Dream Team + Aurora
unknown: hey!
george: DREAM
unknown: LMAOOO HE ACTUALLY DID IT
me: okay
me: hi
claydream: did i ever say i wasn't?
me: what is this for?
nicknap: easier than twitter dm's at least
nicknap: and we can play crazy 8's whenever we want
me: okay true
claydream: but there is a reason i made this
claydream: sapnap and i are going back to america in a couple days but we wanted to say goodbye to you before we leave as well
me: oh really?
me: where do you guys live in america?
claydream: i live in florida and sapnap lives in texas
me: oh okay
me: sorry i was just curious
me: you said you wanted to say goodbye?
nicknap: yeah! maybe get food too
george: how am i just finding out about this
claydream: LMAOO we planned this when you were asleep
george: you both are the worst
me: food does sound nice
nicknap: then it's settled
claydream: okay!!
george: (crazy 8)
nicknap: GEORGE LMAO
•••
"You're in a good mood," Ria noticed, and peered over my shoulder to see the current game of Crazy 8's going on. I could sense that she had wrinkled her nose by the tone of her voice. "Who are you playing with?"
"George, Sapnap, and Dream."
"Who?"
"The people I met at the grocery store—Ria, they all have weird names, they're gamers," I reminded her, lightly groaning when Dream added four cards onto my deck. I lifted my gaze from my phone and frowned, seeing Ria balancing a box on one arm with her purse hanging from the other. "Where are you going?"
"Returning all of Colin's shit," she muttered, avoiding my hardened stare as she scrambled around the kitchen in search of something. I slowly nodded my head as an indication of my understanding, watching her as she grasped onto her keys and sighed in relief. "I'll be back in ten."
"Do you want company?" I blurted, and switched back to playing out another move in Crazy 8's to avoid a possible negative reaction. However, when I hesitantly looked back up, a small smile coated her face and she slightly shook her head.
"I'm okay. Thanks though," My sister nodded, and I only watched silence as she disappeared out the front door, slamming it shut behind her. I pursed my lips as I diverted my attention back to my phone, where the color had changed from green to blue by Sapnap. Settling myself down on the couch, I mindlessly threw cards into the deck, and ended up in second place after Dream had claimed victory. As expected, he went on a full-blown victory rant in the group chat, leading me to mute my notifications temporarily due to the argument between the Dream Team that had escalated.
Fifteen minutes had passed when I heard the turning of the doorknob, and scattered footsteps clicking on the hard floor. I glanced in the direction of the front door, and sucked in a breath when I saw Ria emerge looking like a whirlwind. Even from this distance, I could tell that her face was streaked with dried tears. Her face was flushed red, giving off the impression of a faded tomato. My suspicions were confirmed when she wiped her nose, and sniffled softly in her sleeve in an attempt to hide her distress. I immediately stood, locking away any expectation I had that she would even acknowledge me. To my surprise, she came tumbling in my direction, and I almost lost my balance when she collapsed into my arms.
I stood in the middle of the living room, with my older sister sobbing in my arms. Something I'd never thought I'd live to experience even once in my life.
Dubiously, I brought my arms up to the point where I was officially holding her, and slowly led her to the couch. She complied easily, and I was able to sit down without much discomfort. I didn't dare speak a word, and the next twenty minutes consisted of me occasionally rubbing her back and my shirt becoming Ria's tissue. She wasn't a loud crier (which I was thankful for), in fact, she was one of the people who rarely made a noise even in a breakdown.
"What happened?" I finally asked through my dried throat, hoping I didn't just make a big mistake. I knew with one wrong word, she could rip me in shreds. However, she had migrated from my arms to curling into the corner of the couch, as if she wanted to disappear. That demeanor undermined any hostility she might have demonstrated towards me, which convinced me that I wouldn't get killed on the spot.
Ria swallowed, and I handed her another Kleenex which she snatched and blew her nose with. "She was the one who answered the door." I clicked my tongue, my irritation towards Colin growing with every passing second. "That asshole had the audacity to pretend I didn't even exist..." I could tell she was on the verge of another breakdown, but she swallowed harshly and dabbed at her eyes. She now focused her gaze on me, which I felt like shrinking under. However, her eyes dropped, like her energy had just been snatched right from underneath her.
"Here, we can finish the last episodes of AoT tonight with whatever you want to eat," I suggested after a long pause. "You deserve it." I mumbled the last bit under my breath, but it was enough to make Ria crack a small smile as she seemed to gather herself together for the time being.
"Thank you," she whispered. "I'm going to go take a nap in the meantime." I shot her a quick smile, which automatically dropped as soon as she shut her room door, eliminating her from my sight. Immediately after, I scrambled back into my room and collapsed into my desk chair.
•••
me: vc
me: now
cara: okay
•••
"What's going on?" were Cara's first words when she accepted the call on Discord.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, praying to any God out there to keep me safe from Ria's wrath if she ever found out. "Colin cheated. And Ria's a mess. Cara, I have no clue what to do." There was a stretched pause on Cara's end, which didn't help stop my clammy hands from shaking.
"He did what?"
"Trust me, that was my initial reaction as well," I groaned quietly. "Something in me tells me to go to his house and burn the entire thing down to the ground."
Cara let out a laugh that I could tell was extremely forced. "Don't be irrational," she scoffed.
