paint splattered scars || dnf

Panic! On the School Bus

A beautiful title, I know.

TW: panic attacks, bullying, crying, abuse, blood, yelling, cursing

George made sure to walk quickly to the bus. He just wanted to avoid Sapnap and get home. He stepped onto the crowded bus, tossing his backpack onto his usual seat a few rows from the front.

That is until he noticed someone sitting there. "Oh! My God- I'm so sorry, I'll-"

"No worries!"

George looked up at the boy sitting in the seat. He had bright blond hair and emerald green eyes. Before him sat Sapnap's best friend. Dream. His eyes widened. He readjusted his backpack on his shoulder. "No- No I'm sorry-" At the moment, George entirely considered just walking off the bus, but that didn't seem to be an option. More people were filing on.

"It's fine, I insist. Sit down." Dream grabbed George's wrist and pulled him onto the blue leathery seat. "What're you listening to?" He pointed to George's earbuds.

"What? Oh!" He sighed, realizing the blonde boy had no real interest in his music taste. "Nothing..."

"Clay!" Sapnap suddenly yelled from the front. He made his way towards Dream. George was frozen. He was surrounded. Sure, Dream himself had never done anything, but Sapnap was his best friend. Plus, George had heard stories about Dream.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Sapnap sneered as soon as he saw George. He sank down a bit, but Dream put a hand on his shoulder.

"You know him?" he asked. This has to be a joke, right? There's no way he has no idea who I am.

"Yeah. This is the kid that ran from me this morning. I told you about him."

"Oh... You're George?" Dream asked, looking down at him with a confused look.

George grew more nervous by the second. He nodded his head but kept his mouth shut.

"Get out of my fucking seat." Sapnap grabbed George's hood on his sweater and pulled him up, almost choking him. Sapnap easily tossed George acrossed the aisle like a rag doll. He fell into the opposite seat, and hit his head on the glass.

"Sap..." he heard Dream mumble something.

"George, you worthless son of a bitch!" Everything seemed to go dark. The reality of Dream and Sapnap faded away and in front of him stood his uncle, who he lived with.

"You can't do anything fucking right, can you?!" George tried to ignore him. He walked calmly towards the door. His uncle walked closely, intimidatingly, behind him.

"Fucking answer me when I talk to you!" He grabbed George's hair and bashed his head into the wall. Everything was dark all over again.

He suddenly stood over a kid, probably seven or eight. He had brown hair and freckles, and he was a bloody sobbing mess. He recognized it as himself. "No... No..." George knew what was about to happen-

"HEY! GEORGE!"

George snapped out of it, finding himself pressed against the back of the bus seat, tears streaming down his pale face. He gasped for breath.

"Hey! What's wrong? What happened?"

"He- He wa- was gonna-"

"It's okay. Don't talk..." Arms wrapped around his body, holding him tight. He buried his face in the sleeve and sobbed. "Just try to breath, okay?" It took George a few more minutes to relax. His breathing steadied, but he kept his face buried in the crook of the arm that held him But... who's arm- George looked up to find Dream in all his glory, embracing him like he was a little kid.

"Let go-" he choked out. 

Dream quickly let go and scooted away.

"I'm sorry..." he mumbled. His face was bright red from embarrassment. He just sat in the arms of his tormentors best friend for probably longer than he knew.

"Don't apologize! You were clearly freaked out. Was it because of Sapnap?"

George's head shot up. "No! Not that, I- I swear."

"Then what? If you don't mind me asking..."

"Nothing... Just-" He sighed. "Forgot to take my anxiety meds," George said. He knew his family couldn't afford to get him ibuprofen, let alone anxiety medication. And even if they had the money, his uncle would never spend it on him.

"Oh..."

"Clay, are you gonna come back over here?" Sapnap called.

"Fuck off!" Dream called behind him. George was marveling at how easy it was for him to tell Sapnap to shut up. Dream spoke with a playful confidence that George began to envy. Dream looked back at George. "We don't normally ride the bus, but we're going to a friend's house. Do you want to join us?"

"Uh-"

"I think you already missed your stop anyway."

"What?!" George sat up straight. He looked out the window. He didn't recognize where he was. He'd spent so much time staring out the window on the bus he knew the route up to his house perfectly, but this... He had no idea where this was.

"I'm sorry- I tried-"

"No no no..." George whispered. If I'm late I'm dead... He thought. Oh who the hell am I kidding... He's probably still at work. And he'll be at the bar for hours after that... "I- I don't think it'd be a great idea if i came with you."

"Are you sure? Sap won't bother you. I promise." Dream smiled and held out his pinkie finger.

George looked up at the blonde haired boy, and shook his head. "I don't do promises. But- Yeah, I guess I don't have many other options. My un- um, family won't mind if I'm out for a bit."

"Cool. This next stop is ours."

"Who's house is it?"

"Just a friend. You can call him BBH or Bad. His boyfriend might be there, too."

George had a puzzled look on his face. He didn't really think Dream and Sapnap would be cool about that kind of thing...

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918 words

Still not the longest chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it!! To be clear, I'm not shipping bad and skeppy the same way as dream and george. Bad and skeppy is more about their characters than the actual people. Their "romantic" interactions can also be seen as platonic/queer platonic if you prefer :) <3