Zodiac

Chapter Ten

Niki was never one to give good advice, but when George showed up at her apartment, his face red and tear-stained, the words practically fell out of her mouth before she could even stop to think about it.

"What did he do?" she had asked as soon as she saw the crying Scorpio, her heart panging with pity as she helped him inside. George sniffled and sat on the sofa while Niki poured him a cup of tea, which he accepted gratefully.

"He just wouldn't stop yelling," he whimpered, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. Niki sat beside him and wrapped him up in a comforting side-hug while he spoke. "I've never seen him that angry before, Niki. It was terrifying."

"What made him so mad?" she asked gently, rubbing her hand up and down George's back. Inside, she was seething with fury.

Calix had some kind of nerve to treat George like this.

"It was over Dream," George muttered, sipping at his tea and setting it down on the coffee table. "He thinks that he's in love with me. It's ridiculous."

Niki breathed a laugh. "You don't believe him?"

George spared her a glance, looking quite miserable. "I wish he was, believe me."

Niki really wanted to go more in depth with this statement, but the look in George's eyes made her rethink. He didn't seem in the mood for anything other than a good cry, a warm shower, and a nap.

"Did you bring your things?" Niki said quietly. George shook his head and brushed the tears from his cheeks.

"I just wanted to get out of there, so I left my stuff on the bed." he admitted. Niki nodded and helped George up off the couch, leading him by his hand up the stairs to the guest bedroom.

"I'll go over there and grab your stuff," she said, pushing George into the bathroom. "Why don't you take a shower, relax, and I'll be home soon, okay?"

George looked at her gratefully. "Thanks, Niki."

Niki smiled brightly at him, but as soon as the bathroom door was shut, it slid off her face, a glare replacing it.

She was pissed.

Calix was not afraid of many things, but an angry Aquarius made the list of things he was absolutely terrified of.

Niki didn't even let him open the door before she burst in, jabbing a manicured nail into his chest. He winced at the pressure.

"You have got some nerve," she hissed, her eyes dark with fury. "He showed up crying at my house. What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Calix laughed nervously, looking around at anything besides the short woman. "It wasn't a big deal," he said defensively. "Sure, I said some things I shouldn't have, but he-"

"Don't you try to pin this on him!" Niki shouted, standing up on her toes to get in Calix's face. "Your stupid insecurities doesn't give you the right to make him want to leave you!"

Calix had the good grace to look slightly guilty, but Niki didn't seem to care, pushing past him to stomp up the stairs.

"What are you doing?" he called, trailing after the angry blonde. He found her in the bedroom, shoving clothes into the suitcase that George had been packing earlier.

"He's staying with me until you figure out your shit, Calix," Niki said, walking over to the closet and shoving clothes aside until she found some random hoodie that Calix had never seen before, tossing it on the bed.

"It's not really your place to intervene, Niki," Calix said, crossing his arms. "I'll be over to pick him up tonight. He's just acting childish."

"If you show up at my apartment," Niki said, zipping the suitcase shut and turning to face him. "You won't like what happens. You are not welcome there, ever."

Calix shrugged. "I guess I'll be seeing you tonight."

Niki didn't reply to this, shoving him out of the way with her shoulder as she dragged the suitcase out of the bedroom and down the stairs. In a last show of anger, she slammed the front door shut so hard that the walls rattled. Calix sighed, dragging a hand down his face.

Niki was more trouble than she was worth.

He did not like her.

George was sitting on the floor of the shower, the water long having gone cold. He heard Niki come home, so he had to have been there for at least an hour.

"George?" Niki knocked on the bathroom door before pushing it open a crack. "I got your clothes. Do you want me to set some out for you when you get out?"

"Sure," George called, standing up in the shower and turning the water off. He shivered - he hadn't realized how cold he was. Niki moved around for a second before shutting the bathroom door and retreating into the guest bedroom. George peeked around the shower curtain to make sure she was gone before stepping out of the tub and toweling himself dry. He paused, cheeks turning red when he realized what clothes Niki had brought him, a small laugh escaping his throat.

Dream's sweatshirt. He picked the object up, slipping it over his head.

It still smelled like him. George pressed his face into the soft black fabric, reminiscing on the night it had been given to him.

It had been just a few days ago, actually. They had gone out for dinner, walking around the Leo District after so George could sightsee more than he had been able to the last time he had been there. George, the idiot he was, had forgotten his jacket in the car, so Dream had given him his sweatshirt to wear.

George had prayed that Dream would forget to ask for it back. Thankfully, he did, and he had kept it hidden in the back of his closet since, hoping Calix wouldn't find it.

Now that he thought about it, maybe Calix's worries were valid. George frowned, then shrugged. He couldn't say the things he did without some repercussions.

He could hear the front door opening downstairs, and George hurried to get dressed when he heard Niki welcoming someone new in. His heart rate increased, thinking it was Calix, as he opened the bathroom door and snuck down the stairs. His eyes darted about nervously.

"Dream!" he exclaimed a moment later, grinning at the sight of the blonde man. Dream turned to smile at him, holding his arms out for a hug that George couldn't leap into fast enough.

"Is that my sweatshirt?" he murmured, bending down to George's level to whisper in his ear.

George choked and the tips of his ears burned with embarrassment. Dream breathed a laugh, hugging him tighter.

"It looks cute on you."

Niki cleared her throat, and George reluctantly pulled away, rubbing his head. His hair was still dripping wet, as he hadn't dried it in his excitement to come downstairs. Water fell into his eyes from the wet strands. Dream brushed the droplets away, giving him another tender smile.

"George," Niki said, grabbing his attention. "Calix said he's coming to get you tonight. Are you planning on staying here?"

George wrapped his arms around himself. "I don't want to go home," he said quietly, biting his lip. "He's just going to yell at me again."

Dream's head whipped around to stare at him. "What?"

Niki waved him off, pulling George into the living room to sit down. "You can stay here as long as you need to," she said reassuringly. George smiled at her. "But you need to do something about Calix."

George looked at Dream as he sat next to him, a lot closer than was really necessary. "What do you mean?" he asked. Niki sighed.

"He's...different, than he used to be," she said carefully. She didn't want to say something that could upset the Scorpio. She smiled to herself as Dream pulled the blanket from off the back of the couch and wrapped it around George's shoulders. George looked down at his hands.

"You think I should leave him," he said, saying it as a statement rather than a question. Niki hesitated before she nodded.

"I think there's other people that could treat you a lot better." She glanced over at Dream, who was watching George with a tender look on his face.

"Who knows? He might be a lot closer than you think."

AN: only a couple more chapters left :)