Nightmares
Marco has a nightmare while having a sleepover with Tom.
It was past midnight and Marco and Tom were about to retire to bed after playing hours of video games and watching movies. Tom decided to invite Marco over for a sleepover and Marco was happy with the idea and told Star that he was spending the night with Tom. The two of them had a blast together. But now it was time for sleep. Tom made sure he had extra pillows and blankets for Marco. He wanted him to be as comfortable as possible.
It was already hot in Tom's room, so Marco didn't feel the need to use the extra blankets. One would be good enough for him. He climbed into the bed next to Tom and got comfortable. Tom shut off the lights leaving the room is darkness. He wrapped his arms around Marco and pulled him close.
"Thanks for spending the night with me, Marco. It gets pretty boring being by myself."
"No problem, buddy. I had fun today."
Tom nuzzled his face into Marco's neck and closed his eyes. "Goodnight, Marco."
"Goodnight, Tom." Marco closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him. The hours went by and both boys were sleeping peacefully until Marco starting whimpering in his sleep. He kicked the blankets off in his sleep and continued whimpering. Marco was having a nightmare. His whimpers turned into screams which woke Tom up. He saw Marco thrashing about and screaming.
"Marco!" Tom shouted. He shook Marco by the shoulders and tried to wake the boy. "Marco, wake up! It's just a dream!" Marco eyes shot open and he sat up screaming. Tears were dripping down his face. He jumped when he felt warm arms wrap around him. "Shhh, it's okay. It was just a dream. I'm here." Marco choked back a sob and buried his face into Tom's chest. Tom lifted him up and placed him on his lap. He rocked him back and forth trying the soothe his friend. "There there. It's okay. Tom cooed. "Do you want to talk about it?" Marco shook his head. "You'll feel better if you do."
Marco pulled his face away from Tom's chest and took a shaky breath. "O-okay. I'll tell you. I dreamt that Toffee killed me. He had me enclosed in a glass box and before I knew it, it was crushing me." Marco started sobbing again but continued. "Star tried to help me, but she could not stop the glass box from crushing me. She watched my body get crushed. The pain felt so real. Star's screams and Toffee's laughter sounded so real. It was so disturbing!"
Marco broke down and sobbed hard. Tom had tears flowing from his eyes. "Oh, Marco." Tom stood up with Marco in his arms and walked around a bit. "I'm so sorry you had such a terrible dream. I'm so sorry. I won't let anyone hurt you okay. You're safe in my arms." Marco sobbed into Tom's shoulder. "It was so horrifying." Tom kissed his head. "I know but remember, it's not real."
Marco began to calm down and Tom stopped pacing and sat back down on his bed with Marco in his lap. He held and rocked him until he was completely at ease. Marco started feeling tired again and yawned. Tom gently placed Marco under the covers and laid down beside him. He wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close. "No more nightmares tonight, okay? I'm right here and I will keep you safe." Marco smiled and buried his face into Tom's chest.
"Thanks Tom. I don't know what I would do without you." Tom smiled and kissed his cheek. "Anything for you Marco." They went back to sleep, and Marco had no more nightmares. Only pleasant dreams of him and Tom.