Cross' POV a few days later on ANOTHER Patrol

"You do know that this patrol excuse is gonna wear out and not last forever, right?"Chara says

"It's not an excuse."I say

"Ah, so it's a waste of time."Chara suggests

"Protection is never a waste of time."I say

"Well, it seems you're wasting it to get out of being near Dream. Someone's gonna catch onto that eventually and they may not like it. It may not make you look very good."Chara says

"Well, I just don't want to mess up. You've seen how I get around him. i'm a complete idiot! And being an idiot doesn't exactly help, especially when you have someone like Nightmare watching for you to mess up. That's some pressure! You try handling that!"I say

"This is the opposite of how I thought you'd react."Chara tells me

"What do you mean?"I ask

"Well, perhaps your hard work paid off! All those chocolates that you left for him may have worked! I told you they were good! He's starting to open up to you! But yet now, you run away! Missing oppurtunitites!"He says

I just keep walking the patrol route, not saying a word.

"......So is killing him for the choocolate back still out of the question?"He asks

"What? Yes! You will not kill him, or anyone, over chocolate! Chara we've talked about this!"I say

"Correction, you've talked about it and I've ignored you."He says

I sigh, shaking my head.

"All I'm saying is you've come so far to turn back now or ruin it by being a coward. You made it this far, you can keep going. At least try to hang out with him. Because if you keep this up, the door of oppurtunity with Dream may close again."He says

I nod and go back inside once Dust came out for his shift of patrol with Error. I sit on the couch, thinking. An arm wraps around me and I already jolt.

"Hey, Cross. How you doing?"Nightmare says but I could tell by his tone that he isn't  happy

"H-Hey Nightmare."I say

"Now, I just wanna let you know that I've seen some interesting things these past few days with you and my brother. So I want to make something clear. Can I do that?"He says

I nod, though know he was gonna anyway.

"When I said don't mess things up with my brother, I did not mean avoid him like the plague! That's right, I've noticed your lil patrol pattern or stealing other people's patrol times to get out of hanging with Dream or answering his question. And I want to know why you treat him this way."He says

"I'm nervous. I don't want to mess up. Haven't you been in love before?"I respond

"Look at who you're asking."He says

"R-Right..."I say

Isn't he the one we've caught having a soft spot for Killer?

Chara, not now!

"But that is understandable. This is my brother we're talking about. But since you've avoided him, he's started to think he did something wrong to you and that you are mad at him."Nightmare says

"W-What?"I say

Told ya people will catch on and it won't go well.

"Yep! He's been coming to me and asking about you! Hey, is Cross mad at me? You're close with him or people in your gang so do you know why? I'll ask him why he thinks that. And you know what he says? Because it seems he is avoiding me. Every time I try to talk to him, he runs away. Did I do something wrong? Then he tries to think up reasons why you're mad at him and apologize for it! How am I supposed to tell him, my brother, that he did nothing wrong when the person making him feel like that keeps avoiding him? Come on, Cross! You've done so many things and of all things, this makes you go running like a dog with a tail between its legs? Come on dude! At least try to have a conversation or I'll have to either break the truth to him or lie to him! And I don't want to be the one doing that!"Nightmare says

"O-Ok."I say

"Good. Good chat we had."He says, then gets up and walks away

I sit and think. Then I get up to find Dream. I find him leaving his room. I go over to him.

"Hey, Dream."I say

He looks at me, surprised. He hugs me tightly.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Cross! I didn't mean to upset you!"He tells me

"What do you mean? Dream, you never did anything to upset me. I was just....busy and nervous."I say

"Why were you nervous?"He asks, looking up at me

"Em...Reasons. Do you still want to hang out?"I reply

"You don't have a patrol to do?"He asks

"Nope. I got it done early so I'm free for the rest of the day."I tell him

"Okay!"He says, smiling

I hug him but stop when I see Nightmare watching and glaring me down.

Hmmm....

What are you planning now?

I'm just thinking that it's time Nightmare knows the feelings.

Pfft, that's a tough task.

Maybe not. He already has shown a soft spot for Killer so maybe.....Can I take over? I swear on chocolate bar honor I won't kill Dream.

.....Sure

Yay!

A few hours later I come back in control and find Dream leaning on my shoulder and talking. My face burns up. He quickly notices.

