The DREAM WORLD Series
DAYDREAM REALITY

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----- Chapter 2 -----
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George and LB walked along together down the street. Not much had been said since they left the pad, but they really did need to talk. About everything. About the change, about what they planned to do next, heck, about what they wanted for dinner! Anything was better than just walking along in silence.

"So..." LB tried to fill the void. He was only rewarded with the sound quickly being sucked back into the silence vaccum. "Come on. Talk to me. You've gotta be feeling something by now. Shock does wear off, you know."

George nodded. "I just don't know what ta think right now. At first I was too blown away ta feel much of anythin', ya know? Then it was this rage over bein' ripped away from my real life. Now?" He grunted. "It's rather excitin'. An adventure, even. But---"

"You're afraid to admit that you might actually be having a bit of fun with it, right?" LB's question was rewarded with an imperceptible nod. "And then not be able to pull yourself back."

"We should be thinkin' about how to get back, not 'Oh look! I'm Davy Jones now!'" George kicked a stone down the street in frustration and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Maybe we can find someone else who really knows what's going on?"

"How da we do that?"

"Well, we are Monkees. Ask a few pretty girls. I mean, with your baby face and my sparkling wit---"

"Oh, get over yahself!" They laughed.

At a turn in the road, George became aware of two young girls walking towards them, both of which seemed to recognise him at once. Oh boy. Here goes. Time to go into the act... He was also aware of LB snickering as he walked along beside him. If he had the time and those four inches that had mysteriously vanished from his height, he would have slapped the blonde musician senseless right there on the sidewalk. Lucky for LB, there wasn't time for that right now since---

"Hi Davy!" The one on the left with long brown hair grinned and waved her hand.

"'Ey there." George wasn't sure what to say next. Did Davy know this girl? Was she just trying to get his attention?

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already! I'm Veronica! We met at your last gig?" She looked slightly annoyed.

"Ah. Sorry. I remembah now." George lied, and glanced at LB for help. When none came he kept going. "Just been a long day s'all."

"Oh I know what you mean!!" The girl beside Veronica suddenly exploded into speach, scaring the heck out of LB and making him jump a little. "I woke up this morning and I seriously had the world's WORST headache! Like someone had run me over with a truck or something. And I had this weird feeling----"

Veronica's eyes went wide with alarm. How embarrasing to have her friend get a sudden case of running at the mouth! And right infront of two of The Monkees! "Sorry about my friend. She talks too much."

George hadn't heard Veronica's attempt at covering for her friend and most certainly hadn't noticed her embarrasement. Something the other girl had said caught his attention. A 'weird' feeling? This was worth pursuing. LB caught George's eye and turned on the awkward charm.

"H-hi! I'm Peter." He stuttered and made a show of acting like he was so taken with her that he could barely talk. He was rewarded with a quick giggle from her and decided to keep pressing his advantage.

"I'm Melanie." She stifled her giggle.

Pulling Veronica aside, George could almost hear the gears in his mind grinding on overdrive. Think Davy. "I think Petah likes your friend." He began lamely. "She get headaches a lot?"

"Not really. Matter of fact, I can't remember the last time she got one... I mean, before now that is." Veronica shifted her weight. "But let's not talk about her right now. I want to talk about you. David Thomas Jones. Lead singer of The Monkees. There's so much I don't know about you."

"Well, there's not much to tell." REALLY. I studied this guy, but I didn't expect a pop quiz on his life. Where is she going with this anyway? George called up as much information as he could remember. He was going to need it.

"Modest. There's another reason I like you so much." She was really trying hard to get on his good side now.

LB felt an opportunity pop up. "Modest? Davy?" He chuckled. Melanie, by now, was right at his elbow and she looked utterly star struck. "You sure we're talking about the same guy here?"

"Petah, why don't you and ya new friend go somewhere... else." He glared. Throwing his hands up in the air, LB walked off hand in hand with Melanie, giggling the whole way. George turned back to his date, beet red.

