Rachel McCarey

Rachel McCarey is a fictitious character in the Dreams to Reality continuity, having played a major role in the novellas, and a smaller than expected role in the web series. Her appearances in the novels will be large enough to return her to the role of a major character during her time featured in the novel series. She is depicted in all three continuities as the girlfriend of Michael Bennett, but in the novellas and web series continuities in particular, the relationship is usually undermined (somewhat innocently) by Michael's mutual attraction to Danielle Grayson. In the novel series, she will begin the series in a love triangle with Michael and Nick Vanleck, which will play out over the first two installments before ending in dramatic fashion. Little is revealed about her family life in the novellas and web series, but she will be fully developed as a character in the novel series.

In the Web Series (2000-2004)
On a late spring day at Eagle Creek Junior High School, Rachel McCarey walked into her English classroom and went over to her desk, where the boy she had a crush on, Michael Bennett, was speaking to his friend Rocky Fronset about a note that was written on the back of Michael's notebook. Michael explained to Rachel that had allowed Rocky to borrow his notebook the previous night, and when it was returned, the mysterious note had been added to the back while it was in Rocky's possession, but he won't divulge who wrote the note. Rachel did not recognize the handwriting of the person who wrote the note, which asked Michael to take her to the upcoming dance. Josh Poncek arrived in the class and told Rachel and Michael about an argument he'd just had with his friend Travis Sirlon, over a misunderstanding in which Travis thought Josh intended to break up with his girlfriend, Nicole Halloway because Josh had said the words "calling it quits," but he was actually speaking about his ex-girlfriend, Melinda Flint. During the class, Rachel would find herself daydreaming about Michael, as she figured that Michael didn't seem to know or care who his secret admirer is and wondered if it meant that he already had feelings for somebody else, and smiled at the thought that it could be her. Rachel's friend Jamie Blonner tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention, having realized that Rachel seemed lost in thought and asked what was up. Rachel told Jamie she'd explain it to her later, so during their study hall during the next class period, Rachel and Jamie sat away from everyone else in the room to have a private discussion. Rachel asked Jamie if she was still not taking anyone to the dance, and a somewhat depressed Jamie said no and that she didn't think she was going to go. Rachel told Jamie that she is so going even if she doesn't have a date, because someone would need to keep her (Rachel) company on the sidelines. Jamie asked Rachel about "the guy you were thinking about last period so intently," but Rachel would claim that she wasn't thinking about anybody. She would immediately then shoot a glance across the room at Michael, and Jamie watched her gaze over at Michael and realized that Rachel has a crush on him and that Rachel was afraid that Michael won't ask her to the dance in time. Jamie suggested to Rachel that she ask him to the dance instead, but Rachel didn't want to rush it because while she knows that Michael at least sees her as a friend, she isn't sure if he has the same feelings for her as she does for him. Rachel said that if she got a hint that Michael was simply too shy to ask her and that he actually does like her as well, she'll ask him, but Jamie told her that she'd better make sure Michael likes her quickly, or else Rachel will be entertaining her on the sidelines during the dance. Rachel and Jamie would approach Michael, Rocky, and David Richards as Michael was describing a girl to Rocky and David he was claiming to have a crush on. A jealous Rachel asked Michael who he had a crush on, so Michael took her away from David, Rocky, and Jamie to speak with her privately. Michael nervously admitted to Rachel that he actually has a crush on her, and an excited Rachel enthusiastically responded that the feeling is mutual. Michael quieted Rachel, saying that the last thing he needed right then was Rocky "getting on my case," so they need to be a little more discreet. Rachel pointed out that Rocky would find out about this eventually, but Michael said that he had just told Rocky that he liked someone else to throw him off the case, because Rocky had seen him looking at her last period and he didn't want Rocky "going nuts with it," and added that he wants to know what Rocky is trying to pull about this secret admirer situation. Michael then told Rachel he wanted to ask her this now so that he doesn't feel guilty later when and if he finds out whoever this secret admirer is and Rocky tries to make him feel bad for asking Rachel this question, and asks her to the dance. Rachel happy accepts the invitation, and Michael says this may be the beginning of something beautiful. (DtRW #1)

