Memories in the Dark DNF

Strawberry Cheesecake

The hallways were empty and quiet, it was peaceful in a way yet scary at the same time. George wandered the dimly lit hallways, following the light from his phone's flash that lead him to Dream's room.

George scolded himself for taking advantage of the situation, for going against what Dream said just because he happened to be asleep. But George's mind was filled with curiosity and his judgement was clouded.

He found his way back to Dream's room and opened the door. The sound of soft creaking filled his surroundings as he took in Dream's room for the second time. He shut the door behind him as he quickly walked to the closet. George didn't want to risk being caught again and decided if he was going to go through anything it should be in the safety of his own room.

The walk in closet welcomed him with an aura of judgement, screaming at him to leave. George felt uneasy as he bent down to move the boxes aside, searching for something new, for memories. George moved the box from the day before and started pulling out the boxes stacked behind it.

There were 9 boxes in total, 7 of them labeled by a respective year. "Year 1" all the way to "Year 7" George stared at the boxes as he pondered. Dream and George had been friends for 7 years and as far as he knew, there wasn't anything else that Dream had for 7 years. George lifted the first box, the first year.

He wanted to rip it open and delve through the contents, but the little bit of better judgement he had said to go to his room like he had planned to. George let out a shaky sigh, pushing the rest of the boxes back where they'd been and making his way back to his room.

George locked his door and sat down on the foot of his bed. He was shaking with anticipation, he wasn't afraid, but excited. He opened the box and a single journal stared back at him. The cover read "Me and George Year 1"

His heart rate increased. 

His palms were sweaty.

He could picture Dream writing on the tape that stuck to the cover 7 years ago. The giddy excitement that filled George made him feel small. Like a little kid, like the teenager he was when he and Dream became friends. George sat for hours reading the journal. Detailed experiences filled the echoing space in his mind. 

"Day 35, Me and George added each other on discord. I hope we get to call soon, but I don't want to ask and end up scaring him" Dream wrote on a page filled with doodles and scribbles. The texture of paper ruined with scratched out misspellings.

George felt warmth in his heart as he read each and every day of the first year of their friendship. From the first time they played Minecraft together, to the first time Dream saw George's face.

 
"Day 203, George showed me what he looks like. He has short brown hair, it's on the darker side. And he looks young at heart, happy. I had a bad day today, but seeing his face made it better. I wish I could explain how."

George read the entry for longer than he should have, his eyes graced the page multiple times, soaking in the words Dream had carefully thought out.

Each page unlocked old memories, things George had tucked away for so long. New perspectives were put into place as George read the retelling of past events. Dream's way with words captivated him, as he sat and scanned each page. George read the last entry, staring at the cover after he closed the book.

Sharp quick knocking pushed his train of thoughts off the rails as he panicked to shove the journal under his bed.

"Uh...Yes? Come in?" George tried his best to sound calm, but tone resembled that of a kid getting in trouble for something.

Dream opened the door, he looked like a train wreck, his hair was messy and his eyes puffy from crying just hours ago. "Hi George..."

George swallowed the lump in his throat, luckily for him it sounded like Dream hadn't noticed his guilty tone. Unfortunately he also didn't look too happy. George stood from the bed and crossed the room, stopping a few feet in front of Dream. "Is everything ok?"