Sleepless or Dreaming of You

"Love, can I call you?"

Laura was standing at baggage claim next to Caleb. He had just gotten his bags and came back over to her. He was smiling. Laura just raised her eyebrow, confused. Sure they had spent a lot of time together, but she was sure that she hadn’t given him any advances and neither had he. Right?

"No," Laura replied. She made her way towards the belt, her bag suddenly in view. She grabbed her bag and began to walk away. Soon, Caleb was at her side.

"Why?" he asked. Laura stopped dragging her bag and looked up at him. She racked her brain for an answer. It wasn’t like he was bad looking. He was cute in a rough scene looking way. And his eyes were an enchanting shade of blue. But still, Laura had no desire to give her number to some guy so addicted to drinking and nicotine. And he smelled.

"Because," was all she said before she walked away. This time, thankfully, Caleb didn’t come after her. Laura fumbled around through her bag with her free hand to find her phone. She needed to call her sister to see where they were staying. Finding her phone, she strolled her contacts for her sister's number. Once she found the number, she called her sister.

Clare didn’t answer. Laura left a message, but with little hope. There was a good chance that her sister would never get it and she would be stuck in the airport for the rest of her life. She needed to find someone to tell her where the closest hotel was.

Laura started to wonder around the airport, not sure where she was going. Walking one way, she was Caleb. She quickly turned around, starting to walk in the other direction. Of course, then she ran face first into someone, sending the girl to the ground and Laura to lose her balance, but still stay in place.

"Freakin' face," the girl said on the ground. Because of the crash, the girl's diet coke and fallen out of her hand and spend across the tile floor. She picked up her cup and told Laura, "You owe me a new drink."

Laura offered her a hand to help her up, which she took. Laura struggled to help the girl up, her being almost double her size in both height and weight. But soon, they were both standing up. She was at least five inches taller than Laura, most of her height coming from her four inch heels. She was wearing the largest glasses Laura had ever. The girl smiled at Laura. "I'm Daryl." She stuck out her hand to shake. "Now let's go get that soda you owe me."

Bags in hand, Daryl made her way out of the airport, and over to a McDonalds right next door. Daryl waltzed up to the counter, and said, before the cashier to welcome her, "I need a large diet coke, ice filled half way, with a squirt of Dr. Pepper."

"Um," the cashier said, handing her a cup, "you can get your drink over there." She tilted her head slightly in the direction of where the fountain drinks were.

"1.17," the cashier said. Laura pulled out her wallet, pulling out all the money she had.

"Oh," Laura said, "all I have is pounds."

Daryl rolled her eyes and pulled out her own cash. "You owe me," she told Laura, taking her cup over to the fountain.

Daryl filled up her drink exactly how she wanted, grabbed a straw, and began stirring the mixture around. Soon, she put a lid on top and began drinking.

"So," she said, walking about of the McDonalds, after almost forgetting her luggage, "what's your name."

"Laura," she replied.

"So, Laura, what are you doing here? It doesn’t sound like you're coming home."

"I'm not." She sighed. "My parents shipped my sister and I over here to work at Disneyworld. But I had a different flight than my sister and she won't answer her phone. So I have no idea where I'm supposed to be staying tonight. And I am just so tired."

Daryl laughed, loud and obnoxious. "Sorry. I just find it incredibly funny that your parents shipped you off." She smiled. "But, I suppose you could stay at my place until your sister calls you back."

"That'd be great."

"Of course," Daryl added, "we have to stop at a bank and get your money changed up. I want my 1.17 back."

Laura couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she followed the girl. Soon, they arrived at a car and Daryl began unlocking the doors. The doors flew upwards and Daryl just smiled. It never ceased to amuse her. She shoved her car into the barely existing back seat. "Um, give me your bag." Laura handed Daryl her bag, who tried to shove into the back. It kind of worked.

