Face The Music

Chapter Twelve: George

George sat anxiously waiting in his computer chair. He chewed on his thumb nail as the song he was playing for Dream ended. It was a love song and thinking about Dream listening to it made George's heart beat out of his chest.

The courage that George once had was completely shattered and it left him shaking in his chair, regretting everything.

"I'm so stupid." George groaned, laying his head in his arms on top of his desk.

He worried that sharing his feelings with Dream had scared him away but deep down George felt like there could be a chance that the feelings were mutual. Over the past week the boys had grown closer than ever and the love that George realized he had for Dream got stronger with each song they played for each other.

George lifted his head and stared at himself in the reflection of his computer screen. His face was pink and flushed with embarrassment and dread of how Dream would react.

The only thing George could do was wait and find something to fill the time. He thought for a moment before realizing his growling stomach that was urging him to go eat something. He gave in and stood up slowly, making his way to the kitchen that was across the hall from his room. The kitchen was dingy and bare like the rest of George's flat. There was a small island in the middle of the room with a sink and a dishwasher. Across from that was the oven with a coffee machine, a microwave, and a small refrigerator all lined up in a row. The cabinets were scarcely filled with snacks such as a box of fruit snacks and a small tin of biscuits along with a few stray cans of tomato soup and a bag of chips.

George sighed and grabbed a can of soup that was laying on its side in the cabinet. A warm bowl of tomato soup was sure to calm his nerves. He turned to face his sink that was full of dishes and fished out a bowl, rinsing it with soap and water. Then George struggled to open his can of soup and poured it into the clean bowl before placing it in the center of the microwave.

While George waited for his soup to cook he poured himself a glass of apple juice. He leaned against the counter and sipped on the beverage, waiting for music to begin at any moment.

"Maybe Dream is ignoring me." George murmured, switching the glass of juice to his other hand.

It never took Dream this long to respond to George and with every second that passed on his microwaves timer, George lost more and more hope that Dream loved him too.

He gulped down the rest of his juice and placed the glass in the full sink just as his microwave began to beep. George grabbed the bowl out of the microwave, fumbling with it as it burned his hands. He dropped it on the counter, letting some of the hot soup spill over the edge.

"Shit." George cursed, placing his finger in his mouth to soothe the burn.

He quickly cleaned up the mess with a napkin before tossing it in the bin next to him.

George ate his meal alone. It was nothing out of the ordinary for him, he had lived by himself for years but every once in a while he wished that he had a person he could talk to. Dream was the first one that popped into his head when George thought of someone who could keep him company. In the past, he would have thought of Wilbur but lately he couldn't get Dream out of his mind.

He drank his soup straight from the bowl since he had no clean spoons and was too lazy to wash one. George slurped down the liquid quickly, realizing he was much hungrier than he had thought and couldn't remember the last time he had a proper meal. He had been much too busy playing songs for Dream to eat anything but it was worth it.

George carried his empty bowl to the sink and placed it on top of the pile of dirty dishes before strolling to his couch and turning on the television. He positioned himself on the sofa and closed his eyes as he listened to the voice of a game show host that was talking on the TV. George's stomach was warm and filled with soup that relaxed him. His eyes began to close and before he knew it he was asleep.