the game they can't win

George and Dream speak for the first time when they get stuck together, in their senior year of high school. After that, they start seeing each other more, hanging out together, so much so the two of them start forming more than just a simple friendship.

Due to Dream's father and the arrangement he's made for Dream, Dream knows he can't have that relationship and have it last. He knows his fate, he knows what will come in just less than a year when he turns 18.

But he's an idiot, and because he's an idiot, he goes through with it anyway.

//DISCLAIMER: some people in the fic aren't friends or on good terms irl anymore, but it is fiction, so treat it as such. pretend it's 2021 all over again, okay???//

//DISCLAIMER 2: the story may (and will) contain sensitive topics (such as: mental health issues, self harm, descriptions of violence, drug/alcohol use, etc.) if you're not good with that type of media, I will put a warning for each chapter that contains anything like that, so feel free to skip it//