Anne looked at him blankly. Was it her "birthday"? She'd forgotten about it...well, long before actually. She'd never celebrated the date the nuns had put on her birth certificate at any rate. Though, she had always wanted to....

She smiled and bumped him with her shoulder. "I'll t-take you at your word t-then...this t-time" she teased fondly. She blinked a few times when he pulled out the key ring, her eye turning to him after a moment and widening as he explained how he'd gotten them. She'd always been a bit of stickler for rules, not so much because she respected them than she just didn't need the extra trouble breaking them caused. But this...this was a bit more than breaking the rules...this was theft...well, at least not returning the keys was somewhat forgivable, but...

She gaped at him as he proposed stealing the teacher's car, a Porsche at that. Now that was really going over a few lines, into outright theft! And did he even have a license? She started to sputter and get flustered at his audacity...then stopped, recalling this was all a dream anyway. Still...ah, hell with it.

"Uhm....I d-don't know...t-this is stealing y-you know? B-but if we can go and come b-back before he notices its missing....w-well...." she stammered, still nervous about the idea, but breaking into a mischievous grin at the end. She felt a bit naughty, a bit guilty, but really, she knew she was going to say Yes as soon as he mentioned chocolate. As far as Achilles Heels went, hers was certainly a sweet one.

Mark had been well aware of her Achilles Heel and used it to sweeten the deal. Had it been anything else reason may have gotten the better of her in this matter and he clearly did not want that she assumed. There were several other things he could have mentioned such as joy riding but didn't.

He watched in silence as she wrestled with things in her head then slyly grinned. "As much as I would prefer to keep it things just don't work that way. It'll be back in the parking lot at the end of the school day he'll never be aware it's gone. I gave it some thought, he has seventh period off so is at the teachers lounge, we can sneak into his class and plant the keys in his desk so when he comes back after failing to find them he'll discover them there when he takes a look for them or we could just slip them back into the lock on the supply room and he'll probably end up retracing his steps and eventually find them though in that case someone else could find them in the meantime so the desk is probably the safest."

No, the safest thing to do would be to turn over the keys now. They could have an accident. The car could be reported stolen if Jacobson was aware it was missing before the end of the day. She could imagine it all too well in the teacher's lounge. 'Yeah, Eric you didn't take your Porsche today.' 'What?' 'I didn't see it in the parking lot when I got here.'

On the other hand there was chocolate. And she did believe this was a dream, right?

She gave him a look of exasperated fondness and giggled quietly, nodding. "Alright, alright. L-let's go...b-before I change m-my mind...and you d-do know how to d-drive, right?" she whispered conspiratorially, wiping her hands and mouth clean on a napkin.

His plan sounded good enough to her, good enough for a dream at the very least. Besides, what did it matter? She was going to wake up in her bed at her new school anyway. She may as well enjoy herself while she had the (rare) chance. She patted down her pockets, making sure her wallet (she hated purses) and keys were there, then skidded back her chair and grabbed his arm, pulling him up as she stood.

She couldn't hide how excited she was, both to be playing truant for the first time, and to simply get to spend time with Mark again. It was...something she'd told herself she'd never have. He had fallen for Leslie, but in this dream Leslie was long gone...so why not let the fantasy go on, just for now?

"L-lead on MacDuff!" she giggled at him, skipping a few tiles ahead of him and turning to wait, hands on her hips.

Aegir had been pleased with the results of his manipulations of her mind thus far. Had he not cut off her sense of smell to the musk anyway her unconscious body may have noted that it was getting stronger. His desired built up steadily and while he simply could not wait for things to transpire he did wait letting that anticipation flow.

He tinkered with an idea, then returned his full attention to the dream. There were some things in it that she'd enjoy he reasoned, other things that would make more sense but he'll hold off on that twist just yet. He was busy rummaging through her mind inserting faces that she would recognize. They were all a little older too as if she had never left this place and stuck it out despite the vision that she had.

"It looks easy enough," Mark grinned again. He knew how to drive and was teasing her again with his knowledge of that fact.

But Mark got up, let out a gruff bark at her last statement then walked with her to the parking lot where he spent a few minutes gawking at the car first before finding the alarm attached to the key ring, shutting it off then finding the right key to unlock the door. He got in unlocking the passenger door then after finding the right key for the ignition he inserted it and peeled away.

It wasn't long before they pulled into the parking lot of the chocolate factory he had already mentioned. The scent of chocolate hung in the air even here as they approached the building. It was a two story building and quiet long as if there were an assembly line within it's walls.

"So I was thinking ... oh, never mind that, it all depends on how much time we spend here first."

