“Wake up, Angel Pie!”

Angelo slowly opened his eyes. Monet’s smiling face was only inches above his sleepy one. “Chica, do me a favor and never call me that again.”

“But why?” she asked. “I think it’s cute!”

Angelo blinked. Maybe he was still dreaming. “Are you feeling okay, M?”

“Yup!” she replied happily. “You’re sweet for asking.”

“Yeah, sure. You can get off me now.”

It took a little more persuasion on his part, but Monet finally released him. As soon as she did, he remembered the dream. At least, he thought it was a dream. There was one way to find out. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure!”

“Why were you sleeping in my bed last night?”

Monet froze and stared at him.

An alarm went off in Angelo’s head. Maybe it had been a dream. A dream that was about to bring him some major bodily harm.

“I didn’t think you’d mind,” she said at last. “I mean, haven’t you dreamed of having me in your bed?”

To his credit, Angelo hid his blush quite well. “No,” he lied. “And what made you think I wouldn’t mind?”

“Liar,” she said, smiling at him. “I can read your dirty thoughts. Besides, isn’t that what married couples do?”

“Yeah, but there’s two problems with that. First, we’re not married, and second, we’re not a couple.”

Monet seemed surprised by his answer. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No,” he said slowly.

Monet went to the door. “Everett, could you come in here for a second, please?”

It was then that Angelo noticed that she was wearing one of his T-shirts, and his favorite pair of shorts. He sighed and smacked his forehead. This was a really weird dream.

A few seconds later, Everett appeared in the doorway. “What’s up?”

“Are Angelo and I dating?” Monet asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Everett replied. He looked from her to Angelo. “Is this a joke?”

“Angelo seems to think it is. He claims it’s all a dream.”

Everett laughed. “I can’t blame him, M. I mean, if I woke up and saw I was in bed with you--”

“You’d be a dead man,” Jubilee said, coming up behind him. “So how are the lovebirds this morning?”

“This is not happening,” Angelo quietly told himself. “It’s all a crazy, yet amazing dream. At any moment, I’m going to wake up and realize that--”

“Breakfast is ready!” Paige shouted from downstairs. Jubilee and Everett disappeared before the words were out of her mouth.

“Come on!” Monet pleaded, pulling him out of bed. “How can you not remember?”

“That’s what I keep asking myself,” Angelo muttered.

By the time they made it downstairs, Angelo was almost willing to believe that it wasn’t a dream. Monet was almost frantic with worry now. She had started to list all the good times they’d shared. Angelo couldn’t remember any of them. The only thing they both agreed on was that she had been in his bed last night. But while Angelo’s memory stopped right there, Monet remembered every single detail of what they had done before. While Angelo was very familiar with the mental picture, it only seemed like another dream to him.

When they finally walked into the kitchen, all the other students were busy eating.

“Good morning, my friends!” Mondo’s voice seemed to echo whenever he decided to talk. “I hope this day finds you well!”

“We’ll see, once my ears stop ringing,” Angelo said as he sat down next to Paige.

“So, did you two lose track of time again?” she asked with a big smile.

“You’d think they could give it a rest in the morning,” Jubilee added, stuffing the final portion of a pancake in her mouth.

“If this is a dream, I’m starting to think that I’m never going to wake up.” Angelo poked at the stack of pancakes on his plate.

“It’s not a dream, amigo,” Jubilee said. “If you’re with Monet, then it’s got to be a nightmare.”

Angelo stared at her. “Maybe it isn’t a dream.” He looked back at his plate. The food looked good, but he wasn’t hungry at all.

“Ange, I made that for eating, not staring,” Paige pointed out.

“Sorry, Country Mouse. Guess I’m not hungry.”

“Not hungry?!” Mondo asked in disbelief. Without a word, Angelo pushed his plate across the table. Mondo grabbed it and dumped the contents onto his own plate, which already looked like a train wreck.

“Eww,” was all Jubilee could say as the big Samoan continued stuffing his face.

“Now I know I’m not hungry,” Angelo said, making a face as he got up.

“Well, at least someone likes my food,” Paige commented.

“Is there more?” Mondo asked in mid-shovel.

Angelo sighed and left the room. Monet watched him go with a worried look on her face.

“Is Angelo sick or something?” Gaia asked. “He doesn’t look too good.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jubilee agreed. “You get used to the skin, but it was still a healthy gray. Today it’s more like a dead guy kinda gray.”

* * * * *

Angelo ran through the Biosphere, looking for her. She had to be here. Maybe that would help him remember. Maybe. It was a long shot, but it might explain some things. Then again, he’d been searching for the past half hour with no luck. With a defeated sigh, he sat down beneath the treehouse.

A small green hand touched his shoulder. “Skin is sad?” Leech sat down next to him.

“I’m fine, Leech. Have you seen Penance today?”

Leech blinked. “Who is Penance?”

“You know, Penny. The red girl with the leather costume?”

Leech seemed confused. “Artie is pink, and he is a boy. He has no leather.”

As if to emphasize his point, Artie suddenly appeared, carrying an armful of snacks.

“Artie knows Penny?” Leech asked.

A copper coin appeared over Artie’s head.

“Thanks anyway, guys,” Angelo said as he stood up.

“Skin will help us? Artie can’t carry snacks up to treehouse,” Leech pointed out.

“Yeah, sure,” he quickly agreed. Angelo wrapped his fingers around the two boys and placed them on the balcony of treehouse.

“Leech thanks Skin! Artie does, too.” A happy face appeared over Artie’s head, and the two boys went inside the treehouse.

“Yer confused, right?” a voice asked. Angelo turned to see Jono standing a few feet away. “I can help. Follow me.” He turned and walked back towards the school. Not having anything else to do, Angelo ran after his friend. Jono kept walking until they reached the rec room. For some reason, Angelo thought it was best to close the door behind them.

“Seems like a dream, doesn’t it?” Jono studied a nearby pool table.

“Yeah, it does,” Angelo admitted. “What’s going on here, amigo? Why’s everything so weird?”

Jono shook his head. “Nothing is ‘weird,’ Ange. Only seems that way to you. To the rest of us, it’s perfectly normal.”

“So I’m the crazy one, right?” Angelo asked.

“Yer not crazy. Just confused. You can’t tell the difference between what’s real and what’s not.”

“Oh, then I’m not crazy. I’m just insane.”

Jono nodded. “In a way, yes. But it won’t last. Soon, you’ll remember everything and forget the false things. You’ll probably even forget we had this talk, but it’s for the best.”

“So Monet and I really dating?” Angelo asked with some interest.

“Have been for about two months. No wonder she’s so upset.”

Angelo sighed. “So it was serious?”

Jono nodded. “Pretty much. She never left your side. It was sickening, in a way.”