The two got into the car and they began to drive off, quiet slowly. The Delorean was old and didn’t move very fast. But still, Daryl loved it more than life itself.

"So what kind of car is this?" Laura asked.

"Delorean. Only the best car ever." Laura just gave Daryl a blank face, saying nothing. "Ya know," she added, "from Back to the Future?"

"Oh. I've only seen a bit of it."

"That's bad, Laura, real bad. When we get to my house, you are going to watch all three movies and love them 'til the day you die. You have no choice."

"All right," was Laura's simple reply. And the two sat in silence for the rest of the ride. Soon, they arrived at some cheap looking apartments and Daryl parked her car.

"So the apartment sucks, I know. But I spent all money on my car. One day I swear my band won't get screwed over again and again and we'll actually get a record deal."

"You're in a band?" Laura asked, making her way through the apartment.

"Yeah. And we keep getting all these record deals, but they always fall through. It sucks." Daryl sighed.

"What's your band called?"

"Well, actually, that's one of the problems. We can't decide on a name. If you think of one, tell me." She took one last drink of her soda and threw it into the trash. Then she noticed the time.

"Frick," she muttered. "I have my band coming over, like, right now. I'm sorry. You'll have to suffer through us talking on and on about sex and things of the like. We'll start talking about band related things and then Andy will go off about his latest shag."

"It's all right." Laura smiled. "Can I get my stuff?"

"Yeah," Daryl said, throwing her the keys to her car. "Be careful of the doors," she told her.

Laura left the apartment and Daryl began to clean up. Growing up, she had never cared about how dirty things were, but as soon as she got her own place, it suddenly mattered a lot. All of her band mates came over time and time again while she was away. And they never bothered to clean up after themselves. It was a good thing that she needed them; it was a good thing that she loved them.

"Daryl," a voice said form behind her. Daryl turned around and saw her bassist, Andy, standing there, out of breath, his hands on his knees, bending down. "Someone broke into your car. A good looking someone, but someone nonetheless."

"And you didn’t stop them?" she yelled, running outside, pushing Andy out of the way – and hopefully onto the ground – in the process.

"Oh, duh, it's just you," Daryl said, noticing it was just Laura in her car. Stupid Andy making her worry like that.

"Er, yeah, just me. You want your bag, too?" she asked.

"Yeah, thanks." Daryl made her way to the door of her apartment. "And hurry in; Andy sure wants to meet you."

Laura nodded, pulling Daryl's bag out of the car. The closed the door and dragged them into Daryl's apartment. Laura pulled out her iPod and the power cord. Instead of asking Daryl where an outlet is, she walked all around the apartment, to the amusement of both Andy and Daryl.

Eventually, she found one and plugged the cord in and let her iPod charge. It was such a relief to be able to do that.

"Laura, get over here," Daryl called, laughing.

"Laura, this is Andy. Andy, this is Laura. Feel free to have hot sex when I'm not around." The doorbell rang. "Which, I guess, will be right now," Daryl said, getting up to fetch the door.

Opening it, two figures pounced on the unsuspecting girl. One was another girl with wild hair and the other was a guy with more piercings than one could count – or want to count for that matter. Daryl hugged the two of them and led them over to where Andy and Laura were sitting. She was afraid of what they'd been talking about.

Right as Daryl was about to introduce her two other band members, someone's phone rang. It was hard to make out what the tone was, so everyone went looking for their phone, just in case it was theirs.

It was Laura's. She didn’t recognize the number, but answered anyway with a polite hello.

"Laura?"

"Yeah, who's this?"

"It's Garrett, Clare's friend. And she's at the hospital. You might want to come." Garrett then went on to tell her the name of the hospital, where it was located, but never mentioning what had happened. He hung up before she could.

Laura hung up her phone, letting it slide out of her hand and onto the moss coloured carpet.

"You okay?" Daryl asked.

Laura's eyes just fell to floor where her phone lied. She ignored Daryl's question, opting for a more profound word.

