"Nick, seriously I don't know how to tell him" Dream groaned in frustration, rapidly flicking at the bright yellow fidget spinner held between his digits.
"Man, it will be fine. Just keep it straightforward and don't make it weird" Sapnap said worriedly, offering his advice.
The rest of the boys were leaving tomorrow, including Sapnap, so today he would have to tell George they would be alone for an entire week together. His anxiety was skyrocketing at this point, concerned as to how the boy would react. He shouldn't have put it off for several days, but he didn't want to ruin what they had going for them. George has seemed so content recently.
He was sitting on a beach towel, soaking up the scalding sun and shoving his feet into the burning sand. Dream admired his bare, milky white torso that was slowly turning pink from the Floridian weather. They decided to visit the beach again with all the boys, thinking it would be a fun idea. But as always, they were absolutely feral. Quackity was shoving Karl into the blue water every five seconds, while Bad and Sapnap threw handfuls of soaking wet sand at each other. All six of them even played with a blow-up volleyball in the water for a while, before their bickering over the rules got too much and they returned to land. Dream had laid his lime green towel next to George's deep blue one, and has been practically drooling over the sight next to him since they laid down. A light, playful smile rested on the brunette's face as he tilted his head toward the sky.
"What are you so happy about?" Dream had teased him, poking at his ribs.
"This is really nice. Enjoying the beach and sound of the waves crashing with everyone. With you. I don't think I'd ever get tired of any of it, not just the beach, but being here." George fluttered his eyelids open to peer at Dream as he stated his feelings. The smile plastered on Dream's face at the boy's words had to be ridiculously embarrassing. The meaning behind "here" was about Florida at face value, but he really hoped he meant "here with you".
That's how the days had gone by recently. George was evidently joyful and everyone was having the time of their lives, not taking a single moment for granted. As Sapnap left Dream to himself, he felt as though he would ruin it all once he tells George.
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The last day with everyone there was amazing, to say the least. Yet, also very sad. Instead of going out to do things, the boys remained plopped on couches all afternoon, simply enjoying each other's company. Quackity would not stop making horrendous jokes, and it had everyone laughing until they cried.
"Do you like tulips?" Quackity suddenly asked, turning in his spot to look at Bad.
"Uh- Yeah why?"
"Because you're going to love your two lips on DEEZ NUTS!"
The echo of laughter sent throughout the entire room could probably be heard from outside the house. Bad had fallen for yet another "deez nuts" joke, as he has so many times before. Dream was wheezing so hard he was coughing and gagging as things started to settle down. It honestly wasn't that funny of a joke, but as it was their last day together, emotions were heightened and everyone just wanted to have a few more laughs together.
George abruptly shot up from his spot on the soft carpet beneath him, asking if anyone wanted a snack from the kitchen.
"Can you grab DN?" Karl proclaimed.
"What's D-N?" George was quite confused as he questioned the boy; his only focus was on the blonde Floridian perched beautifully on the arm rest of the couch. He didn't even register what Karl had said.
"DEEZ NUTS"
Fuck my life, George thought. He was never going to live this one down. His thoughts were further validated when everyone began snickering.
"I'll help you carry them down" Dream cheerfully offered, gracefully leaving the living room and brushing shoulders with the Brit as he passed. George thought it was quite odd the boy seemed so enthusiastic about getting food from the kitchen, whereas Dream was almost shitting his pants in nervousness. Now could be the perfect opportunity to break the news.
George rifled through large dark oak cabinets, fingers grazing over sweets or savoury foods he couldn't choose between. He leaned a hip against the counter as he did so, noticing that the coolness of the surface helped ease the light tension he felt between himself and the boy beside him. George reached for a bag of chocolate covered raisins on the top shelf, almost whining as he struggled to reach it.
"That's what you get for liking the most disgusting snack" Dream spewed at him, wrinkling his nose in distaste. He had actually bought them for George before his arrival knowing how much he liked them, but had forgotten all about them with how chaotic the days had been.
"You bought these just for me, didn't you? You hate these" George lightly laughed, but actually felt quite endeared the younger boy had thought of something so small yet kind. Dream simply shook his head and stretched above George's head, wrapping his long slender fingers around the rough plastic, and bringing it down to the counter beneath. George couldn't help but notice the way his shirt rode up a bit as he extended his arm, revealing soft lines and freckles on his stomach.
George hummed as he opened the crinkled bag, bringing a chocolate covered raisin to his mouth to eat. Dream was sweating at this point, and briskly rubbed at the sweats he was wearing to dry his clammy hands. He was glad George was too distracted by his snack to notice.
With a shaky breath, he finally broke the silence, "George, I need to talk to you about something".
"What is it?" George responded in a curious tone, ears perking up. He's so cute, I want to be closer to him. Dream's internal monologue would be the death of him, yet he scooted closer anyways so their knees were slightly touching.
