Happier and Prettier - a DNF story

1.3

Exam season had now arrived, the college campus as quiet as ever to house the various tests that took place throughout the buildings. Students kept their heads down, hands scribbling away at papers until the time was up, hoping that their months of studying had paid off. The same students handed in their papers, packed their things and made their way out of the lecture theatres in a quiet formation.

All except George, who had been granted an extra 20 minutes on each test.

He scratched his head, mouth dangling open and breathing somewhat unsteadily as he sniffled. His nose had grown more red and sore, contrasting with his paste-white skin which was now comparable to the colour of his examination sheets.

It was just his luck - one of the most important weeks of his life, and his spring fever was near its peak. It wasn't like him to be sick for so long, but then again, he hadn't been taking care of himself that well. He had been studying until the late hours of the night, growing a tendency of falling asleep at his desk which only worsened his already bad posture. He had become forgetful when it came to his wellbeing recently, he figured it was because of the changing relationship with his best friend which plagued his mind often, nowadays.

He blinked, focusing on the words of the paper beneath him and noticed that he hadn't been writing the entire time he had been thinking, a hand now in front of him, demanding his test paper.

That's 20 marks lost.

He sighed to himself, closing the small booklet in front of him before handing it over with a fed up smile, the teacher giving him a certain look.

"Your focus seemed to trail towards the end there. Are you sure you're okay?" They asked, eyes washing over the students face and taking note of how sickly George looked. "You should head back to your dorm. Do you have any paracetamol there?" They enquired, not letting George reply to the initial question he was asked.

The boy pondered for a while, tracing back his memory before shaking his head. "I don't think so. My roommate and I rarely get sick." He admitted, earning a nod of understanding from the teacher.

"I'll contact your roommate for you and instruct them to pick up some medicine - you're not in any shape to go to the shops yourself."

George really didn't want to bother Dream, even if it did mean he would be sick for another few days, but the professor insisted on asking for medicine - so who was George to tell a person of authority no? Especially when all they were doing was making sure he was healthy.

"Thank you, professor."

And with that, the boy packed his things and made his way back to the dorm.

---

Dream had never picked up the paracetamol. In fact, he hadn't been at the dorm for a few days, and it worried George. It worried him to the point that he himself forgot that he needed medicine, and instead concerned himself with Dreams location.

He lay in bed, grey bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and food, phone in hands as he stared at the messages he had sent Dream for the past week.

Hey Dream! What time are you home? - seen April 24th, 16:47

Dream? Are you okay? - seen April 24th, 20:35

Did that professor call you about the paracetamol? - seen April 26th, 09:28

Did I do something wrong? - seen April 28th, 03:12

Dream, whatever I did, I'm sorry! - delivered June 1st, 23:45

When are you coming back? - delivered June 1st, 01:36

It was now the second of June, and still no reply.

The brunette sighed, shaky and unstable before a sneeze made it's way past his nostrils, grabbing a tissue from his bedside table to clean up his hand. He felt selfish like this, curled up in bed, not taking care of himself as if to challenge Dream as to whether or not he would come back with medicine for him.

He figured that Dream knew he was sick, so it concerned him as to why Dream wasn't here with him. He wondered if the blonde, wherever he was, was even worried about him? George could be so extremely ill, tired and frail, and Dream might not even care - but why? It wasn't like his friend to be so passive about George's health.

That's when his phone pinged.

A new energy burned within him and he leapt out of bed, fever completely forgotten about and on his feet, hoping that the sound that came from his phone was a message from Dream.

He picked up the device, grin spread across his face like a pleased child as he turned on the phone, mind rushing with happiness and conclusions as to why his favourite blonde boy had been ignoring him.

Maybe he was planning a surprise? Maybe he was... Okay, maybe there wasn't any other nice conclusion he could come up with on the spot, but still! There was a small chance that his best friend didn't hate him after all!

However, what he didn't expect to see was a notification from Instagram.

Dream.x3 has posted.

George's brows furrowed. He posted on his social media before texting him?

A chunk rose in his throat which he had to force to keep down, thumb clicking on the notification and hesitantly typing in his pin code to unlock his phone. Instagram opened up almost instantly, black screen displaying the simple logo as the boy chewed nervously at his bottom lip. Why would his friend blatantly ignore him? Leave him on read and now post a picture, all without giving George the slightest clue as to why he was doing all this.

He sniffled, bringing the phone closer to his face as the page finally loaded, gasping when he saw a picture of Dream.

A picture of Dream kissing a boy.

He began to shake slightly, gaze blurring as his eyes unfocused from the image lay before him, not believing what he saw with his eyes.

No, George didn't mind the fact that Dream was into guys, not at all. He just never knew.

He had experienced Dream being in relationships with girls a lot (though George never really liked them and couldn't understand why), but never once had he known that his best friend was also interested in guys, too.

Dream never came out to him, either.

George exhaled sharply, rubbing his sore eyes as he thought to himself:

Did he feel unsafe around me?

I mean, George could understand why as his own parents are notoriously against any sexuality that isn't straight, but that didn't necessarily mean that he was homophobic, himself.

George couldn't deal with that - he had to find Dream and tell him that he's okay with whatever sexuality he is, that George will always accept the blonde for who he is. He wanted to reassure the boy, tell Dream that he never had to avoid him and nothing could ever break the bond that they had together.

And luckily, he didn't have to look far for where he was, as the caption on the post told him all the information he needed.