Various images danced through Penelope's head during the night.

First, there was a fuzzy image of a sunny beach, one she felt familiar with. It looked like the beach of a small coastal town in Northern California. The crisp breeze coming from the ocean washed over her- wait, what?! How could she feel the breeze?

The image of the beach morphed into something else. She was now in a luxurious-looking car. The fabric of the seats was a dark red, softly cushioning her weight. Two figures sat across from her in the car, but their faces were vague and indistinct. The car was on a road with dark forests on either side of it, but this didn't seem to scare her. It felt like a lovely day. She didn't feel afraid of the two figures, surprisingly. But before she got too caught up in the moment, Penelope remembered that this wasn't normal. Sure, she's had vivid dreams before, but nothing like this. The more her mind kept thinking that this wasn't real, the fuzzier the dream felt and it shifted again.

Now, she was in a meadow. The very meadow she had seen in the Twilight movies. It felt much more realistic than the previous scenes. The cold air filled her lungs as her eyes took in this new scene. The dark grass was swaying gently to and fro as the sound of the gentle wind rustled the foliage surrounding her. Kneeling, she gently combed her fingers through the grass. She looked up for a moment, noting the dark, cloud-covered sky above her. A gentle smile played on her lips before it quickly fell once she noticed a figure standing in the shadows on the opposite side of the meadow. 

Although the figure did not move, it also did not give her a feeling of safety or comfort the way the two figures from the previous scene did. She felt an almost primal fear as her instincts screamed and begged her to leave. That's when panic set in.

"What's happening..." She whispered frantically to herself. She needed to wake up. She wanted to leave.

A rush of adrenaline kicked in, making her breath come out in short gasps and her body shaky. Instinctively, she took a few steps back. But for every step she took back, the figure moved forward. Fear coursed through her. Was she going to have to fight? 

No... she'd rather give herself time to escape first before facing that possibility.  But the farther the figure walked from the shadows, the more distinct their appearance became. Penelope didn't see much before her vision became unfocused, just a flash of bronze hair before she felt like she was falling back.

・・・

Penelope woke up with a jolt, her heart still beating like crazy and she was almost gasping for air. She sat up in bed and looked around. It was dark, but she knew she was safe and sound in her bed. The moon shone brightly outside her window, faintly lighting up her room. With a sigh of relief, she grabbed the water bottle on the side table next to her and eagerly drank the cool liquid, letting it soothe her nerves.

After fixing her comforter a bit, she lay back in bed, keeping her eyes focused on the beautiful moon as her breathing gradually calmed down. She was awake and safe. But what was the deal with that dream? Was it even a dream? It felt more like a nightmare the longer it lasted.

Once her breathing had calmed and her nerves were mostly soothed, she thought back to what she saw. The beach she had seen wasn't scary at all, it was simply relaxing. The car ride was a little ominous too, but she didn't feel like she was in danger, even if the figures in the car were unrecognizable to her. It didn't feel like they would hurt her. 

The meadow... now that one was scary. It had felt more... immersive than the others. It doesn't really matter, she thought to herself. Choosing to dismiss it all as simply a nightmare, she grabbed her phone and retrieved her earbuds from where they were scattered on her bed. She found her playlist of old easy-listening music and let it play while she tried to go back to sleep. 

But to her dismay, her brain wouldn't give up so easily. And it didn't want to focus on the sort of pleasant feeling she got from the beach scene, nor the somewhat normalcy she felt in that car scene. No. It wanted to focus on the scary figure in the meadow. It was then, though, that something in her mind clicked. 

The bronze hair in the Twilight meadow... was it Edward? Her eyes shot open at that realization. But why did it matter? It's not like it was real. It was just a dream. She kept telling herself that and eventually, her mind was comforted by that and she went back to sleep. Something in the back of her mind told her otherwise, though. It all felt more vivid than a simple dream or nightmare. What if it was real in some way?

Her sleepy state didn't allow her to bring that thought to the forefront. All Penelope wanted was her sense of normalcy and that meant believing that these were all mere dreams.

・・・

A few hours later, Penelope woke to her alarm which she was quick to silence. She had a night of restless sleep for she was too afraid to let herself fall into one of those dreams again. She rubbed the crust off from the corners of her eyes and proceeded to pop the various parts of her body that felt stiff.

