Blue Christmas

Chapter 7

As the door swung shut, Dream turned to George. He gathered his cluttered thoughts together in a way that at least formed some semblance of sense before drawing in a deep breath.

"Hey, George, I-"

"Dream-"

They both started at the same time, then let out a breathy laugh, the tension still thick.

"Oh- sorry, go on," Dream was curious as to what George had to say.

"No you go first!" George chuckled at the awkwardness of both of them.

"No George, I insist, I wanna know what you were going to say!"

"Fine." George sighed jokingly, never failing to find Dream's stubbornness amusing. "I was just going to ask you if you wanted to maybe go on a walk with me? It's really nice at this time of the afternoon because the sun is setting and there aren't so many people around." Dream noted that George looked surprisingly vulnerable, like he had asked him something much more intimate than to just go on a walk. He wondered if he had been planning on saying something else perhaps, but the thought was lost among the chaos within his mind almost instantly.

"Oh, okay! Sure!" Dream let out a breath of relief, although he wasn't entirely sure why.

"What were you gonna say?" George asked with curiosity, pausing for a second after having grabbed his coat to properly turn and face him.

"Oh- nothing, don't worry." Dream muttered dismissively, his eyes not daring to leave the shoelaces he was tying, wrapping rings of string around his forefinger, pulling them tight before letting them loose as he watched the blood return to his fingertips. He gave himself a few seconds to compose himself. He was frustrated that he couldn't get the words out, tell George every little detail of each nook and cranny of his thoughts, his dreams, his wishes.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah-yeah I am... shall we go?" Dream cursed himself for changing the subject, for not taking the perfect opportunity that was practically handed to him on a silver platter. He could have so easily talked his mind and, god did he want to, but something, somewhere between his heart and his head, was stopping him. He didn't know what it was, and he didn't have time to dwell on it because before he knew it they were out of the door, ambling down the lamplight-bathed street. The sky started at a muted coral, spreading into something between slate and indigo before settling on a rich admiral blue, dappled with blinking stars and a waning moon. Each breath formed little clouds of condensation, quickly reduced to wisps.

They walked in silence, but it was peaceful. The steady drone of cars, the occasional cry of seagulls, the distant lapping of the sea, all contributing to the steady ostinato that was Brighton at sunset. Dream felt like there was something to say, it was on the tip of his tongue but he didn't want this awkward, blissful limbo to end.

"Hey, Dream?" George shattered the illusion Dream had been conjuring up in his head. He hummed inquisitively in response, moving his gaze from the sky to a sight arguably just as pretty. "You know when you move out from your house, I know this might be in a long time and everything but- you know, I would absolutely love it if you maybe moved in with me?" His voice was a little shaky and he sported a nervous smile, rubbing his knuckles roughly as Dream had come to learn to be one of his little quirks he did when he was anxious.

"Really?" Dream was nothing short of ecstatic at the idea, his thoughts struggling to keep up with the rapid beating of his heart. "You- you'd want that?"

"Yes- of course I'd want that. More than - God - more than anything."George laughed gleefully, and Dream revelled in his bewitching smile.

"You do?"