ORPHANED

:: one hundred seventeen ::

"there was meant to be a moral to that story but i can't remember what i was going to say." he could feel where george's eyes bore streaks of heat onto his skin from where the brunette had been inspecting their linked hands. his eyes flickered to where his other hand had laid on the brunette's thigh however, when he grew too aware of where george's legs had reclined on top of his own, he had to turn away.

when he returned his focus to the compact space they had taken up on the sofa, george's dark eyes searched his expression with concern.

dream offered a gentle smile. "sorry, i guess i'm just feeling a little distracted." the blonde shivered as george dragged a light finger against the veins in his wrist.

george quickly picked up on the fact that dream wasn't going to finish his story so he took the opportunity to continue the conversation with his own curiosity. "believed?" his eyes avoided dream's as he spoke but the contact was restored after the word had left his lips. his voice was small, softer than it had ever been when the brunette was telling his own story. when george saw he had gathered all of the blonde's confused attention he clarified his question. "you said your parents were the reason you believed in love, you don't anymore?"

dream took a moment to survey the hopeful brunette in his company. this time he was first to make an effort to break eye contact. his gaze travelled the room, but he figured of all times, now felt like the right time to consider love. in the time it took dream to come to a conclusion, george had began completing small incremental adjustments to rest his head on the blonde's shoulder.

"we should go for a ride, this couch has had enough emotional baggage let off on it already."

george nodded against dream and the blonde felt the need to tap the brunette's thigh to remind him he had to stand first. george did stand eventually only then to make his way down the hallway. dream came to the conclusion that as soon as george was gone his lap had felt considerably empty.

**

"remember when i convinced you i didn't know how to play cup pong?"

the conversations in the car had been light, dream liked to think it was because of how special he made george feel when he explained that he left a blanket in his car strictly for him. the warm look george had sported afterwards helped prove to him that it was definitely worth it.

"yeah what the hell was that?"

george giggled while he remembered the night. he shuffled in his seat to turn more of his attention towards the blonde. "i was just trying to show off, but i didn't mind having an excuse to just watch you."

dream felt a flush rise to his face and he bit back a smile, glancing at a teasing george before turning back to the road in front of them to focus on something other than the brunette who would be the cause of them getting into a crash. "you're so dumb."

"i can see you smiling." the brunette spoke with an unwavering smile.

"that's because you're smiling." dream couldn't resist the happiness being around the other had caused him. it just made sense for george to be the one responsible for lifting the blonde out of a dreary month of desolation.

they shared a beat of silence while george got his rare chance to admire the pink on dream's face. "i wanted to correct your form so badly, but i was supposed to be an amateur so i just had to deal with it for the entire night."

dream lead their hysteria with a wheeze that filled the car. "what the hell you can't bully me, you're the one that lied about not knowing how to play just so you could stare at me." they toyed with the mood in the room more than what was good for their health. "I had to be doing something right, everyone was rooting for me?"

"nope. they were just hypnotized by your amazing charm." the brunette poked into dream's cheek where a dimple would be, looking out the window and turning back to the blonde after they passed a street sign.

dream faked a pout. "so that means you werent?"

george dramatically shook his head. "if anything, all your fans turned me off."

"no fair, you were the only one who i wanted to spend my day with." both of them had been thoroughly embarrassed now, displaying a blushy pink on their faces that neither of them wanted to acknowledge.

"yeah but everyone was flirting with you." george pulled the blanket farther up his shoulders like he was trying to hide his agitation from the blonde.

"whatever, they wouldn't know good technique if it hit them in the face. you were the only reason we almost tied with 'daddy dunkers'. if i was in the crowd i would have been cheering for you." dream went the extra mile and shot a cheeky smirk towards the brunette who had already hid his face behind his hands.

"stop talking."

it was one thing when george was flustered, but it was another thing when dream got to pick fun at him when he was flustered. "stop hiding your face, i want to see you." the tone in his voice mimicking the deep drone of the engine.

slowly george retracted his hands, revealing a deeper blush than he had hid his face from. "why did you have to say it like that?"

"because it's true." he snaked an arm over the center console to rest a hand on the brunette's thigh. "i want to see you." george couldn't seem to remove his eyes from the contact, settling farther into the seat of the car with a smile on his face when the blonde squeezed at the muscle.

—

so far in the very limited years of life i've had to get an x-ray because i swallowed a quarter, and an mri because allegedly there's a piece of my brain missing