She forced herself to continue her morning routine as normal in hopes of suppressing the unsettling, almost eerie feeling from the dream.

Fortune would not be on her side though.

The rest of the week was a blur of "normal" moments and more realistic dreams. It felt almost as if the dream got increasingly longer each night. The one silver lining of it all was that they weren't as scary as the one in the meadow, but the Twilight theme remained for the most part and frankly, she was starting to get sick of it. Each night she found herself somewhere new. Forks High, the Cullen's mansion, a Gothic estate, the forest, etc.

These dreams were messing with her perception of reality and the weariness of grappling with this showed on her face as the week went on. The "dreams" gradually felt as real as her life did now. But why was this happening? Was she going insane? Was college finally taking a toll on her and her mind was trying to take refuge in dreams and fantasy?

No, that couldn't be it. Her life was good. Not perfect, but good and the course load wasn't that bad. There were times when she found herself in the small library alone with any one of her friends and she felt the desperate need to tell them what's been happening to her. However, she didn't want them to think she was going insane... she didn't even want to think she was going insane. Penelope was the calm, rational one.

But was she going insane? That thought amused her. If ever she was going to go insane while in college, she didn't she'd go through it alone.

・・・

Finally, it was Friday afternoon. All her classes were done and she just needed to complete her grocery shopping before going home. There was a part of her that worried about what would happen over the weekend. In her mind, the only reason she made it through this week with some of her sanity intact was because she had school to distract her.

As she left the humanities building, she heard someone call for her.

"Penelope! Wait up!"

She turned around and saw Colin speedwalking in her direction. Despite the torment she had been through this week, she still managed a smile whenever she saw him.

"Hey, I was just heading out for the day," she said in a semi-normal tone as she met him halfway. "What's up?"

Colin smiled back, but his face soon filled with concern. "I just want to check up on you and make sure everything's ok."

Her smile faltered for a brief moment. Of course, Colin would have noticed her change in demeanor and there were many times when she was just about to tell him about her dreams, but she always backed out and talked about something else.

"Yeah, I'm fine... I mean, I've been having some nightmares, but nothing too bad." She lied smoothly. The concern in his eyes didn't go away and she felt bad about not telling him the whole truth. But she had made a pact with herself that if the dreams continued into next week, then she'd tell him.

"Are you sure?" he replied. "You've been looking pretty tired this week. Make sure to get proper rest over the weekend."

"Is that the good doctor's order?" She asked in a gently teasing tone, trying to lighten the mood a bit so he wouldn't be so concerned.

He grinned. "Yes, as a future doctor, I'm prescribing you with 50 hours of sleep."

She groaned sarcastically, and he chuckled. "No, but seriously, make sure you take care of yourself. And if you need anything or someone to talk to, just let me know." His voice was full of genuine concern for her well-being which she appreciated, but she didn't want him to worry just yet.

"I will." She checked the time on her phone and sighed. "I've got to catch the bus now but I'll see you Monday, sunshine."

They waved goodbye to each other and went their separate ways. Part of her didn't want to leave his presence yet. As always, Colin had a calming effect on her and though he was concerned for her, the burden of her dreams didn't feel as heavy for those moments she was talking to him.

・・・

After getting her groceries and coming home, she put her items away and stretched out on the couch to watch a movie before she had dinner. She had texted her family to let them know she wouldn't be able to call today under the excuse of simply being tired from school, which they bought.

Penelope was starting to feel some sense of lightness and normalcy. The window next to the couch was open, allowing for the cool, autumn breeze to settle in while she watched The Addams Family on her TV. At least those characters would probably think her slow descent into insanity was just a regular Tuesday.

For the rest of the evening, she didn't think about her nightmares nor why they were mostly set in Twilight. She had a light conversation with her roommate about their respective weeks after she had some dinner. 

After a relaxing shower, Penelope changed into pajamas and stood by her bed... the bane of her existence at the current moment. "Don't even think about it." She threatened before climbing in and getting comfortable. She quickly tapped the side of her head, indicating her brain. "You too."

・・・