the wall that divides us | DNF au

eight.

dream

Noticing the smaller one falling out of the hovering carriage caused Dream's heart to fall in his chest. Without thinking, he grabbed onto the smaller one's wrist just in time, but the gravity pulling him down was enough for Dream to knock the side of his head against the railing, causing the buckle of his mask to snap in half. Dream watched in horror as his mask broke into pieces once making contact with the hard floor. 

"Well shit," he didn't want things to end up this way; he wasn't planning to show his face to the outsider. A part of him hoped for George to inevitably find his bearings around here, and they'd never speak again. It's not because Dream didn't enjoy the other's company or wanted nothing to do with him. He just found the very idea of the brunette captivating. Distracting even. Dream couldn't afford any distractions in the training regime. It was easy for Karl and Sapnap because the pair had been dating since before they were both drafted - and they've learned that physical displays of affection were for any time except during training; they've made it look so easy. However, with Dream - even now, without the romantic emotions involved, he enjoyed George's company far too much to fully comprehend what would happen if affection and attraction fell into the mix.  

"Well shit indeed," Dream's attention immediately whipped from the mask on the floor to the boy dangling by the blonde's very own grip. After standing his ground, he pulled him up with ease, and soon, the pair were safely back in the carriage. 

"You have beautiful eyes," Dream heard the voice speak up and responded with a disgusted scoff. Dream may still have his green eyes- their colors never changing after the fire but the burn mark that covered the area around the left one made the comment seem far from flattering. He turned to face away from George and immediately made his way down the ladder again without waiting for any other words from the brunette. 

The tall boy didn't want the feeling to sink in; he didn't want to come to terms with the fact that the boy with the most beautiful pale skin and bright brown eyes had the opportunity to take in all of the other's flaws. The burn mark from his past and the scars from fights he'd break into throughout his youth. Dream's face told a story he didn't want to tell and hiding behind the mask in front of people who looked as if they had a more leisurely life made it easier for him to feel just as normal. People who already knew his story- about the fire - without the mask would never bring up the fact that they knew, but they'd stare at his left eye, and their very own would speak a million words. 'That must've hurt,' 'how could he have jumped into that fire and ruined such a pretty face?' 

The last person he wanted to have judged him for his looks was a boy who had no right to, a boy who lived his life every single fucking day frolicking through the fields full of daisies and never having a single worry in the world. George didn't have the right to look at Dream's face and judge him for his appearance, not when he barely had a story to tell, trauma to live through, and burdens and disadvantages clouding his life. He's had life easy. 

"Dream, I-" the brunette started to speak once the two were on the floor again; Dream turned around swiftly and looked at him with anger clouding his own eyes. "You what, George, you didn't expect to see this? Yo- you thought maybe there was a better-looking face under that thing?" he said through gritted teeth, his arm motioning to the area where the mask continued to lay, abandoned now. "What is it you want to say, George, because if it has anything- and I mean anything to do with the way I look, I swear to god I will beat the shit out of you, drag you back out of that wall and pray to god that you rot until one of those creatures sniff you out and take you." Dream wasn't thinking straight now; he was overcome with anger. He wanted to hurt the other boy's feelings, but his reasons weren't good enough for the words that escaped his lips. 

George looked scared now; for the first time, he looked petrified. There was silence for a moment before the brunette spoke, his voice shaking, "I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life."

Dream stared into his eyes for a moment, a wave of guilt washing over him, although keeping up his poker face, exuding a careless expression. 
He turned back towards the buildings and helped George less this time, still holding onto him as they swung from one building to the other but with a looser grip now. He couldn't figure out what emotion was winning the battle inside his head; was it anger or guilt? 

The blonde was never one to be sentimental since the passing of his sister; there was only a tiny selection of people he was comfortable around, but even then, within that small group, a smaller group that he trusted. 

The pair finally made it back through the long agonizing silence that neither he nor the smaller one seemed to find any comfort in.  
Dream was the first to walk in, grabbing a bottle of beer and leaning against the wall as he opened it with his teeth. He noticed the shorter one looking at him as if he wanted to say something, but shook his head, went off to the bed, and immediately forced himself to try to sleep. 

Moments go by, and Dream takes another sip only to realize that his bottle is empty. 
His brows furrowed before he let out a disappointed sigh, realizing that he'd zoned out entirely and had probably been standing there for the past twenty-odd minutes. 

Climbing up the fire escape, the man sat on the edge of his roof, staring off into the evening sky. 
"He said my eyes were beautiful," Dream mumbled, thinking back to how he acted towards George, who he now realized meant nothing malicious in his words. It was hard for Dream to comprehend the genuine and gentle demeanor of the boy he had saved a few days before. No one around here expressed kindness or compassion as much, only on certain occasions or if it benefitted them in the long run. Not only did it inspire Dream to try to be a better person, at least towards the brunette, but it also terrified him. If George was planning to stay on this side of the wall, he was going to have to find a way to blend in, and if he thanked every person who gave him something or apologized to every person who bumped into him on the street, people were bound to find out that he wasn't like them. 

Or maybe, maybe, he could inspire people just as he's started to inspire the blonde. He could bring a certain level of peace to the city by simply being himself.

What Dream felt towards the boy who was currently fast asleep in bed was a plethora of mixed emotions, but all of them were strong, screaming inside the blonde's head- in his chest - all over his goddamn body. He wanted to scream and shout at George for not knowing how to look after himself, for bringing Dream into this mess of a situation, he wanted to sit and talk to him for hours, getting to know all about him - about his life and what truly was on the other side, but he also wanted to protect him - and not just to some certain degree where they'd both be safe- no. Dream knew that if a life-or-death situation were to occur and only one of them could make it out alive... he'd be sure that person was George. It had to be George. 

The blonde tried his best to ignore the last emotion, but as the days went by, it became harder and harder for him to do so. He wanted to ignore the burning feeling in his chest when he noticed George staring at something in the distance. He tried to slow his heart rate, which raced for miles when he heard the boy laugh, and god, how he wanted to shut his eyes closed forever when he noticed George chewing on his lip when thinking of something to say. 

The good thing about the mask was it gave Dream all the time in the world to comprehensively study the small things about the other without him being able to do the same, but it also helped hide his smile triggered by adoration; it helped disguise his eyes enough from exposing how they'd observe the brunette intensely. The mask hid all the feelings he didn't have the strength or power to hide, and now that it's gone-

"I'm fucking screwed."

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Author's notes:

Double update in the past 24 hours???
I'm going to Brighton on Friday, and the goal is to reach about an hour of reading time for all the chapters published so far.

Expect more chapters before then ;)