Roommates // DNF

24

George could feel tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, his vision swimming behind tears as he lifted his eyes to look at Dream. But the blonde's expression had settled back into something unreadable, his jaw set and his eyes blank.

"Fine," George responded quietly, swallowing back tears.

He brushed past the blonde, although he could feel Dream's eyes on him still as he moved towards his dresser, pulling drawers open and reaching for random articles of clothing. He began shoving them into a bag, moving quickly around the room and gathering necessities.

"What are you doing, George?" Dream asked from across the room.

George didn't even bother to look over at him, he just kept packing his belongings, his voice quiet and distant as he answered, "I'm leaving, I'll stay at Niki's for now."

He heard Dream sigh from behind him, his voice somewhat softer as he said, "you don't have to leave."

George shoved the last of his things into his bag, tossing it over his shoulder as he spun on his heels to face Dream.

"I know I don't have to," George responded, "I'm leaving because I want to."

Dream met his gaze, his expression softening somewhat as he took a step closer to the brunette and quietly said, "George, please. Don't go."

But George could still feel anger pulling tight in his stomach, and he couldn't push away the lingering feeling of doubt. Dream's words had hurt, and the fact that he had been lying to George for weeks hurt even more. So for now, he knew he had to leave.

"I'm sorry, Dream," George answered, holding the blonde's gaze for just a moment longer before turning and leaving the room.

~

George stood on Niki's front doorstep, his heavy bag of belongings still slung over his shoulder.

The door finally pulled open, Niki's familiar face appearing. As soon as he saw her, George's eyes brimmed with tears, a few sliding down his cheeks as she pulled him into a tight hug.

"It's okay, George," Niki spoke quietly, rubbing soothing circles against George's back as he cried.

He had texted her on the way over, explaining only that he needed a place to stay because he'd gotten into a fight with Dream. She had agreed immediately, much to George's relief.

Now, she was leading him into the house. He dropped his bag to the floor and sat down on the couch, wiping tears from his face as Niki sat beside him, a concerned look on her face.

"What happened, George?" Niki finally asked after a couple minutes of silence.

So George told her everything; he told her about Dream's strange behavior, the way he was always sneaking off, and even about how he had looked through his phone and saw texts from Fundy.

The only thing he kept to himself was Dream's words at the end of their argument, the words that were still reverberating through his mind even as he sat there beside Niki, "you're not my boyfriend, George, so why don't you quit acting like it."

When he finished retelling everything, he fell silent, his eyes settled on Niki as he watched her think over the situation. Finally, she leaned back against the couch with a sigh, her voice gentle and kind as she said, "I'm sorry that happened, George."

George nodded, wiping the last of his tears away.

"I think you need to try and see it from his point of view as well, though," Niki continued, her eyes still on George, "if he's struggling with something like addiction, it has to be scary for him, too."

George nodded, knowing that she was right. But he couldn't shake Dream's words, anger still settled in his chest as he responded, "I told him I wanted to help him though, the day after the party. And he promised me he was okay."

Niki reached for George's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as she said, "it's not always that simple, George. He might not know how to ask for help, or maybe he hasn't even let himself see that he needs it."

George sighed quietly, running a hand over his face. He lifted his eyes to look at Niki, his voice tinged with sadness as he asked, "should I have stayed?"

Niki fell silent for a moment, her eyes searching George's face before she finally spoke, "I'm not sure, George. Maybe for now, it's best for you both to get some space."

~

So that's exactly what George did, he gave Dream space. He had settled in at Niki's, prepared to stay away for as long as he needed to.

But he held out hope that eventually, Dream would text him and ask him to come back, or maybe just call him late one night to talk. But each day ended with disappointment, and he found himself resisting the urge to be the one to break the silence between them.

Days slipped by, and George tried to focus on school, anything to get his mind off of Dream.

The following week, when their computer science class rolled around, George found himself seated in his usual spot, his heart fluttering nervously in his chest. His eyes were locked on the door, waiting to catch a glimpse of the blonde.

But he never showed.

It was like that for three weeks; George waiting nervously for Dream to walk through the door, only for a sinking feeling to appear in his stomach when he never showed.

Now, George found himself trailing out of the classroom alone, same as he had been every day for the past few weeks. He walked through campus slowly, away from the direction of the dorm building, heading back towards Niki's house.

As he walked, his eyes scanned over the other students milling through campus. He was always hopeful that he would at least catch a glimpse of Dream, anything to let him know that the blonde was okay.

He stopped dead in his tracks as his eyes locked onto someone familiar, the last person he wanted to see, Fundy.

Fundy was walking in his direction, his eyes cast down towards the phone that was clutched in his hand, his fingers moving over the screen as he typed out a text.

George approached him before he could stop himself, knowing that it was a bad idea even as he stopped in front of Fundy, clearing his throat to get his attention.

Fundy came to stop before him, his eyes flickering up in confusion to meet George's.

"Yes?" Fundy spoke, raising an eyebrow as his eyes drifted over George's face. His expression quickly melted into one of recognition, a smug smile overtaking his features as he continued, "ah, you're Dream's friend, right? I remember you, from the party."

George inhaled slowly, anger rising in his chest. He did his best to push it back down, keeping his tone even and light as he said, "yeah, that's me, George. Listen, I just wanted to see if you've spoken to Dream recently. I just...I haven't heard from him in a while."

Fundy smirked as he looked down at George and said, "sure, I just saw him yesterday."

"Oh," George responded quietly with a nod. He felt relieved, knowing that Dream was okay, but disappointed at the same time, knowing that he was still hanging around Fundy.

George fell silent, willing himself not to think of the various reasons why Dream would be going to see Fundy, his heart sinking in his chest.

He heard Fundy laugh quietly under his breath, and his eyes lifted as he spoke again, "I see Dream pretty often these days. It's usually a good time."

The implication hung heavy between them, and George found himself silently willing Fundy to keep speaking.

But he only laughed again, and George was helpless to do anything but remain silent as Fundy said, "he's also one of my best customers."

And with that, he was brushing past George, leaving the brunette to stand alone and contemplate his words.