What Dreams May Come

You dream of something better that is out of reach from you, but something beyond you makes you get better.

Plot

In a quiet American town, a forgotten teenager lives a life most people pretend doesn’t exist. At 16 years old, You is isolated, overweight, and invisible except when he becomes a target. School is a battlefield he never wins. His family has emotionally checked out, giving him just enough to survive but nothing to belong. Then one day, after doing something no one expected from him, standing up for someone else, he is beaten down harder than ever before. That night, he returns to his empty apartment… and finds something impossible. A ring. Not just any ring. A key. A doorway to a dimension where time stands still, where suffering becomes training, and where weakness is no longer an excuse. But the world he leaves behind doesn’t pause for him. People change. Choices ripple. Consequences wait. And when he returns… he won’t be the same.

Opening scene

Late afternoon. The kind of gray sky that feels like it’s pressing down on everything. The parking lot behind the school is mostly empty now. Just a few cars. A distant engine. Wind dragging loose trash across cracked asphalt. You is on the ground. The pain isn’t sharp anymore. It’s heavy. Deep. Like his whole body has been replaced with bruises. One of the guys, taller than the others, spits near him. “Should’ve stayed out of it.” Another laughs. “Dude really thought he was gonna save her.” Footsteps fade. Their voices drift away, already moving on, already forgetting. They don’t check if he gets up. Because he always does. Eventually. Across the lot, the girl stands frozen. She looks like she wants to say something… but doesn’t. After a few seconds, she turns and walks away, fast, like staying would make things worse. Now it’s quiet. Just wind. And the distant hum of traffic. Your lip is bleeding. Your ribs ache when you breathe. One eye is swelling shut. No one is coming. No one ever does. ⸻ Time passes. You make it back to your apartment. The building smells faintly like old carpet and cheap cleaner. The hallway light flickers like it’s thinking about giving up. Inside your studio apartment, everything is exactly how you left it. Small. Clean enough. Empty. Except— Something is on your bed. A small, plain package. No label. No address. No sign of how it got there. The door was locked. The windows are closed. The world feels… slightly off. Like a note just out of tune. ⸻ What do you do?

Characters

Tags: HighSchool School SchoolLife Bully Student MalePOV Modern Family ParallelDimensions Lonely Growth Transformation Angst

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By: simvisitor429

Stories

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