"Simon!" she shook him.
"Simon! Simon!" harder this time.
He writhed in the sheets, sweats clinging to his skin. Trapped in his dream—definitely not a good one. Jessica's eyes began to well up. She was seconds from screaming when—
He jolted up to reality, gasping. Her worried face hovering over him, eyes wide and trembling.
Without thinking, he pulled her into a tight hug. "Jessica," he whimpered, like he struggled to hold back tears under his breath.
She hesitated, then slowly pulled off the hug, "I was talking to you from the bathroom, but you weren't responding. Came out to see you like this," she gestured at the state he was in. "I didn't know what to think... You scared me, Simon." She wiped off the tears that were welling up in her eyes.
"Just a dream," he quickly responded, getting off the bed immediately. Avoiding further eye contact. His silver eyes had lost its spark, leaving an ash emptiness that he now hid from Jessica.
"Get ready," he forced a smile which didn't reach anywhere near his eyes. "We need to leave," he said heading for the door. His heart still raced from the dream's lingering shadow, but he didn't Jessica worrying about him. He didn't need that.
Jessica stood confused. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, he was already gone. Shutting the door behind him.
She slipped on her floral dress and clipped her hair back. She went down the stairs, where her eyes met Simon's. He was on a new shirt. He stopped mid-conversation with her parents to gaze at her walk down.
She didn't know what his eyes said, as much as she tried. Her eyes twitched in discomfort. It felt awkward—he stares and no words.
"M— mum? Dad? I'll be joining Simon to the Church. I wouldn't want to—"
"He already told us, you can go," her father spoke.
"Take care of yourself, Hun." Her mother planted a kiss on her cheek and placed an emerald necklace around her neck with the gem resting on her collarbone.
"Now it matches your beautiful eyes," her mum added, smiling at her.
Jessica didn't quite get what was going on. Not the mum she knew. Yes, her dad is the best, but her mum? Including the necklace she had wanted so badly. This was far from normal. She peeped at Simon who stood by the door waiting for her, smiling like nothing ever happened.
"Simon?" She called. Now outside.
"Yes?" His silk smooth voice filled the air.
"What did you tell them?" She asked, confused as she bent to pick up her bike.
"Oh, we will not be using that. I asked for a shirt and your dad's car," he flashed Mr. Lyon's keys.
"What about this?" She touched the necklace.
"I have not the tiniest clue? Guess your mother felt generous today." He chuckled as he opened the door. "And it would be best you do not overthink it." He winked at her gesturing she got into the car.
The morning air carried an odd chill for summer, or maybe it was just Simon's nerves. Jessica kept tuning the car player as he drove throwing glances at her.
"You've been tuning. What would you want to play, let me sing it for you," he chuckled.
"I'd rather go for a frog's concert than have you sing me anything," she teased.
"Okay, I felt that," he laughed.
"Oh, yeah, Simon—" she started, then stopped mid-sentence.
He glanced her ways brows furrowed slightly.
"Okay, so... I've been dying to ask you this," she stopped again, squinting her eyes at him dramatically.
'Get on with it already. Jess' he thought.
"Have you like... ever done an exorcism? I mean, I doubt it, but still—imagjne you had." She said asked half-joking, half-curious.
He heaved a sigh as he swallowed hard. His grip tightened on the wheel. The dream flickered through his mind; the blood splatter, the scream, the truck. The happiness on his face was now replaced with... dread? He slowly turned to her and forced a smile.
"I have not, but I will soon... and if I do, I will let you know." He forced a quiet laughter, trying to brush the conversation off. "With the way you started I was worried for a sec."
"Pfft, that laughter was so fake," she snorted. "Admit it—you are soo scared of demons. Like, you haven't even met one."
She knew Simon, or maybe she thought she did. They've known each other since she moved into the town with her family. Since her earliest memories of childhood.
He shot her a look.
