It's So Hard To Ignore ((A Dreammare Story))

[[ 9 ]]

[[•Nightmare's POV•]]

"Oh Nightmare."

"Whoever said I was planning on hurting you?"

I felt my soul stop, my body frozen in a fear nothing quite like anything I've ever felt before as I realized what she meant. I felt shock sweeping through my body, shaking, before it all caught up to me. I turned to Dream, trying to choke back words that I knew couldn't help... there seemed to be the sound of rain surrounding us, and nothing else. The only thought in my mind was to not let Dream get injured. I opened my mouth, fearful and about to scream for help, but... there was only the rain, and once I opened my mouth and started shouting for someone, it was deafened, like it was distant. I stopped, shaking, and looked over, meeting Dream's eyes for a brief moment; they were wide open in horror and fear, his emotions so strong that the usual positive aura was dimmer. He looked at me with such a strong flash of fear in his eyes that I could feel shakiness throughout my entire body, my mind a whirl of anger, fear, and resistance. I opened my mouth again to start screaming when the harpy darted in front of me, a small grin on her face as she held up one finger to my mouth. The gesture was simple, and I didn't have to obey, but the flash in her eyes, the way her finger barely rested in front of her face, and the look she gave Dream as she slowly turned her head with the same sadistic grin on her face all made me shut my mouth.

"Good," she whispered, and I swallowed as my hearing returned. The rain seemed louder, and I could see silhouettes still moving around the various playsets. Feeling my soaking clothes sticking to my small frame, I tried to swallow, but found that I couldn't; the lump in my throat made my throat burn like a hot coal, feeling as if I was being choked by barbed wire. I jumped as Dream let out a shout, and I turned to see him land in the mud, squeezing his eyes shut as the girl behind him gave a small smile, her arms outstretched. She turned her coal black eyes on me, a faint smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes. Looking down at Dream in a seemingly quizzical manner before pulling back her foot, sending it straight up against my brother's ribcage. He cried out and she did it again, the smallest of smiles on her face whenever he made sounds of pain. I opened my mouth and she made eye contact with me, doing it again but a lot harder so I could hear a snap. Fury boiled up inside of my chest, and I narrowed my eyes, lurching forward and starting to curse her out when someone caught me by the arm, almost causing me to fall into the mud next to Dream. I whipped around, gritting my teeth, to see the figure I was growing all too familiar with.

Ink.

"Bastard!!" I screamed, pulling an arm back defensively without thinking. Letting out some sort of feral growl, I swung my arm forward as fast as possible to connect with Ink's face. He released my arm, staggering backwards before falling on the ground. Blood was streaming out of his nose, and his jaw was held at an awkward angle as he slowly raised a hand to his face. Tears pricked his eyes as he drew his hand back, glistening blood covering his hand before it was washed away by the rain. He glared up at me, nobody around us doing a thing to stop what was going on as he slowly got to his feet. Holding his jaw, he staggered a few times before glaring at me; I suddenly felt rather small, and my hands shook as the pain of the blow I dealt caught up to me.

"You idio-" Ink suddenly stopped, doubling over in pain and clutching his jaw. I took a step back, terrified, as I saw tears slip down his face before he looked up, eyes full of fury.

"IDIOT!! I was trying... OW!! I was trying to help!!" he screamed, barely able to get the words out of his mouth before he doubled over again, whines of pain escaping his mouth. The way he spoke was unnatural, his jaw not quite working well with his face. Oh my god, I think I literally broke Ink's face.

"Ink, what the hell?!" I heard a voice shout, and I turned to see the harpy storming towards Ink. He looked up, eyes narrowed and pupils near slits when she grabbed his wrist, pulling him up so he was no longer crouched over and getting so close to his face that they were mere inches apart.