The feelings of guilt were quickly dismissed as they peeled out of the parking lot. Almost giddily excited, Anne rolled the window down and leaned out, letting the wind set her hair streaming out behind her. For the moment she didn't care that her face was unhidden, it didn't matter, nothing mattered but this feeling of freedom. Her eyes shut gently as she listened to the dull roar of the tires on asphalt, the low howl of the wind moving past them, whipping through her hair. A part of her wondered how she knew what this felt like, as she'd never had the chance to do it before...but that was quickly glossed over.

Her eyes opened as the first hints of cocoa reached her nose. She could already smell the factory, and they weren't even in sight of it yet. She glanced aside at Mark, smiling softly at the boy she had loved and left behind. Was it alright? To have a dream this perfect? Did she really deserve to be this happy, even if it was a passing fancy in the arms of sleep?

As they pulled up to the building, she nodded firmly to herself. Yes, she did deserve this. Everyone needed some happiness in their life, even if it was as ephemeral as smoke.

"What depends on how much time we spend?" she asked curiously, her stutter vanishing as her usual nervousness was currently buried under a fluffy cloud of euphoria. Smiling brightly she rolled up the window and slid out of the car, taking a moment to arrange her wind tangled hair back into something presentable, her bangs covering her burns once again. She bounced from foot to foot as she waited for Mark to get out of the car, looking at him with an expression of pure, delighted eagerness.

He paused, gazing at her then after she eagerly bounced from foot to foot he approached her taking the whole three or four steps that separated them. His fingers streamed through her air as he rearranged it after she spent a deal of time fixing it.

"I can see the scars ..." he spoke in a low tone, not that it had ever mattered to him but he knew that she disguised the disfiguring scars. Content when he could no longer see the hints of scars he moved to answer her question.

"There's a lake not far from here ... I was thinking, if you were inclined to anyway, that you'd accompany me there. We can walk along it to help burn off the calories from the chocolate but I'm not going to rush through the tour to get at it."

He glanced back at the building behind them then back to her. He waited long enough for her to respond to his words before guiding her closer to the building, the scent of coco growing stronger as they neared the place.

Other than workers the place hadn't been too busy. Most people were working at this time or were children in school so tours weren't as big at this hour. When Mark inquired about a tour the lady, a secretary of some sort looked at the pair funny knowing that they were playing hooky but saying nothing about it as she rang someone for their assistance. Soon they were joined by a thin balding man probably close to retirement age who introduced himself as Jim and explained that he had been informed about a tour of the factory.

He explained that these were the quitter times of the factories operation as far as the public was concerned though he saw no harm in running the pair through the tour. He lead them into the factory starting near the loading docks telling them that they got their coco in from the docks, imported in from plantations in South America were all the processing of material was done before shipping out blocks via a private airliner that the company owned, this being just one of the factories they had trucked in nearly 6 tons of coco each day were it was frozen in large walk in freezers to avoid it melting before it was processed ...

She froze as he reached for her, looking at him with a shy, slightly skittish smile as he helped brush her hair back into place. She almost shivered as he ran his fingers through her hair, looking away with a faint blush rising in her cheeks at his whisper. She knew he didn't think her scars were ugly, they'd talked about it before...in a different world entirely, but apparently some things were the same in her dreams.

"I think I'd like t-that...." she mumbled as he led her towards the building, snagging the back of his shirt in her fingers as they walked in. She let him do the talking, content to somewhat hide behind him and look around excitedly, her face turned up as she inhaled deeply of that intoxicating smell of cooking chocolate. She didn't mind the wait, in fact spent most of it coyly looking at Mark through her bangs, wondering why he wanted to go for a walk after this.

Then the tour began! All thoughts of the lake vanished as Jim began the tour, starting with the dock where the cocoa came in. She was intensely curious, even about such a simple step as this. After all, chocolate was her drug of choice, and she was an unabashed addict. As the tour continued on, Anne unconsciously crept her way forward around Mark, each stop finding her a little closer to his side, until she had released his shirt entirely, and was hugging his arm between hers, her head nearly resting on his shoulder. Somewhere deep inside, she'd wanted to walk like this with him, quite badly....but she'd never taken the chance. Especially not after she found out how he felt about Leslie. But this was a dream, and her small desires, pure as they were, found no resistance at all.

Jim showed them more of the operations leading them to fork lifts that had been used to move cartoons of chocolate from the fridge area to another area where they had been left to reach room temperature. The chocolate was feed into a machine by workers via a conveyor belt dropping into a vat where it was heated under 300 degree heat to a liquid form then ran out of a funnel into pans that were machine operated taking the shape of molds as the chocolate was poured into them and placed on one of several different conveyor belts leading from the vats (each vat had their own conveyor associated with it) and pending on the belt it was on depended on what happened to it as it cooled in fridges for awhile varying by the belt that they were on.