"Cross? Are you okay?"He asks, placing a hand on my foreskull

"That fever or whatever it is returned. Your face is warm again."He says

"O-Ok. I'm alright though."I say

"Hmmmm....."He says, looking at me

"D-Dream?"I say, unsure if he believes me

"Oh ya! I want to give you something! Be right back!"He says, running off

When he came back, he had a small box. He hands me it and I look at him. He gestures for me to open it, so I do. Inside was....

CHOCOLATE!

Chara! We also talked about internal yells!

And I wasn't listening either!

What do you listen to?

Your stupidity, you love-struck idiot.

Rude.

=>

"I want to repay you for what you gave me. I know giving that is hard, especially with Chara."Dream says

Dang right. He gets it, Cross.

"H-How do you know it's from me?"I ask

"Geno told me. He busted you hiding them apparently."He replies

He did do that...

"Well....Thank you, Dream. Thank you very much."I say, setting the box aside

I will get that later.

Dream sits beside me and in the next few minutes, he fell asleep. I smile. He looks so sweet and peaceful. But he was resting his sleepy head on my shoulder, which made my face burn even more. I try to move but he grabs my arm in his sleep. My soul beat quickens. I take a few breaths and then pick him up calmly with him still holding my arm. I put him in bed and climb down the ladder of the bunk bed. I notice at the bottom bunk lays Nightmare. He is in his passive form and asleep. He is hugging his pillow tight. I decide not to question it and go to rest in my room.

Nightmare's POV

I wake up and sit up quickly. I find myself hugging a pillow and release it. I find my soul racing for once. I frown. Why is this? And why the hell did I dream what I did? I think of it more. My soul quickens again so I stop. I come out from my bed and climb up the ladder, finding Dream in bed. He is smiling and sleeping. I throw my pillow at him, suffocating him momentarily. I hear his muffled yell before he took the pillow off. He looks at me.

"What was that for?"He asks

"For messing with my dreams!"I reply

"What are you talking about? You know I can't make dreams, especially with you. I can only guide the dreams, like the land around a river. It doesn't make the river but makes a path or guides it. Why? What did you dream about?"He says

Shoot. Forgot that. I smile a bit. I'm glad my own brother didn't completely form a dream like that in my mind. Though my face burns up as I recall my dream.

"Sorry for the pillow attack then. I dreamt of...my gang."I say, kinda saying the truth to cover up my actual dream

"Oh! Okay, that I shaped. X!Chara told me while controlling Cross that you haven't had the best of dreams and suggested having you dream of your gang. So, that's what I had as an outline for yours. But telling by your mood, it didn't work?"He says

"I was doing fine with my dreams! You got fooled! But...it's fine."I say

"Alright, well, night bro."He says, going to sleep again

I sigh and go back to my bed. I try to sleep, but fail. My soul was pounding too much. So, I decide to busy myself. I don't want to go soft. I get up and out of bed again, going out of the hideout. I wander a bit and find a nearby forest. I look and see that the spot was hidden but not too far. I turn to my hostile form. I use my tentacles to tear some trees down, then those into logs and make a little cabin out of them. I smile and enter it. I focus on my thoughts and just relax. Then I snap and make a few dummies appear. I practice my attacks on those until I hear someone yelling for me. I peek out, going into my passive form, or disguise. I see Palette looking around and stroll into his sight. He sees me and runs over, smiling happily.

"Oh phew! You're still around! You're okay! Dream found you gone and got worried! Come on!"Palette says

I get dragged back into the hideout and have a quick chat of reassurance with Dream before Palette also dragged me into a group huddle. The huddle had S!Pap, Ink!Pap, E!Pap and Raven in it.

"Okay, so what's the plan?"Raven asks

"What the heck did I literally get pulled into?"I ask

"We're gonna make everyone happy!"Palette says

"Yep!"Ink!Pap says

"Whatever makes everyone happy, makes Blue happy, which makes me happy."S!Pap casually says

"How about games?"E!Pap suggests

They begin to talk. I couldn't keep up, plus I don't want to work with the Papyrus responsible for all this so I pull myself out of the huddle and sit in a corner. I watch over everyone, making sure everything goes well. Besides those good samaritans huddling like a football team for optimism, Ink and Error were being a lovey dovey duo chatting on the couch, Blue was cooking with Dust in a kitchen, Goth and Shino were playing with Sprinkle and the newbies. There's a booming noise and Science came out of a room with ash on his face, so I guess he's testing stuff. The Swap versions of Geno and Reaper are patrolling with Geno and Reaper. Cross was with my brother. Everything seemed good. I lean back until I'm laying against the wall. I relax and smirk.

