Peach Silhouette

17 | Cheers to us

I inhaled deeply as I stood in the doorway of my room. There were conflicting aromas coming from the kitchen, and I heard chatter from the floors below, whereas ours was almost desolate. 

Courtesy me. 

I'd never spent Thanksgiving in the states, today would be my first time celebrating it. And sadly, Dream and I remain on precarious terms. Hopefully tonight could change that.

I grabbed my dish out of my fridge and made my way downstairs. I almost tripped on the last step, but thankfully Bad was talking with Niki at the bottom of the stairs and he steadied me, smiling. I murmured a thanks and continued down the hallway towards the ballroom. I stepped inside and gasped. Those who had chosen to be apart of the decorating team had done a marvelous job. I waved to Eret, who was hanging another strand of fall leaves on the wall. 

She waved back, the ladder under her almost tipping but Tubbo laughed and centered it. Everyone was cheery and the mood was bright. I set my dish down on the long table. It was rather dark in the room, until at once I was surrounded by soft light. I looked towards the far wall and saw that Fundy had plugged an enormous chain of light strands into the outlet, illuminating the whole room with a soft white light. He grinned triumphantly and caught my eye. He laughed as he realized I had caught him celebrating his battle with electricity, and I began to laugh too. 

After a few moments, I decided to let the decorating crew get back to work and I exited the ballroom. I walked back down the hall, but rather than going downstairs I went to the lounge instead, where I found Sapnap, Tommy, Wilbur, and Techno. 

"Hello, Georgenotfound." Tommy patted the empty space beside him, and I sat down to join him. We talked for a while about various things. Tommy was actually quite intelligent, and I appreciated his input on things I hadn't made decisions on yet. He and Tubbo were almost like little brothers to all of us, even though they weren't much younger than us. Soon, we made our way back towards the ballroom.

I walked in, the soft light and murmured chatter comforting. Then, my brown eyes met a pair of emerald green. And it's not like it was the first time I'd seen him since the fight, but for some reason, I panicked. 

Maybe it was the way the lighting made his defined jawline stand out even more. Maybe it was the way his shirt exposed his collarbones. Maybe it was the way he smiled at a joke that Sapnap made. But whatever it was, my anxiety was back. 

I hurried back out, shutting myself into my room.

Later, I would learn that in fact, against the other side of the same wall I rested my head on, rested Dream, going through similar things as I was. 

If only I had known. 

I did a few breathing exercises to calm myself down, and I finally stood up to return. When I walked in, though, I began to regret my leaving. 

The only seat open at the long table was the one beside a certain blonde man.

Fuck.

I took a deep breath and reluctantly sat next to Dream. I felt like every part of me was on fire, and it took Bad's voice to shake me out of my thoughts.

"So, hello everyone!" He smiled, standing up with Zak. "Zak and I figured we would say a little something before we began to eat." 

"First, a huge thanks to George for coming up with all this. And thanks to all of you for pitching in! This month marks 5 months of the NSHH - and here's to many more!" Zak said happily. There was a bit of applause.

"Thank you all for being here. This finishes off perfectly what I'd like to say is the best time of my life." Bad looked at Zak, and they smiled as if they knew things we didn't. "Here's to more happiness, new friends, and good food!"

People began to pass food around, but I didn't feel hungry. Well, that wasn't true exactly. I didn't want to eat, even though I looked longingly at the food.

"Pass the stuffing?" Vurb asked, and I handed him the platter. I grew quiet and observed everyone laughing and growing merry. I folded my hands on my lap and kept my eyes on them. Then, I saw a piece of bread being placed in them. It was a sweet roll, one of my favorite foods.

I turned and my eyes met his. He didn't say anything, but we were silently content. He smiled, and my heart warmed. 

I nibbled the roll.

Maybe there is some hope of fixing this after all.

As dinner went on, Kay began strategically placing dessert among the soon to be empty main dishes. I finished the roll, but I didn't care for any dessert. I began to converse with the people around me, not paying attention to what was happening physically. Inside I was screaming because for the first time in a while, Dream and I were interacting again. I vaguely recognized there was a hand clasped in mine, but it wasn't until I finished my argument with Tommy and Tubbo that I looked down to see Dream's hand holding mine.

To put it simply, I lost my shit. 

I grew flustered but wildly happy, and I knew he noticed. Finally, as we finished dessert, we stood up. Music began to play through the speakers. Dream dragged me onto the open floor and pulled me close as my face flushed. 

"I would ask you to dance, but I think it's too late for that now." He whispered into my ear, making me quiver. 

No, wait, I wasn't supposed to think my friend's whisper was hot. but i did.

We began to dance, with him leading me given I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding as he drew me closer, and I felt his breath on my cheek again. 

Then, the note changed and we spun again. The night ended, and I returned to my room with a warm feeling that would remain for the next few weeks. 

Until it would inevitably fade - but that's a story for another chapter. 

~

inspiring song(s)

maybe don't - maisie peters and JP saxe

broken glass - kygo

~

an: i got the idea for this chapter from tvd :) you're welcome 

hahdfhwjfhefekfwhfiwhfhwn jusT kILLED a WOMANNNNN

forgive this authors note it hurts my soul too

wahooooooooo i umm actually need three things for filler chapters before we get to the juicy plot njsdhjhsjfajhdfakjhdk i'll have to think of something hhhhhh

oh yea and i think im gonna add the inspiring songs at the end of each chapter because yeah :)

anyways ily all and afri out <3

WAIT HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE TODAYS THE DAY I RELEASE THE CHAPTER AND I JUST REALIZED!!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!! AHHHHSHGDHFGSG IM SO THANKFUL FOR YOU ALLLLL