Tw: swearing, mild anxiety
If George had thought Dream was a simp...
George and Bad watch in disbelief as the rest of their friends try not to simp over the celebrity. Skeppy's more jittery than usual, his body practically vibrating when Montero shakes his hand. Karl starts an easy conversation with him; apparently he can talk to anyone, celebrity or not. But his tears have dried and he grins wildly when Montero laughs at something he says. Even Sapnap greets him grudgingly and his ears turn scarlet when Montero asks him his name. George would normally use that against him for the rest of his life, but...
But Dream is standing next to Montero, his green eyes practically shining when Montero turns to him. And George is pretty sure he isn't imagining the pink that laces his cheeks. George scoffs and Bad shakes his head as his boyfriend runs back to him, holding his hand out like it's a trophy.
"He shook my hand," Skeppy hisses.
"So?"
Skeppy looks at Bad, then at George. "I don't want to associate with either of you," he declares, and goes to join the others.
George puffs out a laugh at the horrified look on Bad's face. But his own attention is distracted by Montero, leading Dream and the others inside. George and Bad follow, reluctantly, and they're stopped at the door by Quackity, the broom stick guy.
"I remember you," Quackity announces, like it's a big deal. "And I still don't trust you."
"No one asked," George finds himself saying. To his surprise, Quackity hides a shocked laugh by bursting into a coughing fit.
"That doesn't make me like you any more," he says through a cough. George arches an eyebrow at the amused tone in his voice, and decides that maybe Quackity does like him more. Not that it really matters one way or the other.
Quackity points a menacing finger at them, but he keeps his broom stick away from them. "If any of you so much as fucking- "
"Language," Bad cuts him off in an offended tone.
Quackity looks genuinely surprised as he turns to look at Bad. "What?"
"I said, language. Don't swear."
Quackity huffs like he's at a loss for words. "Who the hell are you?"
"Bad," Bad says, crossing his arms.
Quackity's eyes go to the gun strapped at his back and the tomahawk at his hip. "So you carry weapons but you can't deal with a swear word? And what about your name?"
"What about my name?" Bad asks, perplexed. George watches the exchange and tries not to laugh at both of their confused faces.
"Your name is literally Bad. Doesn't that imply something?"
Bad blushes a little. "It's a nickname my friends gave to me."
Quackity stares at him. "And it says nothing about your personality?"
"Of course not," Bad says. "It's a joke cause I'm the opposite of my name."
George decides he can't hold his laughter in anymore, and he leaves before they can notice him. Apparently though, Bad and Quackity are too busy debating to even notice as he heads down the hallway, the way Dream and the others had gone. Quackity doesn't seem like a threat, especially considering Bad's experience with weapons, and George doubts Bad would need any help against most opponents.
Just as George is starting to wonder where the others went, someone yells, "George!" and George stumbles back a step, holding back a curse as Sapnap leaps out a classroom.
"What the hell was that?" George says, clutching at his chest. He doesn't want to admit the burst of fear, the thought that a zombie might of attacked him and he might not have moved fast enough, even with his bow. The fact that he might have been ripped apart from Dream right when things were perfect. So he glares at Sapnap, who slings an arm around his shoulders.
"I'm here to protect you, Gogy. I'm your knight in shining armor."
George shoves his arm off and ducks away before Sapnap can grab him again. "Don't you have someone else to protect? Namely Karl?" George smirks. "Or a certain celebrity?"
Sapnap's ears go red. "Why do I even try to protect you, jackass?"
"Protect what now?" another voice says, and George can't fight the smile that spreads over his face as Dream appears at his side. Dream puts a protective arm around George and hugs him to his side. "What did you just call my George?"
Sapnap gags and even George snorts and pushes Dream off him. "Way to make things awkward, Dream," he grumbles. Dream's answering smile is bright and beautiful and for a second, George almost forgets that he was blushing at Lil Nas X a moment ago.
"On that note," Sapnap mutters and he ducks back into the classroom they had been in. George catches a glimpse of the others sitting on desks around a white board as Montero draws something to illustrate whatever great plan he has. George has to fight his next eye roll, if only because Dream catches what he's looking at.
Dream smirks. "Jealous much?"
"You wish. But I might hate it less if you weren't literally drooling over him."
