Monophobia [DNF]

By _imgonenow_

2.1K 109 64

High school AU Monophobia - the fear of loneliness A lonely boy reluctantly agrees to attend a party. When th... More

Chapter 1: Loneliness
Chapter 2: Dear mom
Chapter 3: Party-time!
Chapter 4: Consequences
Chapter 6: Time to sleep
Chapter 7: Loveless
Chapter 8: Unlovable
Chapter 9: Ex
Chapter 10: Study date
Chapter 11: Vulnerability
Chapter 12: Stargazing
Chapter 13: Welcome home

Chapter 5: Unknown number

152 8 1
By _imgonenow_

Everything was so peaceful, so quiet, so painless. 

At least until repeated shouting pulled him out of his slumber. Someone was determinedly rocking George's shoulders. All he wanted was to remain in the calming darkness. But the person was stubborn, and George finally caved and opened his eyes.

The burning in his lungs hit him like a wall. He rolled to the side and coughed up what felt like the entire ocean. The coughing continued for multiple minutes before he could breathe properly again. 

That's when everything came flooding back. He stirred around in horror, afraid that he would see Clay or any of the other guys that had pushed him into the water.

A pair of dark eyes filled with worry were looking at him. George realized that the eyes belonged to Sapnap who was kneeling beside him. Karl was there too, and George saw traces of tears on the brunette's face. 

He carefully forced himself to sit up but immediately regretted it when his head felt like it got struck by lightning. The pain caused him to fall back down, he expected it to hurt but the sand made the fall a lot less horrible.

"How ya feeling?" Sapnap asked carefully, almost like he was afraid that the question would give George a mental break down. He tried to answer but it only resulted in more coughing. So, he gave Sapnap a thumbs up instead. Though none of the boys appeared convinced.

"George, we need to get you to a hospital. You nearly drowned." Karl stated anxiously and George still noted the aftermath of the panic that the brunette must've felt.

In all fairness, he probably needed to go to the hospital, but George knew that his mom couldn't afford it. 

He shook his head but instantly regretted it. The pain struck again. All he wanted was water. His mouth felt like a desert. Never in his life had he craved water like he did now.

"Water." Was all he was able to say. His voice was hoarse from the lack of moisture left in his body. Every breath hurt and so did speaking as well.

Karl and Sapnap exchanged a glance before Karl grabbed a purple backpack and pulled up a water bottle. The trio subconsciously must've agreed that George shouldn't be laying down while drinking. So the two guy grabbed ahold of each of George's arms and pulled him up in a sitting position. George's head protested for a second, but the throbbing pain faltered after a few minutes. He felt pathetic as they pulled him backwards until they reached a rock that George used as backrest.

Every muscles must've died as George barely managed to grab the bottle that Karl handed him. The effort it took to bring the water bottle to his mouth was embarrassing, but never before had George tasted water as wonderful as this. It felt like being he had been reborn when he emptied the bottle. Afterwards he handed it back to Karl and thanked him.

Slowly his brain felt like it was returning and the weight of what had happened began rushing back.

"What happened?"

"They pushed in." Sapnap answered sourly

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. I'm just curious at how I got out of the water. For a moment I was convinced that I was knocking on Death's door."

Sapnap rubbed his neck and gave George a weary look. "Well, we all panicked when you fell. Dream and I was yelling at Olivia as it was clearly her idea. Of course, she wasn't the one to push but that girl has everyone wrapped around her finger." George furrowed his brows, not sure what this had to do with how he got out of the water. But Sapnap continued.

"It was a high fall but we all kinda assumed that you'd get up on your own. However, after a few minutes and you were still under the surface, we got worried that something wasn't right. So, Dream and I ran down and dove in. We managed to pull you out of the water. Dream tried to give you chest compressions but then Olivia came down and started screaming before dragging Dream away. Karl and I stayed behind. You were thankfully breathing so after few minutes, you woke up. The rest you know." Sapnap shot George an apologetic glance when he finished the story.

