Who: Jane & Neil Where: Castle View When: Late afternoon, Wednesday 11/01
Neil was never good at doing things he didn't want to do. He was very protective of himself in every way he could be but there came times when even he had to suck it up and face the music. Or in this case: Jane.
He'd tried to call Juniper Inn but Jane had left there already and all they would provide him with - after a lot of hum and hawing - was a forwarding address. Since he couldn't find a phone number for her the only thing he could do was show up at her apartment, loathe as he was to do so. Not only because he had to face her but because it meant dealing with the snow too. There wasn't much of it but it was like a terrible promise of things to come.
There were lights on inside when he showed up which meant he wasn't doing a fool's errand at least, though a part of him wished she wasn't home. That part of him was the reason he stood a tad too long outside her door before knocking and once he did he shoved his hands in his pockets and used every little ounce of willpower not to walk away.
Jane had been slowly furnishing her apartment since she moved in, though she wasn't entirely sure yet how long she planned on staying. It had been a couple of months now and nothing of note had happened. There was a lot going on around the town, but it didn't directly affect her, so she was loathe to do anything about it. Instead she painted, or sketched, when she got the urge, and there was dozens o canvases leaning up against one another in her small living room. The art itself was a bit morbid, but that was the vibe Jane got from Point Pleasant. And frankly, a lot of people in this town had pretty dark dreams. Fortunately, dark dreams equated to inspiration for Jane.
Jane had just poured herself a glass of wine when someone knocked at her front door. She wasn't expecting company tonight, but she had told Adam to stop by whenever he felt like it, so that was who she assumed she would find on the other side of the door. Very few things surprised Jane, but seeing Neil on her front step was definitely a surprise.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, aware that he had to have a reason. Hell would freeze over before Neil ever paid her a friendly, casual visit.
He couldn't read her expression or tone of voice now anymore than he could any other day and that annoyed him. Shuffling his feet a little he gave her a terse smile, hands squeezed into fists in his pockets to quell the urge to run away. "I-" he started and he'd practiced this, he really had, yet it was harder to say it to her face. "I need your help," he finally blurted out. "Possibly." That bit wasn't practiced but there was a chance she wouldn't be able to help - or simply didn't want to. As much as he would love to tell her everything right where he was standing and then have a safe getaway that probably wasn't wise so he swallowed some more discomfort before adding, "Can I come in?"
Neil needed her help? Jane stared at him for several moments, one brow raised before her lips twitched and she stepped back to let him inside. "Yeah, come inside." Maybe he was going to try and kill her. That would be interesting. But Neil wasn't that brave, or strong. Too squeamish, certainly. He would just hire someone to get rid of her, if he was going to go that route. Jane didn't feel like being a considerate hostess, so she didn't bother offering him a drink. Jane figured he would turn down the offer anyway. "What's going on?" Did it have to do with AIR? Jane honestly couldn't imagine anything so bad that Neil would cave and come ask her for help.
Neil took a cursory look around and it definitely felt all sorts of wrong to be inside Jane's apartment. He had considered that she might be connected to everything that was happening but as far as he knew Jane could only manipulate dreams. There were too many other things going on and yet paranoia gnawed at him even now. "I've been having strange dreams," he started, though that didn't cover even half of it. "And they seem to be connected to the dreams of other people. You're somewhat of an expert in dreams so I thought... I might talk to you." This would probably have gone better if he'd sent one of the other men to talk to her. They were charismatic and good looking and didn't have years worth of issues with Jane.
Jane crossed her arms against her chest, chewing idly on her lower lip as she listened to his problem. She wasn't really surprised that it had to do with his dreams, because other than AIR, what else could she possibly help him with? Her lips twitched again when he called her an 'expert' in dreams, and she wondered if he was trying to flatter her to make her more willing to help. "Connected dreams," Jane murmured. She began to pace, her expression thoughtful as she worked over what that might mean. "Do you mean you're all having the same dream? Or are you dreaming of them, and they're dreaming of you? I need you to be a little more specific, Neil."
