peculiar boy- sleepyboisinc royalty au + dreamteam

chapter three, happy birthday

Tommy's POV

Cold. Freezing. Frigid. Where am I? The room is cold and dark. The air is humid. The air is so humid I can taste the water with every breath. Why is it so cold? I rub my arms in hope of gaining warmth. A shiver runs down my spine. The air becomes thinner and thinner. My breathing becomes harsher. Help.

I feel a drop of warmth on my right shoulder. I whip my body around to find the warmth. I reach my arm out in hopes of grabbing it. Is it a fire? Is it the sun? I see two silhouettes slowly coming into view. I take a step forward and my shoes clash with the stone on the ground resulting in a loud echo. "Hello," I shout.

No response. The silhouettes slowly fade into view as I investigate their appearances. A tall brunette man wearing a maroon beanie and a yellow jumper come into view. I recognize him. Is he Dreams friend? The other silhouette becomes clear. A man with long pink hair wearing a monarch outfit with pig ears. Pig ears? They slowly walk closer to me. The air becomes warmer and warmer. What's happening? I begin stepping backward frightened. "We found you".

I gasp for air while I sit up from my comfy twin-sized mattress. What was that dream? I reach my hand up to my forehead discovering a pool of sweat. I wipe the sweat off my forehead with my hand. I start breathing a little slower and ease into a normal breathing pace. I turn my head to the small clock in my room. 6:04 AM. Time to get to work. I heave myself up from my warm cocoon. I plop my feet on the cold wood floor. It's so cold. I stroll over to my small mirror staring at myself. Guess I'm sixteen now, pog. I ruffle my hair as I investigate my appearance in the mirror. Same as yesterday. I walk over to Clementine's container. He looks so happy even though he's trapped in a cage. I frown. I open his small container and pick him up and set him on my finger. He crawls across my finger tickling my hand. I laugh a little before suddenly I hear footsteps. Dream.

I swiftly plop Clementine back in his container sliding it under my bed before I throw myself onto my bed. I stretch and let out a long yawn.

Knock. Knock.

Before I can say 'come in' Dream opens the door. So much for privacy. "Happy birthday, Tommy!" he shouts with a smile plastered across his face. He leans against the door frame.

"Thanks," I laugh.

Clay steps into the room. He set a small colorful box on the dresser before facing me again. "What're you doing?" he asked.

"I just woke up."

Dream grins shaking his head. "Anyways, since it's your birthday I got you a present," Dream announced. He grabs the small box on the dresser and tosses it to me.

The box was long and somewhat thin. About the size of my head. I study the colorful packaging. The box was covered in lime wrapping paper and a white ribbon. I carefully untied the small delicate ribbon and slowly tear the lime wrapping paper revealing a little brown box. I glance at Dream. Dream has a large smile across his entire face as he taps his mask pulled to the side of his head. I look back at the box. I slowly pull the lid of the box away revealing the present. I hold my breath. A small pit in the bottom of my stomach grows. I pull away the tissue paper revealing a mask. The mask is plastic with a frown painted on attached to a stretchy black string. It was much like Dream's iconic mask except he had a smiley face painted on. My breathing becomes shaky. Why am I scared of this mask? It's just a mask.
"Try it on," Dream suggests.

He crossed his arms smiling more than ever. He looks so confident. I stare back at the mask. I lift it from the box. I place the plastic mask against my face as I wrap the string around my head. I walk over to the mirror to see how I look. I remind myself of Dream. I shiver a little. Dream walks from behind me grabbing my shoulder. He repositions his mask to the front of his face like mine. "Oh, I'm so proud of you, Tommy. You're just like me. I hope you like it."