𝐶𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐴 𝑆ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟 ☬ℑ𝔫𝔨𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔢☬ ☬𝔈𝔯𝔯𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔨☬

Chapter 35: Good Dreams,Bad Reality

((I finally changed the cover! It was getting a little bland, since I literally just looked up a picture and then put text over it. Anyways, I did draw it, sooo please don't sayi tried to steal it or anything. Also, warning, there is angst just like in the entirety of this book lol))

~Ink's PoV~

          I stretched, hearing my bones pop and crack. I flinched a little, not exactly liking the sound it made. I looked to my nightstand where my clock flashed 4:23. Taking a deep breath, and taking myself into actually getting up, I threw the covers off of me and got up. I had to hold my nightstand for a moment since I got really dizzy all of a sudden. I went to the bathroom and looked into the mirror. I saw several things wrong with the being in it, his appearance, his actions, his personality all of it. Everything that made up that skeleton I hated.

           I punched the mirror out of the rage that was bubbling inside my chest. It cooled it down but it was still there. I looked at the broken glass surrounding me, and I saw my knuckles. There were tiny glass shards in it. It was then that I finally felt the pain of it. I hissed and tried to pry out all the tiny shards from it with my fingers since I didn't have any tweezers in my room.

           Once I got them out I sighed and put my skull in my hands. The memories of me and Nightmare's fight pounded in my head. I tried to stay silent while I was crying since Dream and Blue were still asleep at this time. Shaking my head, trying to get the bad thoughts out, I grabbed the bandages and wrapped one around my hand. I went back to my room and got dressed. I went downstairs as quietly as I could, going to both Blue and Dream's doors to check and make sure they didn't wake up.

           I went into the kitchen and grabbed an energy drink from the fridge. I popped it open when I heard someone speak.

~Dream's PoV~

            I woke up with a start from hearing a sudden sound, something like glass breaking I think. I stayed in bed, but tried to figure out what it was. I closed my eyes and tried to find out who was making that noise by their feelings, but I couldn't sense anything but Blue's, which I'm guess he's having a delightful dream. I heard footsteps just outside my door, they stopped, then started before stopping again and then disappeared down the hall. I got out of bed and opened my door, silently creeping through the hall and down the stairs.

             I saw Ink just as he closed the door, opening an energy drink just as he did it. "Ink? Why are you up right now? It's almost 4:30 in the morning." He froze up and looked at me. "Hey Dream. What are you doing up?" I sighed and shook my head, crossing my arms. "Don't try to avoid the question."

             He looked down and rubbed his arm. I looked at his hand and saw a bandage. I walked over to him and grabbed his hand, examining it closely. "Ink, you gotta be more careful. It's bad enough how much you get cut up when you run through the forest." He didn't say anything, just nodded. I let go of his hand and put a hand to his cheek, making him look up at me. "I may not know what's going on exactly but I do know that you're my friend. And as your bestest friend in the whole entire multiverse I think I'm obligated the right to worry about you."

               He smiled and put one of his own hands on top of mine. "I know Dream, it just seems kind of pointless is all. Everything, I mean. Relationships don't last, friendships don't last, even feelings go away at some point. Everything only happens for a short while, and then when it's gone the world moves like normal, like it wasn't even there in the first place." When he spoke it sounded like he hadn't said anything in decades, hasn't drunken anything either. He kept his smile and he looked down, trying to keep from crying.

             "I'm so sorry you feel that way, Ink, but there is more to life than just watching it come and go. There's more than just waiting for embers to burn out and there's way, way more than just seeing your friendships fade." I waited a moment before hugging him. I patted his back as he relaxed more. "It's going to be alright. We'll find out what's going on and we'll stop it, like we always do."

               I pulled away from the now sniffling skeleton. "I-I just wish that none of this ever happened. That no one came looking for me, no one tried to bring me back or any of it! All I'm doing is hurting the people I love..." He cried on my shoulder as I pat his back, offering my support. "No, none of this is at all your fault! I'm glad you're back and I'm happy that I don't have to live without knowing where my friend is, or if he's even alive at that point. Everyone hurts at some point, not everyone, actually almost no one, is not going to get hurt in their lives."

               He stayed silent as I went to the couch and sat him on my lap, rocking him to try and calm him down some. It seemed to work since he fell asleep, snoring lightly as he went limp in my arms. I look down at him and smile, placing a hand on his cheek, I whispered softly. "Don't sorry Ink, I'll make sure that whoever is destroying these universes will pay. Just be a little patient with me."

                I picked him up, his head rolking to the other side, and carried him up the stairs and into his room. I set him on his bed and covered him with his blankets, making sure that they were on the right way. Before I went out I tossed some of his clothes in his hamper and put a few brushes back on his desk. I took a pencil and a sticky note and wrote him a message for when he wakes up. I stuck it right on his door, so that he had little to no chance of missing it. After that I quietly slipped out of his room and grabbed a jacket to keep warm with. I went downstairs and went out the door, teleporting to another AU to grab some fresh air.