But then I recall my dream. It....It was....

NOPE!

I change my thoughts. Then I busy myself again with tossing a small ball repeatedly against a wall. I smile after getting my mind off it all. But then I get hit in the face with the ball.

You can bet I stopped.

I sit there, silent and watching everyone. Things seem so nice. I realize I've just been chilling in some pajamas so I get up and go to my room, getting dressed. Then I come back and sit down. I get an idea. I smile. I get up and go to Dream.

I stay very quiet and move carefully. I silently snatch his torn cape off of him and grab some sewing supplies. I go to another room and sit down. Maybe I can gift him a sign to make him happier. I tore this and maybe fixing it will make him happier. I begin to sew the cape back together very carefully. I focus on it and smile, being able to chill and get my mind off things. I finish and look at it. Besides the stitching seam, it looks as good as new.

I get up and sneak it back onto him without him noticing. I put the supplies away too. I go back to where I sat and sit. I feel proud of myself. I relax again, shutting my eyes. I smile, but then I get a sense of something bad. Something negative. Something going wrong. There is a disturbance in the force.

I frown. I sit up and try to focus. I try to hone in on this disturbance. I want to know what this feeling is or why it's happening. I also want to know who is involved. Just know anything.

It's so strong so it must be important.

I get up and begin to pace.

This it can't be good.

I pace quicker. I head to my room and try to clear my head and figure it out. I pace even more, the sense getting stronger. I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look and it's Dream.

"Brother, you seem panicked. Is everything okay?"He asks

"I....I dunno, Dream. I just got one of the worst feelings I've ever gotten."I say

"Did someone steal your stuff kind of feeling?"He asks

"No, no...Worse."I say

"What do you mean?"He asks

"Like something is going wrong feeling."I tell him

"Any way that I can help?"He offers

I shake my head.

"I don't even know what is causing this feeling so no......Do you like your cape?"I say

He looks over his shoulder at it.

"It's fixed!"He says

I nod.

"Yep."I say

"Did you fix it?"He asks

"Uh-huh."I respond

"Thank you!"He says, hugging me but then releasing me

"No problem."I tell him

He smiles at me.

Then he turns to leave and begins walking out.

Then, I see something. In a quick moment, a very small second, maybe even a millisecond, I see something. It was like the flash of lightning, quick, bright, and gone as soon as it came. Makes you question if you even saw it. The sight made me jump and go into my hostile form. My eye-light shrank at the sight of it. I saw a soul cracking, but this soul was special.

It was Killer's. My soul seemed to have sank and stopped momentarily at this sight. The disturbance gets stronger. This is the source.

"Killer!....."I mutter

"Huh?"Dream says, looking at me

My eyes narrow, understanding the sight and disturbance now. At least I think I do.

"Woah! Okay, if you're like that it can't be good!"Dream says

"It isn't, but I'll handle it. I'll be back before you know it. Gotta handle something, cya Dream."I say, then speedwalk past him

I get to the ladder space and simply grab the top with a tentacle, quickly pulling myself up much faster than I could climb. I get out and focus on the disturbance. I run a good distance and then teleport to the location of the disturbance. And where was it you may ask?

.

.

.

At my own damn castle.

At first, this replaced the fear or worry in me, which I didn't understand, with annoyance.

"What did that idiot do now? What? Did he annoy Swap!Fell too much while I was gone? Or maybe that dang recruit, Cipher....Hmmm, either way, just means another lecture of no fights in the castle, I guess."I tell myself

I go to the front doors to enter the castle, getting out the keys from a pocket.............Only to find a giant hole blasted into them. The doors hang off their hinges, a simple breeze being able to knock them down. Things never got this bad. The fear and worry consumes me once more. I enter the castle cautiously. The place seems quite empty. I frown. This is unusual.

"Horror? Fell? Swap!Fell? Cipher? Killer? Hello? Anyone here?"I call out

Silence.

The place is a wreck. Windows shattered, walls dented or even broken. Marks from Gaster Blasters, bone attacks, knives, even axes covered the walls or floor, some even the ceiling. I hear movement and quickly turn, shooting a tentacle. But I only shot thin air.

