The dust bunny covered head of my brother reappeared from under my bed. "All right, I checked. There are no monsters under your bed."

Yeah, that's what he thought. The moment he turned his back Godzilla was going to pop his big ugly green head out and gobble me up - teddy bear and all. I knew he would, I saw it on the TV.

"Will you check again? Please. Please. Please!" I pleaded, not wanting him to leave me alone with the monster.

"There isn't anything under your bed. Just go to sleep." He was a teenager, he didn't have to be afraid. Mommy and Daddy left him to watch the house all night by himself. He was a big boy, and monsters didn't eat big boys.

"But-"

"No 'but's," He handed me my teddy bear, Bill. "Mom and Dad will throw a fit if you're still up when they get home, now, go to sleep."

He turned off my light and shut the door, leaving me in the darkness to the child eating monsters with just my Bill. My brother didn't even have the heart to turn on my nightlight. But, big boys didn't need nightlights, I guess, and I wanted to be a big boy.

I looked around in the darkness. I could just feel their eyes watching me - waiting for the perfect moment to strike. I pulled my Digimon sheets up over my head in an attempt to keep the monsters at bay. If I couldn't see them, they couldn't see me.

It wasn't my fault the monsters were out to get me. Nope, not my fault at all. It was all my big brother's fault. He was the one who insisted on watching that "Mega Monster Movie Marathon." And, the monsters knew that we watched it, and they were going to come get me.

I could feel my face getting hot, from both being under my sheets and trying to hold my tears back.

"Big boys don't cry," my brother had told me once. I wanted more than anything to be a big boy like him, but it was hard to not be scared with a bunch of monsters under your bed. Any moment now, they were going to grab my sheets and pull me under.

Creak…

I couldn't hold it back anymore - I was too afraid. I began to whimper.

I looked down at Bill, he was holding on to me as tight am I was him. "D-Don't worry, Bill. I-I-I'll p-protect you, I'm a big boy."

Creak…

This was it. They were coming to get me. Not even my special Batman underwear were enough to save me now. It was hopeless. I wasn't a big boy. Those monsters were going to get me, and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. I was going to be turned into fillet of five-year-old with a side order of astronaut pajamas and teddy bear.

Mommy and Daddy would come home and wonder where I went. They'd look all around the house, under the kitchen sink, down the bathtub drain, even under the couch cushion, but they'd never think to look under my bed. "He was a big boy," they'd say. "A monster would never get him." But, they were wrong, I wasn't a big boy.

Creak…

My whimper was giving way to tears. The floodgates were open and I couldn't wipe them away with my sleeve fast enough. I didn't want to die. I didn't want to get eaten alive. I didn't care about being a big boy any more. I just wanted to get away from the monsters.

Creak…

"I'm scared, Bill. I'm s-scared…"

Click!

The room was suddenly filled with light. Something lifted the sheets off my head. I squinted my eyes shut and prepared for the worst

"You okay?"

I looked up at my big brother, tears still pouring down my cheeks.

"I thought I heard you crying, so I figured I'd come check on you."

I threw my arms around him and began to sob uncontrollably into his sweater. "I was so scared! I thought the monsters were going to come get me - and I wanted to be a big boy like you, but I couldn't! I was scared - and I cried! And - ! And - ! And I couldn't be a big boy, so they're were going to - !"

My brother shushed me softly. "Don't worry. Even big boys get scared, sometimes, they even cry."

"But-"

"Hey, I said no 'but's. A big boy is a big boy, even if he does get scared."

I didn't even glance up at him, I just kept crying. "E-Even you get scared?"

"Even me." He stroked at my static ridden hair, trying his best to make it lay down again. "Those monsters aren't going to get you. Monsters are afraid of big boys, so they leave them alone and don't eat them. And, you are a big boy. But, just this once, do you want me to stay here until you fall asleep?"

I sniffled. "No, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," I smiled at him. "I'm a big boy."

He smiled back and tucked me in once more, then he handed me Bill, and turned off my light - this time, remembering the night light.

Those monsters weren't going to get me this time, even if I was scared of them. I was a big boy, and monsters don't eat big boys.