It started in sleep.
Jay was dreaming. At least, she thought she was dreaming. But everything felt too real. Too sharp. Too wrong.
She stood in the courtyard. But it was different. Broken. Crumbling. Fire everywhere. Shadows crawling across the ground.
And in the center, Keifer.
But not her Keifer. This Keifer was cold. Empty. His eyes were dark, lifeless, staring at nothing.
"Keifer?" she called.
He didn't respond.
"KEIFER."
He looked at her. But there was no recognition. No love. Just emptiness.
"You left," he said. Voice hollow. "Everyone leaves."
"No. I'm right here."
"You left like all the others."
She tried to run to him. Couldn't move. Shadows held her back.
The fire grew. The shadows swallowed him.
Jay screamed.
She woke up gasping.
Mila was beside her, shaking her. "Jay! Jay, wake up! It's just a dream!"
Jay sat up. Sweating. Shaking. Heart pounding.
"It felt real," she whispered. "So real."
"It was just a nightmare."
But Jay couldn't shake it. The image of Keifer's empty eyes. The sound of his hollow voice.
You left.
The dreams continued.
Every night, the same vision. Different details. Same ending. Keifer alone. Broken. Because she left.
Jay stopped sleeping. Dark circles under her eyes. Jumpy during class. Flinching at nothing.
Keifer noticed immediately.
"Jay. What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"You're not sleeping."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine." He pulled her aside. "Talk to me."
She hesitated. Then told him. Everything. The dreams. The fear. The feeling that something terrible was coming.
Keifer listened. Held her hand. Said nothing until she finished.
"It's just dreams," he said quietly.
"They feel real."
"Dreams can feel real. That doesn't make them true."
"But what if—"
"No." He cupped her face. "Look at me. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. You're not going anywhere. We're together. That's real. That's true."
She nodded. Wanted to believe.
The doubt lingered.
The dreams got worse.
Now she saw her friends too. Lyra, crying. Adrian, broken. Bella, sketches burning. Mila, alone. Daniel, walking away.
Everyone she loved. Gone. Because of her.
She woke up screaming every night.
Keifer started sleeping in her room. Holding her. Waking her when the nightmares started. But even he couldn't stop them.
"Jay, we need to talk to someone. A healer. A teacher. Someone who can help."
"No."
"This isn't normal. Something's wrong."
"It's just stress. From everything. The rival school. Freya. Your parents. My parents. It's too much."
He didn't believe her. But he didn't push.
The breaking point came a week later.
Jay was walking to class. Normal day. Normal hallway. Then she saw it.
Keifer. Standing at the end of the hall. But wrong. Dark. Empty. Like in her dreams.
"You left," he said. Same hollow voice.
She froze. "You're not real."
"Aren't I?"
"You're in my head. A dream. Not real."
"Am I?" He stepped closer. "Or am I what's coming? What you're too scared to face?"
"Stop."
"You'll leave. Everyone leaves you. It's only a matter of time."
"STOP."
She closed her eyes. Screamed.
When she opened them, the hallway was normal. Students staring. Keifer running toward her, real Keifer, worried Keifer.
"Jay! Jay, what happened?"
She collapsed into his arms. Sobbing.
"I saw you," she gasped. "The other you. The empty you. He said I'd leave."
Keifer held her tight. "I'm here. I'm real. I'm not going anywhere."
"I'm so scared."
"I know. But we'll figure this out. Together."
They went to Principal Morticia.
She listened. Face unreadable. Then she nodded.
"Someone is targeting you. Magically. These aren't normal dreams. They're visions. Sent to break you."
"Who?" Keifer demanded.
"I don't know yet. But I'll find out." She looked at Jay. "In the meantime, you need to protect your mind. There are spells. Techniques. I'll teach you."
Jay nodded. Weak. Grateful.
"One more thing," Morticia added. "The visions show fears. Not truths. Remember that. What you see isn't what will happen. It's what someone WANTS to happen."
Jay looked at Keifer. He squeezed her hand.
"Together," she whispered.
"Always together."
The next few weeks were hard.
Jay learned to block the visions. To fight them. To separate dream from reality.
Keifer stayed by her side. Every night. Every nightmare. Every moment.
Slowly, the dreams faded.
The figure stopped appearing.
The fear loosened its grip.
One morning, Jay woke up and realized she'd slept through the night. No dreams. No visions. Just sleep.
She looked at Keifer, asleep beside her. Peaceful. Real. Hers.
She kissed his forehead. He stirred. Smiled.
"Morning," he murmured.
"Morning."
"Dreams?"
"None."
"Good." He pulled her closer. "Best news all week."
She laughed. Soft. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"Thank you. For staying."
"Always."
The one who sent the visions was never found.
Morticia suspected someone from outside. Someone who wanted to hurt Black Hollow. Who wanted to break its strongest couple.
But it didn't matter anymore.
Jay had won. Not by finding them. By surviving them.
The visions couldn't touch her now.
Lyra's whiteboard celebrated.
THE NIGHTMARE VISIONS
Nights of Terror: 14
Times Jay Almost Broke: 7
Times Keifer Held Her: INFINITE
Visions Defeated: ALL OF THEM
JAYFER STATUS: ETERNAL (VISION-PROOF)
Bond Strength: UNBREAKABLE (RE-CONFIRMED)
LEARNINGS:
Fear is a weapon. Love is armor.
Keifer will never leave.
Jay will never stop fighting.
Together, they're unstoppable.
Jay read it. Smiled.
Keifer appeared beside her. Coffee in hand.
"Ready for normal?"
"Define normal."
"Classes. Meetings. Arguing about coffee. No more nightmare visions."
"Perfect."
They walked away together.
Normal. Perfect. THEIRS.