parted lips | ✫

︲𝟣𝟢

Apocalypse , Cigarettes After Sex —

They co-exist.

Lithe hands tilt the watering can, larger hands type away. Their bodies far apart, yet they can hear each others breathing. The soft pattern of comfortable distractions, where they distract each other, in the comfort of one another.

Theres no voice, no need to speak, only them. Standing on toes and planting feet on ground. Dream looks up every so often, watching George water the Monstera Adansonii. He likes how he knows the name, likes how they grow with holes in their leaves. Hates how George mists his face after misting their vines.

"Rude." Dream spat, though a smile found his lips at Georges laugh behind his shoulder.

The rain fell monotonously, even, thunder raked the clouds of love and cherished white and bloom. It was easy to say that Summer was no longer, and as the days got shorter, the workload at school got longer.

It was a wonder George was even working today with three essays to be started and a heap of homework on his desk. Though, he found himself calm at work.

And he was sort of desperate for money right now.

"Afternoon Kristen." Georges voice sang out, and Dream pops his head up to see the brunette with a woman, her hair long and dark like ravens feathers. And she thanks him for taking her coat and umbrella.

"That weather has no mercy. Jesus, I don't know why my husband and my boys insisted on living in New York." She tuts, voice solid and breathless, she shakes her head to rid of her frown. A smile now placed over red lips.

"And my parents did it to benefit me." George rolls his eyes. Dream feels bad for eavesdropping. "Though if you think this is bad, be glad you're not in England."

Dream always thought he had an English accent, it was faint, and hardly traceable. He's sure when George was younger it was more prominent. Or perhaps it was just that he was mixed in with American accents so often now.

A smile traces his lips, that was something he didn't know about George, he was from the United Kingdom.

Green eyes catch Kristens, and she smiles at her customer. "That boy is always watching you." She whispers, looking back at George. And he frowns, looking in his periphery. Dream was back to typing, coffee close by, Georges handwriting on it.

"We share classes and he's been sitting with me at lunch for the past few weeks." Turns out it wasn't so bad.

Kristen hums, "He has a girlfriend though. I've seen her come in with him before school most days."

George laughs, hanging up Kristens coat and putting her umbrella in the holder. He didn't work the morning shifts usually, though he did work the Sunday morning shift.

"Yeah he has a girlfriend."

A smile hangs by the ladies lips, and she ties her hair back into a ponytail, "Are you on break now?"

The boy looks up to the clock, relief sags his shoulders, "Yeah, I am."

Kristen and George say their goodbyes, and once more does the world turn to quiet, enveloping silence and the rain was all that danced against the windows. It looked to be midnight with clouds too dark, and the lilt of the sunshine passed with no time to spare. George busies himself with work and Dream continues his writing.

Though theres lingering eyes on the both of them from behind the counter and two sets of eyes flick between the two boys.

"I think..." Tina pauses, eyes narrowing and she hums, "They'll become besties and then date for approx. twenty minutes before marrying."

Callahan stares at her, and scoffs.

"I was joking."

His eyes ask her, are you sure about that?

And she doesn't respond.

"What if they just stay friends forever, watch each other fall in love with people they meet and then by the time they're working a stable job and making ends meet, they're attending each others weddings." Tina slumps against the counter, hating how easily George and Dream bid each others existence away.

"They aren't exactly friends though, are they?" Tina asks, and Calla shakes his head no. "Ugh! I hate boys. — Not you of course. But I hate them."

Callahan grabs the notebook, scribbling down the single word: why?

The girl stares at it. "Why? I don't know. They've got good chemistry, Calla, you're good at Chemistry, you'd know." She sighs, and she bids herself off from Callahans side to take an order.

Callahan watches George, watches how he moves around the tables with a gentle smile and loose jaw, he wonders why it tenses when he walks past Dreams table.

"What about in an alternate universe?" Tina sighs, moving to give Callahan the cup of the order. "Like, what if they're... famous. "

Callahan looks up from the coffee machine to deadpan a stare, he raises a brow and the girl only shrugs, "Don't look at me like that. You can be famous too.

Though think about it. They could... what could they do?" She babbled.

Callahan thinks, he writes: minecraft, they can be loser streamers.

"Why losers?" Tina narrows her eyes, jeering, a grin playing on her lips and she calls out the customers name when Callahan hands her the cup. "They'll be so famous, and, well who knows, people will ship them and —" She looks down at what Callahan has written.

Don't make everything easy for them, they can be 4k miles away from each other.

"Thats a bit mean." Tina complains, before she grins and rubs her palms together, "I love it."

≐

The bell rings for disaster as the door opens and closes, and Georges stares at the customer, scoffing and rolling his eyes before going back behind staff doors.

"Jesus, what's his problem?" Sapnap grumbled, and he flips George off in his head.

"Well last time you came here you dumped your whole coffee on some girl and George had to clean it up." Dream chimes in and he closes his computer lid to pay attention to his best friend. Sapnap glares at him before shrugging.

"Yeah I guess I did do that —" Sapnap gets cut off from his own cough, a slap on his back and a chair being pulled out and George is now seated with them. He grins happily with the sight of his best friends spluttering. "I hate you."

"You don't." George replies, and he sends a smile off to Dream who only mirrors it.

"Are you on break?" Sapnap asks, rubbing his back and the brunet nods, pulling out his phone and slumping in his seat.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go get some homework—"

"Stay!" Dream blurts out, and Georges eyes flick to his, browns meet green. In the desolate world where only them two, and their nuisance of a shared best friend, live. Perhaps they're not exactly friends, but then what are they?

"Okay."

And so George stays, and he enjoys his best friend and his best friend's company for the twenty odd minutes that the rain keeps stinging the windows. Sharp inhales of wind and thunder, and with every thunderstorm comes a new onslaught of pouring rain, drowned rats gather in taxi cabs and the traffic is heavy.

Though inside it is light, and warm-hearted, and though they laugh, the rest of the world is quiet enough for them to believe that they are the only ones there.

— authors note —

THANK YOU FOR 4k?? It literally went up in two days omg thank you i can't believe this book overtook we are the liars and we're only a fourth in ahah

also reminder to follow my twitter : @/everstellars :)) i do all of my announcements there now instead because it's easier for me!!

okay that's all, goodbye and thank you, much love <3