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Waterlogged, Aaron slogged up out of the surf and deposited himself on his towel laying in the sand. A nice long swim had proved just what he needed to clear his thoughts. Now he could focus on the problem that lay ahead. They had fallen asleep on the set in Toronto and had mysteriously woken up here. But even this wasn't quite the world that the real Monkees lived in. This was like a world where the Monkees were actually struggling musicians, not just playing a band on TV. He vaguely recalled the plot of a Star Trek episode where Data had explained how every time someone performed a task with the potential for multiple outcomes, each outcome did, in fact, occur... but in an alternate universe.

"Micky?"

Which was a pretty funny thought. Could that include any situation? Like if he chose the cheeseburger at McDonald's instead of the McChicken, would THAT create alternate realities? Just how significant would it be if he selected the beef over the poultry? What was it's place in the grand scheme of things?

"Micky?!"

In other scenarios it made more sense however. Like if America had stayed out of World War One just a little while longer any number of historical events could have been seriously affected, or have never happened at all.

"MICKY!!!"

Aaron jumped about a mile in the air. Somone had been calling him. Still not used to answering to that name. He reprimanded himself and looked up to see who had beconed him.

"That is you, isn't it, man?" A young guy, probably in his early twenties was walking towards him. Somehow the name instantly popped into his head. Eric. And why exactly was that? Just because Aaron looked like Micky now, did he really share all of his memories?

"Uh... yep." He jumped to his feet. He's a sciences major who dabbles in music on the side. Weird combination. The wealth of data just kept coming to him. Observation alone told him a lot about the man's character as it was. He wore a rather conservative outfit, form-fitting, but not outrageously tight jeans with a blue pullover sweatshirt. His hair was a honey-blonde color, cut relatively short in comparison to everyone else he'd observed wandering the beach today. To top off the look, the young man also had a pair of glasses perched on the end of his nose. Definately a student of some kind but still groovy in his own, unique way.

"Well, why didn't you answer me? I must have been calling your name for five minutes." Eric smiled and slapped him on the back. Aaron coughed, having had the wind slightly knocked out of him. Might look like a book worm, but man does he work out. Aaron added ruefully to the physical profile.

"Must've had my mind somewhere else." And boy that was no lie.

"The other guys around? You remember what you promised!" Eric stared expectantly and waited. And waited. "You do remember, don't you?"

"Who, me? Pffft! Of course!" Aaron tacked on a very forced laugh in an attempt at emphasis.

"You've always been a terrible liar." The young man chuckled and let out an exasperated sigh. "You promised you'd let me try my lecture out on you. Quantum Time Displacement Theorems." Aaron's hesitation apparently didn't strike Eric as out of the ordinary, so he quickly pressed on. "Oh, I know. You gave me the whole 'I'm not really into that sort of thing' speach before. Don't worry. I won't be offended if you nod off. I'm guessing most of my class will too, given their amazing track record with lectures." A smile spread across his face. "Kinda like a dress rehearsal for the actual thing. Just don't snore too loudly, k?"

Running a hand through the curly locks he was still getting adjusted to dealing with, Aaron nodded. What else could he say? Maybe if he was lucky he would fall asleep and wake up back on the couch on the movie set.

"So, where are the other guys at?" Eric stooped and picked up the overstuffed backpack he had been carrying with him.

Snapping to attention, Aaron replied. "Uhm, Mike's up at the house... Davy and Peter went out for a walk, I guess. They'll be back eventually. We have a gig tomorrow night, so they'll have to show up sooner or later."

Before Aaron had even finished with 'out for a walk', Eric was off and bounding up the beach house stairs. Oh boy. Better go bail out Jeff before that guy starts on HIM with the mound of unanswerable questions. Taking the steps two at a time, Aaron had managed to catch up with Eric just before he walked inside and would have probably scared the living daylights out of Jeff.

"Lemme go in first. Mike's probably.... sleeping or something." Boy, Aaron wasn't used to this quick thinking stuff. At least, he wasn't accustomed to having to do it several times a day.

