Kam watches Asa at work in a drunken stupor. The Nightmares don’t stand a chance. Limbs fly. Purple, glittery blood spills. An extra set of eyes rolls into Kam’s toe, but he pays it no mind. Asa in his element is more beautiful than he’s ever been in reality.  It takes no time at all for Asa to riddle the field with the corpses of Kam’s Nightmares.

“It’s safe now.” Asa says confidently as he retracts his legs into whatever void in his body they come from. He’s covered in guts, gore, eyes, purple glittery splatter and whatever else those creatures were made of. 

Kam scratches above his lip. “You kinda have.” Asa lifts his finger to wipe at his cheek. “A little to the right.” Asa moves it to his lip. “There, but,” Kam gestures wide. “The rest of you too.”

Asa blushes. “Oh, uhh.” He tries to clean himself to no avail. “Can you, uhhh, look away for a second. I can get rid of it, but,” He’s like a middle schooler in the locker room. “I have to molt.”

“What’s so bad about that?”

“It’s embarrassing, OK!” Asa whines. “I’m so…exposed.” 

Kam’s eyes roll. “Fine!” He turns. Behind him, Kam hears a sizzling sound like cooking raw meat. Then something like the cracking of an egg pierces his ear drums. It repeats until something clunks onto the grass. It takes about as long as it took for Asa to destroy the Nightmares.

When Asa taps on Kam’s shoulder, he’s clean and wearing the same black sweats and white tank top he wore in the morning. But next to him is a curled up molt. It twitches in the slight breeze of the stadium. A piece of the molt breaks off. 

“Is that….yours?” Kam asks.

“Yeah. I feel,”  Asa looks everywhere but at Kam’s eyes. “Vulnerable. Molting in front of someone is so awkward. Can we just enjoy the dream as long as it lasts?”

Kam silently agrees. Together, the boys try to leave the stadium, but instead of the concessions area, they walk straight into Kam’s Dream Core. “I vaguely remember this place. It’s my core, right? My dream is going to end soon then. But I feel like it’s only been about an hour.”

Asa explains. “Time works differently in dreams. Haven’t you noticed I’m always awake by the time you wake up?” Asa tries to chuckle, but it comes out more like a nervous sneeze. “You’ll get a better feel for time the more aware of your dreams you become.”

Kam glances at the stump where his hand was. Asa ate the whole thing in one bite earlier, but it doesn’t hurt. There isn’t even blood. Instead, it tingles like a tickle. “What happens if the Nightmares get to me first or if I die in a dream.”

“You can’t die in your own dream if that’s what you’re asking. Even if the Nightmares eat you first, it will just be a bad nightmare for you. Over time, that’s going to eat away at your mental health, but it’s not too bad. Any good Dream Eater won’t let it happen.” Asa stops. “I won’t let it happen. Why all the questions?”

Kam crosses his arms. “Fine. I get it. Eating our dreams and eating Nightmares is a part of life. But,” Kam’s fury swirls in him. He refuses to let it go. “I’m still mad at you.”

Asa flinches. At once, Kam sees his best friend instead of a creature that needs to molt its skin. He sees the boy who needed him when his parents died. He sees the child who protects him from his bullies and his Nightmares. 

“But,” Kam takes Asa into a warm embrace. It’s awkward without one of his hands, but his free hand rubs the small of Asa’s back. “We need to set some ground rules.”

Asa pulls away with a mischievous grin. “Hit me.”

“Firstly, you have to explain everything about you and Dream Eaters. No holds barred. I think I deserve to know this part of your life, especially if you’re going to eat me.”

Asa’s green eyes finally meet Kams. “Deal.”

“Second,” Kam hesitates. His stump twitches. “You can eat my dreams, but you have to leave any of our interactions alone. I want to remember my dreams with you. You can eat everything else around as long as we are kept intact. Can you do that?”

Asa licks his lips. “Of course.”

Lastly,” Kam loses all hesitation. It’s the most confident thing he’s said in all his life. “Only eat my dreams.” He blushes, but can’t be embarrassed for long as Asa tackles him to the ground.

“That was always the plan.”