Dream stared at him like he was from a different universe. George knew? How did he know? Was he joking? He read his expression to try and figure out if he was joking, or guessing, or pretending, or calling him out, or judging him, or... maybe he was trying to figure out if George liked him back.
What's going on? We were just talking about girls and now George knows that I like him? Does he like me back? I'M SO CONFUSED.
"Er..." was all Dream could get out before George burst out laughing again.
"Oh my gosh, you are such an idiot!" He mused, wiping the tears from his eyes. "You should've seen your face."
Dream's heart was racing. His mind was spinning. So... George had been joking? Dream forced a smile on his face. "Yep, you got me! I have a crush on you, George."
George's laughter melted into a confused look. "Wait, you do?"
Red alarms seemed to be going off in Dream's head. His heart felt like it was shattering. RED ALERT! RED ALERT! ABORT! ABORT!
"No, of course not, idiot. I thought we were joking around," he lied. He knew his face was red. I gotta get out of here. I can't lose my friendship with him. If he finds out... well, he might not want to hang out with me anymore.
"Oh. Haha," George replied. Was that a tinge of disappointment in his voice? Or am I just delusional?
"Well, I do have something I should probably tell you. It's about my old girlfriend. Her name is Samantha," Dream began after a moment of them quietly sipping their coffee. George looked at him curiously.
"Alright."
Dream quietly took a deep breath before continuing. "She used to go to our school. She and I dated for a few months; almost a year. We were pretty happy together until she was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, BPD. After that, she turned cold to me and began spreading false rumors about me and my friends. The whole school practically turned against me until I proved the rumors weren't true by having Sapnap, Bad, and a few of my old friends and girlfriends vouch for me.
"Once I could prove my innocence everyone began turning on her. Nobody likes liars. So she decided to leave the school and move to a neighboring town about an hour away," Dream explained. George was a good listener; he sat still and quiet, hearing what Dream had to say. "The reason I'm telling you this is because she is visiting soon to check up with her old friends and re-visit her hometown. I only know because she DM'd me a few days ago asking if she could stay at my apartment," Dream said with a scoff of distaste. "Of course I said no," he added at George's look of disbelief.
"Look. I just wanted you to know because you and I are good friends now, and I don't want her to surprise or take advantage of you. Don't let her tell you that I hurt her; I would never have done that. She will surely try to turn you against me. It's just what she does. She wants revenge for something I never did," Dream explained. It hurt him to say this, but he wanted to tell George the truth; the whole truth.
"What kind of rumors did she spread about you?" George asked.
Dream sighed. "She said things like I abused her, and I was forcing her to be in a relationship with me. She also said that I raped her, which I found especially hurtful. But really, she was the one who was forcing me to stay with her. She always threatened to... well, she threatened to kill herself if I didn't stay with her and love her, no matter what she did to me," Dream replied. He lowered his head. That had been a dark time in his life.
"Geez, man. I'm sorry to hear that," George said. Dream looked at him. George's face was filled with understanding and remorse. He believed him.
"It's alright. I just wanted to let you know," Dream said.
"Well... thanks," George said. "I didn't know you had, well, multiple girlfriends," he added. Dream looked at him, surprised that was what he was thinking about right now.
"Uh..." Dream said, "I did, but none other than Sam lasted more than a month."
"Oh," George said with a nod. "That's cool."
They sat in awkward silence for a moment before Dream figured out a way to change the subject. "So, what's your crush? You never told me," he asked, cracking a grin. George smiled.
"I don't have one, doofus, that's why I haven't told you," he said. Dream smirked.
"Oh," he said. He took a sip of his coffee. Why does this have to be so awkward? He thought. Usually we're never awkward.
Finally, George spoke up. "So, there's that stupid party coming up in a few days that the Freshman guy is hosting - Tommy, I think his name is? Anyway, if you don't find anyone to go with, do you wanna... go together?" He asked. Dream nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah! I mean, sure. I was kind of on the fence about going, anyway, but it might be fun to go with you," he said.
George brightened. "Cool! It's at eleven, so you can pick me up at ten thirty," he said, before adding, "that is, if you don't find someone else to go with."
