Parasomnia

Chapter 1

Please see the A/N at the end of the chapter! Enjoy :)

George sat up in his bed, cotton sheets falling off his ice cold, bare chest. Images that make his blood run cold flash through his mind. He'd been having nightmares ever since that day... the day everyone rallied together to fulfill a common purpose, to overthrow a tyrant, to better the world they lived in. Everyone but him... he couldn't bring himself to stand by his friends as they imprisoned the man he loved. He couldn't bear to see the pain his emerald eyes...
George shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the nightmare. The nightmares look different from time to time, but they always end the same; with the lava closing over him and all he sees is a pair of glassy, green eyes, begging him for rescue as he moves away from the lava, turning his back on the person he holds most dear. Well, except for this time. This time was different. The ending changed, which would have been a relief had it not been a lot, lot worse.
This time he had been in the cell, towering over dream who was on his knees begging George to get him out. His dirty blonde hair fell raggedly over his eyes as he cried openly. George had wanted to help with every ounce of his soul, wanted to gather him in his arms and whisper him sweet nothings, that everything would be ok and kiss the tears from his dirt-streaked face. But he couldn't make himself move. He was stuck. And suddenly dream had... changed. His face had grown darker and his tears stopped falling. He stood, the chains he was restrained by vanishing. Although different, George recognized him. But it wasn't Dream. It was DreamXD. The deity smiled a haunting smile and then lunged forward, shrieking. And that's when George had awoken.
He shivered as cold air flooded through the broken windows of his rundown cottage. George doesn't have the nightmares every night, but when he does they stay in his head for weeks. He glanced across the small room, shattered glass and upturned tables and pictures of someone he use to be, cluttered his vision. He sighed. He really should get this place cleaned up. He had refused multiple invitations of living other places to come back the charred ruins of his mushroom house. After salvaging all he could, he set up a small bed in the corner and had made this his new home.
George slipped his legs off the corner of the flimsy mattress, setting them down on a cool, stone floor. He grabbed a shirt, paying no mind to what it looked like, and slipped it over his head. His nerves were in disarray and his hands shook slightly. "I need some air," George said to no one in particular. He traipsed over to the crooked wooden door, ignoring his rumbling stomach. He walked slowly out of the cottage, not bothering to shut the door, and stepped into the sun. The light rays warmed his sallow skin. He smiled slightly. Not much could make him do that anymore. The last time he had, he'd been sitting on the floor of his cottage, going through pictures of him and the two people he loved most in the world. Sure, he had smiled at the memories, but that endeavor had ended in uncontrollable tears and sobs that no one heard.
He walked along the stone path outside of his cottage, making his way to the dark oak forest that led to his favorite spot in the server, the spot he had spent hours with his best friends at. As he walked, he reminisced over the past few months. So much had happened that eventually he had grown accustomed to not feeling most things. Showing emotion was something George could easily conceal. Whether that was a good or bad thing, he wasn't sure.
The light fell gracefully through the thickets of leaves as George walked the dirt path. He wished he could visit his friends. Sapnap and Karl had permanently moved to Kinoko Kingdom (George wasn't quite sure what had happened to Quackity), happily engaged and planning out the future of their nation. They had invited George to join them with open arms, but George had refuted the offer. He had needed some time to himself, some time to think things over. He tried not to dwell on the prison too much, but it was hard when his heart yearned to fill his every waking thought with the only person he had ever truly wanted. As for his other friends, they had tried to reach out to him, but to no avail. George just wanted to be left alone and no one seemed to want to do just that.
George walked the last couple yards of the forest path, seeing the vibrant green grass and dainty wildflowers blow in the petite breeze. He broke free from the coverage of dark green leaves and suffocating lumber and stepped into a field bathed in gold light, littered with white petals and green blades of grass. He inhaled the scent of clover flowers and daisies, sunlight, and salt water. He swayed through the grass towards the edge of the meadow, where it abruptly ended and a rocky cliff shot down into the ocean. George looked over the waves, reflecting on the times he had gone swimming on too hot summer days. All his favorite memories were so different, and yet they all had one thing in common; they all held images of a blonde boy with sparkling green eyes and a laugh that sounded like music notes. Dream. God, how George missed him.
