Chapter Text
Hours turned into days, but Dream hadn't heard from George. He knew George had been streaming, but Dream had never been invited to join. He was fighting the urge to text George or join his stream because he knew that any interaction with George before George wanted one himself would make things harder for Dream.
He just had to wait, and he swore he'd wait for as long as it took. Anything for George.
Dream spent his days watching television and joining his other friends' streams. Unfortunately, or fortunately, George was never around for those streams. It seemed as though George avoided an awkward interaction with Dream, and he'd been lucky so far.
"Bad, you're so annoying," Dream chuckled as his friend killed another one of Dream's dogs on his stream.
Dream had spent the last hour on Bad's stream with Karl, laughing and joking about. He never once thought of George.
"Oh, Dream, I know you're gonna love this," Bad chuckled as he exited the game.
Dream was confused. Did Bad have something planned?
"Bad, I'm here, gift me a hundred subs," a new voice joined the call.
Dream froze.
It was George.
"Finally!" Bad exclaimed. "Dream, your surprise is here."
Obviously, Bad was unaware of the tension between Dream and George, but he chuckled anyway, not wanting the fans to suspect anything.
"Hey, George," Dream greeted, keeping his tone enthusiastic so the viewers wouldn't sense their tension.
"Hey, Dream," George responded, reciprocating Dream's enthusiasm.
It seemed neither did George want the viewers to notice something was off. Dream pursed his lips, unsure of what to say. He knew what he wanted to say, or ask, but he couldn't, not while Bad was streaming. It had to be done privately. Besides, he wasn't even sure whether George had made his mind.
He heard George's voice through his headset, but he barely paid attention. Karl, Bad and George were having their own conversation, giving Dream a momentary escape from social interactions.
Dream sighed. How badly he wanted to hear George's voice, and there he was, laughing. So what was off?
Maybe it was the fact that none of it was true- it was just an act to keep the viewers from suspecting anything. Maybe George didn't even want to be in the call but joined for Bad's sake. He groaned, he wished he could turn back time and erase all that he'd done.
"Dream, could you come to vc2?" Dream heard George ask.
His head jerked up to look at Bad's stream. Did he imagine it?
"Dream?" George called out to him.
Nope, Dream hadn't imagined it. He felt his blood run cold. He was finally going to speak to George privately. George must have already made up his mind.
"Yeah?" Dream asked.
"Could you join me in vc2?" George repeated a tinge of annoyance in his tone.
Dream nodded, stupidly realising George couldn't see it. He clicked out of the main discord call and joined vc2 as George asked. He felt his heart pound against his chest as he braced himself for the worst.
He could try apologising but would that be enough to convince George not to break their friendship? He doubted so.
"Hey," George spoke first, breaking the awkward silence.
"Hey," Dream replied, playing with his fingers.
"I want to look at you," George said after another moment of silence.
Dream hesitated for a second before reaching his hand out to turn his camera on. He didn't bother adjusting his hair or checking himself in the mirror. Maybe if he looked like a mess, George would be sympathetic.
"I don't know what to say," George admitted, his eyes staring directly into Dream's.
"Neither do I," Dream confessed, grinning slightly.
He noticed George's lips had arched upwards ever so slightly, and he blushed. Making George smile was the one thing he loved doing. He took pride in it.
"Maybe there's nothing to say," George spoke, he bit his lower lip, not seductively but as if he were guilty of something.
"I fucked up, didn't I?" Dream asked.
"You did."
Dream sighed. He couldn't even look at George.
"But, maybe it's not entirely your fault."
Dream's head jolted back up, eyebrows creasing, urging George to continue.
"Don't blame yourself, George," Dream pleaded when George didn't go on.
"I wasn't."
Oh, Dream thought, I'm an idiot.
"Dream, for as long as I've known you, you've been nothing short of nice to me," George started.
Dream was getting nervous.
"You helped me with my videos, my streams even helped me become a better Minecraft player than I was when I met you."
Dream wanted to smile, but he felt as if it would be inappropriate.
"I treasured you, Dream, I really did."
Dream had a sinking feeling in his stomach that made him want to throw up. He knew where this was heading.
"And then, something happened."
Goddamnit, George, just tell me you hate me, Dream thought to himself. Why was George keeping Dream in suspense?
Why couldn't he go straight to the point?
Why was he torturing Dream like that?
"What happened?" Dream choked out the words, his gut already knew the answer.
"My feelings for you changed," George responded, this time, he looked down, not meeting Dream's eyes.
"What?"
"I was always confused as to why everyone shipped us until I realised that they saw something in us. Potential. A potential couple, even though we acted as if we were friends and nothing more. That got me thinking, was I really just a friend to you? Were you only a friend to me? And then, I felt it. A warm embrace every time I spoke to you, played with you, streamed with you or thought of you," George's voice fell to a whisper.
