Downhill || 𝘥𝘯𝘧

VIII

"You're going to see George without me?" Nick demanded, eyebrows furrowed with disbelief. He stood in the middle of the room, facing Dream, who was sitting in his chair, facing him with a frown. "You couldn't have booked a second spot for me? I wanna see him, too, you know," he said hotly, eyes glinting with annoyance. Dream sighed.

"I'm sorry, Nick, but I'm not going for a social call. I'm going because George isn't in control of himself. He is drinking way too much for his own good, and sits alone in his parents' house all day, sleeping. I don't even think he eats. He obviously needs help, and there's no help for him there; so I need to go."

"Yeah, but why not me?" Nick asked imploringly.

"Well..." Dream sighed. "I would have bought you one, but there weren't any more seats. I literally got the last one. I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely, though he wasn't really telling the truth. There had been another spot that he could have booked for Nick... but he didn't do it. He would never admit why, but he wanted to spend time with George... alone.

Plus he was pretty sure he would just mess around, and he didn't want to deal with that. He just wanted to take care of George without having to worry about anyone else.

"Well, when's the next flight after that?" Nick demanded. "I'll book one for myself."

"The next one isn't for another week," Dream said truthfully.

"What? An entire week?" Nick exclaimed before running a hand through his hair in frustration, a scowl on his face. "I wanna be there, too! You guys can't just sit there alone, without me. We're the dream team!" He complained.

"Listen, man, I already said I was sorry. But there's nothing you or I can do about it. The plane leaves tomorrow at three a.m., so I need to get packed up," Dream said, standing up. He went to his closet and grabbed his suitcase. Because he didn't know how long he was going to be there, he packed extra everything. "Plus, you have to be here when Karl gets here. Isn't he coming over next weekend?"

"Yeah, he is," Nick confirmed, sitting on the bed now, watching as Dream folded his clothes and neatly stacked them in the suitcase. He sounded like he had cooled off a bit. "It wont be as fun without you guys, though."

"I know. But I need to take care of George," Dream replied. Nick huffed.

"Yeah, you do," he reluctantly agreed. Dream walked into the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste before shoving them in the bag, which was getting quite full.

"So... It's that bad, huh?" Nick asked lowly. "He's back to drinking again?"

Dream exchanged a knowing look with him. The last time George had gone off the rails like this, he had almost gotten himself hurt. That was why Dream needed to get there as quickly as possible.

"Yeah. He said his parents' conditions haven't improved at all in the past week. The doctors don't know if they're going to wake up," Dream replied seriously. Nick exhaled through his teeth with a shake of his head.

"That's definitely not good," he said gravely. "Tell him I'm sorry to hear that, and that I hope they get better soon."

"I will," Dream replied before closing the suitcase and zipping it up.

"And don't get into any trouble. Just because I'm not there to supervise you doesn't mean you get to do anything inappropriate with George," he said with a smirk. Dream scoffed.

"Stop," he chuckled huskily, rolling his eyes. But he couldn't hide the grin spreading across his face.

As Dream laid in bed that night, restless, he thought a lot about what was going to happen in the next forty-eight hours. The realization finally dawned on him that he was going to see George tomorrow; someone he'd known and loved for almost a decade now, yet never had the pleasure of actually meeting. Touching.