warmth [dreamnotfound] | ✓

chapter two. sorry bro.

5:40 AM.

The sun hung low in the summer sky, casting long shadows on everything it touched as it slowly rose into the air above the little black car. The countryside whizzed past as other vehicles started to join them on their early morning drive. Other people were rubbing the sleep out of their eyes or ordering coffee or eating a nice breakfast with family, but inside the car was a vastly different story.

George was reading a book, but it really couldn't be considered a book at all. It was 50 or so worn pages that crinkled beneath his fingers as he read them, the cover in front of his face so Dream couldn't see him. It was so faded that he couldn't read the title.

The blond adjusted his sunglasses and turned his head back to the road, noting that the sun had risen from the east, over the endless stretch of forest to his left. According to the GPS, they would be passing through a few more small towns soon, ones that bordered The Great Lakes. It was a shame they had missed the sunrise over the water. Dream had never seen anything like that, in fact, he had never even seen Lake Michigan besides in pictures but he imagined it would be nice. Probably not as nice as the ocean, but he would be able to see that anytime he wanted when they arrived at their final destination.

The quiet in the car was numbing. He was already sore from sitting so long, and from what had happened before he'd gotten in the car, but the emotional numb made his whole body shiver with pins and needles that pricked his skin. The pain in his nose, which he assumed was either bruised or bent, was nothing compared to the tense air of the car that stabbed at all of his senses.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked when he couldn't take it any longer.

"Harry Potter." George didn't even move the book to look at him, instead flipping a brittle page.

Dream frowned, assuming the other boy was still high. "There's no way. That book's like 400 pages long and the thing you've got there is like 50." George just shrugged.

Turning back to the endless stretch of highway, Dream yawned. "Hey, how long does it take you to get sober? I need to take a break from driving." It was then when he remembered that the last time he slept was well over 24 hours ago. It didn't matter that George, who was in fact colorblind, should not be driving. That wouldn't be a big deal on the highway, right? And Dream could just tell him what color traffic lights were-

"I'm already sober."

"Yeah right! Liar."

George giggled to himself, finally closing the book and raising his dark eyes to meet Dream's through the sunglasses. "Maybe so."

"You're an awful liar, George." Dream sighed. "It's going to be a while, isn't it?" He moved his hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes, but it bumped his injured nose and he cringed.

"Are you really so innocent that you don't know how getting high works?" George's lips curled into a malicious grin and Dream felt his face get warm. He turned back to the road and looked out the opposite window.

"No, I just know it's different for everyone and I'm wondering when you can drive so I can get some fucking sleep." He hoped his sunglasses hid the scarlet spots on his cheeks.