It Was Never the End DreamNotFound

Chapter 2

Dream POV

"Deal." 

Dream smiled as the shorter boy's much smaller hand curled around his. He couldn't feel much of it since he was wearing fingerless gloves, but as the pads of his fingers brushed George's palm he felt his smile stretch wider when he realized how soft George's skin was. 

He wasn't normally this friendly with people he didn't know. He usually had a more intimidating aura and harsh demeanor when faced with anyone else. Except... this boy... Dream was sure of it. It was him. 

When Dream was young he had a best friend. They'd met online when Dream was only eleven, and the other boy was twelve. They'd played computer games with each other for hours everyday. That was how they met. When the other boy kept challenging Dream in game matches until they eventually exchanged contacts. Dream had used his cat's name, Patches, as his online alias. He'd later told the boy his real name, Clay. The other boy, whose online name was oddly 404, said his name was George. 

George hadn't been shy about sending Dream selfies and goofy videos of himself. The brunette with beautiful features and brown doe eyes never failed to make Dream smile. It wasn't long before he had a crush on the boy. He liked the way he'd blush and grin when Dream teased him. George would call him "dreamy boy" in revenge for Dream's teasing. He found George's British accent soothing. By the time he was fourteen he was beginning to think he loved him. At the time it scared him, he didn't even know he liked guys in that way, and he'd never even met George in person. As a result he cut off contact with his best friend, and stopped playing games altogether.

He'd had an aching loneliness since then. After all, thanks to his ADHD he went to online school so it wasn't like he had other friends. He spent most of his time training with his former military dad, helping his little sister with homework, and trying to decide what the hell he was doing with his life. 

His mother and sister had been on vacation at some spa resort when the apocalypse hit. Dream was eighteen at the time. He had no idea where they were, or if they were even still alive. At least Dream had his dad, and they survived together for a year before a shape-shifting monster took the form of Dream himself and killed his father right in front of him. He could still remember the horror of walking into their hideout to find an identical version of himself standing in front of his unsuspecting father.

The creature's body had split down the middle, opening into a gaping mouth of fangs and pulsating flesh. Three thin tongues had shot out to drag his father in... clamping shut over the upper half of his body. The moment was so fast it barely lasted a second, but for Dream everything moved slowly. Blood had gushed in the air like a fountain as the other half of his father's body hit the ground with a thud. The monster's body sealed itself shut, and an awful crunching sound emitted from it. Dream lunged at the creature, driving the knife he'd had on him directly into the head that looked exactly like his own.

The monster had screeched as Dream stabbed it repeatedly, tears streaming down his face as his own screams rivaled the monster's. Eventually he stopped, the monster has dissolved into a mound of red mush, and he was soaked in blood.

Dream had spent the night crumpled on the floor near his father's body, sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. He didn't know how long it was until he cleaned himself up and set out on his own. All he can remember was raiding an abandoned weaponry for his battle ax, and finding a smiley face mask. He didn't want to see his own face. Not after the one who took his father's life had the same dirty-blond hair, splash of light freckles, and emerald green eyes. 

Dream had been truly alone since then. Getting into fights with survivors, becoming a skilled monster hunter, and creating quite the dangerous reputation for himself. He'd called himself Dream because it reminded him of the time he wished he could return to the most. A time of innocent youth, a happy family, and a British accent calling him "dreamy boy."