✮♥︎🇧‌🇷‌🇪‌🇦‌🇰‌🇮‌🇳‌🇬‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇷‌🇴‌🇺‌🇬‌🇭‌ 🇹‌🇭‌🇪‌ 🇮‌🇨‌🇪‌♥︎✮

✮Chapter 4✮

˖⁺. ༶ ❤︎ ⋆⊹--------------˖⁺. ༶ ❤︎ ⋆˙⊹˖⁺. ༶ ❤︎ ⋆˙⊹--------------˖⁺. ༶ ❤︎ ⋆˙⊹

The winter formal came and went, and unsurprisingly, Dream didn't show. George wasn't exactly heartbroken—he hadn't expected Dream to say yes, but part of him had hoped for something different. Still, he enjoyed the night with his friends, laughing, dancing, and letting himself have a break from the ongoing challenge that Dream had become.

The next week, classes resumed, and George returned to his routine. He noticed that Dream's presence on campus had become more noticeable to him. Whether it was in the library, on his way to class, or sitting by himself in the courtyard, Dream was always there....always alone. George wondered why Dream chose to keep everyone at arm's length.

One cold afternoon, George sat in the library, working on an essay. He glanced up, and there, a few tables away, was Dream. Alone as usual, reading quietly. A thought crossed George's mind: What if I stopped trying? He had been so relentless in his efforts to connect with Dream, but what if Dream just didn't want to be reached?

George sighed and refocused on his work. But as he stared at his computer screen, his eyes kept drifting back to Dream. He wasn't ready to give up yet.

Suddenly, Dream stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder, and walked toward the exit. George watched him go, and almost on instinct, he stood up and followed.

"Hey, Dream!" George called out as they reached the hallway outside the library. Dream stopped but didn't turn around immediately. George jogged to catch up, forcing a smile.

"What?" Dream asked, his voice flat and cold as ever.

George rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little awkward. "I was just wondering if you wanted to grab a coffee or something. You know, take a break from all the studying?"

Dream turned to face him, his expression unreadable, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes—maybe annoyance, maybe something else. "Why do you keep doing this?"

George blinked, thrown by the question. "Doing what?"

"This," Dream gestured between them, "trying to be friends or whatever. I've made it pretty clear that I'm not interested."

George swallowed, trying to keep his voice steady. "I guess... I just think we could get along if you gave it a chance. You don't have to be so distant all the time."

Dream's jaw tightened, his cold exterior slipping slightly, revealing a flash of frustration. "You think you know me? You don't. Just because you smile and ask me to coffee doesn't mean I'm going to suddenly open up. I don't need friends."

The words stung more than George expected. He opened his mouth to respond but hesitated. He'd heard rejection from Dream countless times before, but this was different. This felt personal.

"You don't have to need friends," George said quietly, "but that doesn't mean you don't deserve them."

Dream looked at him for a long moment, his expression hardening again. Without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving George standing in the hallway.

The encounter weighed on George's mind for the rest of the day. He had pushed Dream, maybe too hard this time. As much as he wanted to reach out, he couldn't force Dream to let him in. Still, George's words hung in the air.....You deserve friends. It wasn't something he'd said lightly, and he hoped, somewhere deep down, Dream might have heard him.

A few days passed without any interaction between them. George gave Dream space, trying not to be overbearing. But something had shifted. Dream was no longer just a distant figure that George was chasing....he was someone with real walls, built up for reasons George couldn't yet understand. And for the first time, George began to see Dream's rejections not as cold indifference, but as a kind of defense.