Blurry Nights

Chapter Thirteen | Walls Down

Dream sighed as if telling his past was exhausting him.

"Tired?" George asked in response to his sudden exhaustion.

"My energy is still low. I can only handle so much beating," Dream sighed, looking away from George.

"You're stronger than me. Do you ever fight back?" he asked.

"Sometimes..." he started slowly. "Then he reminds me what I would lose if I fought..."

"So you just give up?" George tilted his head.

"If that means being with you? Yes."

"Are you stronger than Gibson? I would think you are."

"If I have the energy." Dream's eyes flickered shut for a moment before he opened them, alert as if George would attack him at any moment.

"You're allowed to go back to sleep, I can get up if you need," George said, about to get up, but He touched his shoulder only for a second before pulling away.

"Sorry... You—you can stay, if you like..." Dream said, his voice low and shy as if the words would hurt him. George nodded, lying back down.

Dream yawned, instinctively reaching for the covers before realizing George was lying on top of them. He noticed, getting up and pulling up the sheet over Dream before sliding in behind him.

George couldn't lie: this felt weird, yet... comforting.

Dream hid himself under the covers as if the sunlight would burn him, holding onto the sheets as if George would pull them off.

"I'm not going to take your sheet, Dream," George said softly. Dream peeked out from under the covers, refusing to release his deathly grip on them.

"He drags me out of bed in the mornings," Dream said, his voice muffled from the sheet.

"Why?" He searched his eyes for a second before Dream disappeared back into the safety of the covers. When he didn't speak, George knew the answer.

"I would never. I'm not—I'm not like him..." George mumbled.

"I know. It's just instinct." Dream peeked back out of the covers before disappearing once more. He yawned again, but it was more muffled this time.

"Sleep. You don't have to answer questions anymore," George sighed. Without much thought, he pulled himself under the covers, catching Dream's curled frame as if he were fragile.

Dream opened his eyes slightly, startled by George's appearance under the covers. Dream tightened his grip on his legs.

"Dream, relax..." George hushed.

Dream uncurled himself, searching George's eyes for some kind of answer. He let out a sigh, letting his eyes close. George watched him for a couple of minutes before letting himself sleep.

-

When George woke up, Dream had cuddled against him. George's heart raced; he refused to move a muscle in case he woke. Knowing what he'd been through, he needed his rest despite George's discomfort.

He waited patiently for Dream to wake or pull away, but instead, he pushed himself closer to George's warmth. He was surprised by Dream's reaction, simply because he refused to touch George. He could only guess that Dream felt safe enough with George to let his walls down.

For some reason, George wanted nothing more than to bring Dream closer. He shook that thought away; he shouldn't be thinking this, he shouldn't even be sharing a bed with Dream.

When Dream moved and realized his position, he sat up quickly, instantly scurrying away and jumping off the bed.

"Dream, it's okay." George tried to calm Dream, who was panicking.

"I shouldn't have! I'm not—"

"Dream." George stopped him from continuing. "You're okay."

Dream blinked slowly, as if waking him up from a daze. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually like this—"

George stopped him again. "Dream. Seriously, it's fine, you're fine."

Dream sighed, letting out a straggling breath as if he stopped breathing for a moment or two.

He sat down beside George, refusing to meet his eyes as if he knew what he did was wrong, even if it hadn't been.

"Just lie down."

Dream climbed back beside George, still refusing to catch his gaze.

George changed the subject so Dream would let his walls down again. "Did you sleep okay?

Dream nodded. "I haven't slept like that since..." He trailed off. He didn't have to explain; George knew he was talking about the person he used to love.

Did they share a cabin, too?

"That's good. If you feel safe enough, you could sleep with me again so you can sleep better." George caught himself before he said anything more. Dream nodded, his body finally relaxing from the tense structure only seconds ago.

"Only if I'm here, and feel... up to it..." Dream continued. George smiled in response.

-

A knock broke the two apart. Dream went to the door and opened it while George watched over his shoulder. He saw a staff member and kept himself from narrowing his gaze.

"Gibson needs to talk to you." Dream's eyes widened in fear, which made George want nothing more than to protect him.

He looked at Dream, begging him to say no, but he gave George a slight smile before nodding his head. "Give me a moment," Dream said. The staff nodded and shut the door.

George walked away from the door, so the staff member couldn't hear the two. "Dream, don't do this, please," George begged.

Dream shook his head sadly. "I have to, you know that," Dream sighed.

"No, you don't. I can survive without you for a few days, just not today..." George tried to no avail.

"I have to do this. I'll be back." Dream said, before pulling away from George and exiting the cabin.

George sat down on the bed that Dream had been on just seconds ago. He thought that with the meeting, Gibson would leave Dream alone, but clearly not. He should've known better than to believe that.

-

George paced back and forth just waiting for Dream to come back. He had just finally let his walls down, and Gibson would build them right back up, and there was nothing George could do about it.

He knew it would be several hours before Dream would be back, and that broke his heart. He almost wished he didn't know what was happening behind closed doors.

How could I protect Dream when he doesn't want protection?

George let his thoughts wander to different scenarios—better scenarios, where Dream would just say no. George didn't understand Dream's situation he didn't understand why.

When Dream eventually arrived back in the room, he avoided George's eyes. But he caught a glimpse of his blurry eyes, clearly filled with tears. His hair was ruffled, and his shirt was all wrinkled. He didn't talk to George, merely disappeared to his bed and under the covers.

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Little fluff! Then everyone's favorite angst! Sorry, I had to ruin the mood. I have to keep it depressing for y'all's entertainment and plot! This story isn't supposed to be happy; it shows a harsh reality that people who are gay in other countries face in Conversion Therapy.

Stay calm, Stay alive
Onyx

I figured it out before all you potato chips. fight me. actually don't; instead, go check out my Wattpad, where I hardly post, but there's some pretty cool stuff ;)

~lead editor ruby