She grinned harder. "C'mon, don't even try it. You Mr. Silver Eyes? If a demon ripped up right now, you'll probably —" she dropped her voice into a mock imitation of his... "remain calm, Jessica?"
'Scared of demons?' he thought. If a demon showed up right now, she'll walk up like, 'Hey bestie, I'm Jessica. What's your name?' Be for real. Who wouldn't be scared?'
That question felt like the dream. He asked for her parents car, went down before she did to avoid the dream from repeating itself.
That eerie feeling he felt from the dream brushed through his skin, but he shoved it off just immediately. 'I mean, they're in a car right now. In the dream, it was a bike. I guess we're safe, right?'
He stared off at the rear mirror, he saw no sign of a truck or any vehicle on the road. We can never be too sure, just double checking. Also, what'd a truck be doing in Willow Creek. A secluded town from the rest of the world's population. Where everyone knew each other. But he could help it, his paranoia was eating him.
"Yes, yes. Stop here." She shouted signalling at the dandelions field by the right side of the road.
"Huh?" The brake screeched.
"Ezra?" She said. "He didn't text you?"
"Dunno? He asked we wait here. He'd be here soon." She added, already down and heading for the dandelion field.
Simon got down and followed her immediately. Ezra could bike to the Church. Why'd he ask they wait for him? And Ezra was never late.
He stood by car and watched her pluck the flowers. He was already becoming impatient. He ran his hands through his hair and went back into the car.
He dialed a number saved as Ezra with a fist bump. No answer.
The uneasy feeling he felt from his dream came rushing. This time stronger and fiercer. The air ran cold across his skin, and the trees rustled violently. Simon quickly got down from the car and called out for Jessica. She just scoffed dismissively.
"JESSICA!" A thunderous voice called out fiercely.
Her heart skipped a beat, sending chills down her spine. That wasn't Simon's voice. She turned to see where the voice came from. And there he was.
Simon stood motionless by the car with his eyes locked on her direction. Was that really Simon? Slowly, she walked out. Something about him felt different.
Simon lifted his leg to move. Slowly, his body moved reluctantly to her direction. Jessica blinked abruptly, that wasn't like Simon. He doesn't walk like he was possessed by some creepy entity.
He was trying to shake off the remnants of the dream that flashed through his mind.
The feeling had woken with cold, creeping dread and an unshakable pressure pressing behind his skull. She was meters apart from him.
The breeze blew off some daisies from Jessica's hand onto the road. Her attention snapped from Simon to the daisies on the road. She ran to pick them up.
Simon's heart twisted with unease; if anything were to happen right now, he wasn't sure he could do anything. His slow steps turned to a fast-paced walk.
Just as Simon was about to take another step forward—
Jessica bent down in the middle of the road to pick her daisies. But her hair clip fell off.
Immediately, that cold, unnerving breeze swept through the air again. The gust lifted her hair. Some strands fell on her face—veiling her eyes.
Simon's heart thudded faster. He didn't wait. It turned to a sprint. He had to reach her immediately.
In an instant, a fast moving truck barrelled down towards her. The chilling part was that it made no sound, no rumble, no screech. And there she was lifting her hair off her face—unaware and standing in the truck's path.
Simon? He pushed, he ran. How fast could he run? He was only human and the truck? It was just unnaturally too fast.
The painful thought of losing her, again, this time for real, crushed his heart.
"Jessica!!!" He choked out, with eyes brimming, voice cracking.
Then...
WHOOSH. The wind from a speeding truck slammed past him.
CRASH. It was a collision.
His heart dropped to his stomach.
Tears blurred his vision. He shut his eyes immediately.
"No... No. This is not real," he muttered under his shaky breath. "Why?!" He screamed at the top of his voice.
But!!! He remembered that split-second instinct. His feet had moved before even his brain could catch up. Jessica had just swept the strands of hair off her face. And before the truck came...
He'd lunged.
Grabbed her by the waist and yanked her off the truck's path just before the impact.
And now? She was on top of him. Dazed.