New Reality: A Dream x George Fanfic

Chapter 6: Fish out of Water

George awoke to the soft sound of Dream's snores. For a minute he didn't move, allowing the sound to lull him into a peaceful trance. Then he realized the snores sounded a lot closer than they should have been.

George raised his head to look around. The cave was still dark, and the air smelled of a crisp morning. George's gaze focused on Dream, and he realized that sometime during the night, he'd moved his own bed next to George's. There he was, arm draped lazily over the side of the bed, his stupid cute hair ruffled from sleep, the blankets twisted around him. George's heart jumped a little at the sight and he looked away, feeling as though he was intruding on something private.

He felt thoroughly exhausted from the events of the night before- both mentally and physically. As tired as he was, though, every time he tried to close his eyes, his thoughts kept turning back to him. Giving up on trying to get back to sleep, George wandered outside and up to the top of the hill to watch the sun rise.

It really was a beautiful thing, once you got over the horrible feeling of being trapped. Every aspect of the virtual world seemed engineered for beauty, from the realistic flowers and softly swaying trees to the vibrant strips of light now cascading across the distant sky, heralding the arrival of the dawn. In spite of himself, George almost found himself wishing to stay forever.

But that's stupid, he told himself. The program is supposed to only last a week, right? And it's been... how many days? Is this the last day already?

Despite his reluctance to leave, he felt his heart lighten at the thought that they'd be able to get out of this strange place once and for all. It had been a somewhat frightening experience, but one which he valued nonetheless for the opportunity it gave him to spend time with Dream.

Ugh, Dream.

No matter how hard he tried, George's thoughts always came back to him. What's wrong with me? He growled in frustration and kicked at a nearby pebble. "What's wrong with me?" He repeated out loud. He glanced back at the cave's entrance, afraid that Dream might have heard. After a few seconds of silence, he turned back to the sky. He laid on his back on the grassy hilltop, gazing up at the speckled navy night as it gave way to a soft purple morning. The clouds were so beautiful...

-----

Dream awoke as the sun reached its peak, his stomach growling and his muscles aching. He yawned groggily and turned his head to see George, but instead found only his empty bed.

Immediately his heart started pounding as he remembered the previous night. "George?" He called out to the empty cave.

No answer.

Heart thumping harder, he threw his sweatshirt over his head and hurried out of the cave. "George!" He called again, louder this time.

Still no answer.

He frantically scanned the horizon before spotting him: A motionless lump at the top of the nearest hill. Already fearing the worst, Dream sprinted toward him, panic flooding his thoughts. "George!"

As he neared his friend, George opened his eyes and looked around confusedly. "What?"

"I-" Dream didn't really know what to say. His panic seemed stupid, suddenly, as he realized that George was fine and he had no reason to worry. "Never mind. It's nothing."

"Dream. Even I can tell you're lying."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

Dream looked at George for a moment with amusement flickering across his face, almost as though he was considering it. George looked quickly back to the sky to avoid his gaze.

"Aren't the clouds sort of beautiful? Everything's so real here, but it's like... It's like it's better than real. I've never seen a sky this beautiful."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Dream laid down next to George on the grass and looked up. "Hah, that one looks like you." He pointed up at a particularly large cloud.

"Okay, well... that one's you, Dream."

Dream squinted. "Actually, it kind of looks like a pig..."

"Exactly."

"Shut up, stupid." Dream shoved him playfully.

"Idiot."

"Gay."

George opened and closed his mouth for a few seconds without saying anything, sputtering like a fish out of water. What the fuck, what the fuck, what the-

His thoughts were interrupted by Dream's wheezing. "Geooorge," he taunted.

"Shut up, you annoying weirdo."

"Love you too, Georgie."

George fought to push down the butterflies that filled his stomach as Dream said that. "Come on, let's go get some food or something. I'm starving."

"Hey, George."
"What?"

"I'll make you some food if you tell me you love me."

George scoffed and walked away without answering, followed by a stream of giggling from Dream.

-----

As the day neared its conclusion, they found themselves back on top of the hill, sitting side by side as they watched the sun touch the sea. All was quiet except for the rustling of leaves and the occasional groan of a distant zombie.

Neither friend said anything, both reluctant to break the peaceful silence enveloping them. George shivered with the cool evening breeze, and Dream wrapped an arm around him. George froze for a second before relaxing into the hug.

This is just a friendly hug, he kept reminding himself.

He was glad Dream couldn't see his face in the growing darkness, as he was most certainly blushing.

Distantly, a wild dog howled at the moon.

The night crept on, and still neither of them moved.

As the moon reached its peak, signalling midnight, George felt Dream tense up beside him. "This is it," he said softly.

Neither friend knew what to expect, and so they waited.

And waited.

An hour passed. Then another.

George sank into reluctant sleep, his head falling onto Dream's shoulder.

Dream stayed awake for another few hours, heart jumping at every slight noise.

No, no, no no no. They have to let us out now. The program was for one week, right? It's been a week. And they're not letting us out.

They're... they're really not letting us out.

As the implications of this thought dawned on him, he felt a wave of emotions building up within him: Hopelessness. Fear. Shame. Regret. Guilt...

This is my fault. This is all my fault. I signed us up for this, I trapped us here, I should've just listened to George when he said it sounded sketchy... I should've listened... My god, I'm such an idiot. The urge to punch something swelled up within him, and it was all he could do to not scream his fury at the open sky.

Instead, he lifted a soundly sleeping George into his arms and carried him back to the cave, where he climbed into bed beside him. Laying there, listening to George's soft breaths and watching the rise and fall of his chest, he felt a strange sense of peace creep over him.

"Love you, Georgie," he whispered, a sad half-smile tugging at his lips.

Finally, he drifted off to sleep.