Good Things Never Last

Chapter 59

As soon as I stepped into the purple hue, my vision became a jumbled mess, and my fatigued body was completely consumed by the purple light. As I was taken to another dimension, nausea flooded over me as I felt my surroundings vanish. I'd never get used to the feeling, I knew that for sure.

The first thing I was met with was the overwhelming choking smell of ash as it filled my nostrils and tightened my throat. As I recovered from my dizziness, the air was thin, making it difficult to catch my breath. The portal's humming in my ears gradually faded away as I began my journey through hell.

I felt my heart rate slow as I came down from my little fit of anger, and I didn't regret a single word that slipped from my mouth. I had every right to express my feelings, and I'm glad I did. There was no sun shining in the sky, leaving the land to be illuminated by only the glowing lava that dripped down from the ceiling to pool in the lakes hundreds of metres below.

The sound of my iron boots echoed on the warm netherrack floor as I walked along the plains, taking in the sights of the nether wasteland that I had dreaded seeing for so long. The nether was actually where I first bumped into Techno, not actually conversing with him until our run-in in the artic several weeks later.

The fortress was surrounded by a moat of the glowing golden liquid as I crossed the bridge, fussing with my collar as I attempted to make myself look presentable. I was there for trade, nothing more nor nothing less. An old friend needed some magma and I offered to go. I had the urge to explore the land that was undiscovered to me, curiosity spiking as I looked over at the crimson trees swaying in the nonexistent wind in the distance, but I was only there for business.

I was so engrossed in my wonders that I didn't realise I'd arrived at the fortress's trading area, the busy environment disorientating my inexperienced self. I was spinning in a circle, trying to look across the many heads to see the specific stall I needed.

Before I knew it, I had stumbled over my own feet, landing in the middle of someone's chest, earning a grunt from the sudden contact. I looked up, connecting eyes with a scarlet pair, as I froze momentarily on the spot before sprinting off as my life depended on it.

The first Piglin hybrid I'd ever seen stood motionless as he watched my figure rush through the chaotic crowd, confused by what had just occurred.

Snapping back into reality, I found myself wrestling my way through a maze of tall blue trees and vines, making sure to keep my gaze on the floor to be respectful to the creatures that lived within. The biome was somehow colder than the rest as I made my way through, barely breaking a sweat as I climbed over a fallen royal blue log.

Soon, I watched the density of the trees thin as I made my way to a clearing.

The warped grass quickly faded back into netherrack, and I smiled as I saw the ground come to a complete stop, leading to a precipitous drop into one of the numerous lava lakes if one dared to step over. A small sigh escaped my lips as I lowered myself onto the warm netherrack floor as gently as possible before swinging my legs over the edge of the cliff face and letting my feet dangle over the glowing lava.

"I know you're there"
I barely moved as I spoke, no emotion in my voice as I stared into the abyss of scorching liquid, enjoying the way the heat eased my aching bones. But that didn't stop the green blur that had been 'stealthily' following me from doing another roll. He'd been ducking and rolling out of my sight for the last thirty minutes like I was some sort of idiot.

"What do you want Dream?"
He didn't say anything. He simply walked over from behind a nearby tree and plopped himself next to me, almost frightening me as he did so. Almost. He just stared ahead. Well, I assumed that was what he was doing since the stupid mask covered every facial feature he had. For ten minutes or so, we just sat in awkward silence, both of us gazing at the other every now and then as if they didn't notice.

"I wanted to make sure you wouldn't do anything... stupid."
I slowly turned my body towards him, wincing slightly as pain stabbed at my side.

"Awww, does Dreamy care?"
The moment of silence that followed my comment gave me a pretty good answer as I watched Dream try to think of an excuse. If I could've seen under the mask, I would've seen the slightly flustered blond boy rapidly opening and closing his mouth, trying to come up with a snarky reply.

"Well- I mean- no? Why would I?"
"You tell me"
We were once again enveloped in silence. I knew he wasn't going to respond so I just let out yet another sigh before turning away from his masked face.

"I'm sorry"
"What? Why?"
I stayed staring ahead as I twiddled with my thumbs, gulping as I processed what I was about to say.

"Sapnap, George and even fucking you when you felt like it. You were all there, you all cared. Well, you cared a shit tonne more than any of them ever did. And I left as soon as I got the chance. I didn't appreciate what you guys gave me"
I paused, turning to look at the blond to see his mask was already facing me, sending a slight blush of embarrassment over my face.

"I'm sorry"
The boy only tutted as he reached for my hand, holding it gently with his calloused fingers as if I would shatter at the contact.
"You have nothing to be sorry for"
I opened my mouth to respond, but he immediately brought his finger to my lips to shush me.

"We put you through far too much shit. Everyone did. You deserve so much better Y/N, not to be stuck in the middle of everyone's conflict, not to be the rope that everyone's clinging on to for dear life"

His soft thumb started drawing small simple shapes on the back of the hand he gripped, making my body relax and shift, a muffled wince escaping my lips. He instantly stopped, but he didn't pull his hand away. He only looked up so the masked eyes connected with my own once again.

"Are you okay? I never asked how you were feeling. I tried to get you out of there as soon as possible. I really did Y/N"
I froze at his words as he slapped his free hand over his masked mouth.
"That was you..."
"Oh come on now. How could it of been me? I was busy"
His voice crack sent me into hysterics as he began to wheeze along with me, fueling my fit of laughter even more, completely forgetting I had a deep wound in my side.

Before I could calm myself down, I felt the feeling of a warm liquid trickle down my side as I turned to Dream, confused about what to do. The masked man, on the other hand, continued laughing as he yanked us both to our feet, pain shooting through my body as he did it.

"Let's get you back, shall we?"
His grin could be heard in his voice as I took a small step back, only to be lifted up by the green skittle bridal style.

"I can walk by myself pissbaby"
"Sure you can"
I just let out a defeated huff before burying my head in his soft cotton hoodie, listening to the muffled sound of his heartbeat.