"Well, you see, I wanted to tell you sooner. But I didn't know what you would think..." Dream trailed off, looking at the ceramic tile beneath him. George reached out to give him a reassuring squeeze on the arm. Butterflies.
"It's Sapnap- he's-" just as he's about to confess the thing he's been holding in for what seems like years, a loud Quackity entered the kitchen,
"So were you guys planning on bringing down the food anytime soon or did you want to continue making out?"
They could always count on Alex to interrupt them in important moments.
"Why, did you come here to watch?" George retorted. Dream's eyeballs could have flown out of his head in that moment- George's boldness never ceased to surprise him. Quackity began to pretend he was vomiting, bent over making loud gagging noises.
George let out an exasperated sigh, and gave a look to Dream that said we'll talk about this later, before piling snacks into his hands. Dream just hoped he'd have the courage to bring it up to him again later, or even just get him alone.
Turns out, it was a lot harder than he thought it'd be. George and Alex were practically glued by the hip for the rest of the day. Their friendship, though definitely chaotic, was very underrated. Karl, Bad and Sapnap placed bets on who would cry tomorrow when they had to leave. Everyone mutually agreed on it being Dream. Though he liked to put on a front sometimes, he was probably the biggest softie out of everyone behind closed doors. Dream didn't even deny it when they called him out for it. He couldn't help that he cared so much about everything.
"Are you guys ready for one final irl stream train?" Karl said excitedly, averting his eyes between each of the boys. They thought it would be a good way to end the fun times they've had over the span of the past little while, and do something nice for the supporters. The streams ended up mostly being Q&A and chatting sessions, but no one seemed to mind. Dream remained off camera as per usual, but he honestly didn't care that much. It just meant he could stare at George without anyone noticing the look of love nestled in his eyes.
Sapnap was the final one to stream, ending it off with an interesting game of truth or dare,
"Bad, I dare you to do a 180 kick rat" Sapnap teased his friend. As if on cue, a donation of $100 popped up on screen, from user "180kickrat".
"See Bad, the fans want you to do it" Karl pressured.
"You guys are a bunch of muffin heads, stay away from my Lucy" he crossed his arms over his chest, quickly scanning the room to make sure his furry pet was nowhere close by. To Quackity's joking disappointment, the fur ball wasn't in sight.
After bidding farewell to chat and thanking them for all the support and kindness, the boys looked at each other in dismay and decided to call it a night. It was getting pretty late, and their flights came early in the morning. They each said goodnight and parted to their rooms. Dream lightly treaded behind George, following him as he entered his bedroom.
George whipped around to face him as he entered the space, "So, what was it you were trying to tell me earlier?"
Dream's heart jumped into his throat, constraining his ability to breathe properly. George noticed the discomfort and soothingly rubbed the younger's forearm.
"I don't know how you'll react. I just feel a bit nervous to tell you"
A horrible feeling swam in George's stomach, "Are you okay? You know I'm here for you no matter what, right?"
The concern in George's voice made Dream's mind race one thousand miles a minute.
"I'm okay- more than okay right now. It's just, Sapnap-" he paused to take a breath, "he wants to go visit his family".
"Oh, that's cool. I'm sure they would like that" George stated optimistically, obviously not getting the point.
"Yeah, b-but you see George, he wants to leave tomorrow".
Dread instantly washed over Dream's features as he saw George's expression turn from relaxed to distraught in a matter of milliseconds.
"Why tomorrow? Can't he just leave once I go home?"
The words stung in Dream's chest. He didn't want to think about George leaving. Home was supposed to be with him.
"I-I don't know. I guess his mom urgently wanted to see him" Dream's voice cracked as he spoke, and he gently scratched the back of his neck in an awkward gesture. He could hear his heart thumping in his ears.
"Well, I guess- it's okay. I wish he would just wait a little while longer, it will be weird without him here"
You mean it will be weird, alone with me, Dream's internal monologue continued.
"I hope that's okay" he stated.
"It's fine, it's only one week I guess" George's tone was harsher and colder now, no emotion behind his words. Dream felt like he could cry.
"It's nothing too weird- y'know- for our situation, right?" Dream questioned, trying desperately to fight back tears.
"Totally fine. We've been friends for a long time now" George let out in an attempt to be reassuring, but his tone remained unsettling.
"I should go to bed" he continued, making a silent plead for Dream to leave him alone. Dream quickly got the hint and retreated from the room, feeling a hole return to his chest as it did when George almost booked a flight home.
No matter what they did, they couldn't escape the fact they still loved each other dearly. As George fell asleep that night, he too felt a hole in his chest.
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heres the long awaited update! i'm excited for these next few chapters, this book is slowly nearing its end:') thankyou to everyone who has read so far, i did not think i'd see so many reads on a story of my own! you're all so cool and i love ur funny comments:]