Monophobia

☻︎Chapter 6☻︎

The man looked down at Dream, his shadow seeming to loom over the boy as he stood before Dream... He never got an answer to his question as the boy never spoke up. But he wasn't really expecting one when he looked at the crying and broken boy. The blonde looked shattered as he sat there on that tree branch, still shaking and sniffling. Sobs being let out once and awhile as he just sat there. Dream's legs curled up against his chest and tears rolling down his face. The tears were burning his abnormally cold face, tears seeming to be the only thing that caused him true pain. He was fighting an internal battle, everything echoing in his head. Dream barely had any breathing room even though it was only him and the man. The man sighed as he stepped over towards the broken boy, Dream curling up into a ball as much as he could as he tried to avoid him.

But he never touched Dream or got in his personal space. He just sat next to the boy, letting Dream do things at his own pace. He wanted to give the boy a sense of security without touching him, so he just silently sat there. All he did was look at the first as he waited for Dream to ground himself. They both sat there, side by side on that branch. No talking, just sitting there in each other's company. They didn't know each other, they had just met there and then... But it seemed like both of them could be comfortable with each other... No matter what happened and no matter what was around them. They both made each other feel safe and somewhat warm despite the chilly weather. The man glanced at the boy, Dream slowly uncurling from his ball of safety to allow his legs to just swing back and forth. The ghost's arms were wrapped around his torso, Dream seeming to hug himself for comfort.

"If I may ask again... Kid." The man started, Dream taking a deep breath as he spoke and his head poking up a bit at the given nickname. He actually didn't mind the nickname... Finding more comfort in the name. "What are you doing here?" He asked, saying nothing else so he wouldn't end up overwhelming the blonde in front of him. Dream stared at the ground below him, racking his brain for answers. He really didn't know how he ended up here- The voices in his brain that were yelling at him causing his terrible headache, the pictures in his pocket that he barely remembered, the apologies and sympathetic looks he's been getting from others, and every single damn thing that has happened to this point... From Tommy finding him in his pond to this man now finding him sitting in a tree- Dream honestly didn't know the answer to the man's question... He couldn't even answer the question of why he was dead and why he was feeling like trash. But Dream soon came up with the simplest answer he could come up with.

"I- I ran away from some people a few minutes ago... an hour ago? I don't know- I don't have a good sense of time. My friends I think? I have no idea anymore... They're probably worried about me. But there were voices and they were all saying really really mean things- I think only I could hear them. They were in my head. So I tried to get away and ran. When I did I kinda just ended up here in this tree... Then you came along a-and sat with me and started talking to me," He said at almost a whisper. His voice was shaky and rough but the man didn't mind. He knew he's been through a lot... Even if he barely knew Dream. He just nodded in understanding, letting his hand rub the blonde's back softly. Dream flinched at first, but soon leaned into the man's touch. It felt nice... Comforting even.

"What's your name kid? I'm guessing- Or I hope a ghost like you has some kind of name. You seem new around here- You're not that ghost I see usually wandering around L'manburg all the time with all the humans and hybrids... Ghostbur I think his name was? Am I right about that?" He asked and Dream nodded, his eyes still fixed onto the ground. His eyes were dulled out, the emerald brightness that was once there disappearing. The man sighed and looked at the sky, noticing that Dream has yet to look right at him. He had yet to see who he was and what he looked like.

"You afraid of me, kid?" He asked out of nowhere and Dream perked up a bit, but again never looking at the man. He saw Dream freeze and let out a small sigh, his shoulders slouching as he spoke again. "Won't blame you if you are- Since you've never met me and you have no idea who I am and all that stuff... Stranger danger and all that Jazz... You don't even know my name. But I notice- I've noticed you've never looked at me... Not once have you tried to get a glance at my face- You haven't even questioned why I'm here and haven't asked any questions to get to know me. So... Are you afraid of me?" He asked again and Dream paused, his legs stopped swinging and he seemed to grip the tree branch he was sitting on tighter... The man just watched as the blonde formulated everything in his head.