Learn how to love (Dream Team fanfic)

Chapter 10 ~ Popcorn

"THERE!" Sapnap yelled as he sprinted off in a random direction. The other two followed closely. It was a very thick forest they were in, to their advantage. They were able to duck and weave, whereas the creature, who was far faster than them, that they were chasing would get stuck in the maze of brush. 

They were not completely safe from its razor-sharp leaves either, at the speed they were moving, their skin was ripped and sliced at, cuts forming all over their bodies as they trampled through the wood.

 In the moment of the chase however, they could not feel this pain due to the beautiful drug of adrenaline and followed after Sapnap, who led the way. 

He abruptly stopped, making the other two halt in their tracks as well, glancing this way and that. Sapnap had his head locked in one direction.

He held a finger to his lips, and the others struggled to make their panting mute as they also listened. Even with muffled pants, their heart rates drummed in their ears too loud to hear soft whinnies in the forest already occupied by thousands of wildlife sounds and rustling trees in the wind. Somehow despite all of this, Sapnap could make it out and signaled them to continue along.

 
They stalked in the shadows, as if they were not really there, searching for the frightened horse, which had stolen something valuable from them. The thick brush came up to a clearing, and there it was, the yellow and white horse, drinking from a sparkling pond in the serene center of the forest. They all exhaled in relief as they spotted it, and crouched down, becoming statues. 

They hardly made any sound now, finding it much easier to control their breathing now that the magnificent beast stood only a few meters from them. They waited, hoping to soon pounce on their prey.

   George looked to Sapnap, wondering what he would do next. It seemed like decades before he made a move. It did not feel long to him though, watching the pure beauty of the horse he had named "popcorn" when they had first encountered it on their leisurely stroll back from a cave they had spent hours mining in. 

Finally, he stepped, making no sound as he did so. Dream would've thought he was wearing noise-canceling headphones if it hadn't been for the background noises of the wind on the trees and the chirping of birds. 

He noticed that he had his breath back, and his heart rate had relaxed. It had for the others too. Sapnap continued to progress, getting closer and closer to the beast, when he finally just hopped right on.

 
Startled, it tried to throw Sapnap off and succeeded, but he was too close now, he hopped right back on, having a firm grip on the yellow main. The horse, a bit confused, continued to throw him off, to no avail, Sapnap spoke into its ear, whispering words it could not understand. 

It was the feeling of calm human nature, which got it to settle down. It did not seem like he intended to hurt her. She was still a bit weary, until finally accepting the boy on her back. He handed her an apple and wheat. Now giddy, she chose the apple, munched loudly, and swallowed, looking up to the boy to see if he had any more. 

He chuckled softly and handed her another. She quite liked this boy, he had let go of her main and was now caressing it in a way which made her feel happy, as well as kept giving her delicious treats. She could get used to this.

 
"You did it Sapnap!" George said. This startled the horse a bit, but once seeing the other two human boys come out of the shadows and the one on her back communicate and chuckle as he had done with her, she relaxed again and decided to graze.

 
"What did the horse steal from us though? You never mentioned it'' George said, now washing his hands a bit in the pond. Dream was petting the horse's mane in the way Sapnap directed.
"Who Popcorn? Oh, she stole my heart" He said with a grin on his face.

"You've got to be joking," George said standing up. Dream just laughed.

"You're insane!" He said between chuckles that the others smiled at.

"I know, isn't it great?" Dream was laughing so hard that the others couldn't help but join in. Soft whinnies interrupting every now and then by Popcorn who wanted more apples.

   On their walk back to base, things seemed much harder than they did on their way over. They now had a giant horse for one thing, but also they found themselves lost in the woods where they had chased it. 

They followed Sapnap around at first, but after he kept getting distracted by his horse for the 5th time, Dream took the lead, climbing up as high as he could, until seeing a landscape he found familiar. 

Once he hopped down, he realized his two friends were bickering once again. They did it often, but he knew that deep down they cared for one another, even if they rarely showed it. Dream decided he wasn't going to split this argument up and just started walking in the direction of home, bickering noises following close behind him as he looked up at the bright blue sky and smiled, so very content with his life.

 
They eventually tired out and kept to themselves. It was a comfortable silence, broken every now and then by whinnies, Sapnap's laughter, and munching of apples.

  George's favorite color was blue. So much that he couldn't help but admire it when he came across blue flowers. Dream and Sapnap knowing this, pause for him, whenever they come across them. It would be annoying for anyone else, but the two found that George rarely let his innocent and childlike youthfulness run free, and quite liked it when he did, even though Sapnap wouldn't admit it, he found it as adorable as Dream did.

 
  On this particular outing though, Sapnap spotted ahead that there happened to be a flower field in the direction they were taking. Groaning loudly he pointed it out to Dream, who only laughed and sped up a bit. 

As they stepped into the clearing they saw an array of purples, pinks, yellows, blues, and reds. All beautiful flowers growing peacefully without any care in the world. They stepped into the field, ignoring the gasps behind them and seeing how far they could get before they were inevitably stopped.

"Hold on guys just a moment" Came the line that both of them were waiting for as they treaded through the field. Dream wasted no time climbing up a tree, and Sapnap flopped onto the ground as he watched Popcorn graze.

It was an hour later, Dream slept leaning on a branch in his tree, foot dangling, and his mask drooping over his eyes.

 Sapnap hadn't moved either but now had a purple flower in his hand, picking the petals absentmindedly as he hummed a song. Even Popcorn had sat down, sick of grazing and munched on Sapnap's hair fondly. George walked up to them both, grinning and holding something behind his back. "Dreeeeeaaaam Saaaaap!" he said, waking up the former and causing the latter to sit up.

"Look!" he said, pulling a big bright blue bouquet of flowers in front of them. Dream sleepily lifted his mask, then covered his eyes, having looked directly up at the sun rays that shined through the trees, before adjusting and finally looking down to George.
  

His face was flushed red and his fingers cut and dirty. The bouquet was beautiful, but the look of pride on his face is what stole the show. Dream blushed a deep crimson and smiled at his friend fondly, before finally responding.

"W-wow, it's beautiful George, how long did you spend picking those?" he said, clearing his throat and pulling his mask over his face again as if to pretend he was still sleepy.

"I'm not sure, probably about fifteen minutes," he thought, lowering the bouquet. Sapnap snorted.

"George we've been- OW!" Sapnap began before getting hit in the face with a tree branch. "It is a very nice bouquet..." he said rubbing the side of his head which was now bruised.

"Let's head back!" George said smiling, gently putting the massive bouquet into his pack, waiting for it to magically disappear before marching forward through the flower field, that was an array of purples pinks, yellows, and reds...

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