December: A DNF Novel

Chapter Nineteen

*TRIGGER WARNING- READ STORY DESCRIPTION FOR FULL LIST OF TWs AND CWs*

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

yes i am doing an author's note at the beginning of the chapter because...well you'll see why it doesn't exactly fit at the end. just a warning that this chapter is heavy...so keep that in mind.

also this is just a random reminder but if any of y'all ever need someone to talk to, my messages are *always* open, here and on my tiktok <3

anywayyyy, here's the question of the day: in honor of sapnap and george finally meeting up and the snack food/candy stream we got on saturday, what is your favorite candy?

love you guys, stay safe and healthy

-gracie

Emma

5:12 am

"George...Dream has bipolar disorder."

George froze. Emma's message shocked him entirely. George had totally convinced himself that Dream was on drugs. This new information about Dream's mental health came completely out of nowhere.

George had heard of bipolar disorder before, but didn't really know what it was. He had only heard of it in movies or TV shows. At first George was anxious, and just sad in general for Dream. All this time, when he thought Dream was crazy for getting no sleep, for texting him at 4 am several nights in a row, for wanting to have sex every second of the day, for having unrelenting and overt confidence, then suddenly sleeping 14 hours a day, not eating anything, never wanting to have sex, and always preferring to stay home- it all started to make sense.

And just like that, George felt like the shittiest boyfriend ever. George hated that he had ignored the signs when Dream was going through all of this right in front of his eyes. He regretted not being more forceful and demanding Dream tell him what was wrong: maybe this blow to George's emotions would have been softened if he had heard this news from Dream himself.

Then, George thought how he was a little scared of Dream. He was scared of the Dream that would take risks without considering any of the consequences, like dating George and moving in with him so rashly, and wanting to apply for jobs he knew he wouldn't get, and going on insane road trips without planning a single thing. George was terrified, too, of the other part of Dream who wouldn't eat for days on end, the part of Dream who got aggressive too easily and would yell at George in short bursts of rage.

Finally, George was angry. He hated that Dream hadn't told him this, given that at this point, they had been dating almost a month. He hated that Dream lied to him about how he was doing, he hated how Dream didn't want George to worry about him. Because of course he was going to worry, obviously. He hated feeling betrayed by the one person he was supposed to trust most.

"I'm gonna go." George said to a still half-asleep Dream.

George then grabbed his phone, a pair of shoes, his apartment keys, and a jacket and was out the door in less than a minute.

George just started walking, which turned into running. He had no idea where he was running to, but he ended up at Dream's family's apartment.

He ran up to the front of the apartment and buzzed the number of Dream's aunt's apartment. It was super early in the morning, but he still hoped someone would answer. George pressed the buzzer two more times, then finally someone answered.

"Who is it?" George heard Dream's aunt say through the speaker.

"It's G-...George." George said, having trouble talking since he couldn't catch his breath from running so fast.