Again | DreamNotFound

The lost child

Chapter 1

Dream had a date.

He never liked dates, especially first dates. They were awkward and strange and never ended well, at least for him. If it wasn't his Mom that had set up this particular date, he would have refused. But he couldn't say no to her. He was a Momma's boy after all.

It was a movie date. That was the deal, his Mom picks the person, he picks the location. And nothing is better than sitting in silence with someone he doesn't want to talk to anyways.

Dream was a bit early. The movie wasn't until 5:15, and he was meeting the girl at 5. It was 4:45 so he was just wondering around the mall on his phone.

It was busy at 4:45 on a Saturday, not particularly surprising. But the number of people he was around was already draining his social battery.

He took a break from walking, leaning against a pillar and scrolling on his phone. He had some texts from his Mom and roommate, reminding him to tell them how it goes. He rolled his eyes at his roommate's text. Sapnap had reminded him to use protection. Of course he would say that.

Dream didn't notice the small tugging on his pant leg for a few moments, but when he heard a sniffle, he looked down, moving his phone out of the way.

There was a little girl beside him, staring up at him with big, teary eyes. They were a deep brown, and immediately gave Dream a weird familiar feeling in his chest. She couldn't be older than three. Or four. Or two. He wasn't good with children's ages. She had dark brown wavy hair, and was wearing a pink dress with white and purple butterflies on it. But she was crying.

"Hi." Dream said, immediately softening his voice. Her lip was trembling and she was playing with the hem of her dress.

"I lost my daddy." She said. A slight British accent showing.

Dream didn't really have many interactions with kids. Only the occasional one at family gatherings. Nevertheless, he knelt down to her level, giving her a kind smile.

"It's ok, I'll help you find him. What's your name?" He asked.

"Alana." She said, wiping her eyes with her small fist.

"That is a very pretty name. My name is Clay." He said. She wiped her tears. "Do you know what your dad's name is?"

"It's.. it's daddy." She said. Dream paused. God, she must be young.

"Of course... ok. Um, does your daddy have the same colour hair as you?" He asked, pointing to her dark hair. She nodded, both her small hands going onto her hair.

"Does he... have the same colour eyes as you?" He asked. She nodded, and Dream felt that strange feeling in his chest again as he looked at her eyes.

Her awfully familiar eyes.

"Do you remember what shirt he was wearing?" Dream asked. Alana looked out of the corner of her eye as she thought about it.

"Green... or yellow?" She said, hesitating a bit as she thought.

"Ok. Well, let's try to find him. Where did you last see him?" He asked.

"At the loo." She said. Dream hesitated for a second. Right, the restroom.

"Can you see him anywhere?" He asked, gesturing to the crowd of people. She sniffled and turned, eyes darting everywhere. She let out a cry again.

"I'm not big enough." She said, turning back to him while sobbing.

"Shhh. It's ok." He said, beginning to panic at the crying child.

"Up." She said, holding out her arms at him. Dream didn't move.