we'll make this work -- (Error x F!Dream)

chapter 16 (1) -- preparations!

Written: Oct. 24-26, 2021 (oof sad)

Words: 1122

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Ink and Blue hung out in the living room. Ink took out the pamphlet Nuit gave her earlier that day and scanned it while she sat down.

You are invited to a MASQUERADE PARTY!

Please bring an appropriate mask to wear. If you do not you won't be able to enter the party. You can wear something formal or informal, anything's welcome!

The party takes place on October 18th, from 8 P.M – 3 A.M

Bring your friends! But be warned, once you enter the party, no one will be allowed to leave until the surprise at the end.

Food and drink will be provided, do not bring anything in with you.

"Have you read this?" Ink asked, turning her head to Blue, who was laying on the couch tiredly.

"I skimmed it. What about it?" she replied, turning to Ink.

"It's weirdly specific about staying till the end. Here-" she handed it to Blue – "you read it and tell me it doesn't sound weirdly specific."

Blue read the pamphlet while Ink took out her phone. She texted Nightmare to ask if he would come with her to the party – not that she would give him much choice to not go with her.

The silence was broken by the soft clinking of feet on the stone floor. Dream stood quietly in the doorway looking on to her friends in the room. The two turned around, Blue promptly getting up and tackling Dream in a hug. Ink laughed as the Guardian let out a grunt of surprise, clutching onto Blue so she didn't fall over.

"Dream you missed a ton while you were asleep! We went to a festival thing- Ink won a lot of stuff – a-and and-" Blue stopped. She pulled back from Dream, then helped steady her. "Oh sorry, too enthusiastic for someone who just woke up, huh?"

Dream nodded. "Yes, a bit much," she giggled, pulling her arms around her chest. "But I appreciate the hug, Blue. What did I miss this time...?"

"Not much," Ink piped up, handing Dream the pamphlet to look at. "We're all invited to a party-"

"A masquerade party!"

"-Yes. I was thinking since we don't have anything, we could make dresses ourselves! Wanna help?"

Dream skimmed the invitation, skeptical of the whole thing. "Who's party is it?" she asked slowly, her dim golden eyes meeting Ink's ever changing ones.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, yes it does actually."

"Some nice dude from Outertale. Can't remember his name, sounded French or something," Ink said. Dream raised a brow.

"What did he look like?"

"It doesn't matter, Dreamy! Come on, let's get our stuff and get right to work. We don't have much time until the party!" Blue exclaimed grabbing Dream's hand and pulling her down the hall. Ink heard a stream of protests float down the halls, but Blue seemed to pay no mind to them.

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The Stars decided to shop in Underswap, where Ink got her art supplies. "There's a really big art store there, so there's gotta be stuff we can use for making dresses!" Ink said, skipping ahead of the other two with a large satchel swinging on her back.

Dream's gaze shifted to the carnival, just down the street. The stands were mostly taken down by now, nothing but the larger rides remaining.

Though she tried to push the thoughts away, her mind drifted to the memories she had with Error, only a few months ago.

Blue grabbed ahold of Dream's hand, pulling her – literally – back to the real world. "Hey we're here! C'mon Dream!" she said, pulling Dream into the store after Ink went in.

The three walked into the colorful art store. Dream's eyes widened at the sheer size of everything. The shelves towered high, some had ladders attached to them so one could climb up. The shelves were packed with art supplies of all kinds; how to draw books, pencils, pens, markers, glitter, string, ribbon, cardboard, fabrics of all kinds, and much more. Both Blue and Dream could hardly believe their eyes.

Ink pointed to the giant clock at the center of the store-maze. "How about we meet back here in 30 minutes ok? If you need help there are a ton of people who can direct you to where everything is!" Ink said, waving as she wished them luck, and bounded off.

"Good luck!"

"Y-yes, you too," Dream said quietly, watching as Blue grabbed a basket and sprinted down the aisles. She clenched and unclenched her hands, looking around before walking to grab a basket of her own. The guardian walked down the nearest aisle, mentally trying to figure out exactly what she needed.

"Alright so...I need fabric, preferably some shade of yellow to match, well, me, I suppose. Some turquoise accents would be a good idea too..." Her attention diverted to a roll of pale-yellow cloth, a long and slightly shimmering roll at that. Perfect.

She promptly bought several yards of the fabric, along with a little turquoise to accent it. Realizing she only had 15 minutes left, Dream sprinted down the aisles looking for something to make her mask from. Conveniently, there was a whole shelf of masks just for the occasion. She grabbed one she liked and grabbed some paints and feathers to decorate it.

Soon enough, the 30 minutes were up, and Dream had to get back. She wove her way through the twists and turns and eventually found her way to the front where she paid and met up with Ink and Blue.

The other two talked about what they found, and Dream noticed she too was talking excitedly about her own findings.

She felt happy.

And her friends were happy too.

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The Stars returned home and went to planning what their dresses and masks would look like. Ink helped Blue, while Dream got to work on her mask.

An hour of idle chatter and excited gossip later, the three decided to call it a night.

"Aight, I'm tired and my hands hurt," Ink commented, stretching back while her bones popped. Blue nodded, gently putting her pattern in a corner. "I'm goin' ta bed. See you guys in the morning."

"Night, Ink!"

"Good night, Ink. Sleep well." Ink gave the Guardian a warm smile and wave, heading off to her room.

Dream took a shortcut to her room, heaving a sigh as she began to change into something more comfortable.

Dream curled up in bed, pulling her thick covers as close as she could. Not simply because she was cold, but rather because she missed him cuddling her to sleep. She missed the safety of having someone close by when she slept.

She missed Error.

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akjsdljh kinda forgot to post this

was gonna make it through the whole chapter 16 but...i uh...didn't post this weekend like i'm supposed to so i just...here...

i'm so sorry-

i'll get the rest of this (fun) chapter out this weekend.

also sorry not sorry for dragging out the angst of this-

thanks for reading and uh, have a great night! or day! darn timezones-

-Robin