"You idiots better come out now! This isn't amusing!"I snap

More silence. I keep moving. I hear more movement and fire a tentacle again. Nothing. I keep searching. I frown and the disturbing feeling in me grows stronger. Then I hear a groan. That groan becomes two, then three. They each come from above. I look up and see Fell, Swap!Fell, and Horror hanging from the ceiling and slowly waking up. They were being held to the ceiling by some kind of goo. Like a Gaster's. I frown. They looked terrible, and that's saying something for them. Their wounds were in dozens and severe.

"N....Nightmare?"Horror says

"Yes it's me! What are you guys doing up there? What the hell happened? Where's Cipher and Killer?"I ask

"Someone broke into the castle and was looking for you. We didn't recognize the bish so we went hostile. Cipher fled immediately, darn coward."Fell says

"Could hardly land a hit on the guy. He knocked Fell out, then went after Cipher but came back and knocked Swap!Fell out. Sorry we couldn't stop the dude and made a mess of the place, Nightmare. I really wished to make a head-dog out of him with all the garbage he was saying."Horror says

"Wait...Where is Killer?"Swap!Fell says, noticing the missing member of the gang

They all look around in an attempt to spot him, but he is nowhere in sight. I fire some tentacles to release them and then catch them with the same ones. I place them down.

"Wait! Killer lured the guy upstairs, threatening and challenging him. He saved us from becoming dust......I just hope he isn't."Horror says

"Ok, you guys go to your home AUs now! I'll handle it."I say, snapping and making small bags appear in their hands

Each was filled with items to regain their hp and a phone to contact each other that only we can track.

They look at me with uncertainty, then nod and leave together. I take some deep breaths, knowing E!Gaster is to blame. I head to the staircase, seeing blood trailing up the steps. This can't be good. I quickly go up the steps and start calling his name. I get no response. I keep yelling and searching. I hear a crashing sound. I run to it.

"Killer? Answer me please! It's Nightmare!"I yell

A toxic silence was my only response. I run and then see him.

"KILLER!"I yell, running to him

I kneel down and bend over him. He is wounded badly and is out cold. I remember the sight of his soul cracking and grow even more worried.

"Come on, Killer! Wake up! Come on! It's me! Wake up! It's Nightmare!"I yell at him, patting my hand on his skull

Nothing.

"I order you as your boss to wake up right now! Please! Killer! Can you even hear me? Give me a sign! Come on!"I snap at him.

He doesn't move.

"Please! Your name is Killer not Killed! Come on! Open an eye! Move something! Even in the slightest bit! Use some magic! Say something! Please! Give me a sign! You idiot! That's all I ask!"I shout, shaking him but stop myself

Shaking him will do no good.

Instead, I sit there. I wait for a sign from him, for him to wake up, or if bad goes to worse, for him to turn to dust. I don't know why, but I never liked the idea of losing Killer. Whenever he got himself in trouble, I would find myself worried. I didn't get it. But I am not willing to start learning the hard way now. Without him.

He hasn't dusted, nor has he woken up. No signs. I find myself about to cry. I don't get this.

I hear a noise and panic, shooting a tentacle at where I heard it. I hear a yell and look to see Fell's soul there. I sigh. Just great. I wrap the tentacle around his soul protectively. Maybe I'll take him with me to heal him. I'll find a way. Then I'll send him to his timeline before anyone notices. But I'll worry about him later. Gotta focus. I hear a groan. I look and see Killer finally waking up. He shakes his head and opens his eye sockets. He looks up at me.

"B-Boss? Nightmare?"He says

"Killer!"I exclaim

"Am I in trouble?"He asks

"Depends. How wounded are you?"I ask, but had already checked and have seen his wounds

He struggles just to sit up and forces a smile.

"N-Not that bad."He says

"You're a bad liar, Killer."I tell him

"So am I in trouble?"He asks

"Sort of."I say, then hug him

I feel tears come from my eye, which I didn't even think was possible in this form.

"Boss? Are you okay, Nightmare?"He asks, wrapping his arms around me

"Never do something stupid like that again! You should've called me, any of you, and told me what was happening! Even if you couldn't say it, I probably would've been able to hear on the call! I would've came and prevented you guys from getting hurt so bad! I was beginning to think you'd never wake up, Killer!"I snap

"S-Sorry boss. They were looking for you and not for the good kind of reasons. We, well, I didn't want to get you involved and risk something bad happening to you."He says

"Well that doesn't mean you can sacrifice yourselves! Let your life get put on the line! You idiot!"I snap at him

"Well, he isn't here, is he? So I achieved at getting him away. But I c-couldn't catch him. S-Sorry boss."He says

