The Invitation
Friday evening arrived with the kind of crisp, cool air that made the academy grounds feel almost peaceful. After the long, exhausting week, Orion had planned to do nothing but crash in his dorm and recover from the chaos of dreams, experiments, and cryptic warnings.
That plan lasted all of five minutes before Rin and Cas barged into his room.
"Get up," Rin announced, tossing a jacket at Orion's face.
Orion peeled it off with a sigh. "Rin, why are you throwing clothing at me?"
Cas, standing behind her, had her arms crossed. "We're going out."
Orion blinked. "Out where?"
"The Haven," Rin said, grinning. "It's a new bar, just off campus. The weekend is here, and I refuse to let you spend it sulking over dream conspiracies."
"I don't sulk," Orion muttered.
"Debatable," Cas said.
Before Orion could argue, Neil poked his head into the room, looking just as confused. "Why was I just kidnapped and told to put on something 'semi-respectable'?"
"Because we're all going," Rin said, grabbing Orion's wrist. "No excuses. We're cherishing the weekend."
Cas nodded. "And talking about things that aren't lucid dreaming."
Orion and Neil exchanged glances. A break sounded good—really good.
"Fine," Orion sighed, giving in. "One night. No dream talk."
Neil smirked. "And drinks are on you, right?"
Rin grinned. "We'll see about that."
The Haven
The Haven was a small but lively bar, tucked between two neon-lit buildings just outside campus. It wasn't anything extravagant, but it had character—a dimly lit, warm atmosphere filled with students looking to escape academia for a few hours. A soft hum of music played in the background, and the air smelled of a mix of citrus, spice, and something vaguely nostalgic.
They grabbed a booth near the window, and within minutes, Rin had already flagged down a server.
"Four drinks, something fun," she ordered, flashing a grin.
The server, a tired-looking student, nodded. "Something fun, coming right up."
Orion leaned back in his seat. "I have a feeling we're going to regret letting you order for us."
"You're going to thank me," Rin shot back.
Neil tapped his fingers against the table. "So, if we're avoiding dream talk for the night, what's the topic?"
Cas glanced toward the window, her expression unreadable. "Where we were before all this," she said. "Before lucid dreaming became… this huge thing."
A thoughtful silence settled over the table.
Before the Dreams
Orion was the first to speak. "I was just… a student. No grand plans, no big ambitions. Just getting through life."
He didn't mention the feeling he had, even back then—like he was always waiting for something. Like reality was just a little too thin, a little too… incomplete.
"Same," Neil said. "Well, except for the fact that I was already designing neural interfaces in my spare time." He grinned. "Genius never sleeps."
Cas smirked. "Genius definitely should sleep more."
Rin snorted. "Well, I wasn't some child prodigy like Neil, but I did have a life before all this dream nonsense. I wanted to travel. Go city-hopping, see the world." She gestured around. "And now? We're stuck trying to figure out how reality works. Not quite the adventure I planned."
Cas exhaled, swirling her drink when the server placed them on the table. "For me, dreams were always… interesting. Not because I wanted to control them, but because I wondered if they were ever really just dreams."
Orion looked at her. "What do you mean?"
Cas took a sip of her drink before replying. "Haven't you ever had that feeling? That something is watching? That the places we visit in dreams feel too real to be just… imagination?"
A quiet stretched between them.
They all had felt it.
But tonight wasn't about that.
Rin clapped her hands together. "Alright, enough philosophy. Time for a game. Who has the weirdest pre-dream life story?"
Neil grinned. "Easy. I once hacked into my school's system to change the lunch menu for a week. Had everyone thinking we were getting gourmet meals, and instead, they served instant noodles every day."
Cas raised an eyebrow. "That's not weird. That's just chaos."
Neil shrugged. "It's a skill."
Rin leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "I used to sneak into abandoned buildings just to see if they were haunted."
Orion snorted. "You would."
"Sometimes you gotta investigate," Rin said, winking.
Cas hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I once spent an entire summer reading about alternate realities because I was convinced I had seen a glitch in real life."
That made everyone pause.
Orion tilted his head. "A glitch?"
Cas glanced at them, then shook her head. "It was probably nothing. Just a weird moment. But I swore… I saw the world rewind. Just for a second."
Neil raised his glass. "Well, considering where we are now, maybe you were just ahead of your time."
They clinked their drinks together, the moment lightening again.
A Moment of Normalcy
For the next hour, they talked, joked, and let themselves be—just a group of friends, taking a break from the unknown.
Orion found himself watching them between conversations. Rin, always energetic, always chasing adventure. Cas, quiet but sharp, her mind working even in the silence. Neil, the genius troublemaker who saw the world as a system waiting to be cracked.
And himself.
Orion had never really questioned where he fit. He just was. And yet, here, in this moment, he felt… grounded.
Like this, for once, was real.
The Night Ends
Eventually, the drinks were finished, and the bar began emptying out. They stepped outside, the night air cool against their skin.
"Well," Rin stretched, "that was a solid break from the existential dread."
Orion exhaled, looking up at the stars. The dream world, the factions, the questions—they'd still be there when they woke up.
But tonight?
Tonight was just theirs.
And sometimes, that was enough.
Rin clapped her hands together suddenly. "Alright, enough deep thoughts. So, what's the plan for tomorrow?"
Neil smirked. "I'm meeting my grandmother—she's been on my case about visiting more often. What about you, guys?"
Rin grinned.
Cas smiled softly. "Rin and I were thinking of catching that new movie—the one with the time-loop plot. It seems like a fun escape."
They all exchanged amused looks as the night carried them further from the bar.
Then Cas turned to Orion with a gentle inquiry. "And you? What are you doing tomorrow?"
Orion hesitated for a moment, caught between the lingering weight of his thoughts and the promise of a simpler day.
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