New Reality: A Dream x George Fanfic

Chapter 24: Communication

George stepped out of the cave, blinking in the bright light of dawn. Dream was nowhere to be found. George knew his first priority should be communicating the plan to Dream and making preparations, but his fury at Dream took precedence for the moment. As soon as I find that motherfucker, I swear I'm going to make him regret what he did.

    The trees in front of him were missing some branches, and pale slashes stood out against the dark bark of their trunks. He must have gone this way. He followed the trail of destruction deeper into the woods.

    Eventually, he heard the sounds of fighting through the trees just up ahead. There was angry hissing, accompanied by a yelp of pain and something heavy hitting the ground. A few seconds later there was another hiss, a clang of metal, an angry screech, and then silence.

    George crept quietly through the trees and approached a small clearing. In the center, he could just make out the body of something large and black. He shivered as he realized what it was: a giant spider.

    George then spotted Dream, kneeling on the ground next to the spider. His head was in his hands and his shoulders shook with silent sobs. George hesitated. After a moment, he clenched his jaw and was about to step out of the trees when he heard a noise beside him. He turned to see the cracked white bones of a skeleton archer.

    The skeleton raised its bow, aiming through the trees at Dream. It appeared not to notice him. It drew back an arrow, eyeless pits focused intently on Dream.

    George scowled. Just my luck that I have to save this idiot yet again. Honestly, I should just let him get shot. Nevertheless, he rushed at the skeleton and knocked its bow out of the way just in time. The arrow went awry, landing in a tree some distance to the left of the skeleton's target. Before it had time to react, George kicked it with all his might, and the skeleton went flying. It soared into the trunk of a nearby tree, landing crumpled in a motionless heap as George turned back toward Dream.

    Dream looked up at the noise as he approached, eyes wide and red from crying. He appeared unsure of what to say, and remained silent as George stalked toward him.

    "Dream. You fucking dick," he spat, "I trusted you!" He shoved Dream back roughly, trying to get some reaction out of him, anything that would justify his anger.

    Dream still said nothing, but broke eye contact and bit his lip. Fresh tears welled in his eyes; he struggled not to let them fall. His silence, if anything, just made George even more angry.

    "You can't just... You can't just fucking kill me, just because some-" George stopped, catching himself before he said too much in front of the Sultix researchers that were probably listening in. "You're... You're a dick, Dream."

    "I know." Dream's voice was small, and despite his anger, George found himself feeling a little sorry for him. "I'm so sorry, George. So, so sorry. I..."

    I just didn't have a choice.

    George jumped as he heard Dream's voice resound inside his head, even though he hadn't seen his mouth move. "What?"

    "What?" Dream asked warily.

    "How did you do that?"

    "Do what?"

    "I..." You talked to me without speaking out loud.

    Now it was Dream's turn to flinch in surprise. "Oh!" That must be the... Wait, can you hear me?

    From the look on George's face, he could. "What the fuck...?"

    Dream gave him a small, watery smile. For once, something was going right. Just try thinking the words, like you're about to say them but they don't ever quite leave your mouth.

    Uh... Like this? Am I doing this right?

    Yes! Dream paused, switching to talking out loud as he realized that their silent conversation would probably look suspicious to whomever was watching. "Um, should we, you know, go back...?"

    George rolled his eyes. "I'm still mad at you, Dream. Just so you know." He started to walk away.

    "I know."

George looked back to see that Dream still hadn't moved, and seemed lost in thought as his smile slipped away again, replaced by a look of regret and weariness. He shook his head. No matter how mad he was, he couldn't deny that he still loved Dream, and still cared for him enough to want to help.

    "Come on, you." He walked back to Dream and grabbed his hand, pulling him along. He squeezed Dream's hand, and Dream squeezed back, a silent reminder that they were still there for each other, no matter what happened.

    You hurt me, you know.

    I know. I'm sorry... And I wish I didn't have to. But I don't think I had a choice, George. Dream looked pleadingly at him.

    I know. They walked for another few paces in silence. I may be mad at you, but... I still love you.

    He felt Dream squeeze his hand again. I love you too, Georgie. I don't deserve you.

    I'm exactly what you deserve, you idiot.

    Dream chuckled quietly, and George smiled in response. It felt good to laugh after the stress of the past few days, and it was true, after all. Neither of them were perfect, but both were trying their best. And even though it sometimes hurt, they wouldn't give up on each other so easily. They belonged together, and nothing could change that. Not even death.

    "Dream?"

    "Yeah?"

    "Out of all the people I could've been stuck here with, I'm glad it was you."

    "Me too, Georgie." Dream let go of George's hand and swung an arm around his shoulder. We'll get out, though. Soon.

    Yeah, I hope so. Oh, Sara and I came up with a better plan. So here's what we're going to do...