At the end of the school day, Rachel and Michael walked to her locker together while finalizing their plans to meet up on Friday before the school dance at 6:00 in order to get something to eat before the dance began at 7:00. Rachel told Michael that she was shocked that Michael asked her to the dance because she has had an enormous crush on him for months, but was afraid that he didn't have the same feelings for her as she does for him. She hadn't wanted to press the issue until she was absolutely sure. Michael informed her that he also had a crush on her for months and was similarly afraid that she wouldn't have the same feelings for him as he does for her. Rachel wanted to know how Michael knew how she felt about him, but Michael revealed that Rocky was the reason that he decided to ask her to the dance because he produced what Michael had thought was a fake note from his secret admirer, figuring that if the note really was from a secret admirer, he should hurry and ask Rachel to the dance before he found out who the secret admirer was, if there ever was one. Rachel realized that Michael likely wouldn't have asked her to the dance if he hadn't given Rocky his notebook so that he could stay caught up in class. Michael stated that Rocky would be to blame if Rachel's relationship with Michael turned serious. Jack Brock, Jarrid Harlen, and Dustin Finley would arrive at this point and deliver the news of Mark Shane and Nicole Halloway's nearly simultaneous accidents earlier in the day that led to both of them being hospitalized at Portage General Memorial Hospital in Ravenna to Rachel, Michael, and a nearby Rocky. Michael wanted to quickly go to the hospital to see his friend Nicole and made arrangements with Jarrid to ride with him to the hospital with Jarrid's mother. Rachel would also make similar arrangements with Jarrid while Michael called his father to ask for permission to go. Rachel wondered why Melinda would push Nicole down a flight of stairs and wanted to know if Josh was aware of what had happened. Jack confirmed that after Danielle Grayson found Nicole unconscious first, Josh was one of the first people to arrive at the scene, and Rachel knew that Josh would be extremely upset with Melinda. When Michael returned from calling his father, Rachel asked him if he had any trouble convincing his father to let him go to the hospital. Michael replied that he hadn't, that he simply has to be ready to go home at 5:10, because Jeannette, Michael's father's girlfriend, was cooking chicken that night, and apparently she becomes upset if she thinks anyone doesn't want to eat her cooking. Rachel asked him if that would be true even if he were at the hospital checking on a friend, but Michael wasn't sure, adding he'd only known her for seven months and that she is nice enough, but he clearly didn't like something about the woman. As the group prepared to leave the school to head to the hospital, Rocky stopped Rachel and Michael to confront them about their feelings for one another. Michael would send Rachel to tell Jarrid to wait for him and that he'd catch up with them, so Rachel headed outside, where Jarrid asked her where "Bennett" was. Rachel told him that Rocky had to talk to him about something and that Michael would be coming in a few minutes. Soon, a crossbow is fired at the group by a man wearing a skull mask from a group of bushes nearby, with the arrow landing in the side of Jarrid's mother's brand-new Pontiac Grand Am, terrifying everyone present. Jarrid would spot a note attached to the arrow that was now lodged in the passenger side door of the car just as Michael arrived on the scene and asked what had happened. Dustin was able to accurately pinpoint where the arrow was fired from, but the man in the skull mask had since disappeared. Jarrid was shocked by the contents of the note, and Michael read the note aloud for Jarrid's mother, Dustin, and Rachel after Jarrid and Jack took turns reading it. The note claimed to Jarrid that Nicole (referring to her as his girlfriend despite their October 1999 breakup) was dead and that Jarrid would be next if he got in the way. Rachel wondered who would do this, and Michael vowed to find out while the teens are left to wonder whether Nicole is already dead. The group would soon arrive at Portage General, where they quickly encountered Josh, David, Travis, and Mandy Marin, where Josh told Michael that he'd nearly pushed Melinda down the stairs in retaliation for what she did to Nicole, but claimed that he'd never planned to actually go through with pushing Melinda down the stairs, only meaning to scare her. Michael would then tell Josh, David, Travis, and Mandy about the note that was shot into the passenger side door of Jarrid's mother's car and the ominous note attached to it. After Josh read the note for himself, he revealed that he had just seen Nicole a couple of minutes before Rachel and the others had arrived at the hospital and that she was conscious and certainly not dead despite the note's claim to the contrary. Jack figured at this point that whoever wrote the note was lying because the note was shot at them at 2:20, and it was now nearly 3:00, but Rachel pointed out that whoever shot the note at them must have been at the junior high school in Eagle Creek at the time, so maybe the person shot the arrow at them, hoping it would scare them to death, and would then have time to come to the hospital, kill Nicole, and get out of there before anyone came to check on her. Jack would tell Rachel that she'd seen too many horror movies, and that they shouldn't start to worry until they start seeing Jason Vorhees or Freddy Kreuger skulking around Eagle Creek. Jack was quick to write off the note a sick prank, but Michael cautioned him not to be too sure about that, because clearly whoever shot the arrow has no qualms about hurting someone because it would have taken nearly a sharpshooter's eye to perfectly shoot the arrow into the side of the car door with everyone standing around it at the time, and likely even wanted to impale one of them with the arrow when they shot it. Speculation would continue about whether or not to call the police about this note until Nicole suddenly screamed in terror from her hospital room, prompting Josh and Michael to rush to check to see what was wrong with her. While Josh and Michael were checking on Nicole, Rachel and the remaining teens would make their way to a hospital waiting room, where a television was showing an episode of The Jerry Springer Show, a program Rachel said was so stupid that it's funny. Danielle arrived in the waiting room for an update on Mark and Nicole, and David told her that while they hadn't heard anything about Mark yet, Nicole was conscious. Rachel would happily take Danielle aside to speak to her privately, where she reminded Danielle that she had a crush on Michael, adding that Michael had asked her to the dance today. Danielle would pretend to be happy for Rachel (Rachel herself unaware of Danielle's own crush on Michael), loudly proclaiming that she couldn't believe Michael asked her to the dance. Danielle asked Rachel if she and Michael would be getting together on a more permanent basis, and Rachel replied that they very well may. Danielle would then excuse herself, loudly proclaiming that she needed to talk to David, acting oddly enough for Rachel to take note of, but not understand. After Danielle quite literally dragged David away from the group to speak to him privately, Rachel would return to watching television with the others. When David returned, Dustin and Jack demanded to know why Danielle dragged David out of the room like that, but before David could answer, Rocky would arrive for an update on Mark and Nicole as well. Rachel told Rocky that there may be a psychopath running around Eagle Creek trying to kill people, referring to the note shot at Jarrid's mother's car. Jarrid would excuse himself to call Melinda to confront her about the possibility that she shot the note at him, but when he returned after several minutes, he had news that Melinda was not only not the one who shot the note, but also that she had received an ominous voice mail on her answering machine from a man claiming to be her father while speaking in an electronically-altered voice telling her that they would get rid of "that pest Nicole forever." (DtRW #2).

