House of Universes (Fandom Crossover story collection)

Stay human - Lewis, Evan & Garcello (Nobody's POV)

Lewis strolled through the hallways. He had reason to believe nobody was out of bed (Except for Garcello, who's usually a night owl) so he felt safe to shed his human form, as it took a lot of energy to maintain. As he shed it, he heard a whimper from around the corner. As he turned his skull towards the noise, he saw somebody dart away from view. He knew it could only be one person. Evan.

From the moment he met Evan, Lewis knew that he was shy and often startled easily. So he once again donned his human form and went looking for him.

Evan ran as fast as he could. He could hear creaking footsteps, slowly tracking him. He knew one other person to turn to. Dashing towards the front door, he could already smell the smoke. A clear sign of who he was looking for. He flung open the doors, knocking the man in front off of his feet. He then got back up and turned to face him.

"Sup, little man. Can't sleep?" Garcello spoke softly.

"I- I can't sleep! There's a big scary monster!" Evan frantically tried to explain, but Garcello knew it was Lewis he was talking about.

"C'mere, kid. Listen, Lewis does that when he needs to recharge. I know it looks scary, but it's still him on the inside, okay?" He calmly explained.

"O-okay. I'll try not to be frightened of it." Evan piped up.

Just as he was reassured, Lewis stepped around the corner, still under his human form.

"I'm sorry, Evan, I didn't know you were still awake-"

The boy wrapped his arms around Lewis in affection. He was starting to develop a smidge of self-confidence. Lewis picked up Evan and smiled, carrying him back to his room. As he tucked him into bed, Evan jolted up for a moment, before Lewis placed his hand on his forehead.

"I'll protect you if they come after you again, I promise." Lewis assured. He knew he had nightmares a lot, and so he practiced dream walking often in order to comfort him. Both of them slipped off to sleep, preparing for whatever lie in wait for them.

Evan opened his eyes. He was there again, but he was not alone. He could feel the strong, protective hands on his shoulders. Standing up, he began to eye the room.
"I'm on closet duty tonight, okay!" He triumphantly exclaimed.
"No problem, kid. I'll check the doors."

The so-called nightmare continued throughout the night.

Meanwhile...

A shadow creeped towards Garcello's room. Slowly creeping in, the figure kneeled down next to him, uncovering his neck. Teeth bared, they closed in and bit into the neck, leaving only bite marks behind as evidence.