Happier and Prettier - a DNF story

1.4

George stood at the entrance of the house, gulping down a lump in his throat. The building was filled to the brim with people, neon lights flashing all shapes and colours as everyone around him danced, drank and laughed obnoxiously loud. Bodies pressed against each other and liquor spilled on the floor, flooding the planking and George thanked himself for wearing boots that night.

The party was lively, to say the least, and George felt so claustrophobic. He weaved his way between the students, trying his best to keep his head down whilst simultaneously looking for his best friend.

This had its disadvantages, of course, as he soon found himself stumbling into the back of somebody.

"Oh my god- I am so sorry!" George apologised straight away, looking up at the person he bumped into out of politeness. However, what he didn't expect was the person to be him.

The boy that Dream had kissed.

George gulped, lips curling into a weak smile as the red-head in front of him only raised a brow. "You should watch where you're going. I almost spilled my drink because of you." They mumbled in distaste, making the brunette furrow his brows.

He was expecting a lot of things from Dreams new boyfriend, but them being so blatantly rude wasn't one of them. It made George wonder - why did Dream like him? Maybe he's better once you get to know him?

Nevertheless, George shook his head, bowing slightly out of respect. "I'm really sorry... It's kind of my first party so I wanted to keep my head down." He explained, and almost instantly the boys entire demeanour changed.

The red-head grinned, placing a hand on Georges shoulder in a way of reassurance, instantly pulling the boy to his side for a hug of some sorts. "I didn't know that! I knew you didn't look familiar, I'm the one who's sorry!" they started to apologise, walking towards what George assumed was the kitchen. "I'll be sure to show you the ropes! You should totally meet my friend!"

The brunette followed obediently, staying as close to the boys side when they began approaching a girl with pink hair. She wore round glasses and a black hoodie, stood at a smaller height than George and carried one of the warmest smiles he thinks he has ever seen. "This is Niki," the red-head introduced for the girl, who graciously offered a hand to shake with Georges (which he of course returned as he didn't want to be rude).

"Nice to meet you- uh..." She paused when she realised that she didn't know George's name.

"George!" He offered with a reassuring smile, a loud gasp sounding beside him. Both the brunette and Niki turned to look at where the sound had come from, eyes landing on Dreams boyfriend and instantly noticing his guilty look.

"Crud! I forgot to tell you my name," he recalled, George only nodding slightly to indicate that he, in fact, had not introduced himself to George yet. "Well- My friends call me Fundy! This is my house, actually."

Well George already knew about that last part, all thanks to Dreams initial post which mentioned a party being thrown at 'his boyfriends house'.

George grimaced, nose scrunching up as he dug his own fingernails into the palm of his hands, suddenly feeling an emotion which he couldn't pin point. He couldn't understand why, but something about that fact that this Fundy guy was dating Dream just didn't settle right with him. Something about it made George's skin crawl, and he felt ashamed. Was he actually disgusted by them? Was he, all this time, internally homophobic?

Did his parents views somehow subtly rub off on his subconscious mind without him knowing?

He felt terrible - was this why Dream never told him about his sexuality? Does everyone around him think he's not accepting of the community?

He felt trapped, feeling a sudden urge to throw up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Snapping out of his daydream, he lifted his gaze to meet with blue eyes. It was Niki, and she had somehow made her way closer to him during the time he was thinking. "Are you okay?" she whispered, thumb rubbing reassuring circles on his shoulder. Almost instantly, George felt his anxiety smooth over - something about the girls demeanour seemed to affect him in a way that he couldn't describe.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," George stuttered, coughing to clear his throat. Niki raised a brow, not exactly convinced, so he explained a little more. "It's just my first party - I actually came here to talk things through with someone."

At that, Niki made a face of realization, nodding to signify that she understood. "Hopefully that goes well, then! Don't want your first party to be a bummer, do we?" She made light conversation, bringing a smile to George's face.

Being the wallflower he is, this situation was uncommon of him. Usually, he would stick to his small friend group (which consists only of Dream) and shy away from talking to any new people. However, talking to such a sweet person like Niki began to open his eyes, his typical anti-social behaviour being lost in the music which played around them. It made him think - all this time of fearing other people and trusting nobody other than his best friend, he could have had another close friend. Someone like Niki.

He looked at Fundy, eyes softening as he saw the way the boy smiled towards some of his other friends which he was busy conversing with.

His friends are so cool.

He thought.

His gaze still lay on the red-head across from him, Niki simply watching George's body language as she sipped some water from the red cup in her hand. She noticed how much his mind seemed to drift in and out of reality by the way his pupils dilated, and just that was enough to tell her that something was up.

Almost as if it was perfectly timed, George gasped at seemingly nothing, but upon closer inspection, she realised it was due to the arrival of a certain person.

---

Dream had been watching the interaction from a distance for some time now.

The way George bumped into his boyfriend, the way his boyfriend had reacted, how Fundy then proceeded to introduce his friends to the brunette - so on and so forth.

Now, the blonde decided to head towards the group, standing directly behind Fundy, wrapping an arm around his neck as a way to intimidate George, for he knew what was coming.

The boy was most likely angry and wanted to argue with him, no doubt, seen as he had been ignoring every single text the elder had sent to him this past week.

And oh boy, he really didn't expect what would unfold in the next ten minutes.