Nightmare's POV days later

Everything started out smooth in the relationship. Cross was very sweet and loving, having some of the qualities I look for in someone so special. Kindness, trust, humor, creativity, good listener and talker, etc. But I found signs early on that he may not be the most loyal or honest. He always tried to have me wear my crown and would seem upset when I didn't. He took me on dates to places that my brother just so happened to also be, making me very uncomfortable. He'd try to move the relationship forward with kisses or suggesting other things that I'm not ready for and it just didn't seem right. And within a few days I noticed that he would try to drop my brother into any conversation. Not in the scheme to take him down or in any sort of dislike kind of way, but praising him or even comparing me to Dream. And when I switched the conversation to other topics, he always would lose interest and end the conversation by walking away or something.

I started to question if he actually loved me. My innocent side tried to reason that I'm just overthinking or analyzing things and that he does love me, it is just all too new for me to realize. But the other part of me kept telling me that something wasn't right and I might be getting used.

On a different note, I have started to spend time with Outer. We became friends since Killer is our mutual friend and we both want to get along. We've been hanging out and get along very well. But out of nowhere today he dropped the dating topic on me.

"I'm just surprised you're not dating Killer."He says

I was shocked by the statement but quickly had a reply.

"I could say the same about you."I say

"Huh?"He says, looking confused

"Outer this, Outer that! Outer did this, Outer hates that! Hey, what should I get for Outer? He talks about you constantly!"I say

He facepalms.

"That idiot is ruining his chances...."He groans

"Excuse me? Can you clarify what you mean by that?"I snap

He glances at me.

"Why?"He asks

"He obviously loves you, Outer. And I don't care what you see wrong with him that's ruining his chances, he's a dork, not an idiot! He is the best fucking guy ever and you'd be lucky to have him! So if you dare break his soul, I'll literally break yours!"I snap

"Someone's defensive about Killer."He chuckles

"I have no shame. He's a great guy."I say

"Then why aren't you dating him?"He asks

"How much of a turd would I have to be to actually do that when he is into you? Why do you even think that he'd be into me?"I say

"Because he always talks about you as well. Nightmare did this, Nightmare said that, Nightmare, Nightmare, Nightmare. Nightmare is this, Nightmare isn't that. He gets defensive about you as well, just like how you got when you thought I was insulting him. If anyone ever insulted your name while we were hanging out, he'd get pissed. Plus, I've been told things you haven't. Are you able to check people's dreams?"He tells me

"Only if they're bad or they give me access to it."I say

"Well he has told me plenty of dreams he has had and there's usually one common factor. YOU. So, despite how much he may rant to you, I think you're set much higher on his love scale."He says

My face burns.

"You'd be a good fit together. I can tell that your personalities mix together nicely and you'd be there for each other. Why are you even dating that moron?"Outer asks, referring to Cross

"I'm starting to question that too.......Something doesn't feel right with him..."I say

"Like having a thing for your brother?"He asks

"That's becoming clearer each day."I say

"He is literally cheating on you with him. Here, I'll show you."He says

He takes out his phone and shows me pictures of Cross hanging out with Dream, kissing him or having romantic dates and moments together. I frown, feeling hurt but not as bad as it would've been if I had no clue about it.

"Interesting...."I say

"I'm telling you, Killer is much better. He would never do this to you. He told me what happened back there and how Cross basically manipulated the conversation and your innocence to benefit him. He never was going to date me, he was hoping to go out with the boy of his dreams. And unlike Cross, it isn't your brother. But I do have some questions from that conversation that I wrote down."He says, taking out a notepad

"Okay..."I say

"1.Were you into anyone at that sanctuary place? Like the girl you danced with?"He asks

"NO, those are just a bunch of alternate versions of us. They were just friends."I say

He writes that down.

"Are you going to show these to him?"I ask

"It would put him at ease, so yes. 2.What was the other reason that you decided to suddenly learn dancing?"He tells me

"While there the others gave me love advice you can say. They told me about things people may do on dates since I didn't know anything about that, which included dances. I learned from them in hopes that I could do it with...."I begin

Should I say? Is it wrong for me to still have feelings for Killer while dating Cross? Is it wrong to admit it now? No. He cheated on me. Took advantage of me. I can move on from him and admit my true feelings. Besides, I have a nagging feeling I know what the next few questions will be.