Eric gestured that he understood, even if his head was slightly cocked to the side in confusion. Not waiting to explain himself, Aaron hurled himself inside and caught sight of Jeff. "We have company." He said simply.

Jeff groaned. This 24/7 acting was getting awefully tiresome. "Who?"

The young science major stuck his head in at that moment. "Hey Mike! What's up, man?"

"Tha ceilin'?" Jeff replied, bewildered. It was getting really disconcerting to have all these people recognizing him and to not have a clue who they were. Recognising Mike. He corrected himself ruefully. Boy I miss the way things used to be. I'll never take plain old Jeff Geddis for granted again, that's for certain..

Eric grinned. "I can see you're in a good mood today." He plopped his large backpack down on the floor with a thud and unzipped it. "I've come to take you up on that offer to listen to my lecture for class."

Jeff's jaw dropped to the floor. Aaron was in so much trouble. The last thing he had wanted to do was listen to some kid's boring old school project, and Aaron should have known that! "I'm really not up ta that right now." He tried his best to remain polite about the whole situation, but he felt his whole mood was sitting on a bomb with a very short fuse that had just been lit. "Too busy. I don't really 'ave time for your lecture stuff."

"Uh. Alright... I'll come back later." Eric said, slightly taken aback. He numbly backed off and headed for the door which he had just entered through moments before. "M-maybe it'd be better if all four of you guys were here anyway." He slung his backpack on his shoulder again and walked out. It hadn't been a strict chastation like Mike usually gave, but he knew the warning signs and beat knew that beating a hastey retreat was probably the best idea at this point. For Hell hath no fury like a cranky Texan.

Aaron turned his shocked face to Jeff. "Oh gee. Didn't know we were going with the blunt and rude approach tonight. Must have missed the memo." Jeff's only response was an exasperated sigh followed by trudging over to the spiral staircase and heading straight up to bed. Maybe some rest would clear everyone's thoughts. Aaron flopped back down on the couch, wishing with all his might that just by visualizing the backstage area infront of him, it would miraculously be there and this nightmare would finally end.

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Despite his external cool, Eric was a bit taken aback to say the least. Micky hadn't given him any indication that he would be welcomed in with anything but open arms. Mike nevertheless was coming off as quite hostile and... something else. He had picked up that something else on Micky too when he had first seen his old pal laying faceup in the sand, come to think of it. An uneasiness and almost forced feeling had been present in even the most casual of conversation. As if it had taken great thought to respond. Something was out of sync around here and he was going to find out what.

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LB walked into the pad relatively early considering the girl who had spent the afternoon firmly attached to his forearm had assumed they were on a date and looked pretty desolate when he broke things off early. However, his main motive had been to pump her for information about her headaches and that he had. It was a long shot, but her sudden feeling of disorientation might have been connected to their appearance here this morning.

"Hey guys." He walked in to find Aaron conked out on the couch and Jeff nowhere in sight. "Guys?"

Aaron started with a snort and sat up. Eyes closed, he turned in the sound of LB's voice. "Man I was having the weirdest dream." He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stood up. Upon seeing his friend's appearance, he deflated once again. "Not a dream."

"Sorry." LB shrugged and tossed his jacket into the corner. "Jeff around?"

Aaron pointed up the spiral staircase. "Sleeping. Or brooding. Or possibly a combination of the two."

"Guessing George found a pretty blonde to spend some quality time with?" The curly haired actor made his way over to the kitchen and pulled a bottle of milk out of the fridge. LB smirked and nodded. George might not be the real David Jones, but he still had a lot of the guy's instincts. Including the tendancy at chasing skirts all around the state. He was a fine one to talk though. He'd become a lot more reserved and awkward since being slapped down in the middle of Peter Tork's life too.

"I met this girl today." LB decided the best way to start was at the beginning. "She was really nice and all and---"

"You're blushing." Aaron was grinning from ear to ear and proudly displaying a milk moustache.

"What? No I'm not. I'm fine around girls." LB felt the rising heat on his cheeks and knew he was going to get nailed for trying to deny it.

