Heatwaves Dreamnotfound (NOT MINE)

Chapter 4: Mirage

The world darkens as his eyelids flutter shut.

Just for a moment, he thinks, just for now.

He naps for two and a half hours.

The loud ringing of his phone startles him awake, and he sits up immediately. He sees the water before him, feels the sand gripping to his skin, and panic begins to rise in his throat. He grasps at his phone with a shaky hand.

"H-hello?" He glances around rapidly. When he catches sight of the small children splashing in the lagoon, families crowded on the shore, and wary strangers casting him concerned looks, he stills.

He's safe, this is real.

"Dream," Sapnap says, "hey."

Dream rotates his wrists slowly. He can detect the hint of a sunburn forming from his poor judgement.

"What—uh, why did you call?" The sun beats down on his neck as he gingerly brushes off the sand from his arms.

"I wanted to talk to you. Actually, do you want to switch to Discord? I'm in the middle of a round." He hears the jumbled clicking of Sapnap's keyboard.

Dream rises to his feet, muscles groaning in protest. "I can't."

"Why not?" Sapnap asks.

"Um." Dream shakes off his hoodie. "I'm in Miami."

The clicking stops. "What? Why?"

"It was an accident," he says. Sapnap falls silent.

"...You drove, like, four hours on accident?"

"Three and a half," Dream corrects. He feels ridiculous. "Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not making fun of you," Sapnap says, "this is exactly why I'm worried. You've been really weird lately."

Dream passes a family that stares at him as he walks by. "Trust me, I know."

"Okay, well," Sapnap's voice softens, "you know you can talk to me, right? I know you're kind of closer to George these days, but I'm still here."

His heart pangs. "Of course I know that. I love you, dude." He stops at his car, and leans against the driver's side door. "I hope you know that even if we get kind of busy and don't talk as much as we used to, it doesn't mean we're not close anymore. And as for me and George, I...that's the problem. George. I think. I'm not sure."

"George?" Sapnap reiterates, confused.

"George," Dream confesses, laced with isolated warmth and gentle sorrow. He squeezes his keys in his palm, the metal ridges digging into his flesh.

"Oh."

"Yeah," he says. "I—I don't really know what to do."

Sapnap clears his throat, "I mean, I'm glad that you told me. I'm sure that wasn't easy. But...he cares about you a lot, man. Like a lot, a lot."

"Exactly. I feel like a creep." Dream looks out at the water, children building sandcastles where he'd wrestled himself to death once or twice. "It's all because of that stupid dream."

"The beach one you were talking about?" Sapnap asks. "What happened?"

Dream laughs stiffly. "Guess."

"I think I know," Sapnap says.

"Then guess, dude, don't make me say it."

"Well I don't want to say it! What if I'm wrong?"

They both become silent. Dream sighs.

"I kissed him, Sapnap," he mutters, "like, really kissed him. When I woke up I thought that was the end of it, y'know? People have weird dreams like that all the time. But then what I felt just...didn't go away." He kicks a lone piece of gravel with his shoe. "It's still not going away."