Chapter Text
It was a chilly morning in London, the start of a longer and colder winter. George woke up and stared at the time on his phone, 9:45 a.m. Finally, he had woken up at a reasonable hour, but with no plans or anything else to do, he snuggled back in the blanket and laid, thinking.
Usually, his mind was clear, he wasn't much of an over-thinker and would just do things when he got the impulse, but this time was different. He thought about how for the past few months, every time he had talked to his friend Dream, he felt something unusual, more than his regular happiness and contentment he usually felt when they would talk. He had been trying desperately to put this feeling away, he knew it was dumb and a false hope that would just leave him hurt more in the end. Recently though, what he had been feeling was undeniable, he liked Dream. He cringed at the thought, wanted so much for it to not be true, but in the end, it was, and he couldn't ignore it any longer.
George pondered all these ideas in his head. He had known Dream for as long as he could remember. He was his best friend and was there for him when things were okay and when they weren't. George was more of a private person, he never talked about those things with his family or even with his friends. Dream knew more about him than he probably knew about himself, and as vocal as he was about his hatred of this, he appreciated it so much. Little inflections in his tone or even eye movements and Dream would be asking what was wrong. That was some of Georges's favorite things about him, his attention to detail, his compassion.
Of course, he had seen Dream. The times when Dream would turn on his camera to show his cat laying on him or some other small thing that brought him obvious joy. He hadn't even done that lately though, and George missed it. He missed getting to see him smile and laugh, feeling the warmth and happiness that would radiate from him. They never talked face to face though, George would always leave when Dream came because he knew he wouldn't be able to keep down the pink appearing on his face from the warmth. He always teased George when he would blush on stream, it would be so much worse if he was the only thing that could be making him feel that.
Streams were sometimes the worst. Dream would always flirt with George, it was an ongoing joke that the audience enjoyed. But what happens when he starts to enjoy it too. George could never return the "I love you" to Dream, not because it wasn't true but because he did, in more than a friendly way. When he had joked that George was just secretly gay and wouldn't say it because of that, it sent a panic through him, hoping that it was actually a joke and Dream hadn't somehow read his mind. Although maybe, if he could, it would be easier, at least he wouldn't have to tell him himself.
When these feelings started, George tried hard to blame them for simply enjoying his presence, he was his friend, after all, it was normal? One of the first ways his want had manifested itself was through his increased attachment to Dream. It started though insignificant things, like always calling for him when he was scared or about to die in Minecraft. But, over time he didn't want to be away from Dream. He would ask him to stay when he was streaming because him being there put him so much more at ease. But the part that bothered George the most was how much he missed him off-camera. After they would spend hours playing and talking together, they would eventually part, leaving this empty void in himself that wouldn't be filled until the next day when the cycle started again. He could never bring himself to ask him to stay during these times however, it would just be too weird.
Secondly, not only did he want to talk to Dream but when he got to, especially when Dream would speak certain words or phrases, his heart would flutter. He heard his name a lot, it was his actual name, his username, everyone called him by his name, but when Dream did it, it was something different entirely. Dream had a lot of emotion behind his words, whether it was on purpose or not. He had his regular tone, his laughs, his screams, and this low, raspy tone that drove George insane. Mostly it would just be used with "oh come on," but the thing that has never left Georges mind, the word that he can still hear and feel deep within himself,
"George." They were just playing, George had drunken an invisibility potion and Dream was trying to find him. If anything else hadn't solidified to him how much he liked Dream, this was it. He just couldn't deny any longer after how he had felt his body react after hearing that simple word escape Dreams lips.
George rolled over and stared up at the ceiling. When would he get the courage to just say it, look at Dream, spit the words out? He could then stop carrying this burden that weighed so heavily on his heart. He could stop constantly having to hide how he's feeling and just let loose. But he knew Dream didn't feel the same, George was his friend, that's all there was to it. He knew Dream cared greatly for him, so he wouldn't get upset or probably even make a fuss of it, but it would be unreciprocated and everything would just be awkward. Something interrupts Georges's thoughts, a vibration from his phone. He unlocked it and looked, a text from Dream.