Neil tried not to bristle. He'd just gotten there and he wasn't about to just blurt everything out to her in one go but being annoyed with her was counter productive, even he could see that so he stilled himself and took a slow breath through his nose. "It's more than just dreams," he said after clearing his throat. "We have the same dreams and we've all... experienced things when awake too. Nosebleeds, strange... hallucinations. I thought it might be related to you know how but I can't see a connection to the others. Have you heard of anything like this?"
Oh, she was betting Neil was just loving other people sharing his head. Jane knew he hated it when she walked in his dreams, but to have shared dreams with other people? It sounded fascinating. She considered what he told her. Nosebleeds, hallucinations. "What happens in your dreams?" Jane asked finally. She walked over to sit down on her sofa, though she kept her eyes on Neil. "Is it the same dream every time?"
Of course she wasn't answering his questions and yet she expected him to tell her everything. It made Neil want to snap at her that either she knew something or she didn't and if she didn't then there was no point in him telling her everything, now was there? He took another slow breath, pursing his lips to the side for a second as he tried to calm himself and remember he was here for her help. Snapping was not helpful. "We're on a road and we can't talk but it feels like something is there with us, something not human." She looked comfortable on her couch but Neil didn't want to sit down unless she invited him to so he stayed where he was, arms folded defensively as he looked around at the visible artwork, unsettling and dark. God, what was in this woman's mind? "Have you heard of shared dreams before or not?"
Jane shot Neil a mildly perturbed look and leaned back against the couch cushions. "Don't be rude, Neil. You came here asking for my help, so if you want my help, I need information, and unfortunately that information has to come from you. Why don't you sit down and let me think, okay?" She had heard of shared dreams, but had never experienced one before. Well, unless one counted Jane voluntarily walking into one. "Shared dreams are pretty rare and there's usually an outside force causing them to happen. How long has this been happening?"
Neil almost protested that he wasn't being rude but he supposed he could come off that way as he wasn't exactly being warm toward her. He hesitantly took a seat, thinking for a moment before replying. "A few weeks." A lot of weeks, actually. How long had it been? It hadn't been long after his birthday, maybe a month, month and a half? "I think it began in September. Not a dream but- my reflection was... I guess you could say it was like it was an independent entity. There are three other people involved, two of them are about my age, men, the third is a teenage girl. We have absolutely nothing in common."
Jane didn't doubt that. What could anyone possibly have in common with Neil? Jane supposed AIR, but that was different. "I wish I could tell you what it was, or what it meant, but I can't," she told him, her tone less aggravated now that he had sat down and was talking to her without that pinched look about him. "The shared dreams definitely means something, but I don't know how anything else could tie in." She paused and chewed absently on her lower lip. "I suppose I could help you, though. It would mean dreamwalking... starting with you, unless you want to introduce me to them first. If I meet them, it shouldn't be an issue finding their dreams. Then again, if you're experiencing shared dreams, just being in your dream might mean I'm also in theirs." Jane was starting to sound excited, like maybe this was some new adventure ride just waiting for her to climb aboard. "Maybe I could move around the dream easier... see if there's actually something there with you."
She did sound eager about it, maybe too much so, like she might enjoy this horror show, but Neil was desperate. He was also pessimistic about it working because there was still one glaring problem. "It doesn't happen frequently," he muttered. "And there seems to be no pattern to when it does so I honestly don't know when would be a good time." If he was being honest he would much rather she go poking around in the others' dreams. "I can introduce you to them, maybe you'll see something we don't." Doubtful but meeting them meant she might prefer their dreams over his.
Staring thoughtfully at a piece of her art leaning up against the wall, Jane toyed with a strand of her hair for several moments. The unpredictability of dreams put a slight hiccup in things, but nothing Jane couldn't work around. Her gaze ticked back to Neil. "I can always poke into your dreams on a nightly basis until you have the same shared dream again. Or... I can walk in all of your dreams at the same time and try to manipulate them into the shared dream and merge them together. I've never done that before, but it's possible it can work. That would mean purposely summoning whatever it is you think is there with you. It sounds like while these are dreams, there's some reality to it."
