7:20 PM.
Nashville, Tennessee. Home of country music, Johnny Cash, and now two teenagers who arrived just in time for a late dinner.
"So, where are we thinking for dinner? We've got the whole city in front of us so just pick anywhere you want, as long as we've got the money for it." Dream cruised through a side road of the city at a low speed, windows down and eyes scanning the crowded streets. They'd changed drivers the second they hit the town because George didn't feel like dealing with traffic lights and Dream was okay with switching.
"I'm not sure. What do you want?" George found himself back in the passenger seat but without a system full of drugs this time. He had had enough for one day.
The shorter boy was snapping pictures of everything he could see now from brightly-colored signs to cowboy hat-wearing tourists. Click. Click. Click.
"Let's just go somewhere nice. Like some kind of fancy date," Dream paused at his word choice, eyes flashing between George and the road for a moment, but didn't take it back. The dark-eyed boy beside him grinned and he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
"Some fancy date it is then."
The car passed a small diner with a dark interior lit by a couple neon signs and Dream spun into the parking lot with one hand on the wheel, sliding the black vehicle haphazardly into a spot. He didn't even notice that it was actually between two or three spots until George pointed it out.
"Shit." He backed out the car a bit too quickly and veered back into the spot with more concentration that time. "Is that better?"
"Probably." George shrugged and got out of the car, letting go of Dream's hand for the first time in a few hours. He didn't like the cold that interlocked with his fingers instead.
The two walked into the diner and were immediately greeted with a dark room full of loud music, loud people, and loud noises.
"Table for two, please," Dream said to the waitress, who led them to the back corner. There was one empty booth in the whole place and she gave it to the pair.
The teens sat across from each other, sliding into the seats gingerly.
"My legs are dying," George groaned as he kicked his feet up on the bench across from him and Dream did the same. "We shouldn't have done this all in one day."
"I never said we had to! That was entirely your interpretation. And, you weren't even the person driving most of the time!"
"Sleeping is hard too." George cracked up as the waitress returned to get their drink orders.
"What would y'all like to drink?"
"The most caffeinated thing you have."
"And a lemonade!"
The waitress left them alone once again and George pulled out his phone to check the time. It was 7:30 now, meaning that they would arrive in Orlando in 10 hours. It would be nearly 6 AM on arrival if they didn't stop any more.
"You'll be getting in pretty early. Are you sure you'll even be able to get into the dorms?" He spun the phone around so Dream could see his calculations. The blond scrunched his eyebrows and frowned. Spending another 10 hours in the car didn't sound particularly fun.
"Yeah, I think so. I told them some bullshit about how I was an exchange student and had nowhere else to go and they said they would leave my key at the front desk inside. It was the only way I could get in during summer, but I think it'll work. Why?"
"Just curious." George now had his phone in camera mode once again, trying to get a picture of the neon signs in the restaurant. He turned the lens on the rest of the place and snapped a few of the bar, the windows, and the light outside.
"You're really good at photography, you know? Have you ever thought about going to college for that kind of stuff?"
"It's too late for that now." George edited the photos absent-mindedly while Dream thought of the boxes in the backseat of the car. He said nothing.
"Hey, look out the window for a second." The camera was turned on the green-eyed boy who obliged immediately, listening for the soft clicks over the top of all the other noise. Sure enough, multiple photos were taken from the angle. A few more were snapped of him looking into the neon lights, then a few more of just his eyes. Dream forgot about his scars for a moment. He forgot about his bruised nose too.
"Perfect."
"I became your model and I don't even get a 'thank you'?" Dream joked as their sodas were set on the table.
George took a sip of his lemonade with a smile. "Thanks, loser."
"Are we ready to order here?"
"Yes." Dream flashed the woman a smile and George felt his cheeks flush but he refused to figure out why.
An hour later and the two had finished eating, wandering around the city of music and lights with no real goal in mind. The sidewalks were plenty wide but their shoulders still brushed against each other as they walked.
"You do realize we only have 10 hours left to go, right? We're way over halfway now," George commented as their feet moved in sync down the smooth paths.
"Yeah," Dream said it without enthusiasm. He should be excited to finally be in college, away from them, and finally free but at the moment he felt nothing but a pang in his chest. He didn't want this to end. "As weird as it sounds, this has been really fun."
"I get what you mean. It's like, I didn't really wake up at 4 in the morning expecting to have a good time with an old friend but here we are and it's getting close to being over and that fucking sucks." The curse passed his lips and Dream turned to look at him with a little smile.
"I think that's the most you've said all day." George elbowed the taller boy and the two finally made their way back to the car. The spark of electricity from earlier continued to course its way through both of them, but it didn't burn in a bad way.
"Alright Dream, let's do this." George sunk into the driver's seat and started the engine.
"Let's get to Orlando." Their fingers linked and the black car pulled out of the parking lot.
YOU ARE READING
warmth [dreamnotfound] | ✓
Fanfic[dreamwastaken x georgenotfound, road trip au, high school au, completed] Dream is running from his problems. You would be too if you were in his situation. Unfortunately, the only person available to help give him a ride is a childhood friend he ha...