I Wanna Be Yours

Part 2

Dream glances out the bedroom window to see that the hazy orange sun is already hanging low in the Georgia sky. A quick glance at his phone tells him it's already nearing evening, and he knows he can't stay shut away in the bedroom all weekend, even though a part of him wishes he could.

He pushes himself up from the bed, tries not to think about the fact that he'll have to share the confined space with George later tonight. His head is already swimming with unwanted thoughts, and he lets his feet carry him from the room, down the hallway and towards the kitchen where he can hear the faint hum of familiar voices.

Under the glow of yellow kitchen lights, Karl and Sapnap rummage through cabinets, most likely searching for something for dinner. Dream watches them for a moment, and then lets his eyes trail over to the kitchen table that sits at the far end of the room. He sees George sitting there with his nose buried in a book, brow drawn in concentration, and it's so predictably George that it makes his chest hurt.

"There you are," Sapnap says as he notices Dream in the doorway. Dream lets his attention hover on George for a second longer, but he already knows that George won't bother looking up, and so he shifts his eyes over to Sapnap and asks, "nothing to eat?"

Karl closes a cabinet, leans against the edge of the counter and answers, "not really. It looks like Sapnap's mom cleaned out the kitchen already."

It's not much of a surprise, considering that the summer is coming to a close and the house won't get as much use in the upcoming months. Dream nods, and then offers, "if you let me borrow the car, I can run to the store and get some stuff."

It's the perfect opportunity to get away for even a short period of time, clear his head and get some space before he's forced into close quarters with George again. Sapnap nods, shoves his hand into his pocket and pulls out the keys to his car. He pinches them between his fingers, narrows his eyes and asks, "you remember where the store is?"

Dream makes a show of rolling his eyes, tries to hide a guilty smile and the fact that he can never seem to remember which roads to take. He really should know, considering the small size of the town and the fact that he's spent almost every summer here. But he's always been terrible at remembering directions, and he knows Sapnap is well aware of this fact.

"Of course," he mumbles, face flushing with warmth, "you just go to the end of this road, make a left and then...whatever."

He waves his hand in the air like the rest is obvious, even though it's definitely not obvious to him. And he knows that the cell phone service is terrible around here, and that he won't be able to rely on his phone like he typically does.

"Jesus, Dream," Sapnap scoffs softly, shakes his head and then laughs, "your memory really is shit, you know that?"

Dream's face burns in embarrassment, and he shakes his head even though he knows it's true. Before he can answer, he hears George's voice offer, "you make the left, go up three blocks and then turn right. Main Street is just a little ways down after that."

"You're lucky you have him," Sapnap says with a quick shake of his head. He presses the keys into Dream's chest, right over the hollow space that only seems to be growing worse, "take George with you so you don't get lost. I don't wanna have to come looking for you."

Dream catches the keys in his palm, holds them against the fabric of his shirt as his mouth opens and then snaps shut again. He glances over at the table, sees the way George's face has flushed pink and his eyes have widened.

"He'll be fine," George tries to protest, "and I'm in the middle of a really good book."

Dream doesn't say a word, because the situation already feels strange enough. He can see it in the way that Sapnap glances between them with a furrowed brow. There was a time when George never strayed far from his side, whether it was a quick trip to the store or a night time walk through the neighborhood, they were never far from one another. And if Sapnap was already suspicious, then this definitely isn't helping matters.