Dream's cheeks go pink. "I am not. Besides, everyone's excited. And they're helping us, to be fair, so we should try to make friends."
George crosses his arms. "I didn't see you trying to make friends with Quackity or Techno. Me and Bad are already best friends with Quackity."
Dream huffs. "Quackity? The broom stick guy?"
"You said make friends."
"Yeah, but..."
George returns his smirk and says, "Jealous much?"
Dream rolls his eyes, but his jaw tightens and George wonders if he actually is jealous. The thought is weirdly enticing and George shakes his head. Maybe the zombie attack rattled him more than he'd thought.
"Let's go inside," Dream says, gesturing to the classroom with Montero and the others. "Friends or not, we should talk to them if it's gonna keep us safe here."
George hears the slight tremble in Dream's voice. "Are you okay, Dream? Honestly?"
Dream's eyes shutter. "I'm fine, George. You should worry about yourself."
There's something raw in his words that even Dream can't hide, and George decides not to push him, even as curiosity lights in him. He doesn't want to admit it, but he is worried. And whatever Dream says, it's not for himself.
"That attack was a surprise to everyone," he says instead. "It's okay to be shaken. Everyone is."
Dream studies him, his green eyes dark and intense, and whatever speech George had planned dries on his tongue. His treacherous mind replays their kiss in the convertible and his cheeks are definitely red. An equally treacherous part of him hopes that incident will reoccur, even though he's supposed to be helping Dream face whatever worries the zombie attack left him with.
They're still for a moment before Dream finally pulls his gaze away. George lets out a breath and realizes he hasn't been breathing. His skin feels tingly and Dream's cheeks are as flushed as his are.
"Come on," Dream says. He touches George's arm lightly as he brushes past him into the classroom. George shivers and it takes a few seconds to reorient himself.
"Hey, asshole," a now-familiar voice says and George rolls his eyes as Quackity and Bad join him in front of the door. Bad mutters another 'language' as he shakes his head at him.
"Are you following me?" George says, turning to Quackity with crossed arms.
Quackity's eyes widen as he splutters. "What? You guys are the ones who stole our base."
George scoffs. "We had a deal, idiot. Technically it's not stealing."
"Yeah, whatever," Quackity mutters and pushes past him into the classroom. George grins as Bad shakes his head at both of them.
George and Bad are the last to enter the classroom, but George notices Techno is missing. He thinks back to the barricade of furniture at the doors. Montero and Quackity couldn't have set it up, and Quackity's broom couldn't do anything against zombies. Techno must be the one defending the school.
"We were attacked," Sapnap is saying to Montero. His smile is gone and the mood in the classroom is somber. George's own smile disappears as he stops next to Dream. Even Karl looks grim. "Our base wasn't safe anymore so we came here. Dream says you guys made a deal with him. We can help gather supplies and keep this place safe."
Montero and Quackity are wide-eyed. "You guys took out that many zombies?" Montero says, admiration in his voice. For a second, George feels proud before he remembers the way Dream stared at the singer when they met. His pride slips and he wants to nock his crossbow and fire an arrow at his head.
"We had no choice," Dream says, his eyes intense. "They would have reached our camp."
The classroom goes silent. "Wow," Montero says and that seems to encompass everything.
"Finally," a deep voice says, making everyone jump. George whips around and finds himself face to face with Techno. He's even taller than Dream and he towers in the doorway, filling the entire space. "We might actually stand a chance now that we have decent fighters."
Quackity looks genuinely offended and George wants to burst out laughing. But his eyes find Sapnap. His friend is analyzing Techno like he's wondering if he could fight him and quickly realizing who would win.
"Why is everyone here so fucking tall?" Sapnap mutters, low enough that only Karl and George catch it, and they both stifle their laughter.
George feels a sudden warmth at his side as Dream moves to stand closer to him, his stance protective. And George can't help but feel a lot safer with Dream's arm pressed against his, his green eyes burning with warning as he eyes Techno. The latter only smirks but the sudden silence is broken then by Montero, who claps his hands together.
"That reminds me," he says, looking around their group. "Do you guys wanna see your floor?"
(1683 words)
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Thank you so much everyone who's been reading this, I love y'all!!
Also I'm so excited to release the next few chapters, I love this group so much! Definitely some new perspectives coming soon too, so I hope u enjoy <3