"That's all I know" was my quick reply, which made Cara go quiet for another minute. "Listen... I don't know how to deal with these kinds of things. I'm bad at it." My tone quieted down, and I could hear her let out a long sigh.
"Ria isn't the type to ask for help. I know that. Honestly..." she faltered, but started up again. "Honestly, I think the best situation for you is to just be there. Not with words of assurance, but just be her annoying little sister. She needs some common ground in her life right now, I mean, her boyfriend of two years cheated... that's something that's changed greatly in her world." I bit my lip, trying to soak in all of Cara's words. I knew she was right—I wasn't about to go full psychology-mode on Ria.
"Yeah. We're getting food and finishing Attack on Titan tonight," I told her.
"That's good," Cara exhaled in relief. "Just be normal- be yourself."
I scoffed, and folded my arms. "You sound like you're talking to a middle schooler on their first day of school."
"You asked," Cara chuckled, and sighed deeply. "Hey, I gotta stream now. Wanna join?"
I shook my head, only to convince myself not to say yes out of guilt. "Sorry, I'm not feeling very peppy today," I confessed.
"Oh no you're fine, get some rest Rora," she reassured. "I'll talk to you later, okay?" I could hear the smile evident in her voice as she said goodbye.
"Talk to you soon," I repeated, and left the call just as I got the notification from Twitter that Cara had planned to stream now. My eyes landed on a certain notification, and I couldn't stop a small smile from curving onto my lips as I clicked it open.
•••
george: Attachment: 1 video
george: HELP ME
me: oh my god what are they doing
george: KARAOKE
george: they're normally good singers but they're trying to make themselves sound bad
george: i actually need help
me: (8 ball)
george: thank you
george: (8 ball)
me: (8 ball)
george: (8 ball)
me: (8 ball)
george: (8 ball)
me: (8 ball)
me: ha
george: ugh
me: plug in earbuds and drown them out
george: obviously i've tried that
george: i don't listen to many songs
me: blast the o my heart album on full volume and you will ascend into another dimension
george: what
george: no
Incoming FaceTime from george
Accept Decline
•••
"Are you this desperate for help?" I asked before he could open his mouth. George rolled his eyes, and I lowered my volume as the next round of belting from Sapnap and Dream started. George shoved his earbuds deeper into his ears, trying anything to drown out the screeches of his two best friends.
"As you can hear from this, yes, I am," he replied, pursing his lips. I could almost hear the static from the speakers, indicating just how loud Dream and Sapnap were being.
I propped my phone against my laptop screen to lessen the effort on my part. "Why'd you call me? I'm no use in these situations."
"You were the last person I messaged, therefore the easiest to get hold of. And anything other than that helps," George quickly explained. I could finally recognize the tune Dream and Sapnap were belting out. "Dancing Queen" by ABBA.
"George! It's your turn!" Sapnap giggled as the song came to a close. I laughed at George's paling face, and the panicked look in his eyes that read help me as Sapnap bounced into the screen. "Oh hey Aurora!" He gave me a friendly wave, and I waved back happily, seeing his widened smile. George pulled out his earbuds in defeat, reeling a smile onto my face.
"Come on George," I could clearly hear Dream's protests as if he were right next to the phone. "What're you guys- Aurora!" Dream greeted, an instant smile blossoming his features.
"Go on George, we're all cheering you on," I encouraged, smirking at George's look of betrayal he flashed at me before the phone was taken by Dream.
"Hey, now Sapnap and George are battling it out to... 'Blank Space'!" Dream wheezed, and I couldn't stop my laughter hearing George's groan contrast Sapnap's loud cheer. "Come on George, give it your all!"
"Shut up!" were the only two words that George could muster as the melody began. Dream flipped the camera so I could observe the two boys awkwardly standing in front of the TV with microphones to their faces.
My finger hovered over the big red button as soon as I heard George's singing.
No, it was more screeching.
"What the hell George?" Dream wheezed harder than I'd ever heard before, so hard I was afraid he'd accidentally cough up a lung.
"I told you, I can't sing" was George's excuse as Sapnap took over. When he wasn't screeching, Sapnap's singing was actually quite pleasing to listen to.
"Sapnap, you're pretty good," I thought out loud, which I knew fueled up his ego based on the increase in volume for his singing. I tilted my phone to avoid the screen, which was violently shaking due to what I assumed was Dream's constant laughter. They continued this for the next ten minutes, mainly with Dream forcing George to stay on the "stage" with Sapnap.
"I'm tired," George insisted, flopping down next to Dream, who held the phone up higher so I could see the two of them. Sapnap popped up from behind them, his hair slightly sticking onto his forehead from sweat. Both their faces were flushed bright red, with exhausted smiles plastered on. "And my throat hurts."
"Probably because you did more screeching instead of actual singing," I sarcastically remarked, earning a scoff from George and a giggle from Sapnap.
"I did well," he finally argued after caving in under Dream and Sapnap's pressing stares. I raised my brow, but my pending response was shut down with George saying "Don't argue with that."
I laughed. "I wasn't, but okay."
"She definitely was," Dream whispered, which resulted in a light smack on his head from George. What Dream said next and as a final statement turned George's face into a light shade of pink and caused me to raise my brows. "And I bet you liked it too."
***
a/n
how the hell did i blink and we went from 200 followers to 500, you all are insane thank you