"Well, Luke Bradford Fisher might have been fine around girls, but remember who's life you're leading right now." Aaron said nonchalantly and wiped the milk with his sleeve. A silence decended upon the room and Aaron instantly wished he could have taken back what he just said. Way to go, Idaho. Awkward moment number 1,379.

"Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?" Aaron tried to look innocently at him.

"Pointing out what's happened as if I didn't already know it! Carrying on like we'll never be ourselves again. Damnit, Aaron, I am Luke Bradford Fisher!"

"Was." Jeff had come out of the bedroom and was looking down at his roommates with a sad, almost melancholy gaze. He had been doing some heavy thinking on the subject. Maybe it was about time they stopped fighting and resigned themselves to the fact that they were most probably stuck here. The sooner we accept that, the sooner we can move on. Not the worst lives to have to live out, right? He was amazed how easilly he could lie to himself.

"Yep. Your mood changes like the weather." Aaron sat down on the bottom step of the spiral staircase with a sigh.

"I'm not ready ta give up hope that we'll get back to our own lives, guys. But we also have ta be prepared ta accept the fact that we might very well be stuck here." Jeff walked halfway down the staircase and sat down right behind Aaron. "For a long time."

Just then, George walked in, wearing a smile with wattage enough to light up half of the Las Vegas strip. Still walking on a perverbial cloud nine from his date with Veronica, it took him almost a full minute before he caught on to the fact that everyone else in the room had been involved in a heavy discussion. Something Jeff had said when he first walked in jumped into his head. "What could be for a long time, man?"

"Oh, nothing. Just Jeff decided we should give up all hope of ever being ourselves again, that's all." LB bit off his words as if they left a sour taste in his mouth as he spoke them.

George froze in place. He had let himself have a good time tonight being under the assumption that the next day he would be back home and his old self again. Something had told him Jeff and the others would think of what to do... and now they were calling it quits?! "Wha'?"

"Now, now hold on a minute there." Jeff rose to his full height and stepped around Aaron to get down onto the floor. "I never said anythin' like that! I was just sayin' as how we should be prepared in case we can't get back. No one's givin' up, you hear me?" He clapped a hand on LB's back to reassure him and added. "I'll getcha back to auditionin' for the WB before ya know it." Then turning to George he continued. "An' you.. don't you worry. I wouldn't cut short the recording career of Bulgaria's most famous singer for nuthin'." Lastly he sat down next to Aaron. "An' Aaron... well, I'll try to keep ya out of jail." Aaron took a playful swipe at Jeff's head, neatly missing and tumbling down that last step and onto the floor.

Eyes popping open, Aaron found himself staring straight up at Jeff. The guy just appeared more trustworthy by the minute... and annoying. Both in roughly equal proportions. Yet, he knew that if Jeff said he would get them back, he would find a way to do just that. Aaron scrambled to his feet and locked eyes with Jeff. "Thanks for the pep talk, coach."

Jeff shifted his gaze to LB who, the smile returning to his face, shifted his gaze to George. Continuing the pattern, George threw Aaron a look that was more exasperation than "I love you, man", but it would suffice. They were connected in a very personal way. They all shared not only the time they had had to bond on the set, but felt a companionship far deeper now that they were the real Monkees-- a notorious foursome of friends who would do anything for each other. It was an odd feeling to be that close to three other guys, but also amazingly reassuring. It was great to feel like one of the gang.
Feeling like you knew no matter what happened you would have three other guys watching your back.

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The VH1 movie "Daydream Believers: The Monkees Story" is copywrite Pebblehut Productions. I am in no way affiliated with the guys who played the Monkees (Aaron Lohr, LB Fisher, George Stanchev, and Jeff Geddis) in this movie. I just wrote this out of admiration for the guys and the incredible job done on the movie. If you don't agree with my interpretation of one of the actors or one of them happens to actually READ this... I'm simply guessing about what they're (you're) really like. No offense is intended! This fanfic is copywrite Random Fandom. If you would like to link Random Fandom on your own website, be my guest!