Neil hated the sound of that. Was that really possible? That meant that if it wasn't Jane behind all of this it could be the work of a different dreamwalker. His discomfort showed but he managed to keep his attitude in check this time. "That's not my decision. Would you be willing to meet them?" He hadn't said their names yet and maybe a small part of him was hoping she'd slip up and use one of their names and then he'd know for sure she was the one causing all of this. Unlikely, given the non-dream incidents, but still. Jane fucking with him was preferable over something darker.
If it meant potentially furthering her ability, Jane would definitely be open to meeting these people. Jane didn't think for a second Neil was trying to fuck with her, or set her up for something. He didn't have the balls, or the stomach, for something like that. "I'll meet them," Jane said with a small nod. Not in her apartment, obviously, but somewhere. "Do they know you came here?" It was hard to imagine Neil showing up at her door on his own accord, but maybe he would surprise her for once.
Neil nodded before he could think it through and then he felt a small stab of panic at the thought that she might not like that he'd told people about her. "They knew I was reaching out," he muttered. It was funny in hindsight to think about how they hadn't wanted to all show up at Jane's door, worried they'd intimidate or crowd her. Neil wasn't sure Jane could be intimidated. "Maybe I should have your number. It's been hard to gather everyone in the same place at the same time, we all have different schedules."
Jane might have been angry with Neil for telling people about her had he not been there asking for her help. It felt like it gave her the upper hand here, and it could come in handy down the road. Besides, this sounded like an opportunity to further her ability. "Schedule conflicts, huh? I would think when there's a potential dream creature stalking you, that would take precedence, but who am I to judge." She waved her hand dismissively. "I'll give you my phone number. You can just text me when you all figure out a day and time."
She had a good point, it should be a priority and it was strange how sense of duty still drove them on. For Neil it was a need for normalcy, perhaps the others felt the same. "I would rather not take a sick day," he muttered sourly. He hoped she didn't want his number too but then he thought better of it. It was better to get a text from Jane than for her to show up in his dreams just to chat. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly made a new contact entry, looking at her expectantly to get her number. With that taken care of he texted her so she could do the same.
Jane made quick work on putting Neil into her contacts. She thought of giving him a nickname, like Sour Face, but opted against it. Then she stood from the couch, ready for this conversation to be over, unless Neil had more to ask her. "Let me know when you all decide on a day," she told him, slipping her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. "Until then, I'll maybe look into this a little and see what I can find." Jane didn't have an unlimited amount of books at her disposal, but she knew a couple people who might have some suggestions. Not that she would tell Neil that. It would only freak him out more.
Neil almost asked her not to come to his dreams without talking to him first but he worried she might see that as an invitation and not a request to stay out. He got up as well, fine with this being over because that meant he could go home, drink some tea and try to distract himself with a book. He honestly wasn't sure how easy that would be considering everything that was on his mind but he could try. If it didn't work he might just smoke a little and hope to sleep. "Thank you," he mumbled quietly. She might not be able to help but she was willing to try and that was something. "I'll get out your hair now."
Jane walked him to the front door and decided she probably wouldn't slip into his dreams anytime soon. At least not until he gave her permission to, which he was... just in a particular circumstance, and that was fine. If she helped him, he would owe her and Jane would make sure he understood that. Probably after the help was given, at least. "Take care, Neil," she said with a small smile. "And be safe, obviously. If anything weird happens before you can all decide on a day, let me know."
She was being too nice and Neil didn't trust it, but he did appreciate it because coming here had been hard enough. "Thank you," he said with some uncertainty. He always felt like he was painting an even larger target on his back if he was seen talking to her but today he didn't have much of a choice. Still, he was relieved when it was over, bidding her goodbye and stalking out to the parking lot with his hands finding their way back to his pockets.