"SLUT!" | dreamwastaken

044. jealousy

"Do you think Dream's been acting weird lately?"

"What?" Sapnap glances at her, brows furrowing.

"He's just... off. Acting different." Lani repeats, though it still doesn't seem to click for him.

"Different how?"

"I don't know," she admits, frustrated. "He's not talking much, always glued to his phone. I mean, that's not weird in itself, but he's not talking to me."

"So, you miss him?"

"I didn't say that," she huffs. "I'm just saying it's weird that he's always texting someone."

"Maybe it's just for work. He's a... a busy bee," Sapnap says, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, but every time I try to talk to him, he's glued to his phone."

Sapnap doesn't think much of it, but for Lani, it's like an itch she can't scratch and God, help her. She ached to scratch it.

"Why do you care so much about who he's texting? Who gives a fuck?"

"I give a fuck, unfortunately."

"It's probably nothing," Sapnap says with a shrug.

"He could just be working on something for Minecraft. You know how he gets.. like, locks in completely. Barely puts his phone down, barely sleeps when he's in the zone."

"It's not Minecraft," Lani sighs.

"How do you know that?"

She can't exactly say it out loud—not the way Dream smiles at his phone when he's texting that number, or how he pauses, really thinking through his response. Not the way his leg bounces as he waits for a reply, or how he practically jumps out of his skin the second a notification comes in.

It's not Minecraft.

"Nothing."

But something in her gut tells her it's Thea.

Thea, whom she couldn't bring herself to resent—how could she, when she didn't even know her? For all she knew, Thea could be the sweetest person in the world. She could be good for Dream. Or bad for him.

Who really knows?

Lani tells herself it doesn't matter.

They weren't dating. It wasn't a big deal.
It doesn't matter who he texts. Or who he spends time with. Or who he's planning dates with on the weekends. Or who makes him reconsider their final hangouts because he's worried about scheduling conflicts with said dates.

Who cares.

But when it starts to feel like it's pulling Dream away from her—when their time together is already running out—she can't just not care.

It's not even about being in love with him. She just wants to enjoy these last moments with her friends, without one of them practically having their head buried in their phone the entire time.

She caught a glimpse of what had been keeping him so busy one day. He'd rushed to the bathroom, leaving his phone open on the counter.

Knowing her gut feeling was right always hurt more. That's why she wished, every time, that she was wrong. Unfortunately, this was one of those moments.

The messages were filled with flirtatious innuendos and plans to meet up. Dream talked to Thea the way he used to talk to her, and, frankly, that pissed her off the most.

Thea was funny—effortlessly so. Even in the few messages Lani saw, she could tell how warm her presence was.

God help her.

Jealousy was a disgusting disease.

"What are you doing?"

Lani nearly jumps out of her skin at the sound of his voice. She turns to see Dream approaching, a curious smile tugging at his lips.

"Were you going through my messages? You fucking creep." He laughs.

"I wasn't—at least, not on purpose. You left your phone open."

"So you went ahead and looked through them anyway?" Dream crosses his arms, amusement flickering in his expression, like he's holding back another laugh.

"I'm... sorry?" Lani isn't even sure if it's an apology or just a reflex.

So, she only grins. "So, you two did hit it off."

"We're just... talking, y'know?"

"Are you two gonna go on, like, dates or whatever soon?" Lani hummed, her fingers subconsciously fidgeting with each other.

"I mean... she suggested it, but I didn't know whether to say yes or no because, obviously, we'd be hanging out with Nick and George, and I didn't wanna ruin—"

"Dream, chill," she interrupted, smiling despite the way her stomach twisted. "You can go on the date if you want. Really, I don't mind. I'm sure Nick and George wouldn't either."

"It's supposed to be tomorrow."

"You can go." She hummed again, trying to sound indifferent.

"You promise?" He looked at her, and—fuck—she was doomed. Because she was in love with him, and she was letting him go on a date with someone else.

"Promise."

im gonna crash out