Manburg Underground

Training Day

George was physically exhausted, but mentally, his thoughts were moving at approximately two hundred miles per hour. He sat on the bottom bunk and thought of everything that had happened today. He didn't know if he was under reacting or overreacting, but whatever he was doing it didn't feel right.

Schlatt was his professor. How was he able to hide that easily in public, when in reality he was...whoever he actually was? He'd stabbed George. He had taken a knife and sliced his side like it was nothing!

And then there was Dream.

Dream was interesting. The way he talked and acted was worlds different than Sapnap or Schlatt. He had this calm aura around him, but he was still so cautious about his actions. Anything that required his mask to be off, he did in private. He slept on a top bunk so he could have his mask off without being disturbed. Then, when he was in public, he was always so quiet about talking about his own personal experiences.

George liked him. He seemed to be the most trustworthy person here, despite what Sapnap had told him. He didn't know why Dream was so interesting in his mind, but every time he thought of something else, George's mind always returned to Dream. He wanted desperately to learn more about the mysteries surrounding him.

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Dream could not stop thinking about the new recruit. He was just so different than all of the others in Manburg. Everything about him was so...normal. Dream imagined what his life would have been like if he were in George's shoes. College was never something he had even considered, but George was in college. He had professors and dorms and a major. He had a routine that involved nothing remotely interesting, and because of that Dream couldn't help but feel jealous of George.

George's life had been so perfect. For Dream, he was in constant danger of being killed or found out. The only reason he was able to work for Schlatt was because he was willing to give Dream a chance to work for him. George never had to be scared before now, and because of that, this change was going to be the hardest thing he'll ever have to endure.

But he was so calm. George wasn't reacting like he should have if he were any normal teenager. He was braver. Stronger than any of the recruits Dream had seen so far, if not physically, at least emotionally.

Dream knew he and George were going to be close. As much as they were opposites, they still had similar mindsets, and that was something Dream respected about George.

He laid on the top bunk, listening to the rest of the crew snoring softly, but couldn't find himself falling asleep.

It was half past one in the morning when he heard the bunk below him creak. A figure below him stood up and the door to the room opened and closed. Dream wanted to see where George was going. Was he trying to escape? Was he just not able to fall asleep? Whatever it was, Dream needed to find out. He grabbed his mask and slid it over his face. Then, he exited the room, just in time to see George slipping around the corner into the lunch hall.

George sat down at one of the white tables in the corner, facing away from the hallway. His hands were resting over his face and he was silent. "Not escaping, right?" Dream asked from the entrance of the room.

George flinched, obviously unaware of Dream's presence prior to when he had spoken, but he didn't look over at him. Instead, Dream watched as he wiped his face with the sleeve of his long sleeve shirt. He sniffed. "Sadly, no. If I do, I'll probably be killed," George deadpanned.

Dream didn't say anything, but he walked over and sat next to George, staring into the empty room. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Dream spoke again. "It's okay to cry, you know." George turned his head further away. "This is overwhelming. Everything is so different than from what your life was like literally yesterday. I cried too, the first time I was brought here."