"With?"Color asks

"With someone like Killer."I say

He writes that down and telling by his hand movements, he wrote that bigger specifically.

"Why did you look disappointed or upset when Cross said and used Killer's words to convince you that he was going to date me?"He asks

"I....Had feelings for Killer and thought I lost my chance. That was pretty much the thing that convinced me to say yes to Cross, as wrong as that may sound. I thought that if Killer had you, it would only hurt me to keep feelings for him and that it was best to give chances to people who supposedly had feelings for me...."I explain

"Alright, last question. What did Cross have or do that Killer didn't for you to choose him?"He asks

"I think I answered it. Nothing. I probably would've said no since I was unsure about having a relationship, with anyone not just Cross, and was uncertain about my feelings. But since he convinced me that the person I had the strongest feelings for was not into me or available, I said yes to him."I say, glancing around

I spot a fortune teller's tent or a psychic's place set up.

"Was that always there?"I ask

"No...Let's go check it out!"He says, taking me over to it excitedly

We go inside to see a fortune teller sitting with her crystal ball, smiling at us.

"Welcome welcome. Come sit. You both have fortunes waiting to be told."She says

We sit across from her in two chairs. She looks right at me.

"The universe has many urgent messages for you."She says, swaying her hands around the crystal ball

I glance at Outer with a grin and he already was smiling widely back at me.

"The one whose name goes with criss is not what he seems to be. He is simply using you for a fantasy. He shall betray you to a high degree. But that does not mean that you are unloved. I see a crying man who will cherish you and make you feel loved. The crying man is who they say is meant to be."He says

"Ok....That narrows it down....A little."I mumble

Then she turns to Outer. I get a phone call.

"Hey Outer, I gotta go."I say

He nods, understanding. I head home and meet with X!Chara.

"You really should know the truth about Cross. This is just lame and wrong. We share our minds so it'll be easy."He says

I nod and in the blink of an eye I was wandering around Cross' mind, being led by X!Chara. He shows me numerous dreams that only focused on Dream, even ones that were based on DATES WITH ME. Then it showed memories of the dates. He basically imagined Dream in my place. No wonder he wanted me to wear my crown so much, it makes it easier for him to fill in the blanks of his imagination. Not out of love, but so he could pretend he was with Dream. This already got me pissed but then X!Chara reveals another memory to me. It showed Dream giving Cross a box that he said held the code and remains that would let me turn into my other form. But instead of giving it to me as X!Chara insisted, it showed that Cross hid it in a crawl space between his room and Horror's room. He could've helped but put his fantasies first. That was the last straw.

I woke up and quickly heard running footsteps. I talked with X!Chara and we got a plan together quickly. He ran off and I turn around

Cross entered my sight and grabbed me quickly.

"Hey, Nightmare.~ I just got a great idea. How about we-"He begins

"We ARE OVER, Cross."I say

"W-What? I don't understand..."He says, suddenly putting on the act of an oblivious and confused idiot

"Don't play dumb. I know what you've been doing. You have been with my brother, helping him and even trying to replace me in your mind during dates with him! X!Chara and Outer have shown me proof! And even without that, you have been manipulative to me! You have tried to control and dictate things we do or how I act and have shown red flags! I'm not ready for this! I'm not ready for you and I won't put up with a traitor! And you yourself said I could cut things off and I'm doing that now!"I snap

"Tch, you do realize you're getting rid of relations with X!Chara by doing this right? And you won't ever be as great as Dream."He says

"I don't care if I'm as good as him. If you think he is so great, then you can leave. But you can never rejoin this gang again."I snap

X!Chara comes running in.

"Nightmare! The plan worked! Error changed my code! I don't have to rely on Cross anymore!"He says

"Wait so I'm the only one getting kicked out?"Cross says

"That's what you get for being a piece of crap!"X!Chara says, then whistles

Horror,Fell, Error, Xavion and Dust come up behind me.

"Let's show him out boys."X!Chara says

A few hours later, I stood on a balcony just gazing out at the horizon. I hear footsteps and glance to see Killer walking over, looking confused and lost.

