Stay, Forever

13

It doesn't take long for the rain outside to turn into a full blown storm. George hears it even from the basement.

Distant thunder rumbles through the room as he sits on the bed with his back flat against the wall. He tells himself that he's definitely too old to be scared of thunderstorms now, but every once in a while, the childhood fear seems to rise to the surface anyway.

He hates to be alone during storms, and he closes his eyes when he hears another low rumble of thunder in the distance. He doesn't even notice when the door creaks open, but he hears his name and his eyes snap open in response.

"Sorry, did I scare you?"

Dream stands in the doorway, and he has the traces of a smile on his face.

George's face warms in embarrassment, and he rolls his eyes as he mutters, "no, you didn't scare me."

The smile on Dream's face grows, and he raises one eyebrow as he leans against the doorframe. George already knows what's coming next, and he rolls his eyes before Dream can ask, "what's wrong? Still scared of thunderstorms, George?"

George scoffs, shakes his head, and shoots back, "of course not, idiot."

An unexpected clap of thunder startles him, and George's face heats up even more. Dream laughs under his breath, and then asks, "you're sure about that?"

George crosses his arms over his chest, and tips his chin up in defiance as he mutters, "very sure."

Dream laughs again, and the low sound of it sends George's mind into a haze. He pulls his eyes away from Dream, but he still hears him ask, "so you don't want to come sleep upstairs tonight?"

"What?"

Dark eyes drift back over towards Dream, who only looks at him expectantly and like he's waiting for an answer. It feels like a trick, and George's eyes narrow as he says, "you're just messing with me, aren't you? You wouldn't let me out of this room for the whole night."

He thinks it's pretty screwed up as far as jokes go, but Dream's expression remains surprisingly unchanged.

"Answer the question, George," Dream mutters, "do you want to sleep upstairs or not?"

Hesitantly, George nods. He makes no attempts to stand up or move, and Dream sighs as he pushes away from the doorframe. His voice softens, and he says, "I'm being serious, George. I know you hate storms, and this is a pretty bad one. It's supposed to go on for most of the night. I thought you might feel better being closer to people, so I'll sleep on the couch and you can take my bed."

Again, George is surprised by the unexpected kindness that Dream seems to keep showing him. But he has no plans to question why he's doing it, and so he nods again and responds, "you don't need to give me your bed, I'm okay with the couch."

He pushes himself towards the edge of the mattress, and he glances back up to see Dream shake his head in response. He stands up, and Dream answers, "no, you're not sleeping on the couch. I don't need Sapnap giving me shit if he sees you up there."

George doesn't try to argue, and Dream motions behind him as he adds on, "just follow me and be quiet when we get up there. I think Sapnap's asleep."

George does exactly that. He follows along quietly and carefully, up the stairs and through unfamiliar rooms and hallways. The house is two stories, and Dream's bedroom is at the end of the hallway on the second floor. When George walks into the small bedroom, he sees that there isn't much there besides a bed, a dresser, and some clothes thrown haphazardly on the floor.

The door clicks shut behind him, and Dream quietly mutters, "sorry it's not much. This place was just supposed to be a temporary home, so decorating wasn't really a priority."