"No! And do you think I care about that?! No! I care more about you guys! You especially right now!"I snap

"Wait....You care?"He says

"Of course I do! Why do you ask such stupid questions? You guys are part of my gang! And to tell you the truth, you guys became family to me! So of course I care!"I tell him, my voice shaking

"Oh! Wow! Well, I'm honored to be part of that. Wait...Are you crying?"He asks

"N-No."I say

"Boss."He says with a tone that tells me that he doesn't believe me

"M-M-Maybe...."I say

"Nightmare."He says

"Y-Yes.."I say

"Boss, don't worry. It's okay."He says, hugging me

"Says the one wounded terribly."I say, shaking my head

"That doesn't matter. I'm okay, you're ok, and the rest of gang isn't dust are they?"He says

"No."I say

"Then, everything is okay. Boss, everything is okay. There's no need to cry. But if it helps you, let it out. I got you."He says

I feel my soul beat faster. He pats my back and holds me close as if to comfort me, but I could hear him trying to muffle his own sounds of pain. He really is wounded bad. What am I gonna do?

Then, my phone rang. Killer releases me and I take out my phone. I stand up and check who it is. It's Dream. Crap. I can't let Killer know. He doesn't know about how much has happened and how things changed between Dream and I. He may see me as a traitor or something, being in trouble, or he may go after Dream, thinking Dream did something. I'll figure some way to explain it all, but not right now.

"Who's calling?"Killer asks

"Umm....Error."I lie

"Ah, ok."Killer says, nodding and not questioning it

I answer it. But I turn my back to Killer so he can't hear as well.

"Hello."I say

"Brother! Hello! It's nearly dinner time and you're still gone! Is everything okay? Did you find what caused that disturbance? Did you handle it? Or do you need assistance?"Dream says

Then I realize the other side of the story. If I tell Dream any of this, he may not trust me. He may think I betrayed him or was lying. Heck this is still considered one of his enemies! He may even attack Killer! And if Dream doesn't trust me when he finds out, who will?! I'll be kicked out and deemed the enemy again. I can't have that happen! I can't lose all the trust and good times I've gained with Dream or any of them. And I can't let Killer get hurt either.

Time to lie.

"Yes, everything is fine. I did find it and I'm handling it as we speak. No need to help. I'll come soon."I say

"What was causing it?"He asks

"Just my gang. Nothing for you to wo-"I tell him

BANG! CRASH!

"Ow...."I hear Killer say

"What was that?"Dream asks worriedly

"Nothing for you to worry about! I'll be there soon! Bye!"I say, then hang up

I look and see Killer laying on the ground by the stairs, clearly had fallen. He was shaking, trying to get up again but was too wounded. He's pushing himself too hard.

"Killer!"I say, running over to him

"S-Sorry, boss. I wanted to check on everyone while you were on the call. I didn't mean to mess up and fall."He says

"Well you would've tried for nothing, I sent everyone home. Now don't apologize to me, you're the one who's hurt."I say, my tentacle tossing Fell's soul through a portal to his room in UnderFell, where his brother was looking for him

"Sans!"F!Pap yelled in surprise

Silence.

"I got you brother! I'll heal you!"F!Pap yells

I knew that deep down F!Pap cares about his bro. I shut the portal and look at Killer. He's trying to get up. Key word trying. I sigh and pick him up with my tentacles. I'm gonna take a risk.

"B-Boss?! N-N-Nightmare?!?"Killer exclaims

"Relax, you're just coming with me. I'm gonna help you."I say

"O-Okay."He says

I teleport to the cabin and sit down. I set him down and make him rest. I leave the cabin, locking the door with a key I made. I morph to my passive form and run to the hideout. I get some medical supplies like bandages and such, then get out before anyone noticed. I return to the cabin, unlock the door, morph to hostile form and enter. I go over to Killer and use the stuff to help him. He wakes up right when I was in the middle of bandaging his arm. He watches me curiously. I finish and he hugs me.

"Thank you, boss."He says

"You can call me Nightmare, Killer. You don't have to use the name boss anymore. You've become more then just a member of my gang, so I've become more than just a boss."I tell him

"A friend? Family friend?"He asks

I nod.

I smile. He smiles.

"That's nice...."He says

Ding!

I get a text. I check it. It's from Dream.

"Who's it from?"Killer asks, unable to see what the phone says

"Emm, Error again."I lie

"What does he want?"He asks

It truly said Dinner time!

