in the arm. She took another deep breath and then closed her eyes. "And then he waves his hand by the fire and my dad is there and he's tied up and he looks unconscious and I tried to run and get him and I called out to him, but it was like I was stuck in cement. And then he—the big giant voice or whatever—he says, I will be watching. And that's when I woke up." She finally opened her eyes and looked over at him. His smile was basically gone and he just looked at her.

"Oh…" He finally said after a second.

"See, even you're freaked out!"

"LIGHTS OUT! ROOM CHECK!"

"That's Coach Hedge!" Piper said, quickly standing and hurrying to the door. Leo stood and started to run in one direction, but soon leapt over the bed and slid underneath. Piper slid gracefully into her bed, under her covers, and grabbed her book from her nightstand, flipping it open. She lifted it a little, to hide her face from the door as it swung open.

"Alright, Cupcake! Put the book away! It's bedtime!" He barked, a baseball bat tucked under his arm. Piper yawned a little and set the book down on her stomach.

"Oh, goodness. I was so enthralled by my studies, I forgot to sleep." She said with a nod as she closed her book and set it back on the nightstand.

"Alright. Where is he?" Coach Hedge suddenly asked, wielding his baseball bat menacingly.

"Where is who? What could you mean, sir?"

"You know what I mean, cupcake!" Coach Hedge said angrily, his eyes scanning the room.

"I hope you're not implying that I have a boy in my room. Such an act would be deplorable and miles below the conduct of a proper lady like myself." She said with a nod.

"Your book was upside down. You're still wearing makeup and unless this little pile of gears is yours, then tell me where he is."

"Well, sir, I'll…umm…Have you know that…" She sighed a moment when suddenly there was a loud noise from the hallway. Coach Hedge jumped and then hurried out of her room. Piper watched in confusion and almost jumped when Leo emerged from under her bed and sat next to her. "Leo, you have to go! He could come back!"

"We have a couple minutes." He said quickly before taking her hands in his. Once again, she adored how warm he always felt. "Listen, Piper. It was a dream. It was only a dream. Don't worry about it and if you do then you can always always always talk to me about it, understand?" He said with a smile. She stared at him for a long second and then nodded.

"Thank you, Leo."

"How in the world did someone set off only one fire sprinkler?" Piper heard Coach Hedge exclaim from down the hall. She looked at the door in shock and then over at Leo who had a little smirk on his face.

"How did you manage that?!" She said with a laugh.

"I'm a special boy." He said with a wink as he pulled a handful of screws out of his pocket. Piper took a deep breath and before she could stop herself, she leaned forward and kissed him tightly on the lips. It took Leo a moment to realize what just happened and he almost immediately kissed her back. She adored how it felt when she kissed him. His lips were so warm.

"Whoa, whoa." Leo said, pushing her away a little. "Beauty queen, I'm just your friend who's a boy." He said with a chuckle. Piper rolled her eyes and kissed him again.

"Well, that might just have to change, Mechanic boy." She said with a giggle against his lips.

"What a mess. Whoever did that is going to—You!" Coach Hedge exclaimed from the doorway, bustling into the room and grabbing Leo by the collar of his shirt. "You're on the wrong floor, cupcake!" He shouted, dragging him away from Piper. Leo smirked and let him pull him away, but he carefully slipped out of his jacket and walked back to Piper, kissing her one more time before Coach Hedge realized the person inside the jacket was missing.

"See you, tomorrow? I hear the Grand Canyon is real romantic." He said, putting a hand on her cheek. She smiled and tilted her head into it.

"You can bet on it." She said with a grin before Leo was pulled away by Coach Hedge once again.

====================================

You can bet on it.

Piper woke up as Leo's voice rang in her head. Her cheeks were red and hot. Her heart was pounding. She stared up at her ceiling just long enough to recognize that it was a dream. Telling Leo.  Having him comfort her. Kissing him. Would he actually react that way? They were going to the Grand Canyon in the morning. She hadn't had a real conversation with him since before the dream. Would he even still be interested in talking to her?

After a moment, she sat up and shoved her covers to the foot of the bed. Swinging her legs off the side of her mattress, she stood and quickly grabbed her robe, wrapping it around herself. She was tired when she had gone to bed but now she felt too awake to sleep. Taking a glance at her clock, she saw that it was almost midnight.

She sat down in her desk chair and pulled her legs up, hugging them to her chest. What's the worst that could happen if she told Leo? It was just a dream. What could possibly happen? She was surprised by how long she had managed to keep this from him. Ever since they had become friends they had told each other everything. She knew that his mom had died in a fire. She knew he has been in and out of more foster homes than anyone ever should. He knew that her father was one of the most famous actors in Hollywood. They trusted each other and this is one of the first times that this trust hadn't held up.

Did she really think that how Leo reacted in her dream would be how he would react in real life? She had no reason to think differently. He had been nothing but a good friend to her. Maybe things would be okay. She closed her eyes a moment and thought about how it felt to kiss him. She had never felt anything like this with anyone else. Was this the real thing? She could tell him. She had to tell him. She stood back up and bit her lip. Now that she had decided to tell him, she couldn't wait. She'd tell him about the dream and then, as they look at the Grand Canyon, she can kiss him and finally tell him that she loves him. She covered her mouth with her hands and took a deep breath. With any luck, he'd say that he feels the same way.

She stood up out of her chair and took off her robe, hanging it back up. She slipped back into bed and stared back up at the ceiling. Piper wasn't sure if she would fall asleep, but she hoped so. Because then tomorrow could come a little bit quicker.