Dream was on tenterhooks. He wasn't sure where George was heading with this, and it was slowly driving him mad.
"You thought of me?"
"Every spare second I had."
Dream's heart threatened to burst out of his chest; whether it was from relief or nervousness, he wasn't sure.
"Did you think of me?" George asked.
"I can't stop thinking about you," Dream confessed, his voice barely audible.
"What are we, Dream?"
Dream paused.
"Do you like me?" Dream asked, drawing a deep breath in.
"Yes."
"As more than a friend."
"Oh." George paused.
Dream's heart was racing. He watched as George took his time considering his response and realised how flawless he was, how his fair skin glowed in the light. How his hair fell perfectly over his eyes, pushed back neatly to give his face a sharp look.
Dream wondered if this would be his last time being able to admire George this way. The thought of not having George in his life flooded his mind as his heart ached, and he felt dizzy. If he weren't sitting down, he would have probably fallen since his knees were trembling so much. It was crazy how much of an effect George had on Dream's life.
"I did like you Dream, as more than a friend," George murmured.
Dream froze.
What?
"You did?" Dream whispered.
George nodded in response.
"So, you don't anymore?"
George shook his head.
Dream's shoulders dropped. He didn't know what to make of that, whether to be relieved that George had had feelings for him at some point or disappointed that he'd lost those feelings.
"So, what do we do?" Dream asked, his knees weak were weak.
George shrugged. His lack of a response ticked Dream off slightly.
"I can't stop thinking about you," Dream sighed.
"Neither can I," George admitted.
The two sat in silence, not looking at each other, lost in their thoughts.
"Why didn't you say anything about your feelings?" Dream asked.
"I was afraid you didn't feel the same," George replied, sniffling.
Dream softened at that. It was true that he didn't realise his feelings until recently. Or maybe because he was ashamed of how he felt- of being in love with his best friend.
"So, what do we do?" Dream asked again.
"I really don't know, Dream."
"Could we, you know-" Dream swallowed hard before continuing. "Be something?"
George met his eyes, his brows creasing.
"I don't think I want to," he replied softly.
"Why not?"
"I care a lot about you, Dream, but I don't want to keep hurting myself for your sake," George said firmly.
Dream felt his heart shatter.
"You're hurting because of me?" He sniffled.
"Yeah, all the time," George's voice was shaky.
Dream wondered if George was about to cry. He, himself, was close to tears. He couldn't imagine hurting George.
"I'm hurting too, George," Dream retaliated. "Whenever I think about you, I die a little inside because I know all we can be is friends. We can change that, just give me a chance."
Dream was begging George. He pleaded with him. He never thought he'd beg someone for their love, but there he was, hoping George would give him a shot.
Couldn't George tell how much Dream needed him in his life?
"I know, that's why we should forget about this, about us," George's voice faltered, and Dream's heart sunk further down his chest.
"George, please."
"Try to understand, Clay," George pleaded this time.
Dream's softened at the sound of his name coming from George's lips. He was torn between begging George once again and agreeing with him. Dream studied George's face.
He was frowning slightly, but his eyes were begging Dream's. They were glazed. Tears. George had tears in his eyes.
"I don't know what to do without you, George," Dream admitted, tears threatening to spill from his eyes as well.
"We can be friends, but nothing more," George started. "Not yet, at least."
Dream perked up. Not yet?
"What do you mean by 'not yet'?" Dream asked, his cheeks heating up.
"I'm just saying that if we're both ready in the future, then we can try then, but for now, I can't do it," George replied. "Maybe these feelings aren't even real."
No, Dream's feelings for George were definitely real. He'd stayed up countless nights imagining himself in the same bed as George, arms wrapped around his waist as they spooned for hours. Dream's world practically revolved around George, which meant he had feelings for George, and they were the most real thing he'd known.
"For years, you've seen me with a mask. When you saw my face for the first time, it was because I wanted you to know how badly I wanted this, how badly I wanted you," Dream's voice fell to a whisper. "I'm a real person, George, not some guy behind a stupid mask. I proved that to you when I trusted you with my face. Now, I'm telling you that this real human has real feelings for you. I really love you."
"You need to stop saying that. You're not ready," George's voice rose.
"No, YOU aren't ready. I am." Dream was getting impatient.
"Fine, maybe I'm not ready," George gave in. "You can't force me to do anything."
"I'm not, I would never," Dream reasoned, softening his tone.
"It seems like you are."
Dream cursed himself for trying to push George. It wasn't his place to tell what George had to do.
"I'm sorry," Dream apologised.
"It doesn't matter, Dream," George whispered.
Dream swore he heard George sniffle. He was afraid of what George was about to say.
"I can't see you anymore. I can't do this."
Beep.
GeorgeNotFound has left the call.