What

"Cearel"

"Mom?" Flash called out. His surroundings were so strangely familiar. The flower print carpet that he used for his toy car races. The picture of his whole family actually smiling. The smell of mac and cheese drifting from the kitchen.

But this all felt wrong.

"It should feel wrong."

The corner of the wall didn't have it's huge dent from when he rammed into it while roller skating inside. The floral carpet mentioned earlier was spotless and pristine. The family photo he saw was actually taken down years ago.

Also why was he asking for his mom of all people?

He wasn't sure how he got to the kitchen. He doesn't remember walking there that's for certain. It was almost like as if he was shoved there but he couldn't be sure. The murky feeling he felt seemed to just hang in the air.

All the sudden he was in a chair. But instead it was a high chair that you would see toddlers in at restaurants. That didn't even make any sense! He has never sat in a high chair,even when he was a little kid! He's pretty sure his family has never even owned one.

"Hello sweetie." His mom appeared suddenly,sliding a bowl of cereal in front of him. "Enjoy your mac."

Flash stared at the bowl.

"That's not mac n cheese."

"Why of course it is!" Her voice was so...plastic? Something akin to the fake attitude a retail employee would have.

"It's cereal." Flash deadpanned.

"Oh no no no no darling." Okay his mom never calls him darling. What the hell?

"See it's yummy I'll even eat some." His mom took the bowl and true to her word she ate the "mac n cheese". She didn't convince him any further though. Her face had puckered up as if she ate something sour.

"It smells like mac n cheese." Flash spoke at just below a whisper.

"Yes and that's why it is."

"But it looks like cereal!" His voice started to raise. He didn't feel so small anymore. In fact  the highchair felt cramped. He felt too old to even be arguing like this.

"If you say that one more time you'll go to bed without dinner!"

Flash looked out the window to see the afternoon sun.

"It's not even night time!" It all came rushing in at once. It was as if he was caught in a water fall. The house swirled together. His moms face blending in with the "cereal". The sky turning into night. Gosh he just wants out. He doesn't want this. He didn't ask for this. But now he's the way he is and he can't change it for-

"Flash!" The spinning stopped. Swirls of the setting frozen in place surrounding him on all sides. He felt he could only describe it as being inside of a cavern made out of every play dough color mashed together.

"Venom?" God he sounded so pathetic. Isn't he though?

"The voices who tell you that your not enough are just afraid that they are not enough." Who on Earth even said that? That doesn't even make any sense? Everything is feeling rushed right now.

"You were having a bad dream." The blob slithered over. Venoms voice started to pull Flash down back to Earth. Or er- dream Earth or wherever he actually is.

"I used to always help Eddie with his bad dreams."

"Who is Eddie?" Flash decided to ignore the fact that Venom had apparently entered his dream(and that he had a bad one). With the day he's had it's not that big of a stretch that Venom could enter his dreams. Sweet Lord he just remembered the day he's had.