"Fuck."
"Love, can I call you?"

Laura was standing at baggage claim next to Caleb. He had just gotten his bags and came back over to her. He was smiling. Laura just raised her eyebrow, confused. Sure they had spent a lot of time together, but she was sure that she hadn’t given him any advances and neither had he. Right?

"No," Laura replied. She made her way towards the belt, her bag suddenly in view. She grabbed her bag and began to walk away. Soon, Caleb was at her side.

"Why?" he asked. Laura stopped dragging her bag and looked up at him. She racked her brain for an answer. It wasn’t like he was bad looking. He was cute in a rough scene looking way. And his eyes were an enchanting shade of blue. But still, Laura had no desire to give her number to some guy so addicted to drinking and nicotine. And he smelled.

"Because," was all she said before she walked away. This time, thankfully, Caleb didn’t come after her. Laura fumbled around through her bag with her free hand to find her phone. She needed to call her sister to see where they were staying. Finding her phone, she strolled her contacts for her sister's number. Once she found the number, she called her sister.

Clare didn’t answer. Laura left a message, but with little hope. There was a good chance that her sister would never get it and she would be stuck in the airport for the rest of her life. She needed to find someone to tell her where the closest hotel was.

Laura started to wonder around the airport, not sure where she was going. Walking one way, she was Caleb. She quickly turned around, starting to walk in the other direction. Of course, then she ran face first into someone, sending the girl to the ground and Laura to lose her balance, but still stay in place.

"Freakin' face," the girl said on the ground. Because of the crash, the girl's diet coke and fallen out of her hand and spend across the tile floor. She picked up her cup and told Laura, "You owe me a new drink."

Laura offered her a hand to help her up, which she took. Laura struggled to help the girl up, her being almost double her size in both height and weight. But soon, they were both standing up. She was at least five inches taller than Laura, most of her height coming from her four inch heels. She was wearing the largest glasses Laura had ever. The girl smiled at Laura. "I'm Daryl." She stuck out her hand to shake. "Now let's go get that soda you owe me."

Bags in hand, Daryl made her way out of the airport, and over to a McDonalds right next door. Daryl waltzed up to the counter, and said, before the cashier to welcome her, "I need a large diet coke, ice filled half way, with a squirt of Dr. Pepper."

"Um," the cashier said, handing her a cup, "you can get your drink over there." She tilted her head slightly in the direction of where the fountain drinks were.

"1.17," the cashier said. Laura pulled out her wallet, pulling out all the money she had.

"Oh," Laura said, "all I have is pounds."

Daryl rolled her eyes and pulled out her own cash. "You owe me," she told Laura, taking her cup over to the fountain.

Daryl filled up her drink exactly how she wanted, grabbed a straw, and began stirring the mixture around. Soon, she put a lid on top and began drinking.

"So," she said, walking about of the McDonalds, after almost forgetting her luggage, "what's your name."

"Laura," she replied.

"So, Laura, what are you doing here? It doesn’t sound like you're coming home."

"I'm not." She sighed. "My parents shipped my sister and I over here to work at Disneyworld. But I had a different flight than my sister and she won't answer her phone. So I have no idea where I'm supposed to be staying tonight. And I am just so tired."

Daryl laughed, loud and obnoxious. "Sorry. I just find it incredibly funny that your parents shipped you off." She smiled. "But, I suppose you could stay at my place until your sister calls you back."

"That'd be great."

"Of course," Daryl added, "we have to stop at a bank and get your money changed up. I want my 1.17 back."

Laura couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she followed the girl. Soon, they arrived at a car and Daryl began unlocking the doors. The doors flew upwards and Daryl just smiled. It never ceased to amuse her. She shoved her car into the barely existing back seat. "Um, give me your bag." Laura handed Daryl her bag, who tried to shove into the back. It kind of worked.

The two got into the car and they began to drive off, quiet slowly. The Delorean was old and didn’t move very fast. But still, Daryl loved it more than life itself.

