Real Life

Jack and I are in his bedroom, watching a movie. His parents invited me over for dinner---as they do at least twice a week---and I'm not due home for another couple of hours.
So now we're lying together on his bed, watching The Hunger Games, quoting some of our favorite parts, and not paying attention to others.
The movie's nearly over, and I'm wondering what we'll do next. Typically, there are two options:
-Watch another movie, or
-Play a video game.
If we watch a movie, we'll only end up seeing about half of it. However, if we go with option two, there's a good chance that only one of us would be playing, as most of Jack's video games are single player.
I don't know which movie we'll watch, if we decide to, but I do know that, if we opt for a video game, I want to play Fable III. I've become addicted to it, and Jack likes to watch me play.
The movie ends, and the credits begin to scroll up the screen as "Safe and Sound" plays in the background.
I start singing to myself, while Jack deliberately sings so that I can hear him, even though he doesn't know the song as well as I do.
I smile and bite back a giggle as he looks me directly in the eyes and sings:
"Just close your eyes; the sun is going down.
You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now.
Come morning light, you and I'll be
Safe and sound....."
As the song comes to a close, I sing with him, meeting his gaze until the next song begins. Then I smile, drop my eyes to the blanket beneath us---Harry Potter themed---and then look back at the screen.
"I love that movie," I say after a moment.
"I know. So do I."
I smile again, turn back to him, and ask, "What do you wanna do, now?"
Jack smiles and leans in close. "I dunno. What do you wanna do?"
I kiss him, a quick kiss, then say, "Well...we could...play a game. Or...I could play, while you work on 'The 13th.' Or, you could play, while I finish editing the storyline for you."
"Hmm..." Jack kisses me, a little longer, a little slower, this time, then says, "Actually, I do need to get some work done, so..."
I smile, "Okay!" and kiss him, then say, "You work on that, and I'll play Fable III."
He smiles back in amusement, sensing that he'd said what I'd hoped he would. "Kay. Have fun."
"You, too," I say as I slip the disk into Jack's XBox 360 and sign into the account he made for me about the fifth month we'd been dating.
Jack gets out his laptop, logs on, and sets to work on his project. Jack loves playing video games, but he also really loves to create them. That's what he hopes to do for a living, someday: create video games. One day, he hopes to own his own successful video game company. He talks about it all the time. "The 13th" is his latest project. He's already written up the storyline; I edit it for him in my spare time, using a site called Mibba to publish it. The story's not finished, but it's great, so far.
The clicking of the keys on Jack's old Toshiba breaks my train of thought, telling me that he's focused on his work.
I choose the "Continue Game" option, then hit Start. I push the left stick forward, hit Y, and study the Map, searching for vacant houses to rent out. But, just as I'm about to select an empty house, I get another flash:
That same room with all the teenagers on tables; a
bunch of people I don't recognize; Jenni; several more
unfamiliar faces; a couple of classmates; Jack; some
people I think I've seen before; me; a couple more
strangers. In total, about 30 teenagers. All the people
from the list, I guess. All on tables, all in gowns, all with
digital timers above our heads. From the few faces I do
recognize, I guess that we're arranged alphabetically, by
last name, counter-clockwise in a large, round room.
Then I hear my name being called in a familiar voice.
"Britt? Brittany. Brittany, snap out of it!"
I shake my head and swallow, and suddenly I see Jack, shaking me gently and repeating my name, a worried expression on his face. "Oh. Sorry. Did you say something?"
He stops shaking me, and his expression changes, realization breaking over him. "It happened again, didn't it. The... visions. You had another one." It's not a question.
"Yeah. It was another vision."
"What did you see this time?"
"Teenagers. About 30 of us---"
"Us?"
"Yeah. In the same room I saw you in before. This time, I saw me and Jenni, too. We were all in a circular room, arranged in alphabetical order, I think."
"What else?"
I shake my head. "Nothing. That's it."
Jack's quiet for a minute, then says, "Brittany, I think these images mean something. I think they're important."
I look at him, confused. "Jack, what are you...What are you talking about?"
Jack takes a deep breath, then says, "Britt, do you remember what you said a few days ago? Your idea about...About the world being fake?"
"Yeah, of course. Wait. You don't...You don't think..." I shake my head. "No. Jack, that was just some crazy idea I came up with out of boredom. It's...It's impossible."
He smiles, a grim, half-smile, and says, "Nothing's impossible, Brittany. I mean, what if it's true? What if everything you said is true. I mean, who knows? Maybe you were right. Maybe this is all fake."
I begin to sputter. "But...that's...No!" I stand up and, a moment later, Jack does, too. My voice begins to shake. "I don't want it to be fake! Me, you, us; I want it to be real! I want all of this to be real. It feels real, Jack. None of this feels fake!" I close my eyes, trying to calm myself, then open them, and look directly into his. Trying to make my voice sound steady, I say, "No. It's real. This is all real. We are all real. None of this is fake. Do you understand, Jack? This is real."
"Okay." Jack steps closer, then grabs my shoulders. "You're right. All of this is real. None of it's fake. You're right. Okay?"
I drop my gaze, take a deep breath, and release it slowly, composing myself. "Okay. Okay." I take his hands off my shoulders and twine my fingers through his.
He bends slightly, forcing me to meet his gaze. "Better?"
I take another deep breath, then manage a small smile. "Yeah. I'm fine now."
"Good." He wraps his arms around me in a tight embrace, and I hug him back, just as tightly. After a few moments, he pulls back, looks into my eyes, smiles, and kisses my forehead.
"I love you," he says softly. "I'm sorry I upset you. You're right. It was just a crazy daydream; nothing more."
"No. I overreacted. I'm sorry I freaked out." I meet his gaze and smile. "And, I love you, too."
******************************
A little while later, it's time for me to head home.
It's after dark; about 9:30 pm, but that's okay. It's a 25 minute walk from Jack's house to mine, but I don't have to be home until 10, so I'm not worried.
Jack offers me a ride home, but he knows it's in vain; I like walking home. Even in the dark; especially in the dark. It's much quieter at night; so much more peaceful. It allows me to think.
So, that's why Jack isn't surprised when I turn down his offer for, like, the millionth time. But, he always makes it, anyway. One night, I asked him why he always offers me a ride, when he knows I'll say no. He said its because he keeps hoping that, one day, I'll be too tired to walk, and I'll want him to give me a ride. But the chances of that are slim.
As I'm walking the familiar route home, I think about what Jack said: "What if you were right? What if none of this is real?"
I don't like it, but, what if that's true? I mean, is that possible? For all of this to be fake, just some really convincing illusion created by scientists and computer programmers?
Does that mean that I've never met Jack in real life? That our relationship doesn't exist in the real world? That our love isn't real?
Feeling myself work my way into hysterics, I shake my head, forcing my thoughts to focus on the walk home.