A/N: Hello! I just wanted to let you all know that Stephanie is not gone! This is a sequel to both "Being The Oldest" and even more, "Slave To Passion". I suggest that if you want to understand Stephanie's dreams, you may want to read "Slave To Passion" first, but it's mostly concentrating on Steph. Please enjoy and review!

"Who was that doll girl who said you were her bride?" I heard myself ask. What I would've really liked to know was who he was, but I couldn't control myself there!

"That was Mary-Ellen." the boy said. "She thinks she's so great, but she's just an ugly bitch. As I told her, I'm not so desperate that I'll marry her. Look at all the girls around me. That Brooke friend of yours, she's pretty. And look at you."

"Me?" At least that was something I wanted to know.

"You have kind of nice, if cliché, blonde hair." the boy said. I scowled inwardly. This girl I was in the body of was such a sweetie that it drove me crazy.

"I kind of like the contrast with your eyes." the boy continued. "Maybe you could be a little taller, but that's OK."

"But I can't date you!" the voice that was mine said. "I mean...why would you want a shy kid who can't even handle talking to regular guys?"

The boy's eyes narrowed-

I was jolted awake by my alarm clock clicking on. I sat up straight away. Every time I had those dreams about that girl, I was immediately wide awake the next morning.

Lisa was already awake, and I noticed her staring at me. I glared back at her.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer!" I snapped. "Or why don't you just keep staring, I might do a trick."

Lisa stopped watching me and muttered sarcastically "Well, excuse me."

Sometimes, I thought about asking Lisa about dreams. Although I had never been that close to her, I'd admit that she would probably be the most helpful. Dad was never the brightest crayon in the box, and Bart would be going the same way if he wasn't careful. Mom wasn't especially helpful in these situations, and Maggie was, well, a baby. But Lisa was a brainbox, plus she was the only non-Christian in the family (even though Mom still makes all of us go to church), so she was the most likely to know something. But this time, I didn't bother telling her.

I couldn't stop thinking about that dream and the girl whose body I inhabit in the dream. I was trying to piece together everything I knew about her. So far, I knew that she was blonde, and that she was nearly always with this boy with red hair and blue eyes. He was kind of cute, but she always felt nervous around him for some reason. The first time I'd had a dream, the first thing he said was "You do everything I tell you to without question," and most of the time, the girl seemed to obey him. I wasn't sure why, because he hadn't done anything to her yet.

Even my friends noticed my quietness. "What's up, Steph?" asked my best friend Tasha.

"Nothing, Tash." I said automatically. "Just thinking about this dream I had."

Tasha's eyes lit up. She claimed to be an athiest, but she seemed to be a dream believer. "What was it about?"

I shrugged. "I keep having recurring dreams about this girl. I don't even know who she is – some shy girl who is at the beck and call of some guy."

"Like a slave girl."

I shrugged again. "I guess. The guy's kinda cute, but she's always all nervous and scared when she's around him. It's not yet explained why she's always so scared."

"Definitely like a slave girl!" Tasha said brightly. "I think that means something to do with oppression."

I shrugged, trying to get the dream out of my head. It wouldn't leave, though. It didn't even leave in Art class, which was usually the best thing about my day. I found myself sketching, and by the end of the lesson, I'd drawn the boy from my dream, from his ruffled hair to his malicious smirk. I had to admit, even the way I'd drawn him made him look strangely evil.

I just hoped that I wouldn't have another dream like that. It made me feel like I was going crazy, and we already had enough crazy people in the family.

But before I went to bed that night, I found Lisa watching me again.

I scowled back at her. "What's the wide eyes for this time?" I demanded.

Lisa didn't give up on that look like she had that morning. "Who was the doll girl you were talking about in your sleep?" she questioned.

"What?"

"You've been keeping me up all night, and last night you were talking about a doll girl. You also said something about not telling you something."

I didn't remember that bit, but I just gave her the answer the boy said. "All I know is that the doll girl is called Mary-Ellen, and she's ugly." I told her. "It was just some dream. No big deal."

"Are you sure?" Now Lisa was looking concerned. "You've been dreamy all day, and you've been sleeptalking for the past few days. Last week you said that you felt out of place. And a few days ago you were complaining that your throat hurt."

I glared at her. "Drop it." I said flatly.

"All right, all right, no need to get all tough about it." Lisa muttered.

"Shut up."

That night, I had the dream once again, and this time, I found out just a little bit more about the girl.

So, what does Stephanie discover? Well, you'll have to find out! So please review!

Also, could you check out my new stories, "Mist In The Jungle" and "One Jump Ahead Of Myself" and review them? It's a new thing for me, and I really want feedback on them! So please, just go to my profile and check them out!