Slowly drifting out of sleep, Dusk could feel her mind smiling. She'd had a really nice dream, one of those awfully romantic ones. It'd actually been a bit like that love scene she'd written, out of the blue, yesterday. She could almost still feel his fingertips caressing the nape of her neck... She opened her eyes, in an instant losing the last hint of that languid morning calm. Him! Taylor! I really don't like the way my subconscious works, she thought. No, it's okay. He was the last thing I thought about last night, next to that love scene. It's natural. That's the way dreams work.

She got dressed, and was reading the back of a box of muesli when her older brother Troy made his way into the kitchen, looking like somebody had had a gluegun fiesta involving his eyes.

"Morning," she said, as always almost perky, now that she'd woken up properly.

"Yeamng." Troy was not a morning person. "How can you eat that stuff? It's so drab."

"Troy, you're not awake yet. Get back to me when you are. Love the boxers, by the way," she replied, scooping the last spoonful into her mouth and placing the bowl in the sink.

"Dishwasher."

"Look who's talking..." she grumbled, opening it and tossing in some forgotten knives and forks while she was at it. "Twenty minutes to liftoff. Be there or be late."

He waved absently at her has she left the kitchen.

About half an hour later, Pete was complaining about garlic, and Dusk was, very pointedly, pretending she wasn't listening.

"So how are we feeling about meeting the chipmunks?"

"Huh?" Dusk realized she'd actually screened him out for real. After a few seconds, when his words had processed, she rolled her eyes and punched his arm, pretending to be all huffed. "You are so narrow-minded. I listen to all sorts of music, including the type you like, so why can't you be a little bit more open?"

"Whoa. Deja vu. Have you ever said this before? No, I've no problem with them, you know that. As long as you don't turn into a Pastel Person, you could be a republican for all I care."

Pastel People don't really need any kind of introduction. They exist everywhere, in every class structure imaginable. At Jon Wynne High *author's note* this is a fictional, homage, name. If it exists; I'll be darned they were represented by Paige Frederick and her followers.

Paige was constantly fighting an inner battle of convictions. Dusk was exactly the sort of person she should be ignoring, trying to change, or make thoroughly miserable. However, since she had her own TV show, and "met people", an expression that's a cornerstone of Pastel People mentality, one should probably try and be civil towards her. Now imagine when she met someone as thoroughly big as Hanson...