MUSHROOM STEW // DSMPxOC

III

"Hey Dream, look at this. Hey Dream, look at this weird... mother fuck. Look at- this..."

***

"Tea, I have to grab a few things by myself, so I'd like you to stay here at Tnret, okay?" Stella was sitting behind Tnret, watching waves lap at the golden sand at a mesmerizing pace. She had tried to brush her hair with her lithe fingers this morning, when the grass was still wet with dew. Her hands kept shaking as her stomach filled with dread. Last night's talk with Tommy as they sat together watching the meteors shower left her feeling jittery.

"'Course, Tom. Let me know when you're ready for me to start making the cake," Stella said. "I'll be right here 'til then."

Tommy looked over his shoulder as he jogged off. If it weren't for the apprehensive smile and tattered clothes, Stella thought that Tommy might look like a kid again. She couldn't imagine him as anything but the boy he was now, Stella had watched him grow up in Exile, had watched him crumble and cave in on himself and rebuild again. And here he was now, a teenager, somehow the exact kid that Stella came to protect, and a completely new person.

Stella hummed to herself a brokenhearted anthem she heard years ago that she didn't know the origins of. She stared at her dirty palms, and traced over the creases with her cracked finger pads. The long days in and out of hard labor had given her a callous over her skin, but she hadn't become scabbed inside. Some day, though, she affirmed, she would be able to do whatever she wanted.

A ladybug crawled up her ratty shoe to her ankle. It's six little feet tickled as Stella watched it's long trek across her skin, crossing all the way to her knee before flying away. Stella followed the insect's flight as far as she could, before she couldn't see it and the sun was harsh in her eyes.

Stella jumped when music started playing from the jukebox that was behind her. The music disc chirp sung out, wafting into the air carried by the light breeze dancing by. Stella turned to look at Tommy standing over the player as he fiddled with the volume knobs. "This one doesn't vibe the mood," he muttered before taking the disc out and returning it to Tnret. He came out a few moments later carrying the disc ward out and putting it in the juke. "That's better."

"I don't like this disc very much," Stella commented. "It's too... sad."

"I think- I think that's the point, Tea." Tommy said. "To be uhh.... What's the word? Somber. Yeah, somber. It's supposed to be." Tommy nudged Stella with his knee. "I see Dream coming."

Stella looked where Tommy was pointing in the distance, and sure enough, there was Dream, using his trident to propel himself through the water. Tommy took ward out of the jukebox and hid it in his enderchest for safety. He took a stabilizing breath and held a hand out to Stella to help her up. "Let's do this thing," Stella said.

"Yeah..."

They watched as Dream landed on the sand, miraculously only damp. His netherite armor sparkled in the sun, making Stella's eyes hurt as she looked at him. It was almost too pretty to be armor, with its enchanted glisten and muted purple color.

"Hi, Dream," Tommy said. Stella stood beside him, trying her best to try not to seem anxious. Dream pulled his sword out of its sheath and checked the blade, making sure that the blade was dry and its edges sharp.

"Woah, dude- watch the sword," Tommy joked. "If you want us to drop our items just ask us, man." He stepped back from the blade, pulling Stella with him. Dream cocked his head to the side as he studied them and the way that Tommy's hand wrapped around Stella's wrist.

Dream sheathed the sword with a painful scrape! that made Stella's neck tense up. "Have there been new developments?" He asked, nodding to Tommy's still firm grasp around Stella.

Stella tugged her arm away from Tommy and fidgeted with the ripped collar of her shirt. "No. There haven't been, actually. And if there were, I don't think that it'd be any of your business, Dream."

"I was simply asking, Stella."

"Mind your own, Dream." Tommy butted in. Stella appreciated that he was trying to save her, but it wasn't helping the situation by raising tensions between the boys.

"Right... what have you been doing today?" Dream says changing the topic. He rolled his shoulder back and cracked his neck.

"Tommy has been building a tower, just over there," Stella answers. She points over towards the tower, using her elbow to discreetly push Tommy back by his chest. "I was about to start baking a cake. Why don't the two of you work on the tower and I'll call you over when it's ready?"

Tommy sounded less than enthused as he agrees. He starts leading Dream over to the tower while asking a bunch of questions that make Stella snicker as she turned away. "So.. you have a girl on the side?" Was the last thing that Stella heard before she turned to move into the house. The ingredients sat arranged on the counter where Stella put them this morning. She popped her head out the door to check on Mooshroom Henry, but only succeeded in making awkward eye contact with the cow.

Stella washed her hands and rolled up her sleeves, ready to work.

Dream and Tommy were messing around with the Prime Bell and making strange jokes Stella didn't understand. She smiled as she watched them laugh and talk about how something was really cool.

Maybe a cool bug flew by, Stella thought as she got back to washing her dishes. The cake was baking in the oven, beginning on a soft, rounded crust at the top. It smelled heavenly with the warm breeze flittering through the open windows.

A shiver darted down Stella's stream as she heard the sound of Dream shoveling dirt. It was so close to the house- the chances of the fulmination not exposing Tommy's stash under the house was infinitesimal. The hairs on her nape stood tall as Stella felt her heart start beating rapidly. This was it.

"Hey Dream, look at this. Hey Dream, look at this weird... mother fuck. Look at- this..."

It felt like Stella's world was imploding from right under her feet as chests opened underneath her. Stella stood frozen as she heard the hidden trap door rattle from behind her. She barely registered the water from the sink flowing over her hands. The fragrance of the cake wasn't so alluring anymore, instead making Stella feel sick to her stomach.

A dry sob racked her chest as she heard the TNT ignite. She saw Tommy through the window staring horrified at Dream under the house with the lighter.

"Tommy..." Stella whispered as it all blew up.

***

lol

whats yalls favorite color?

any creative criticism? 

anyway, have a great day