"Hey Nightmare."He says

"Hello, Killer."I say

"Where is everyone? The place is so empty."He says

"They went for a lil stroll."I say

"And didn't invite me?"He asks

"Guess not."I say with a shrug

"Wait, you're wearing your crown. I thought you didn't like to."He says

"Yea, I am. I'm wearing it in spite of people who tried to get me down. You gave it a nice new meaning and I won't let anyone ruin that."I say

He slowly eases his way over to me.

"You okay?"He asks

"Never better."I say

"Nightmare, it looks like you've been crying."He says

"I'm fine."I say

"How are you doing with Cross?"He says

"Great. We broke up. Stupid imbecile."I say

"Huh?"He says

"GoOd fOr noThiNG scUMbaG!"Error yells

"You fucking knave!"Dust and Fell yell

"Get back here you bastard!"Horror snarls

"YOU SOB! Face us you coward!"Xavior growls

"What's that all about?"Killer asks

"Oh! You're just in time, it's traitor hunting season and it seems like they are catching something."I say

I watch as the bunch chase Cross around. X!Chara appears on the railing with a grin. Error caught Cross with a string and the chaos reached its peak. They were all wrestling and body slamming Cross.

"They got him. And they are not going to show mercy. Shall I give Horror the news?"He asks

I nod.

"HEY HORROR! WANNA DESTROY A WALL WITH ME?"He yells

"HELL YEAH!"Horror yells

The two take off running.

"Wha...?"Killer says

"We kicked that asshole out of the gang!"Horror shouts to Killer

"He was that bad?"He asks

"You have no idea."I say

A cold breeze blows by and I feel shivers run through me. It felt kind of nice in some ways. I feel a jacket get set onto me. I look at Killer and he nervously rubs his head.

"You l-looked cold so I...."He begins

I cuddle up to him happily.

"Thank you..."I say

I glance at him to see that his face was a bright red.

"You ok?"I ask

He nods. I could hear his soul pounding. His phone rings and he answers it. I could hear Outer on the other end.

"KILLER KILLER KILLER! I HAVE PLENTY TO SHOW YOU! GET HERE NOW! WAIT........Where are you?"I hear Outer shout

"With Nightmare, why?"Killer replies

"Oh, nevermind. I'll show it later. Have fun with him you lovebird.~"Outer says

Then he hung up.

Killer subtly wraps his arm around me.

"FOUND IT!"Horror yells, running over

I see a crate in his hands heavily locked up and requiring different codes. He held it carefully, knowing how fragile it is.

"What's that?"Killer asks

"Dream gave Cross what remained of my other form or what could allow me to turn back and he hid it apparently in the wall."I say

"We don't know the codes so that's another obstacle."Horror says as the gang dumped Cross through a portal

"I'm sure we can figure it out."X!Chara says

Killer looks at me.

"What did Cross say to you?"He asks, knowing how insecure I am in my current form

"Nothing too terrible. I'm fine like this but the alternate versions of me gave warnings of people who can be a threat. They said it'd be best to have my other form or be prepared to defend myself somehow."I tell him

"Does anyone else feel like they're being watched?"Horror asks

"Yea."X!Chara says

The two look at me, grabbing me and forcing me inside.

"Come on Killer."Horror says

Killer comes along and they leave me with him, taking the box somewhere safe to examine now that the others are done beating Cross and could help find ways to unlock it. He grips me tightly.

"I won't let anyone hurt you."He tells me

I smile at him as he takes me to my room.

"According to Outer you guys met a fortune teller. What did you learn?"He asks curiously

"Well, it basically repeated a warning about Cross but also spoke about hope. Umm, what did it say again? Ah yes, a crying man will cherish me and make me feel loved unlike Cross. The crying man is who I am meant to be...Be with I'm guessing that it meant that."I say, glancing at Killer

My gaze lingers on Killer's marks on his face. They look like tear marks....Hopefully he is the "crying man".

"Interesting....I think I will go see what Outer was calling me for."He says

"Alright....."I say, going under the covers of my bed to rest

I start dozing off. I hear footsteps come near the bed and I feel a kiss on my head.

"Nighty night, Nightmare."Killer coos

I smile a bit.
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TBC