Chapter Text
??:??am
As Dream looked through the file he noticed two things: the only two actual apps on the phone that weren’t codes specifically by George were photos and notes. The two apps Dream was terrified to look at. Dream could care less about his fears, all he cared about was figuring out what happened to his best friend that he learned to love too late.
The notes app. The place for everyone’s thoughts that they never say. George’s was labeled almost like a diary, but one truly caught his eye, the one from two days ago.
“5:11am
I am going to text Dream.
5:13am
Bad idea.
All I can think about is how whenever I get off this bus I am never going to see Dream. Never talk to him again, or anything. Isn’t that what my family would want though? Isn’t that what they have been telling me all along?
7:34am
I feel like I am so high up. I never knew what sitting on the edge of a cliff felt like. I can feel my heart pounding, but I don’t know if that is because Dream’s house is less than an ocean away, or if it’s because I am inch’s away from death.
7:48
Why am I still here
7
Goodbye.”
Dream didn’t feel like reading the next few notes, instead he opened photos to see what awaited him there.
There was a screen recording of him playing some game, but there was also a screen recording of every conversation he had typed out. In almost every video there was at least one time he nearly sent “I love you” but he never did. Dream’s heart shattered a little more.
2:49am
Dream finally grabbed something to drink and took care of himself before deciding he was in good enough condition to continue looking at the George File. He hadn’t even opened the app that George had made yet, but he could tell that to do so he needed to be in a decent state of mind.
As the app loaded the first words he saw were: “this app took 93 days to make, not including the time I spent sleeping, or doing other things. Including those it would be over a year.”
George had this planned for so long it hurt. Dream never noticed.
“974,529. That is the number of all of the messages, the facial expressions, the voice lines, the endings, the love confessions, and the Minecraft commands I put into this AI. Every moment I spent was to make it seem like I never died. To make Dream believe that his best friend was still here.”
“Best friend” oh how Dream wished they were something more, but sadly that was no longer achievable.
“Hello Dream! If you are seeing this you must have discovered that you loved me a little too late. I am very sorry. I truly wish I could be there with you, but things at home were never too great when it came to me liking men. To help you recover some I put together all of my possible responses in a neatly organized similization, who knows, there may be a surprise if you find every possible combination and line. There are a lot of them though, so don’t try to do it too quickly! Also Dream, I love you.”
9:38pm, a week later
“Congratulations on finding all the possibilities of the AI!…”
Dream had pulled multiple all-nighters just going through the simulations. He knew everything by now, but he still didn’t feel like he truly knew everything. He wanted George, but that was the one thing out of reach.
Or so he thought until he heard George’s voice come through the phone.
“Dream..?” There he was. George. His voice was muffled by the wind, but Dream only cared that this George truly sounded real.
“Dream I know it hurts, but don’t do this to yourself.” George sounded pained, but there was nothing Dream could do. “I understand how you feel, but don’t let it drive you to the edge. I may have driven myself, but don’t let me drive you to death. I love you, and I don’t want you to die for me. I want you to live. Live well, for the both of us.” Then the message ended. Then Dream finally felt alone.
8:13am
“Hey guys so uhm… I have some news. It’s about George.” Dream spoke into the mic like normal. He was used to just chatting streams, but never one this serious. He saw his chat spam “dnf” but Dream just frowned and wished that were true. “No guys, me and George aren’t dating. George is… George is dead.”
The chat froze, along with Dream’s heart as he slowly let the truth sink into his skin. His heart had felt numb, but now it feels like there has been a little bit of acceptance let in.
“He died over a week ago in Florida. One night he flew over here without my knowledge, and committed suicide.” Dream breathed in slowly, “I’m sorry guys.”
‘This is all a prank right?’
‘George would never!’
‘Are you okay Dream?’
‘Gogy? Gone?’
Dream eventually just turned it all off and let himself cry for the first time since that night. He felt closure now, but he still wasn’t okay. He didn’t know if he would ever feel okay, but it would be what George wanted him to do if he didn’t try. So Dream would try. He would try his hardest, because if he learned anything from George it’s that everything was a competition and Dream was going to be undefeated, especially when he is competing for George in his heart.