George closed his eyes. He didn't possess the energy to respond. His head was pounding, and he felt like a complete failure. Why didn't he fight back against the water? Why had he just accepted death?

"I sorry, guys." He finally said, eyes still closed. One hand was placed on each of his shoulders. He opened his eyes and saw Karl worryingly studying his face .

"George, seriously, you've done nothing wrong." The brunette said. That might be true, but it sure as hell felt like he had failed.

Karl then placed George's backpack in his lap. "I got this from the café." George gave him a thankful look. He opened it and took out his phone. It was nearly five pm. That when it hit him, he was supposed to be working. He checked his notifications and saw twelve missed calls from his boss.

"Shit." He mumbled. Sapnap gave him a questioning look.

"I was supposed to work after school today." The pair stared at him in pure disbelief.

"What?"

Sapnap shook his head. "You nearly died and you're worried that you missed your shift? And no offense, but have you seen yourself? You're basically one big bruise." George turned on his camera to look at his reflection. The bruise on his jaw was just as ugly as before. The difference was that it was now accompanied by tons of scratches and smaller bruises. A sharp pain suddenly erupted from his arm. He rolled up the sleeve on his black hoodie. A semi-deep cut that was still bleeding was draped across his lower arm. It needed to be stitched.

Karl's eyes widened when he saw the cut. "Geez, you really need to go to the hospital." George pulled the sleeve down and shrugged it off. "Don't worry, my mom's a nurse." Both guys appeared relieved by this fact, and it wasn't a lie. Although George assumed that he would have to fix it himself.

He tried to stand up, despite the protest from every muscles. But eventually he managed.

"Well, I need to get home but thank you for saving me from... drowning I guess." George said and gave them weak smile. Sapnap wrapped and arm around his shoulders for a second. "Of course, mate. Do you need a ride home?"

George body sure thought that he needed it, but George didn't want to appear too needy and both guys had done more than enough for him, so he declined and said that he lived close by, which wasn't a complete lie either.

The trio walked back to the café where they parted. George saw how Karl grabbed Sapnap's hand as they wandered away. He couldn't understand how someone could be that comfortable openly showing affection. He blamed it on the bad experiences he had back in England about being gay. He hoped that they one day would falter, and George could find someone to share the same type of love that Karl and Sapnap had.

The walk home was painful, but the greeting he received from his mom was even worse. She was of course drunk and was screaming from the moment he entered the house. Her words were slurred but he understood that she was upset over the missing nasal spray and that the school had informed her about George's absence last period. 

The energy to defend himself was nonexistent. He was dripping wet, and every breath hurt. So, he just stood there and accepted the scolding. It lasted approximately ten minutes before his mom collapsed on the sofa. 

Thereafter he snuck into the bathroom, silently not to anger his mom further. On the highest bathroom shelf, George found his mom's first aid kit. With trembling hands, George pulled out  tread and a needle as well as numbing cream. Then George proceeded to rinse the wound with alcohol to hinder infections before applying  numbing cream around the cut. Ten minutes passed later and it was time to begin. He put a towel between his teeth in preparation for the inevitable pain.

Seven stitches later with a thick layer of sweat covering his body, George was done. He took a cold shower, put gauze around the stiches and examined the rest of his body. A few bruises here and there but nothing too bad. His face was the worst part. Starting from his mouth and reaching all the way back to his ear was a big purple bruise.

He sighed and headed to bed. Every ounce of the energy had left his body. He barely registered that he got a text. He groaned in pain as he reached for his phone.

Unknown:
How are you?

It took a while to figure out who the mysterious person could be. Then it clicked, though he didn't want to assume too much.

Me:
How's this?

The typing bubble popped up and disappeared a few times before he got a text that confirmed his suspicion.

Unknown:
It's Dream
Or Clay, I mean

The guy meant well, but George was too tired to engage in any deeper conversation.

Me:
I'm fine.

If Dream responded or not was unclear, because after George pressed sent, he felt how his eyes were begging him for sleep. So, he caved and darkness consumed him once again. Only this time it wasn't because he was drowning.

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