Setting Sun

14 | Switching Outlooks | 14

Dream hardly slept at all that night, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Without George here with him, without the knowledge that he was safe, he couldn't think of anything else. He'd sent him a goodnight text, but George never answered it. That alone wasn't enough to spiral, Dream figured he'd gone straight to sleep or his phone had died, but something was just off.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, his phone dinged. He grabbed it immediately, rushing to unlock it. He saw his text to George, night, I love you, and George's response, which made his stomach curl. Night? it said.

The clicking of the letters on his keypad was the only thing Dream could hear as he typed back, what's with the question mark? He eagerly awaited George's response as the message that said he'd read it came on the screen. The thought bubble came up that indicated him typing something, but it went away after a moment and never showed up again. Dream said, hello? but not even the read message came up this time.

Now he knew he wasn't imagining it, something was wrong. He got out of bed, his clothed feet sliding across the floor as he shuffled to Sapnap's room. He and Karl were still up, taking turns on his computer. They'd offered for Dream to hang out with them, but Dream hadn't wanted to hang out with anyone but George. He didn't hesitate to barge in now, startling both dark haired boys.

"Dream, what are you doing?" Sapnap asked, spinning around in his chair.

"Something's wrong. George is being really strange and I know that something's up."

"What are you talking about?" Karl said, laying back on Sapnap's bed.

He showed them his phone and the short conversation he'd had with George. Even Karl could tell that this was weird. "Dream, it's the middle of the night. What do you want us to do about it right now?"

"I- I have no idea. But I can't just sit around, I'm scared."

"You just gotta relax. I'll tell you what, first thing tomorrow morning we'll go look for him, but tonight, try and get some sleep. Stay in here with us and close your eyes. After all, you can't save the Gogs if you're exhausted."

"Not funny," Dream said, but laid down on Sapnap's bed next to Karl anyway.

He closed his eyes, letting the sound of his friend's murmurs and laughter coax him into sleep. But it was not a pleasant sleep, it was filled with dreams of George, possible things that could've happened to him. It was also filled with stories that George told him, different times with his mother and Wilbur. And his father. George didn't talk about him much, but when he did it was full of sad longing. He loved his father a lot, and it really hurt him when he left without an explanation.

It hurt him just like everything else in his life had. Dream wished he could vanquish anything that dared touch the boy he loved, but he couldn't, he could only be there to protect him from all of that, and from his own mind. His mind was the main source of the problem, he and Dream both knew that, but Dream also knew how hard it was to change the way his mind worked. It caused him to blame himself for all the bad, though he didn't deserve it in the slightest. Dream could try with everything in him to get George to stop blaming himself, but it wouldn't work if George didn't want it himself.

Dream had held onto the comfort that he'd at least be able to protect him from the outside, but apparently he couldn't do that either, because, according to the last dream he had that night, something really had happened to George. He saw George and a man of bulky stature and they were fighting. And George was losing. Then George was falling to the ground, the man caught him and dragged him to a waiting car. It was a black jeep, but Dream couldn't see the license plate. The last thing he saw was a woman with dark hair leaning over George, making Dream's blood boil.

He sat up suddenly, waking Sapnap who rolled off the bed. Karl, who was on the other side of him, woke also, but caught himself before he fell. Light streamed through the window, illuminating the room with a yellow glow.

"Dude, what the hell?" Sapnap called from the floor.

Dream didn't answer, instead he struggled to get out of bed, stumbling down the hall and to his bedroom. He threw on a hoodie, the one he always lent to George, it still smelled like him, like lavender and fresh linen. Soft and clean, just like the boy he'd grown to love. He also grabbed a pair of shoes, his favorite snow boots, and went out to the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Sapnap asked, following him down the hall, Karl not far behind.

"Going after George. I had another dream, and I know that he's not okay," Dream said, mouth curling into a snarl at the thought of the man who had the audacity to take him.

"I know I tease you about being a psychic and all, seeing as your dreams usually come true, but this is a little ridiculous, bud."

Dream turned on him, anger plastered on his face. It took Sap by surprise and he took a step back. "You think I don't know how insane I sound? You think I don't realize that I sound really overprotective and controlling? I'm aware of that, Sapnap, but I know what I saw, and it confirms the feeling that had been consuming since I let him out of my sight last night. Something is wrong, and I know it has something to do with the warning Wilbur gave us yesterday."

"What warning?" Karl spoke up from the place where he stood awkwardly.

"Wilbur came by yesterday to warn George about his mom coming for him."

"Wait, Wilbur came here? How did he get our address?" Sapnap asked, looking nervous.

"Yeah, he said something about 'having his ways.' That's why I'm going to find him, I think he's probably the only one who can help me right now."

"Well we're going with you," Karl said, Sap nodded. "George is our friend too and we wanna help."

"I would argue, but I think I need the help. You have five minutes to get ready, then we're leaving."

Karl and Sapnap got their shoes and jackets, and they left. There was only one problem, Dream had no idea where to find Wilbur. He ran through everything in his mind, the places where Wilbur had simply been and where he would most likely spend his time. Denver was a huge city and Dream knew nothing about Wilbur, other than how he did care about George. Meaning, he would probably be somewhere he expected George to be, if for nothing more than to keep watch.

Dream remembered seeing someone while they were at dinner the previous night. They were sitting alone, which he thought was weird, and they kept glancing over at the boys' table. Dream didn't realize at the time, but this was the man he'd seen in the dream, but he was too bulky to have been Wilbur. Wilbur was more or less a stick, with just a little more meat on his bones than George.

But he could've sworn as they left the restaurant that he saw someone watching them from across the street, they were about his height and had been out there already, so it could've been him. He left when he saw Dream and George standing alone together, waiting for the bus, heading down an alleyway in the opposite direction. Dream knew where that passage led, it went to an old, sketchy motel that only incredibly brave people or desperate poor people would be willing to spend the night in. He figured that Wilbur might be a mix of both.

That was where he went, driving a little less carefully then he should on the icy road. He parked next to the sidewalk that led to the motel, getting out and walking carefully towards it. Karl and Sapnap followed, going slower than he dared. They didn't have to go far, though, because as luck would have it, a boy in a red beanie exited the motel at the same time as they got there.

"Wilbur!" Dream called out to him.

"Dream? What are you guys doing here? Where's George?"

(Word Count: 1,429)

A/N: 230 reads and #492 in dreamnotfound! That's poggers! I wanna go ahead and say that tomorrow's chapter will have a few triggers, but I think it shouldn't be too bad... though don't take my word for it. You guys better be spending time with your dad's tomorrow (if they deserve it) show them love!