Michael Bennett
Rachel had held a crush on Michael Bennett for quite some time prior to the beginning of the web series unaware that he also was harboring a crush on her as well. Unfortunately, both of them were too shy to make the first move and ask the other out on a date for quite some time, but after Michael was presented with a note purported to be from a secret admirer asking him to the upcoming school dance, Michael decided the time was right to come clean to Rachel about his feelings and ask her to the dance before he finds out who the secret admirer really is. Rachel happily accepted the invitation, but may have been planning to ask Michael to the dance herself if Michael hadn't asked her when he did. Michael would later inform her that he likely wouldn't have gotten the courage to ask her to the dance had Rocky not produced the note from his secret admirer and refuse to tell him the identity of the person who wrote the note. However, Michael did tell Rachel that he would not mind their relationship becoming serious. Unbeknownst to Rachel, however, not only did Michael have a secret admirer, but Danielle Grayson was also actively planning to try to win Michael away from Rachel before Michael asked her to the dance, and when Michael claimed to have a crush on a girl to Rocky and David, he accurately described Danielle as the identity of the girl he had a crush on, though this was in an effort to keep Rocky from thinking he had a crush on Rachel so he wouldn't tell her before he could. Rachel would later happily tell Danielle that Michael asked her to the dance, devastating Danielle, who pretended to be happy for Rachel, though reacted oddly enough to the news to make Rachel take note of it (DtRW #1-2).

Background & Trivia

 * Rachel was originally a very major player in the series, taking on a large role in the novellas, but in the web series, she didn't make as big an impact as she was intended to because her relationship with Michael became pushed to the back burner in favor of the various key storylines that would demand Michael's presence elsewhere. Her limited role in the web series led directly to Rachel being given a slightly more diminished role in the upcoming novel series, as well, though the novel series will finally introduce Rachel's family members to the series and fully develop their family's background. She will be in a love triangle with Michael and Nick Vanleck in the novel series, and it is unlikely that her relationship with Michael will last for longer than the first three to five installments.
 * In a glaring continuity difference between the web series and novel series, Rachel is currently not planned to still be featured in the series by the time the novel series reaches the point in its own timeline that it matches up with the "current" events depicted in the web series. Plans for the character of Rachel are for the character to be removed from the series by at latest the eighth installment of the series, while the "May 2000/May 2009" storylines depicted in the web series (including the destruction of the junior high school [high school in the novel series] and release of the Curse of the Pearla/Coralia Statue in Eagle Creek) would not be depicted until the seventeenth installment despite Rachel's continued presence during those events in the web series.