"He wants me to meet for some reason. Hey, if I could get you something to eat, would you like it? Are you hungry?"I ask

"Sure. I am a bit hungry and the last meals I've had have consisted of Fell's mustard and Horror's head-dogs. Augh, not the best so don't try it."He says

I nod.

"Stay here. I'll be back."I say

He nods.

I leave, locking the door and morphing to passive again. I go to the hideout once more. I sit with everyone, saying very little. I take some food. Apparently, a classic timeline was destroyed so Classic was recruited. Then I excuse myself for a patrol turn I did not have. I had even stolen some of Error's chocolate. To sweeten his meal. I smile as I enter, back in my hostile form. I come over to Killer and give him the food I smuggled. He thanks me and we eat together. I couldn't help but feel my soul race every time I look at him when he's smiling. It went extremely fast when I saw his expression after eating chocolate. It was pure astonishment and enjoyment. He loved it.

"What? Never had chocolate before?"I ask

"Have you met the people in our gang? Do you know how they act with chocolate? I'd rather not die from a destroyer or some Chara and Sans, thank you very much."Killer says

"Good point."I say

(*X!Chara's chocolate senses are tingling at the hideout*)

"How'd you even get it?"He asks

"Stole it from Error."I say plainly

He looks at me, shocked.

"He was busy with his Inky and left his room unlocked. Time and opportunity. But I'm guessing you like it?"I say

"Mhm!"He says, nodding

I smile. He comes over. And sits closer to me. He seems hesitant. I look at him and then he hugs me. I feel my soul race. It was beating a mile a minute.

"Thank you, Bo-Nightmare."He says

I wrap my arms around him and smile.

"No prob, Killer."I say

He breaks away and lays down, sleeping again. I watch him, resting so peacefully. I smile. I'm so glad he's okay. He is one of the best members I know. But I mean what I said about us being more, and that goes for the entire gang. I check the wounds and bandages, fixing any coming loose and such. He just seems so....NO! No! I refuse to think that! He's a friend! That stupid dream will not be true! There's too much at hand! Focus!

Just looking at him made my soul race. And I could feel my face start burning.

What is this feeling? It's strange....but not bad. Do the others feel this? Is this....love? Maybe Cross is wrong.....Wait, no! I'm going soft! I'm going weak! I'm getting attached! I'm supposed to strong and getting attached gives me weaknesses! But...It isn't bad....Plus I'm not on my own anymore....

I reach out and feel his skull with a hand.

He, as well as everyone else, are with me.

He sleepily smiles and feels my hand on his skull by doing some kind of shake with his skull. My soul skipped beats. My face burns up and I feel a change. I blink and see that my hand morphed. I look and see I'm in my passive form.

Shit! He doesn't know I can do this at will, let alone know that I looked like this! Gotta get outta here before he wakes up! Stupid positivity! Stupid feelings! Stupid thoughts! Stupid emotions! Stupid dreams! Stupid weaknesses! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

I quickly get up and leave, shutting and locking the door. I frown and feel my soul slow down. I take some breaths and sigh.

This can't be real. This can't be happening. I can't be feeling this....

Meanwhile, with Dream.

A strange feeling came over me. It was not a disturbance, more of a surprise. Kinda like a crowd of people jumping out and yelling SURPRISE on your birthday kind of thing. Except it was in my head. I recognized the feeling, but it was who the source is that surprised me. It is coming from my brother. And it's strong. It's love. Nightmare is crushing. Or falling in love.

My brother....Nightmare? Having a crush? Falling in love? With who?........It doesn't matter. He's happy, but may not understand it so may need some assistance. I'm happy for him already. This is new. But the good kind.

"You okay, Dream?"Cross asks

I look at him.

"You went real quiet."He says

I understand now.

"Oh yes, I'm fine. I just got a sudden strong sense of positivity."I say

"Really? How strong? And from who?"He asks

Nightmare comes inside and walks past us in his passive form. He hides his face but waved back at me when I waved to him. I smile but see the look in his eyes. He will want to talk at some point, I can tell. I've picked up on the signs I ignored before The Incident. He leaves before Cross or I could say anything. I let out a sigh and shake my head with a grin.

"Yes. Like a piñata bursting with candy from a single hit kind of strong. And I cannot locate the source."I say, lying at the last sentence

He looks at me and nods.

Don't worry, brother. Your secret is safe with me. I love you and hope whoever you have these feelings know how special they are.

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TBC