warmth [dreamnotfound] | ✓

chapter ten. the other side of paradise.

4:00 PM.

It had been ten minutes since the car had crashed, but neither boy had moved out of it. Dream hadn't stopped hugging George either. He was taking in the feeling of being held. It was a new feeling.

He had decided about five minutes in that he really liked it. He liked being able to hear George's heartbeat, even if it was insanely fast, and feel the older boy's hand in his hair and bury his face in his warm chest.

George didn't mind it much either. He was never a touchy person, but hugs felt different when Dream was the one giving them. They felt genuine. Real. It was the first time he had ever really touched Dream. It felt good, even if his face burned and his heart thumped and his chest felt tight.

"What are we gonna do, George?" Dream asked against his chest.

George hummed and looked away from the blond and over to the tree in front of the car. "I don't know."

Dream looked up, shimmering green eyes meeting George's. The lower half of his face was still buried in the fabric of the hoodie and he looked younger, like a scared pre-teen. His hair was messy, falling in front of his eyes and sticking up in places. "Are you, um, good now?"

The music had stopped a little bit ago when they turned off the car. George's staggered breathing was the only sound now. His face was flushed a deep shade of red and his dark eyes were wet at the corners, darting across Dream's features.

"Yeah."

"No you're not."

"Yeah, I'm not."

Dream sat up now, finally letting go of George. He moved slowly, popping open the door on the driver's side. He was glad they'd crashed in a field. It could've been a lot worse. They could've hit another car... or a tree... or water... Dream shook the thought out of his head and leaned back inside to look at the brunet, who was still frozen in the passenger seat.

"Come on out. Let's get you some fresh air."

George stepped out of the car and noted how much warmer the air was. Hot and sticky, it clung to his skin and clothing like static. "Are we still in Indiana?"

"We crossed into Kentucky like five minutes ago, I think." Dream looked around for anywhere to sit before turning to climb onto the hood of the car. He patted the empty spot beside him, brushing off the long grass that laid there. As George plopped down, the blond began to pluck stands of green and gold from the hood and the windshield and the front of the vehicle.

"Okay, that's good, right?" George leaned back onto the windshield and looked up at the long tree in front of them. It soared to the heavens, even with a car stuck at its base.

"How are we gonna get out of this?"

"Well, there's not anyone we can call." Dream pulled a piece of grass from George's dark locks before laying beside him, letting their arms and legs brush against each other. He listened to the other boy's breathing for a while. He waited for it to even out from its sporadic rhythm and watched his chest rise and fall. He listened to everything around him as well. Animals in the dark wood which wasn't far away, cars speeding past, his own breathing. He wasn't in a hurry to leave, although he probably should have been.

It wasn't like Dream's mind wasn't racing with possibilities. The cops could see them and haul their asses back to L'Manberg and there would be nothing they could do about it. They wouldn't be able to pay for car repairs if they needed them. Someone could call 911 and they could end up in the hospital. That would almost be worse. He didn't mention any of it to his friend though. Didn't want to worry him any more. Instead, he said, "Do you wanna talk about it?"