FanFic 100 Challenge #: 096- Writer’s Choice- Waves

You’re Someone Special

The ocean was always most beautiful at sunset, Joseph mused as he stood on the warm, sandy shore, admiring the ebbing and flowing of the vibrant blue waves. His ears perked as the cry of two seagulls soaring against the gold and red sky reached his ears. His eyes fluttered shut as a cool breeze from the ocean swept over his entire body like the waves themselves. He thought of Clarisse and how much more lovely the ocean would seem with her there beside him.

“Joseph,” he heard her call.

Joseph opened his eyes and turned to find Clarisse only a few steps behind him, appearing as if she had been sent to him on the wings of the wind, her soft dress still blowing gently in the breeze. She was smiling at him, her clear, glass-like blue eyes dancing with the reflections of ocean waves. Joseph smiled back; it was just as he figured− the ocean did appear much more exquisite now that she was here. Clarisse reached for Joseph’s hand, and he took it into his own, kissing it gratefully. She stepped forward, her body pressing softly against his. She leaned up towards him slowly, her lips now lonely a short breath away from his…

Joseph awoke suddenly with a jolt. He pounded a fist lightly against his pillow beside him in bed. He had been so very close that time… so close to kissing her. Joseph had been having those kinds of dreams about Clarisse for several nights in a row now, but so far, he had always awakened before their lips had managed to touch. Every time he had dreamed those dreams before, he had desperately tried to immediately fall back asleep in hopes of finishing the wonderful dream; he had not yet been so lucky, however, and he knew that attempting it again tonight would be useless.

Though he had closed his eyes and made himself quite comfortable in his bed, Joseph could not find sleep. Thoughts of Clarisse came swimming back to his mind. As he lay quiet and motionless, the images of his dream of Clarisse on the beach were so vivid that he could almost feel her quickened breath against his mouth and hear the sound of the ocean waves as they crashed behind him. Joseph sighed heavily into the darkness as he glanced at his alarm clock. It was only 2:15 AM. Wearily, he rolled over in bed, fluffed his pillow, and stretched his body, his bones popping loudly in the silence after being stiff for so long. He reached onto his nightstand for his mobile phone, flipped it open, and instinctively found Clarisse’s number in the phone’s address book. Remembering that it was two o’clock in the morning, Joseph closed his phone. Clarisse had always told him to call her, day or night, if he ever needed anything, even if it was just to chat.

“You know, one day I’m going to take you up on your offer and call you at four in the morning, just to see if you’ll answer,” Joseph had jokingly told her on numerous occasions.

“I will,” she had always replied with a bright smile that had actually somehow made him believe her.

Joseph opened his phone again and pressed the call button when he came to her number in the address book. He held his breath as the phone rang once… twice… three times.

“Hello?” Clarisse answered in a sleepy voice that made Joseph grin.

“Clarisse,” he replied, “It’s me, Joseph.”

He hadn’t needed to tell her who he was, of course; she had been able to identify him instantly by the sound of his voice.

“Joseph, are you okay?” she asked, sitting up in her bed in alarm that something might have happened to him.

“I’m fine,” he said. “Everything’s fine. I’m taking you up on your ‘call anytime’ offer…”

Clarisse smiled.

“I thought you eventually would. I hope you’re not planning to hang up now that I’ve proven I’ll answer your call,” she laughed.

“No,” Joseph replied, clearing his throat nervously and pausing before revealing his next words. “I dreamed of you tonight,” he said in a low voice.

“Really?” she asked. “I hope it wasn’t a nightmare.”

“Not at all,” he said, amused at how much she was joking with him so early in the morning.

“What was it about?”

Silence rang through the telephone as Joseph gave no answer.

“Joseph?” she said.

“Yes?”

“I thought maybe you had fallen asleep for a moment. I’m glad you’re still with me,” Clarisse laughed again, but she then realized that he did not want to talk about the content of his dream. “Why do you think you dreamed about me?” she asked out of curiosity as well as to turn away from an evidently uncomfortable subject for Joseph.

“Excuse me?” he said.

“You know, they always say that if you dream of someone, there must be a reason.”

“Oh,” he said. “Well… because… you’re special to me.”

Clarisse’s mouth opened slightly for a moment before she closed it again.

“Thank you, Joseph,” she replied, thankful he could not see her blush. “You’re special to me as well.”

Joseph smiled, knowing that her words would play over and over in his head for quite sometime.

“That’s good to hear,” he said at last. “But now, I’ll allow you return to your sleep.”

“Okay,” she said, though reluctant to get off the phone with him, especially so soon. “Goodnight, Joseph.”

“Goodnight, Clarisse,” he replied, hanging up the phone and rolling back over in his bed.

Joseph smiled to himself as he lay facedown on the pillow. With Clarisse’s words singing soothingly in his ear, he fell asleep quickly. He again dreamed of her being there on the beach with him, but this time was different.

He got to kiss her.

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: Woah, let the sap flow. Haha. I hadn’t planned on it being so fluffy. Anyway, this comes from the part of the list that says “Dreaming of you means you’re someone special.”