George stared at his screen, mouth open and eyes wide. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
He recounted the events that lead up to this moment as he watched two boys he had never heard of before play Minecraft.
George remembered waking up in the afternoon after a long, restless night, and deciding to stream while he practiced the MCC parkour course.
He started hearing the music again around halfway into his stream and only lasted an hour before his head started pounding and he decided to log off for the day.
He clicked around his screen while looking for someone to raid when he landed on the top of his discover page. A streamer named Dream was playing Minecraft on Hypixel.
As his headache worsened he didn't want to search any longer and decided to raid Dream since they were both streaming in the same category.
"Alright guys, I'm gonna send you over to a streamer named Dream." George remembers saying, trying to hide the fact that his head was pounding.
Now he sat frozen in his chair with shaking hands gripping the arm rests. The song he was hearing was no longer echoing through his brain but it was playing in his headphones.
"I don't believe it." He muttered to himself.
George's first thought was to call Wilbur even after their argument the night before. He stumbled out of his chair, catching himself by grabbing onto the side of his bed as he reached for his phone.
His hands shook as he scrolled through his contacts until he found Wilbur's number and frantically clicked the screen.
The phone rang a few times, vibrating against George's face.
"Hello?" Wilburs voice came through the speakers.
"Will, you're not going to be believe this," George positioned himself on the edge of his bed, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Don't tell me you're still going on about the music." George could hear the disappointment in Wilburs voice as he spoke.
"But- but I heard it again and then I raided this streamer and he- he was playing the song and-"
"Take a breath man," Wilbur sounded tired and annoyed. "You need help, George."
"Don't tell me I'm crazy, I'm not crazy!" George rubbed his temples to soothe his headache that never seemed to go away.
"I'm worried about you." Wilbur spoke softly and with sincerity, as if he was speaking to a child. "Tell me what's going on."
"I need to find out where the music is coming from and there's something telling me that-," George paused, questioning his own sanity for a moment. "Maybe this streamer can help."
"Don't tell me you truly believe that you are somehow connected to this random streamer because he was playing a song that's been stuck in your head."
"It's not stuck in my head, Will. I mean, I'd never even heard the song before other than when it plays in my brain." George stood up and paced back and forth before walking to his bathroom and staring at himself in the mirror.
"Do you hear yourself right now, man?" A slight rustling sound came from Wilburs end of the phone call. He was putting on his coat.
"What are you doing?" George inquired.
"I'm coming over and we're going to the hospital."
"No, don't!" George panicked, if Wilbur wouldn't listen to him he would have to take matters into his own hands. "Just give me a chance to message this streamer and figure things out."
The rustling stopped and the boys sat in silence for a moment.
"The next time you call me in this state I won't let you off the hook so easily." Wilbur sighed.
"Deal." George leaned against his bathroom counter, for the first time in weeks he had hope.
"Promise me you'll call later to check in?" Wilburs voice was stern.
"Yes, I promise."
"Take care of yourself, George." And with that, Wilbur hung up the phone.
George paused for a moment to make sure Wilbur was really gone before rushing back to his computer chair and sliding on his headphones. Dreams stream was still playing on his monitor.
"Alright guys, thanks for coming to the stream I think we're gonna end it here." Dream's voice came through George's headphones.
George lunged for his mouse and clicked to private message Dream before the stream ended. The empty text box taunted him.
He knew what he wanted to say but didn't know how to say it so he opted for the simple approach.
GeorgeNotFound: Hey.
He rolled backwards in his chair, satisfied with his message as he awaited a response. After a few agonizing minutes Dreams reply flashed across the screen.
Dream: Hi :) thanks for the raid earlier!
George smiled to himself and leaned forward to type a response, positioning his long, thin fingers over the keyboard.
GeorgeNotFound: Sorry if I interrupted your stream with my message.
Dream: No worries, I was ending the stream anyways. What's up?
Dreams messages made George feel like he had known him for ages. A nostalgic comfort came with every new response.
George thought for a moment about how to answer Dreams question, eventually deciding to just be blunt.
GeorgeNotFound: Honestly, this would be easier to say out loud. Do you have a Discord?
Dream: I do! Unfortunately I don't give out my Discord unless it's to friends.
George was taken aback and his eyes widened in shock as he realized how much he sounded like a crazed fan.
GeorgeNotFound: Ah, I see.
Dream: I might be able to make an exception if this is business related though.
A beam of hope rose within George. This was his chance.
GeorgeNotFound: Yes, it is!
Dream: Alright, we can talk on Discord if that's what's easiest for you.
George danced in his chair, rocking side to side and bouncing his feet up and down. This was the happiest he had been ever since the music started tormenting him weeks ago.
The two traded Discord's and George opened the application up on his computer, abruptly joining a call with Dream.
"Can you hear me?" He asked timidly.
"Yes, hello!" Dream's voice boomed through his headphones. He sounded just as sweet and upbeat as he did on stream. "So what's up?"
"You have to promise you won't call me crazy." George fidgeted nervously with the cord of this headphones.
"It wouldn't be very fair of me to call you crazy, we just met." Dream laughed a little as he reassured George.
There was a brief moment of silence as George carefully planned his next words.
"I've been hearing this music and I've never heard any of the songs before but they still play over and over in my brain."
Dream didn't say a word. The silence was deafening.
"I know I said this was business related but I really just needed an excuse to talk to you." George admitted.
"What do I have to do with this?" The words came through George's headphones and stabbed him like a knife. "I don't even know you."
George ignored the harsh statement. "When I raided you you were playing the same song I had been hearing right at that moment."
He rubbed his eyes as he tried to remember the events.
"I had never heard the song coming from anywhere other than my head before then."
Once again an awkward silence filled the air and George breathed a sigh of relief. He had expected Dream to call him a liar so the silence was more comforting than anything.
"What are you saying?" Dream asked after a while.
"I'm saying that maybe, somehow, we're connected," George paused, in fear of making a fool of himself, "through music."