George walked back towards the entrance to the meadow. There, standing by itself, set apart from everything else, was a lone oak tree. George remembered all the nights he and Dream would lay under that very tree and stargaze, Dream always knew more constellations than George did. He remembered laying under the cover of the trees leaves while they made flower crowns from the clovers together. George's feet automatically carried him to the other side of the tree, to the spot that always made his eyes burn with tears, the spot that caused horrible wailing to take over his body, the spot he loathed yet adored. Carved into into the trunk of the tree were two simple letters...
G + D
Tears stung George's eyes as he tried his best not to let his knees give out. He covered his mouth in an attempt to muffle the quiet sobs coming from his mouth. He cautiously brought his hand to rest upon the two letters, feeling the indention of them in the tree. He remembered Dream carving it into the wood, George anxious that he would cut himself, and then Dream presenting it proudly to the other man, the biggest smile on his face.
"George!"
George whipped around, frantically trying to identify who was calling his name. How could anyone have found him? This was his and Dream's meadow! No one knew about it but him, Dream, and Sapnap but this wasn't Sapnap's voice. The figure who had called his name walked, or rather, glided, out of the forest and into the meadow.
DreamXD.
George let out a sigh. Sure he didn't mind the god, but George barely went a day without XD trying to cheer him up or convince him to agree to something completely outrageous. "Hi!" XD ran up to him with the biggest grin on his face, like a happy puppy. "What are you doing?"
George quickly turned to wipe his tears. "Nothing. Just... walking." XD's face turned concerned.
"George? Are you ok?" He gracefully walked around George to face him again, the many layers of black, green, and gold fabric swirling about him in an ethereal way that just screamed power. Though the god's face couldn't be more sympathetic. "George?"
George didn't meet the god's eyes. Instead he focused on the clovers and flowers that had grown around the great oak. "It's nothing..."
XD obviously didn't buy it. "George, I may not be human but I'm not stupid. Something is obviously wrong. You can tell me." George's eyes slowly met the deity's mask. He wondered endlessly what the celestial beings face looked like. Maybe he was exceedingly ugly, so he covered his insecurities like George does with his. Or maybe, he was beautiful to a fault. Maybe so divinely beautiful that mortals couldn't handle the beauty. George stared into that white mask. DreamXD stiffened, then sighed. He glanced at the initials carved on the tree, and looked back into George's glassy eyes. "It's him, isn't it? You miss him." George felt one stray tear roll down his cheek.
Suddenly, DreamXD straightened, then starting maneuvering his body back around George, circling him. "You miss him, don't you?"
Oh no. George instantly stiffened. He knew that voice. It was his... other side. The side where his voice dropped and reverberated. It scared George.
"I asked you a question, answer it!" XD demanded.
George tried hard to keep a straight face, to not cower from the divine menace. He knew from experience that only made things worse. "Yes..."
"I knew it," XD threw his hands up and whipped around to face George. "You miss that sorry excuse for a being when you have a literal god right here!" XD yelled. "I don't understand you George. How could you love someone like that."
"Please, stop."
"No, I wont. You-" He stopped abruptly. "George...?" His voice was back to normal, thank god.
George looked up at the god. "You did it again." XD looked down.
"I'm sorry. I really try to control it."
George nodded. "I know."
XD paused, "what did I say?"
George turned and walked slowly towards the ocean, XD following close behind. "You... you said you didn't understand me... and you didn't know how I could love someone like Dream." XD looked down.
"I'm sorry."
George shook his head. "It's ok. I know you don't mean to."
XD nodded. "Yeah, I promise I am trying to get better. But there Is something you should know..."
George stopped and faced DreamXD. "What?"
XD hesitated. "You know how you once asked me if I was Dream and I said not really?" George nodded.  "Well, we are undoubtedly connected and... sometimes we can hear each other's thoughts." George looked up, breaths quickening. "He's in pain and... his thoughts have been getting more desperate... for you." XD faced George and George's heart broke. "He really needs to see you George."

A/N hi! Hopefully you enjoyed that chapter! This one was a little slower but things will start speeding up fairly quickly, don't worry. :) but yeah what I wanted to say is I will be adding TW's at the top of chapters if the chapter contains one. I don't plan on having a lot but if needed, rest assured I will add them.
But yeah! Thanks for reading and have a great day! :)
-Raven