ORPHANED

:: seventy-eight ::

wilbur was right. dream wasn't known for his conform to solving his problems. he was ignorant, he knew that, he'd much rather run from things then face them. but this was so different.

'do you get off knowing you're leaving people behind people who genuinely care about you?'

how was dream meant to explain himself, wilbur was already protective as is, it wasn't easy to make him angry but it wasn't any easier to make him forgive you.

'will, it's not like that'

he was desperate to have the other know he was being genuine through the lifeless form of modern conversation.

'then tell me what it is like dream'

he huffed, staring down at the screen. too many things were going through his head, he couldn't think straight.

'i don't know how to explain it'

his sister would be yelling at him for texting and driving if she were here.

'whatever, i'll just ask jared'

his eyes widened at the message, and his heart almost stopped on the spot. wilbur wouldn't dare.

'no, will, i'm on my way now'

he wanted anything but for the brunette to be baring the company of jared. and any excuse to finally see george again was an excuse he was willing to take.

'you're three hours away.'

'i'll be there soon'

**

to his absolute delight it started raining, and it wasn't a gentle drizzle, with soft pitter patters bouncing off the roof of the car. it was pouring. one thing to know about dream was that he was absolutely petrified of rain and lightning. so this entire trip turned out to be the exact opposite of the relaxing getaway he had originally wanted it to be.

he had been rushing through traffic, jumping slightly at the noises of the rain that felt to be trapping him inside the car. he couldn't have been anymore relieved to arrive at george's apartment.

this time around he had the confidence to step out of the car and knock at the door, which flew open, like he was being waited for.

"oh look at that, what a coincidence, i was just on my way out." will pointed his hands in dream's direction as if it was a surprise he was coming over.

the blonde smiled shyly towards the brunette who looked up at him from where he sat on the floor. hating that his height made him almost a target to be stared at, trying to reside into his torso.

george didn't smile back.

wilbur tapped him on the shoulder as he walked out of the apartment, whispering as he passed the blonde. "he hasn't eaten anything today."

dream felt himself nod as he took a step into the apartment, hearing wilbur close and lock the door behind him.

"hi." his whisper still felt too loud in the absolute silence in the room.

"you can just sit on the sofa." george didn't turn to face him, his eyes concentrated on the laptop screen that rested on his lap.

the blonde nodded, stepping over to the couch and noticing something that made his heart twist in on itself.

"um." he stared at the stack of sweatshirts that sat on the sofa.

"you can just put those on the table."

dream turned to george, who looked away when his eyes dared to meet the others.

"oh, okay." he picked up the fabrics, realizing he had spent far too much time admiring the way they fit the brunette. "okay." he repeated as he set them down on the coffee table, sitting where they once were.

only then had he noticed that the brunette was wearing a sweatshirt of his own.

oh.

dream glanced around the room, it had been weird having been away from george for so long, he remembered being so angry. having terrible images of george in someone elses arm's, haunting him the minutes before he fell asleep. he couldn't sit in silence, the words and thoughts that clouded his mind suffocating him in the worst way possible.

constantly he'd blast music and write in a journal while patches sat on his lap, trying to overstimulate himself to prevent a single original thought entering his brain. the days he woke in the middle of the night killing his soul slowly, everyday he stopped sleeping as well as he had been the day before. the headaches he had, bringing him to tears as he stared up at the ceiling, his brain blaring as he watched the ceiling dance, knowing it wasnt moving yet his eyes deceived him.

this was no better.

sitting too many feet away from george with no noise shared between them but the typing of keys on his keyboard.

he felt alone despite his knowledge that the other was just meters away in the very same room. their silence continued for too long in the blonde's brain. after this break this is not what he wanted. he would never ask for this.

he removed his phone from his pocket again. opening a message that had gone unanswered for too long.

'i went to visit you today, but i chickened out last minute, you know how i can be. i miss you so much, but i feel like i've moved on to be a completely different person than i was all those years ago. your advice always helped me, it would've been nice to hear from you, but i know you can't solve my problems.

he had to pull away from the phone to breathe. feeling too many emotions hitting him at once. he glanced at george before continuing.

'you used to remind me all the time. it stuck with me. that doesn't mean i've lived by it though. sometimes i'm still the little kid that ran to the forest whenever i needed a place to cry. i remember wanting to grow up so badly and now all i want to do is go back in time. i miss when my biggest problem was what i was going to get tommy for his birthday. i miss you techno.'

he deleted the words in the message one by one, never sending it through for anyone to read.