Afterwards they were twisted into shape, cooled further then wrapped. Depending on the belt that the chocolate was one different procedures were done to it, one one cool chocolate was dipped into white chocolate frozen again to cool then dipped into another type of chocolate and cooled again before being wrapped up.

Machines had been used to wrap and package the process with workers inspecting the finished product pulling aside any rejects. The chocolate was packaged and stored in fridges until they were moved out of the place and shipped by truck to various stores around the region, other factories doing the same.

At the conclusion of the tour there were plenty of free samples.

Mark seemed to delight in her closeness. He smiled at her here and there between Jim's explanation of events. At one point he had even taken her hand, he made the excuse of it being dangerous when they were on the walk way over looking the vats of chocolates. He explained to her that he did not need her walking into railings and injuring herself by not seeing something on her right side, the walkways were narrow enough though where she could scan the terrain ahead without any problem though.

He checked his watch at the conclusion of the tour. Still time for the lake, she assumed and guessed that was what he was gauging.

She was utterly enthralled, watching how some of her favorite sweets came to be made. In some cases leaning over the railings to get a better look, only to be pulled back by Mark, giggling softly as she tucked herself back against his side. It was amazing to her, how complex the process was, the heating and cooling, and heating and re-cooling, the molds, the dipping....all of it just to make something that was barely a mouthful. If anything the tour gave her an even deeper appreciation for her favorite sweets.

Anne smiled and looked away bashfully when Mark took her hand in his, her fingers wrapping gently around his. His excuse was sweet, but he needn't have bothered with one. She wanted to touch him, to hold his hand, and more...but...perhaps it was best she didn't. Even if this was a dream, she'd have to wake up from it eventually...and lose him all over again.

She was easily distracted by the numerous free samples, unable to keep herself from grabbing one of each. She felt completely unabashed, offering Mark a small shrug and a mischievous grin. She didn't quite gobble the chocolate down like a little piglet...but the distinction was a slim one at best.

"Mmmmmmm....hmm hmm hmm....." she made low, approving hums, broken at times by delighted giggling as they left the factory. She saw him looking at his watch, then grinned, a smudge of chocolate marring the corner of her mouth. Almost skipping on her toes, she slipped her arm through his and started walking towards the lake, dragging him the first few steps if need be.

He said nothing as she consumed the chocolates though he barely had any himself joking that she ate enough for the two of them. He walked with her arm and arm and while she had this understanding that this was likely a dream the matter seemed surreal as if it were actually a dream within a dream.

Mark gazed at her, a hand coming up to her face rubbing away the stain of chocolate that had been there. His fingers felt warm and smooth against her as they slowly rubbed away the chocolate, his eyes dwelling on her as he did this, the grin on his features slipping away as he did this.

He looked upon her frozen in place for a second before he leaned down towards herm his lips making contact against her own as they slid across them. A brief kiss as their lips touch one another's, his feeling warm as they slid against hers.

He pull away from her. "I'm sorry ... I shouldn't have ...." he whispered though he still remained close to her, gazing at her with unblinking eyes.

She smirked and stuck out her tongue at him at his jibe about eating enough for them both. This was rapidly becoming a problem though...if this dream got any better, she may never want to wake up again.

She went still as his fingers brushed across her cheek, staring at him timidly as his warm thumb rubbed the chocolate from the corner of her mouth. She smiled bashfully afterward, then looked worried as his smile slowly vanished. Was something wrong? Was her face still dirty? Had her scars been revealed and he forgot to hide how he fel-

She felt a moment of shock, like she'd put her fingers too close to an outlet, and her mind went completely blank. What was that feeling? Why was his face so close to hers? The remaining chocolate fell from her suddenly unresponsive fingers, unheeded as she tried to piece together what he had just done. He'd just...kissed her. Her cheeks burned crimson in a furious blush, her eye widened, and her knees threatened to give out.



She didn't speak, didn't trust herself to quite yet. Instead she shuffled closer to him, lifting her arms to slip them behind his neck, pulling herself up on tiptoe. Her face was still a bit lower than his, her nose just brushing the tip of his chin. Taking a soft breath and wetting her lips with the tip of her tongue, she leaned closer, drawing him down to her.