"So what kind of car is this?" Laura asked.

"Delorean. Only the best car ever." Laura just gave Daryl a blank face, saying nothing. "Ya know," she added, "from Back to the Future?"

"Oh. I've only seen a bit of it."

"That's bad, Laura, real bad. When we get to my house, you are going to watch all three movies and love them 'til the day you die. You have no choice."

"All right," was Laura's simple reply. And the two sat in silence for the rest of the ride. Soon, they arrived at some cheap looking apartments and Daryl parked her car.

"So the apartment sucks, I know. But I spent all money on my car. One day I swear my band won't get screwed over again and again and we'll actually get a record deal."

"You're in a band?" Laura asked, making her way through the apartment.

"Yeah. And we keep getting all these record deals, but they always fall through. It sucks." Daryl sighed.

"What's your band called?"

"Well, actually, that's one of the problems. We can't decide on a name. If you think of one, tell me." She took one last drink of her soda and threw it into the trash. Then she noticed the time.

"Frick," she muttered. "I have my band coming over, like, right now. I'm sorry. You'll have to suffer through us talking on and on about sex and things of the like. We'll start talking about band related things and then Andy will go off about his latest shag."

"It's all right." Laura smiled. "Can I get my stuff?"

"Yeah," Daryl said, throwing her the keys to her car. "Be careful of the doors," she told her.

Laura left the apartment and Daryl began to clean up. Growing up, she had never cared about how dirty things were, but as soon as she got her own place, it suddenly mattered a lot. All of her band mates came over time and time again while she was away. And they never bothered to clean up after themselves. It was a good thing that she needed them; it was a good thing that she loved them.

"Daryl," a voice said form behind her. Daryl turned around and saw her bassist, Andy, standing there, out of breath, his hands on his knees, bending down. "Someone broke into your car. A good looking someone, but someone nonetheless."

"And you didn’t stop them?" she yelled, running outside, pushing Andy out of the way – and hopefully onto the ground – in the process.

"Oh, duh, it's just you," Daryl said, noticing it was just Laura in her car. Stupid Andy making her worry like that.

"Er, yeah, just me. You want your bag, too?" she asked.

"Yeah, thanks." Daryl made her way to the door of her apartment. "And hurry in; Andy sure wants to meet you."

Laura nodded, pulling Daryl's bag out of the car. The closed the door and dragged them into Daryl's apartment. Laura pulled out her iPod and the power cord. Instead of asking Daryl where an outlet is, she walked all around the apartment, to the amusement of both Andy and Daryl.

Eventually, she found one and plugged the cord in and let her iPod charge. It was such a relief to be able to do that.

"Laura, get over here," Daryl called, laughing.

"Laura, this is Andy. Andy, this is Laura. Feel free to have hot sex when I'm not around." The doorbell rang. "Which, I guess, will be right now," Daryl said, getting up to fetch the door.

Opening it, two figures pounced on the unsuspecting girl. One was another girl with wild hair and the other was a guy with more piercings than one could count – or want to count for that matter. Daryl hugged the two of them and led them over to where Andy and Laura were sitting. She was afraid of what they'd been talking about.

Right as Daryl was about to introduce her two other band members, someone's phone rang. It was hard to make out what the tone was, so everyone went looking for their phone, just in case it was theirs.

It was Laura's. She didn’t recognize the number, but answered anyway with a polite hello.

"Laura?"

"Yeah, who's this?"

"It's Garrett, Clare's friend. And she's at the hospital. You might want to come." Garrett then went on to tell her the name of the hospital, where it was located, but never mentioning what had happened. He hung up before she could.

Laura hung up her phone, letting it slide out of her hand and onto the moss coloured carpet.

"You okay?" Daryl asked.

Laura's eyes just fell to floor where her phone lied. She ignored Daryl's question, opting for a more profound word.

"Fuck."