exposé

four

The car ride home was quiet.

Karl had been sending George undecipherable looks through the rearview mirror, and Sapnap was too concentrated on driving in the dark to make any decent conversation. George couldn't find it within himself to care that much, too absorbed in the feeling of Dream surrounding him and clogging up his senses. His warm scent was curling around him almost protectively, battling off the cold as well as any negative emotions he could've been feeling.

"Hey," Karl hummed after a few more minutes of staring, "D'you mind if we talk really quick before we drop you off?"

"Sure... I guess," George frowned anxiously, pushing his nose a little more firmly into the collar of his jacket, "Am I in trouble?"

That made Karl snort in amusement, Sapnap tuning into the discussion at the sound of his laugh. Karl quickly assured George that no, he was not 'in trouble', and they made light chatter the rest of the ride home. At one point, Sapnap flicked on his car radio, belting out the lyrics to some Britney Spears song uncaringly loud until another car driving next to them joined in on the singing.

Times like this made George so fucking grateful to have met these idiots.

Eventually, the fun came to an end, and Sapnap pulled into George's driveway. George clambered out the car tiredly, tugging the edges of Dream's jacket together to protect his front from the sudden cold air surrounding him. Karl got out after him, placing a soft kiss on Sapnap's cheek before shutting the door behind him. He walked George up to his front door, only stopping once George had safely gotten inside.

"I just wanted to say that you can talk to me, y'know?" Karl started, giving him such a soft look that George himself started to feel concerned, "I'm here for you, man. You can trust me with anything."

George could only stare back at him in surprise, letting out a nervous little chuckle as he tried to wave away the sudden seriousness in Karl's voice. Where the hell was all of this coming from? As far as he could tell, George hadn't done or said anything that was a cause for concern within the past day- at least, he didn't think he had. He didn't have the heart to tell his friend that, though, as he didn't want to make Karl seem all paranoid or something.

"I'm okay, honestly, but thank you," George nodded slowly, his eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion, "The same goes for you too, obviously."

"I know," Karl smiled a little sadly. He shook his head, forcing on a grin as he started making his way back towards Sapnap's car, "Just keep that in mind, alright?"

"I will," George murmured, watching as Karl got back inside the car. He waved them goodbye, waiting until they've driven away before shutting his front door behind him. He'd reevaluate that entire situation later, but for now, all he wanted to do was sleep.

-x-x-x-x-x-

George was dumb- so, so fucking dumb.

A week had gone by since their group's little movie outing and he still hadn't returned Dream's jacket. He'd honestly just forgotten to do it at first- but the longer the item was in his possession, the more attached he'd grown to it. George knew it was wrong to purposefully keep one of his friend's belongings like that, yet the idea of returning it felt even worse.

He hadn't done anything creepy with it! Hell, he hadn't even worn it since he got home the night of the movie. The warm article of clothing had been draped safely over the back of his desk chair, and he hadn't touched it once. George secretly just loved the way it made Dream's scent seep into his room slightly, filling the normally neutral smelling air into something akin to a warm summers day.