"I'm not sorry...." she whispered warmly, closing her eyes and returning the kiss with pure, gentle passion, at once yielding and insistent. Her body arched into his, curving into his chest like it was meant to be there. Her head felt warm and bubbly, disoriented in a pleasantly narcotic way. Maybe chocolate wasn't her favorite drug after all...

Mark appeared shocked as tiny fingers skimmed around the side of his neck to lock behind the back of it drawing him closer for another kiss. His lips flowed against hers in that moment, eyes closing as fingers slid against her hips.

He had a loose hold on her as he drank from her lips and as they parted, his features a bit reddened from the embarrassment of his earlier daring he gazed at her, a smile turning up the corners of his lips as he plainly gazed at her for a long moment then glanced away at the waters of the lake.

His touch still upon her, his fingers holding her close as he looked back. No stutter evident in her voice told him that she was relaxed when she spoke. "I'm glad," he answered and then moved on to add that they should be going, it was nearing seventh period already."

He did not seem too urgent though since he failed to move, just looking at her then leaning down for another kiss.

Aegir knew that her desire to stay her would be strong. Even later with the twist that he had planned it should still rank up there. He tinkered with another idea that floated through his head and while he urged to take her he toyed with the idea of making her first time pleasant, to break her in so to speak to the degree that he preferred. Monsters were good for something ...

That was just a fleeting thought that he had but he soon lost himself in concentrating on the dream and what was to come ...

She let herself go, slipping into the warmth of his arms, the sweetness of the kiss. She parted her lips in a small sigh of happiness, returning his affection with a subtle hunger. Her expression was a blushing mixture of a dazed smile and a pout as he pulled back to look at her.

As he turned a similar pinkish shade and looked away, she broke into quiet giggles and snuggled up to his chest, looking up at him through her bangs. She bit her lower lip gently, wondering if maybe she'd been too uncharacteristically aggressive, even for her dreams. But no, he turned back to her with a smile on his face, muttering something about needing to get back. Its just a dream...I'm not going to waste any time on meaningless classes... she thought firmly, and only held on to him more tightly, urging him to stay, to come back down to her waiting lips.

She murmured a happy little sound as her wish was granted, pressing her lips to his eagerly, getting drunk off the intimate contact she'd been denied so very long. She thought for a moment that just this, only this moment, real or dream, was enough for her. She didn't need, didn't honestly expect anything else. If only it was the real Mark.... a little voice in her head whispered, a discordant note in the happy haze hovering over her mind.

Perhaps on some level, somewhere in her mind, she knew this was wrong, an unnatural illusion being forced into her dreams. If anything, it was the feeling of happiness she was allowed that most made it suspect. Call her jaded, call her depressive, but she knew what to expect from life...and this was the exact opposite. Even dreams should only go so far...and for her, this was deep into uncharted territory. Not that the active part of her mind was complaining....

He held onto her gently as her mind dared less about the time or classes in this realm. He did not seem to care that they were in public at the lake. The only one here was a distance away tossing a frisbe to his golden retriever.

Mark pressed his lips against her own for a while longer, his hands roaming over her sides slowly climbing up and down them as he stepped into her, chest to chest his mouth coursed over her lips drawing in the scent of her perfumed body in his nose.

Meanwhile the closet door opened, Aegir slithering out into her room. His white eyes gazed at her as he silently moved though he had to tell himself not yet ... not now ... a tentacle reached up brushing against her side mimicing the movement's of Mark's hand as it moved against him.

He had less material barring his touch though as he directed his tentacle, a portion of his mind still directing the illusion as she felt Mark's firmness growing beneath the fabric of his pants. He did not apologize or pull away, rather he continued to press his lips against hers, his tongue worming into her mouth to slid against her tongue as they drank from each other's lips ...

The world around her might as well not have existed as far as Anne was concerned. There was only Mark. She gasped softly into the tender kiss, not resisting his fingers stroking along her sides. It feels so real... her mind wondered in a pleasant haze, unaware that a tentacle was mirroring her love's hands in the waking world. She pressed herself against him more firmly, not only allowing, but encouraging his hands to continue caressing her sides, her hips...anywhere he wanted really.

She shivered slightly as she felt him grow hard against her belly, mystified and pleased that someone as ugly (in her mind) as herself was turning him on. Her lips parted eagerly for his tongue, her own twining and dancing around his teasingly. She was starting to feel lightheaded, her breathing gone shallow and rapid as completely unfamiliar feelings and desires started bubbling within her, warming her core and sending little tingles up her spine.

At this point, she was putty in his hands, thinking (falsely) that he was just an incarnation of her own thoroughly buried desires. And what harm was it to give in to your own desires every now and then? She never had before...but now was a wonderful time to start.