"Sounds good. It should be a fun party. I know Tommy - he's got a crazy streak in him," Dream said with a smirk. He had known Tommy since highschool. It would be a bit of a stretch to say they were friends, but they talked occasionally and Dream thought he was a fun guy. He was one of the few Freshmen that he could stand to be around.
Suddenly a car pulled up in front of them. Dream could hear the music blasting from behind closed doors, and the roaring of laughter coming from inside. Out stepped Ranboo from the drivers' seat, Wilbur from the passenger side, and Tommy and Tubbo from the backseats. Tommy and Tubbo were laughing hysterically while Ranboo and Wilbur spoke in a more respectable manner. Quickly they caught sight of Dream and George and their smiles widened. "Hey!" Wilbur called, and led the group over to their table.
"Wilbur, what's up?" Dream called as the four approached.
"Wilbur?" George looked shocked. Dream looked at him.
"What?"
"George, is that you?" Wilbur asked in a confused tone. The confusion was quickly replaced by joy and he threw his arms up in exclamation. "Yo! My fellow Brit!"
"You know each other?" Dream asked.
"Yeah! As a matter of fact, we met the night you were in the hospital. Wilbur helped me carry you inside," George explained before he shook Wilbur's hand. Dream grinned at Wilbur, who looked dumbfounded.
"I had no idea that was you! Your face was swollen to the size of a watermelon and you were covered in blood," Wilbur said.
"Wow, what a small world. You go to college here?" George asked.
"Yeah. I can't believe we haven't passed in the halls yet. I haven't seen you until today," Wilbur replied.
"Um, am I missing something?" Tommy butted in. He, Tubbo, and Ranboo were standing behind Wilbur, watching the interaction quietly.
"Do you remember that day I was hanging out with Niki? I didn't mention it, but that day, Dream got himself into a little skirmish and I helped George here carry him into the hospital," Wilbur explained.
"You also bought me a sandwich," George added.
"Yeah, that too," Wilbur grinned.
"So this guy is George?" Tommy asked.
"Yeah," George confirmed with a grin. Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo introduced themselves and George gave a nod and a smile at each of them. The four pulled up a few chairs at their table and they began socializing, talking and laughing and catching up. Wilbur and George explained that after he had gotten knocked out, George brought him to the hospital and while calling for help, Wilbur and Niki had come to his aid. Dream thanked him, though he was surprised he hadn't recognized him on that day. They had gone to the same college for more than a year now, and last year they even had a few classes together.
Tommy and Tubbo naturally had loads to talk about. In fact they only ever shut up when Wilbur scolded them. He was only a year older than them, but apparently they respected him enough to listen to him. Dream was aware the three of them had gone to the same highschool - as well as Ranboo. Though he was a quieter type. Nothing like his classmates. They had a great friendship though.
Eventually Dream and George remembered that they had a class at eleven and they had to leave. Dream hopped in the drivers' seat and George climbed in the passenger. They found things to talk and laugh about along the way back to the school. Dream was still a bit unnerved by their conversation earlier. If you've ever discussed crushes with your crush, you'd know what it felt like.
They got to the school and Dream exited the car while checking his watch. "CRAP WE'RE LATE," he exclaimed with wide eyes. His watch read 11:02.
"Run!" George exclaimed, and the two took off toward the building. Dream threw open the door and they flew down the hallway, their footsteps echoing throughout the empty corridors. Dream couldn't help but wear a goofy smile on his face and laugh every time they took a wrong turn and had to go back. Though they had been going to the same class for a few weeks now, it was still extremely hard to remember where everything was because there were so many halls and rooms. It's like that stairway in Harry Potter that is always changing.
Eventually they reached the room. The door was closed, and when Dream tried to open it, he realized it was locked, too.
"Ugh, why are we always late?" George asked between breaths. They were both huffing and puffing, trying to regain their breath before the professor opened the door to let them in. Dream made eye contact with him, and the exact moment he did, they both burst out laughing, voices ringing through the open space around them. Dream tried muffling himself by burying his face in his arm, but his absence of breath from the exciting run mixed with the laughter in George's eyes made him giggly. A few seconds later the professor flung open the door and stared them down, and their voices instantly died out. The professor was a lanky old man with a balding head and thick glasses that made his eyes look unnaturally big.
"You're late," he said in an old, angry voice.