Passing Notes

Chapter 16: It was gonna be slower but I couldn't help it

A/N help I have too many things to do

The school day continued on from there. Nothing interesting happened; their core teacher taught them small snippets of all the subjects. When they got to magical training, they just ended up playing a very magically enhanced game of dodgeball. It was pretty unfair for some players, since their magic was more defense based. Still, it was pretty fun for all involved.

Finally, the day came to a close. Everybody packed up and headed off, saying their farewells to their friends. Dawn waved and headed to the back of the school, only to be stopped by Dream. His face was scrunched up in confusion.

"You know the way home is in the opposite direction right? Do you know some secret shortcut?"
Dawn grinned. She'd entirely forgotten there were friends to walk with now! It was pretty exciting, now she didn't have to just rush home. She hesitated to tell them her secret, but she trusted them. Besides, these people didn't have some weird history with the ghost lady that haunted her.

"Yeah, I was just going to teleport. I didn't have someone to walk with yesterday so I figured I'd get there quickly. Plus, I just barely beat my guests there. Still, I'd really like to walk with you and your brother if that's okay."
Nightmare narrowed his uncovered eye. "Yeah, we can all teleport. Not fifteen minutes away though, not without some sort of enhancement."
Dawn glanced away; she hadn't meant to reveal this. It couldn't hurt though, they were bound to find out eventually if she kept traveling that way.

"It's called shadow stalk. It's an ability that lets me travel from shadow to shadow. I can go anywhere, as long as I can picture whatever is making the shadow. It's super disorientating though."

Nightmare blinked in surprise and Dream whistled. The gang wasn't with them, they only stayed over every other day. The three of them now shared what was pretty clearly a secret. It was kind of nice that she trusted them. Nightmare spoke again.

"So, can you take people through? I want to know that you're not lying."
Dream slapped his shoulder and glared, silently scolding his twin. Nightmare muttered under her breath, but he didn't openly apologize. Dawn figured it was fair, since her powers didn't appear to have anything to do with shadows. She nodded.

"I'll take you guys with me this time, but don't be surprised when you feel like your arms have switched places with your legs."
As she dragged them to the shadow behind the building, what she said began to process. Nightmare couldn't help but feel like he made a mistake. At the same time though, he was curious to see what he'd feel like afterwards. Dream however was not filled with the same curiosity Nightmare was. His eyes were wide in fear, and he began to tug at the others.

"You know, I don't think that this is a good-"

Dream's sentence was cut off by his high pitched scream as Dawn literally jumped into the shadows, dragging the two along with her. It felt like they became slime and were now being splattered against a wall. Just as soon as it had started, it stopped. They had popped out in the shade of a couch in Dawn's house.

Dream collapsed to the ground, holding onto his knees for dear life. It felt like his stomach was down by his toes and his lungs were by his eyes. It was massively disorientating, and he did not like it to say the least.

Nightmare just stood there, looking at his hands. Everything felt super blurry, and he was pretty sure his hands just weren't attached anymore. He walked over to the couch and flopped down. He knew Dawn had warned them but this was by far one of the weirdest and unpleasant sensations he had ever felt. Dawn laughed and shook her head.

"You know, if you had waited until Thursday I could've given you both special armbands that kept you more intact. I'll still do it, but this was brought on yourselves. I'll go get some tea."
Dream merely groaned in response and continued to stay curled up in his spot on the floor. Nightmare lifted a shaky finger and pointed at Dawn, glaring as furiously as an absolutely messed up person can be while feeling like they were in a whole new universe.

"Seriously? Why didn't you tell us that? You're a pretty big jerk for doing that to us if I do say so myself."
Dawn shrugged. It was true, but now they knew what it was like. Plus, she'd really wanted to stick it to Nightmare for even remotely implying that she was lying. Dream would've preferred a few minutes of discomfort over walking home alone anyway, so the turnout wouldn't have changed.

"I doubt you would've believed me. Now, do you want sugar and honey in your tea? I also have scones. You don't think you need to eat, but trust me when I say you do. This old remedy helped me out while I was still learning how to cope with the aftermath of my abilities."
Dream shakily held up a thumbs up and two fingers. Nightmare just groaned and shook his head. It made sense that he'd like to drink his tea or coffee black, but Dawn couldn't help but shudder. If Nightmare ever offered her a drink, she'd make sure to add ample sugar.

She paused her train of thought, absentmindedly stirring tea. Did she just think about accepting food or drink from someone else? She hadn't even done that with Blossom. What was it with her mind being so at ease when it came to Nightmare offering her a drink? She tried to picture Dream doing the same thing, and was immediately queasy. Why didn't that feeling come when it was him? Did she somehow trust Nightmare more than one of her very dear friends already?

She brushed it off. Probably just because he would think of it as taking an unfair win against her. He was really determined to prove that he was better in any way. Dawn chuckled under her breath as she brought both brothers a cup of tea and a scone. Dream had no hesitation, he downed the tea instantly even though it was still hot, and quickly ate the scone. Dawn had said he would feel better, and he was eager for that to be true. Luckily, he began feeling better soon after and let out a long sigh of relief before standing up and stretching.

Nightmare on the other hand sipped on it to check the temperature before taking a bite of his scone. He slowly drank his tea and ate his scone, feeling much better after it was finished. Dawn was fascinated that anyone could actually savor black tea, especially since it made her want to cut her tongue off.

Dream watched the two, and couldn't help but grin in a sinister manner. He had found a new target, and they seemed a bit less hopeless than Ink and Error. Still, he would have to bide his time. Play his cards right and he could boost the timeline of a possible relationship by a leap. Yes, this would be very good.

Nightmare, oblivious to the plotting of his twin, placed his teacup on the coffee table. He would admit, the remedy worked wonders. Still, it wasn't like he'd admit it. He had a feeling she knew for sure already though. After all, he wasn't staring dejectedly into space anymore. It was actually pretty great to feel normal after all of that. He sighed.

"Well, thanks for the shortcut. I guess we'll be headed home now. You know, next door?"
Dream nodded and smiled at Dawn.

"Nightmare's right, we should be going now. Thanks for showing us your ability!"
Dream waved and headed out the door, skipping down the path. Nightmare sluggishly headed after him, pausing in the doorway. Without glancing back, he spoke one last time. For once it wasn't laced with sarcasm or malintent.

"See you tomorrow."

With that, Nightmare was out the door, and Dawn was left staring. She hadn't been expecting that. It was different, almost sweet. She didn't know Nightmare could be like that, but she supposed he was probably with that when he hung out with his gang.

Still, Dawn put a hand over her chest. For a second there, it almost felt like her heart stopped.