George washed his face and ran his damp fingers through his hair a few times, fluffing it up and refreshing himself a bit. He also found some mouthwash under the sink, so he used that as a substitute for brushing, as his toothbrush was at home. George then left the bathroom, feeling better, and walked into the living room. Dream was sitting on the couch facing Karl and Sapnap, who both had shocked expressions on their faces. George guessed he was telling them about what happened last night.
As George walked over, all three turned to him. Sapnap stood up. "You almost got kidnapped last night?" He asked.
"And you didn't call us?" Karl added, sounding a little betrayed.
"Sorry. I didn't exactly think of it in the heat of the moment," George answered with a shrug.
"And what's that bandage on your neck?" Sapnap asked.
"Well, the guy had a knife at my throat, and it cut me a little," George answered simply. Sapnap and Karl looked dumbfounded, so George explained everything that happened from the beginning. While he was talking, Dream walked into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of bagels from the pantry before popping them in the toaster.
Once George was finished re-telling the story, he paused to let Sapnap and Karl take in the news.
"Geez, that's horrible," Karl said after a moment. "I'm sorry to hear that. It must have been traumatic."
"Yeah, well, let's just say I won't be entering another Kwik Trip for a while," George said to put it simply.
"The guy's name was Harold?" Sapnap asked.
"Yeah."
"Ha, what a loser," he laughed. "Sucks to suck."
"Is it really worse than Nick, though?" Dream teased from the kitchen.
"Shut up, mister Clay over there," Sapnap shot back. Instantly after saying it he looked guiltily at George. "Oh," he said, "I hope I didn't just ruin the mystery."
"Ha, nope. I know Dream's name," George said with a small smile.
"Oh?" Karl said with a grin, looking from George to Dream to Sapnap. "Hear that, Sapnap? He already knew Dream's real name," he said.
"Is it official then?" Sapnap asked, pointing at George then Dream. "Are you two dating yet?"
George smirked as Dream walked back over, carrying two plates with a bagel on each of them. He handed one to George and sat down himself to eat. "Mm, yes," Dream said with a glance at George, who was nodding as well.
"Let's go!" Sapnap exclaimed, and high-fived Karl. "I told you!" He said, pointing at Dream, who was busying himself with picking the sesame seeds off of the bagel. "Did I not tell you?"
"You did, Sapnap. Calm yourself," Karl said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Also, why aren't you eating those waffles I bought for you?" Sapnap asked. "They're in your room," he added.
"Maybe I will tomorrow," Dream replied.
"They'll be gone by tomorrow."
"Eh, whatever."
"So what was the deciding factor?" Karl asked. "Why'd you start dating? Being 'friends' just wasn't enough?"
"Well," George said, exchanging a look with Dream, "nothing really "decided" it. We just work really well together. I always sorta had feelings for him, so when we told each other about it, we figured dating would be the next step," he answered thoughtfully.
"George has a really great personality. He's funny, and light-hearted, and realistic," Dream added.
"Realistic? What's that supposed to mean?" George asked with a grin.
"Er... It means you say it how it is," Dream answered with a scoff. "You have no filter sometimes."
"Whaat?" George joked though he knew it was true.
"Pfft," Sapnap rolled his eyes.
"Sapnap, weren't we going to go to the park or something?" Karl asked after a moment.
"Oh yeah, we were," Sapnap agreed before standing up. They both walked towards the door. "Bye, guys. Karl and I are gonna take a walk before going to our next class. Are you staying here?" He asked.
"Yeah, we'll probably just hang out," Dream answered with a nod.
"Alright, have fun with that," he said with a wink before grabbing his coat and following Karl out the door. George yawned and took a bite of his bagel.
"This is good; thanks," he said to Dream, who was eating his own bagel.
