Setting Sun

5 | Foreign | 5

George woke in a bright room, in a bed that wasn't his own. A beaming light streamed through the window, casting a brilliant glow over everything in the room. George searched through the items, looking for anything to indicate who it may belong to.

The room was neatly put together, the bed George laid on in the middle of it. Across from it there was a TV on a white TV stand, different CD's and photos taking place on the shelves. There was a dusty, floor length mirror, with a green hoodie strung over the top. George knew who's hoodie it was. To George's left, there was a black desk that looked to be rarely used, as it was littered with various fast food bags and drinks. Above that was a window, and out of it George could see the highway, cars zooming past, most likely on their way to the airport to catch their flights that would take them to their waiting families for the holidays. It reminded George once more that he didn't have that, and never would. He tried not to dwell on it, instead continuing to explore the small bedroom. To George's right there were three doors, two in one corner and one in the other. One look into the door that stood alone showed George that it was a closet. On the other side he could see into a bathroom, surprisingly clean. He assumed that meant that the remaining door led out into the hallway of the apartment.

He stood up from the bed cautiously, feeling his sore muscles ache at the movement. He had all the memories from the night before, but couldn't see past Luke and his friends attacking him, so he had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there. He could guess, however, based on the hoodie still hanging on the mirror.

He went into the hall, bare feet shuffling against cold tile. He could hear hushed voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying because they were drowned out by the background noise of a TV, playing something random. George guessed it was the news. The apartment was nice, when George exited the hallway he was in a fairly large room. On the left, there was a small, gray sectional with throw pillows that were squished due to someone laying on them. A navy blue blanket was draped across it, the cushions displaying indents that perfectly shaped a boy of larger stature's frame. Someone had been laying on it for a while. A blue rug covering the dark wood tile was ruffled beneath the couch, most likely from being moved from the coffee table being moved back and forth from the couch. A large window taking up almost the whole wall was the light source for this half of the room.

On the right there was a small kitchen, an oven and microwave on the left half of the counter, with a steel refrigerator on the other. Marble counters sat atop the gray cabinets that made up the space between the appliances. A small island with a sink was connected to the wall, separating the small kitchen with the living room. Someone was sitting in one of the three bar stools that were placed next to the island. His long black hair was tied into a bun at the back of his head, the bandana from the night before was now tied around the bun. He was still clothed in his pjs, a white hoodie with checkered pajama pants.

George froze at the sight of the person across from Sapnap, the sight confirming his assumptions from earlier. Dream stood, leaning against the counter. His face was dripping with sweat, despite how cold it was outside, his hair damp from it. He used a hand to brush it out of his face. He was sporting nothing but a pair of basketball shorts, his bare chest glistening with sweat. George saw his defined muscles glinting at him from where he stood, still in the shadows of the hallway. He figured he must've been at whatever gym the apartment building had to offer.

He realized Dream and Sapnap were the hushed voices he was hearing, they urgently discussed something. Every so often, Sapnap would say something and the anger would grow evident on Dream's face. George watched them for a moment, trying to make out what they were saying before he inevitably had to reveal himself.

All of a sudden, Dream turned to where George was hiding, seeing the boy masked by the dark.

"Oh, you're awake," he said, relief flowing over his features, eyes softening at the sight of the small boy. He relaxed his stance, walking around the island and stopping about four feet away from George.