Downhill || 𝘥𝘯𝘧

XXXII

George looked at Dream, slapping his hand over the mark self-consciously. "Oh..." He muttered, wincing with realization. "I forgot about that."

"Um... are your sisters going to care?" Dream asked nervously. "That we're, like, together?" He added. "I mean... have you even told them that you are into guys?"

"Yeah, they know. And probably not," George shrugged, though he didn't look too sure. "It's not really any of their business, anyway."

"Alright," Dream said. If George wasn't concerned about it, then he had no need to be concerned about it, either. When he looked back over at the girls, he was a little surprised to see they were both staring at him, wearing confused expressions.

"George, you're here," one of them; the taller one; called invitingly. Her voice echoed around the sparsely-decorated room. "We didn't know if you were going to make it," she added. Her voice was confident and had a sophisticated ring to it. Dream made the assumption that she was the oldest.

As George began making his way over, Dream trailed behind, giving the three of them space to greet each other. "Hey, Taylor," George said as he hugged the tallest girl, who was a few inches taller than him. She had dark brown hair with reddish highlights, pulled messily into a ponytail, and was wearing a blue croptop and gray sweatpants. The most notable thing Dream found about her was her blood-red fingernails, which popped against all other colors in the dank room.

"Hey, Grace," George added as he hugged the second girl. She was about as tall as him and had nearly the same facial structure. She was wearing a black leather-type jacket over a white shirt, as well as black ripped jeans and a black choker-looking thing around her neck. Her dark hair was about mid-way down her back, eyes a piercing blue, contrary to George and his other sister's eyes. Dream could guess, based off of context clues, that she was the middle child.

"How are you?" She asked in George's ear, hugging him tight.

"Not great," George muttered honestly in return. "I can't believe he's gone." She pulled away from him, a frown tugging at her lips and eyes apologetic. Dream could see her face was lined with stress.

"Neither can I," she replied with emotion in her voice, shaking her head, holding George by his shoulders in front of her. She was looking at him, as if taking him in. "You look good," she commented, giving a smile as if to lighten the mood.

"So do you," George replied with a breathy scoff. "It's good to see you guys. I wish it could've been under different circumstances," he added to both of them with a frown tugging at his lips. Dream could detect emotion thickening his voice.

"I know. We need to see each other more," Taylor commented, resting a hand on the shorter sister's shoulder. For a few moments, they all just looked at each other, taking each other in. Dream guessed they hadn't seen each other in a while based on their awkward movements and interested-sounding voices.

Eventually, the moment ended, and the eldest turned her gaze to Dream, who was standing wringing his hands silently, waiting to be introduced. Her eyes narrowed as she surveyed him. "Who's this?" She asked. The question was aimed at George, but she was still staring at Dream with that skeptical expression. George and Grace turned to look at him as well, and Dream suddenly felt awkward to be the center of attention.

"Er..." Dream began to speak, but George cut him off with a wave of his hand and a look that said 'I got this.'

"This is Dream. I've been meaning to introduce him to you guys for a while," George began, looking at them both.

"Dream?" Both of the sisters repeated at the same time. The shorter girl had a grin on her face and the taller; Taylor, he thought her name was; had a scowl. "Is that your real name?" She asked doubtfully, turning her question to him.