"No problem," Dream answered before grabbing the remote. He scrolled through Netflix for a while before finding a random show and putting it on. George finished his bagel and grabbed a blanket and some pillows from Dream's room before sitting beside him on the couch. Dream laid on his side and wrapped his arm around George as he curled up along the curve of his stomach with a smile, covering the both of them with a blanket and cushioning their heads with the pillows.
They watched the show for a while before George grew tired and fell asleep.
// two days later //
George wrapped a towel around himself as he stepped out of the shower, the steamy air curling off of his skin. He stepped out of the bathroom and was hit with a wave of fresh, cold air. He put on the clothes which he had laid out for himself - the light blue crewneck Dream had given him along with black ripped jeans. He was getting ready for the big party.
For the past few days, it was all everyone was talking about. Everyone was going to be there. George was excited - but also nervous. He had never been to a big party before, and he also knew Sam was going to be there - someone he didn't really want to meet again. Dream had warned him that she might try to do something sexual to one of them, and he definitely didn't want to be the one on the receiving end. He hated awkward situations.
George combed through his hair and put on some deodorant and cologne. Dream would be here to pick him up in a few minutes.
After the incident at Kwik Trip, George decided to quit his job. He couldn't bring himself to work there any longer, especially after the manager had irresponsibly left him in the middle of the night, and then the place was almost robbed.
But the consequences of George quitting his job were that he now was unemployed. He had no source of income. Dream was nice enough to buy meals for him, but he needed a way to pay the bills for his apartment, buy gas, and his biggest cause of financial debt - pay for college. He had no idea what to do. He supposed the first step would be to find a new job.
George passed the time for a few minutes by playing games on his phone until Dream texted him saying, "I'm here."
On my way, George replied before heading out the door. He briskly made his way downstairs and met Dream at his car in the parking lot. He was wearing a white shirt with a black overcoat and jeans. George noticed the minuscule amount of gel in his hair, making him look even more attractive than usual.
"You look great," George said as he sat down in the car.
"No, you look great," Dream answered. "I love that shirt."
"Oh, really?" George replied. "It's almost like you gave it to me."
"Ha!" Dream said as he put the car into drive. "I gave it to you, but I didn't know you'd actually wear it," he added.
"Why did you give it to me if you didn't think I'd wear it?"
"Because you look hot in blue," Dream answered simply. George scoffed and looked away, shaking his head slightly.
They got to the party in a few minutes. The location was a big house on the edge of town. Cars were parked all along the road outside, and George could hear the music from half a mile away. The air smelled of barbecue and the energy was chaotic.
Dream and George got out of the car and began walking together. "So, you said a Freshman planned this?" George asked in awe.
"Well, yeah, but I'm sure some other people were involved as well. Wilbur and Ranboo probably helped," Dream answered.
"How many people did you say would be here again?"
"Probably a couple hundred at most."
"Damn," George said. "That's a lot."
"From what I could gather, there will be people here that don't even attend our school," Dream added.
George was a little nervous. He didn't want to end up doing something embarrassing in front of this many people. He hoped he didn't get drunk.
"Hey, Dream, I have a favor to ask of you. Will you keep me away from the alcohol? I don't want to embarrass myself in front of these people, especially since I'm new to the school and sorta already got off on the wrong foot with the popular kids," George asked.
"Sure," Dream answered with a grin. "I usually stay away from the alcohol myself, so that should be easy."
"One or two drinks, and that's it," George added.
"What about none at all?"
"Well..." George said, "one or two."
"Wow, George, I never thought of you as the partying type," Dream laughed.
"You're going to have a couple, too! We're gonna have fun tonight," George grinned. "I know we said we would only stay for a few minutes, but unless Sam starts causing problems, I think we should enjoy ourselves. This is my first college party, after all."
"Oh, alright," Dream caved. "Whatever makes you happy."
"Stop it," George rolled his eyes. Dream smirked and they hooked arms, walking side-by-side to the front door, where the music increasingly got louder until George could feel the rumble of the bass in his eardrums. With a deep breath, they pushed through the doors and entered the people-filled building.