nyctophilia | dreamwastaken

old 'friend'

SUNDAY:

8:27 pm...

Dream's face is caught off guard, and I nervously chew the inside of my cheek, waiting for his answer. He stares off at the ground, and I wonder if I shouldn't have asked the question. Then, he laughs, shaking his head. "Yeah, yeah, I remember. God, it's been so long since I've been there."

I make my lips turn into a tight closed-lip smile. "Me too." I lie, knowing damn well I went there on Friday. Dream flashes a hopeful look. "Wait, really? You know the bridge?" I almost respond before I pause, giving a confused and shocked face.

"What?" I spit out, unable to process what Dream had just said. Do I know the bridge? Hm, let's see- yeah no, it's not like you were the one who-.

He interrupts me, laughing. "I was joking if you couldn't tell." My thoughts stop mid-sentence, and I close my open mouth. "Not a good joke," I inform and he sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey, it was a good try." 

"No, it wasn't. Never try that again please."

Dream doesn't continue, keeping a sheepish face on before I shrug. "You've never been there in a while? The bridge I mean?" "Yeah, like... 2 years or something." Dream responds, a small feeling growing in my stomach. "Oh?" I quietly say and he nods.

"I don't know, I just- I never really had a good reason to go back." The sentence hits me, hard, and I hold my breath, waiting for him to continue. Dream doesn't look at me, instead, he looks up at the stars. "I can faintly remember snippets but the bridge was like a little comfortable place for me. I used to sit there to think to myself, I'm pretty sure."

"Think about what?" I ask, knowing what the answer was. He had told me this before. "Sit there and think... about my life I guess. I used to drink a lot when I was 19. Sometimes, I'd just sit there and- just stare at the river..." Dream answers, heaving a soft sigh.

I don't reply to his answer, using one hand to grip the metal handles, resting the side of my face on my arm as I stare at the grass gently swaying on the ground. "I sat there because- I guess I wanted peace for once." I softly say, barely audible over the wind.

Dream somehow catches it though, and I can feel his gaze graze over me. "Peace?" "I wanted to be okay I guess, I don't know. It's hard to explain it." I shortly respond, unable to really say anything else. Dream only hums in acknowledgment, and my hair slightly blows as the wind sifts through it.

After a bit, I let out a breath. "Dream, why are you here?" I hear a soft chuckle. "To be here with you of course." He replies, voice tender and low. His answer catches me off guard and I quietly scoff, mentally rolling my eyes.

"You should be going. I mean, you did finish your stream with Niki right?" Dream doesn't respond and I force myself to look at him. He's looking at me with an affectionate look, and my heart melts. Before I can turn to literal mush in front of him, I straighten myself up, and just like that, my pain slips back in.

"Yeah, I did." We both know the question I want to ask, which is 'Then why stay with me?', but we both make no effort into speaking again. I turn away from him, letting his sentence float in the air.

The sounds of an ominous owl emit through the air, the sound filling our ears and I close my eyes. A long time passes between us, none of us talking or making a sound. It's to the point where I almost fall asleep.

I nearly jolt as Dream makes a small huffing sound. I glance over at him sneakily and see a little firefly on his arm. He doesn't notice when I make a soft noise, my heart warming up at the sight of him letting the bug crawl all over.

I turn away once it flies off and I close my eyes, feeling myself get tired...

11:35 pm...