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Dream had never felt so scared in his life. In all of his years borrowing from this house, the one he had lived in for years with the same two residents, he had never once aroused suspicion. And now suddenly he was sure one of the humans had just seen him with a grape in tow duck into his small entrance on the kitchen counter.
He was sitting on the floor of his small hole, the grape still sat in his lap. He wanted to throw it and be angry at it. That grape was the reason he was probably just seen. But he was hungry and even this grape was only going to last him so long. Not long enough.
Dream sighed and adjusted his small handmade cardboard mask so he could take a bite of the fruit. He just had to hope luck was still on his side, and if the human did see him they wouldn’t do anything about it.
The next night, Dream slung his borrowing bag over his shoulders. He needed more food whether he was staying or not. Neither human had made any indication of knowing of his presence yet, so he was still hesitant to leave just yet. This house was as much of a perfect home to Dream as it was to the two humans who lived here.
They had both been in this house as long as Dream. Dream found the house one day before these boys had moved in. He wasn’t originally planning on staying because the house was completely unoccupied, there was no food to borrow there. But when he was about to leave he heard commotion outside and watched people bringing stuff into the house. He decided to stay a little longer. After all, he knew from other borrowers he had met that when new humans arrived at a new house, losing items was normal. Humans wouldn’t suspect a thing.
And Dream had only planned on staying another week to milk the moving in period. But then he grew attached and by the time he realized it, he had basically moved into the house as well. For years, Dream had used his abilities that were unusually good, even for a borrower, to borrow and escape any suspicion. The two boys were unaware for years. So Dream thought it could still be likely that the human who had seen him would pass it off as a trick of the eye, or maybe didn’t even see him.
With that reassurance in his mind, he peeked out of his hole to assure the humans had headed off to bed. He stepped out as quietly as he could and began making his way to any food left out on the counter. And then he stopped.
A small pile was laid right around the toaster his hole was hidden behind. There looked to be a cracker, another grape, some small pieces of bread, and a small slice of cheese. Dream suddenly clutched the strap of his bag, ready to make a break for it. He darted his gaze around trying to find something, anything, that would signify this to being a trap. The human had seen him. Dream had to leave.
But against all caution, he approached the pile. He reached out for the cheese and was surprised that it still felt cool. The food was put out right before the humans went to their rooms. And there was no trap.
‘But the human saw you, you have to leave.’ Dream stared at the food laid before him. He was seen, but the human only left food out. Maybe it was to guarantee his existence. A small voice in the back of his head whispered that it could have been pure kindness. That was hard to believe, but at this point Dream wanted to believe it. He didn’t want to leave.
He made up his mind. He slung his bag off his shoulders and began putting the food in to take back. He wasn’t leaving this house. Not until one of the boys makes an active attempt to truly catch him.
The next couple nights, nothing strange happened again. The humans still followed their normal routine and no more food was left out on the counter, except for the common forgotten snack. There was no indication of them buying any traps or calling any exterminators. Dream was safe.
He hopped out of his hole by the counter, hoping that one of the humans had left a drawer open so he could get himself a new paperclip. His hook was getting old and Dream was afraid it may break soon. He didn’t want to risk a fall from a high place. That could either kill him or leave him vulnerable to be truly caught. That wasn’t a situation Dream would ever be caught in. Maybe that reckless borrower Dream had met some years back, but not him.
He stepped out onto the counter and quickly ran to the edge to check for any open drawer. He grumbled in annoyance when he saw none of them were open, and unable for him to open as well. He began to pick himself up off the edge when he heard footsteps. He shot up in surprise and stumbled to his feet. He thought the humans had gone to their rooms. And it sounded like both of them. ‘Shit, I gotta get out of here-’
“-can’t forget the snacks when we have movie night, Sap! You know this.”
“Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Just grab what you want. I’m gonna grab me some chips.”
Dream ran for the hole but of course, his luck finally ran dry. He tripped over his own feet and face planted on the counter. He quickly maneuvered his arms under himself to prop himself up.
“You good, dude? Need some help?”
Dream froze. He flipped himself around to see the human looking at him expectantly.
“Sapnap? Who are you talking to- oh! Our other roommate! Hi!” The one in blue smiled and waved at Dream, who just stared at the two humans.
Had he heard them right. Other roommate? But he wasn’t human. They all had never properly met. So why were they acting like this was the most normal situation to ever be in. He just laid there, mouth gaping up at the two humans.
“I’ll ask again, you good my man? Did you need something?”
“Ask nicer, Sapnap! He’s probably scared!” The other human called out from the other side of the kitchen as he went back to rummaging through the cabinet looking for food again. Like it didn’t bother him in the slightest that there was a like four inch man on the counter.
The human Sapnap looked at Dream expectantly still, and Dream realized he was probably getting impatient. That wasn’t good for a human.
“P-paperclip.” Dream looked down horrified at himself. One, he should have kept his mouth shut. That was one of the first rules of borrowers, right with don’t be seen. Two, the only word that came out of his mouth was paperclip. And he stuttered.
Sapnap just hummed and nodded looking down at the drawers. He reached out and opened one and pulled out a… paperclip? Dream watched in surprise as he set it down on the counter and slid it towards Dream slowly. He then pulled his hand back once it was in reach of Dream. Dream hesitantly reached out and picked it up, pulling a bit to test its strength subconsciously.
“Does that work for you, man? I can try and find a different one if it doesn’t work for you.” Dream noted that Sapnap had even taken a step back from the counter, as if not to startle the borrower.
“Y-yeah. This is good. Thank you.” He really was grateful, confused, but grateful. Subpoena just smiled and laughed.
“Cool! Don’t hesitate to ask next time!” He suddenly reached around Dream and grabbed a chip bag that was right behind him. “George and I will be in my room watching a movie if you want to join. I’ll see you around, man.”
George stood up with a colorful bag in hand and turned to wave at Dream. “Bye, roomie! See you around later!” And then they left. They just left.
What. Just. Happened?
Dream still sat on the counter staring at the entrance of the kitchen, half expecting them to come back with cruel smiles screaming, “we gotcha good, didn’t we?” But it never happened. He stood up on shaky legs and took his paperclip back to his hole. He sat down on his little cotton ball bed structure.
And then he started laughing. Who would have thought the humans would be so kind and so strange? Maybe he would take them up on their offer another night. For now, he needed sleep. Just to make sure this was real.
And when he woke up to see the paperclip still in the middle of the floor, he knew it was real. And he knew he needed to figure out what a movie night was.