― do over

chapter | 2

All eyes were on Dream as he fought for the right words, buried deep in his throat. How dare he show up, and act so happy, and nonchalant. It downright made the blond furious.

Instead, he cleared his throat. "George! It's so great to see you." It concerned him the lack of venom on his tongue, as he had totally prepared a stinging bite to his remark. He swallowed his petty behavior for the sake of the show, and offered the brunette a hug, pretending they were still the best friends they were known to be. It was all they ever were to the others. 

Of course it hurt when George fit so perfectly in his embrace, the other's arms around his neck, just like before. He could feel the strum of George's heartbeat against the fabric of his shirt, and therefore his chest, the heartbeat akin to a rapid fire. He assumed his own was similar, if not worse.

However, the display was enough for the rest of his friends to assume all was right in the world and shuffle back inside, waving their arms for everyone to follow, their voices mixing together in laughter and joy. It was a harsh difference to how Clay was feeling. 

Dream pulled away brashly as soon as he could once the others disappeared, curling his lip in something alike to disgust, and fiery. "We need to talk," was all he offered to George before spinning around and following Nick inside. George's soft and even footsteps echoed afterwards.

Everyone continued to mingle inside, while Dream felt his stomach cosplay a hurricane. Vile rolled in his mouth, and his ears strummed with the rush of blood. Careless smiles were thrown as he greeted everyone in a pretty facade, but the words fell dead on his tongue and sounded rather meaningless. Thankfully, no one seemed to pick up on the change of ambience from both Dream and George, and they passed it off as sleep deprivation. He hardly remembered the introductions he had learned- who was that next to Ant? It had already flown out his ear.

"Alright, who wants to do some night swimming?" Bad called out, and Skeppy was already bouncing at his side happily. Everyone agreed, except two individuals.

Dream gilded forward as everyone piled out the back door or up the stairs to acquire their bathing suits, tapping on Bad's shoulder hesitantly. "I'm sorry, but which room is mine? I think I might retire early."

"Me too," a british accent appeared behind him, signaling the arrival of the demon within his mind, who looked genuine enough with an earnest twinkle in his eyes. Bad nodded.

"I think you guys were roomed together upstairs- all the way at the end of the hallway! Me and Skeppy figured you'd be fine with that." Bad didn't stay long enough to catch the flash of panic in both of their eyes, and instead pivoted to join the group at the lake with a friendly parting wave.

"That's fine," both Dream and George confirmed needlessly, refusing to meet each other's eyes. Any guests within the house sidestepped them to go outside, letting them have their moment.

Once everyone was outside, they parted briefly to get their bags- as George had left his in another car- and met back up in their assigned room at the end of the hall. A bathroom was connected to it, and a queen sized bed occupied the middle of the room. Opposite the door was an open window, with a beautiful view of the lake, including their splashing and soaked friends.

Dream set his bags beneath the window, unpacking a shirt and sweats to change into, ignoring the elephant in the room as George shuffled around quietly. They tiptoed avidly around, exchanging a soft 'sorry' if they happened to collide. They took turns using the bathroom to change and brush their teeth, and finally, they couldn't ignore it anymore. 

Dream shut off the lights and sat up on the right side of the bed, crossing his arms behind his neck as he leaned back, just as George shuffled into the left side and beneath the covers. "So..."

"I'm sorry." George supplemented, but it was awfully dry for Clay's taste.

"What for? There's plenty to choose from," Dream refused to bite back the seething remark in his throat. "I think I may need more than two hands to count how many apologies I'm owed."

Clay, clearly, did not hold back in expressing his views.

"All of it," George shrugged slowly, his eyes darkening in regret and guilt. "But more specifically going on this vacation, I guess."

"How considerate." Dream raised an eyebrow, nodding like how you would nod when someone expressed a good idea. It seemed sarcastic in both manners.

"Okay." George snapped, looking over towards the general area where Dream was situated. "We have to set some ground rules, whether you like it or not. I frankly don't appreciate the lack of effort on your end to remain civil with me."

"And I frankly don't appreciate be-"

George groaned, cutting him off quickly. "That's not what I want to talk about right now, or ever, for that matter."

Dream sighed, his walls crumbling weakly. "Neither- neither do I." 

Crickets chirped outside and the distant yells of their friends drifted through the window. "Okay. So, first of all, we need to act like we're friends. No one can know any better," the brunette stated.

Clay hummed. "Okay. Two, no making a scene. We might-" he paused, wincing. "-do have some quarrels with each other and I think it would be for the benefit of the group if we were as tame as possible. Just like, act normal or something."

"Yea. I mean, it wasn't that hard to hide it from them before." The other boy laughed, but it was sad, and carried the weight of the world in one simple sound.

"And three is a big one," Dream couldn't fight the stupid grin on his face on the obscurity of the remark he was planning to make. "No cuddling. I know it might be tempting-"

"Dream!" George scolded, but he giggled softly. Clay rolled his eyes, letting the room fall back into silence.

"How have you been, George?" He asked honestly. He wasn't sure why he asked- after all, they were as good as business partners, making a transfer of services, all for the good of their friends and this already scuffed vacation. 

"Okay," was all he got in response, and the sheets rubbed and crinkled together as he sank below the covers. "Night."

Clay bit his lip, resisting the urge to say more, until he realized the severity of the situation.

He was stuck sleeping in a bed with his ex for the next two weeks.

And the worse part? No one could know what happened between them.

All of a sudden, finals week seemed easy compared to this. 

-

( 1197 words )

a/n: short chapter short chapter, decided to get it out a little bit faster, so a bit shorter. But it sets up our *que sparkles* bACkGROund!!!

predictions/spoilers here ;) what do you think happened between george and dream? will they break their silly rules, and if so, in what order? :D -> 

I read every comment (and usually laugh doing so) and votes are appreciated :D