Passing Notes

Chapter 21: ngl that's kinda straight

"I'll just be going now if that's good with you?"

Dawn nodded, forcing an awkward smile.

"See ya later sludge."
Closing the door behind him as he left, she sighed and leaned against the wall. Slowly sinking to the ground, she looked at her hands. Nightmare, her boyfriend? She hadn't even ever thought of that. He was always just a classmate, a friend, and a rival who was fun to tease. All she did was try and kick him down a notch on his ego.

What would it be like though? She had never had a boyfriend before, even though a lot of people had been interested in her over the years. It was partially because of her protective friends, and partially because there had never been anyone with a special spark.

Why had people been thinking about them dating? I mean, sure time passed by much quicker when they were together. She enjoyed the time they spent together, regardless of what they were doing. She spent time perfecting her octopus drawings and coming up with new insults. That was normal though wasn't it?

Nightmare wasn't boyfriend material. He was egotistical, moody, and never put others before himself. All of those things were awful... but he was also more than that wasn't he? He was funny, strong, confident, and he could even be nice sometimes. He genuinely cared about his friends, he just didn't show it because it made him think he was weak.

He actually looked after her, just like that time with that boy who was bothering her. He was even concerned enough about what happened during Volleyball to check up on her. Sure, the execution was absolutely awful, but he was trying. That was more than she thought someone like him would ever do.

He wanted to be better, but only on fair terms. He would never try to weasel his way around things, and he was often brutally honest. He didn't hide his intentions, good or bad. He put his issues on display to see, and despite being a jerk he had morals. He was everything that opposed her. He was everything that opposed them.

To her, that made him perfect. She laced her fingers together, heart racing. Dream may have been right, she just hadn't recognized it since she'd never been in love before. The way she thought about him and what he would like even when he wasn't there. The way her heart stopped sometimes when she would look in his direction. She did like Nightmare, and she had absolutely no idea what to do about it.

While she came to that epiphany, someone else was lost in thought as well.

Nightmare slowly trudged up the stairs, in a daze. He completely ignored Ink and Blueberry, but luckily enough that was in character for him so nobody called him out on it. He reached the door to his bedroom, headed inside, and collapsed onto his bed.

His mind was racing. What was that? How dare his gang not inform him of this? Sure, he would have probably had some grandiose reaction, but he had deserved to know! Still, did he actually wish they had told him?
Now that he knew, his mind was flooded with questions. Nightmare remembered having crushes or thinking girls were pretty back in his.... Weak days. (Weak era represent) However none of those girls had ever actually gotten close enough to him for it to be called love. None of them would even approach him, not with his distasteful aura.

Once he had gotten stronger, this pattern kept up. The reason behind it had changed drastically however. Now he was strong and aggressive, and everyone knew better than to cross him. Everyone was actually pretty afraid of him, at some times even his classmates or his own brother. That worked out for him anyway, since he had lost interest in those below him. They had treated him like he was worthless, and now that's what they were to him.

Dawn was different though. She should've been afraid upon first sight, taking up the offer to sit with the Stars. She didn't. She looked at him and saw straight through him, not even a hint of fear. All she saw was an egotistical jerk, and she hadn't been wrong. She chose to try and knock him down a peg by not giving up. That was something nobody had ever done before.

Usually after he did something to indicate his distaste for them, people would leave in a hurry. Expecting the same reaction, he recalled knocking over the carefully organized stationary that Dawn put so much care into. Anyone would have realized their mistake and went running.

She didn't. She just came back to her seat and fixed everything as if it had never happened. She wasn't afraid to cross him and stand up for herself like everyone else was. His negative aura had no effect on her.

She was a grand mystery, something he had never experienced. She had probably hated him at first, but she was bold enough to slip him a note. A particularly rude one at that. Yet he hadn't lashed out at her. Thinking back on it now, he was curious. Perhaps he was even fascinated, someone bold enough to stand up to him.

It was possible Dream and everyone else were right. He hadn't ever thought of her that way, but now he was questioning everything. Sure, she was annoying, rude, and altogether a thorn in his side. There was a whole lot more to her though. Dawn was strong, kind, and intelligent. He really liked that about her.

She wasn't scared to dress in her own style, a beautiful and elegant style. Wait, no, he didn't think that. She also had the most beautiful laugh, and Nightmare wished he could hear it more often. No, he didn't think that! Impossible, he was too strong to need anybody, love made people weak!

No matter what he said to himself though, he couldn't help but feel like it was true. He really liked everything about her. The half confident smile, the way her eyes danced in the light, even the way her hair instantly fixed itself. The last one was always pretty funny to watch, and Nightmare couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Maybe being in love wasn't so bad if it was with her. Closing his eyes, Nightmare pondered this new discovery until he drifted off to sleep. He was so exhausted he didn't even wake up when Dream came to get him for dinner. Dream just smiled and softly shut the door, mentally noting to make a bigger breakfast the next day.

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"Sphere, I've located your little "friend." Turns out she's been hiding away with my escaped experiment."
The dark room was penetrated only by the light coming from the door. Even that light was blocked by the tall figure of the mysterious speaker. Laughter echoed through the room, laced with enough malice to send shivers down the spine of any who would listen.

The figure in the door just stood there, unamused. His associate's behavior did little more than get on his nerves. The two couldn't be more alike, but they worked to benefit each other. He would do all the work that actually required any caliber of thinking, and his partner would take care of any physical labor.

He had made the mistake of trying to force him to work as his underling, only to be defeated. To spare a great misfortune, he had proposed a deal. Now they worked together, and both had benefited much more than they could have ever imagined.

If this plan worked, they would gain oh so much power. He could easily recreate his masterpieces ten times over, no matter how hard the materials would normally be to obtain. Plus, he had a loose thread to either tie back in or cut off.

"Wonderful, wonderful! Oh, how I've waited for this moment. You know, she has been so good at hiding herself, but that wonderful little magic she used was just enough for me to get a general area. I'm so glad that you're so helpful doc!"
The energetic mood quickly shifted to something much darker.

"You're forgetting one thing though X. It's not Sphere anymore, I go by Doodle. By taking her name I will avenge my sister."
The figure by the door tapped away at some sort of device.

"Of course, my apologies. You'll have to forgive an old man's memories, I have far more important information in my head. After all, it's information you and I both need to hunt down this mouse, no?"

The two shared a brief silence, before the taller one whisked around.

"I expect to see you in the meeting room tomorrow at five so we can plan this out. Do not be tardy."
Doodle chuckled once more.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. Dr.X and Doodle, planning the greatest victory in history."