Chapter Text
3am, it’s such a weird time to be awake, especially on school nights. Because if he was at home, Dream would need to wake up in roughly 3 hours to start getting ready for his day. Except he’s not lying in bed, fitfully sleeping under his overstuffed duvet and tangling his legs in the sheets. Or laying tnagled in an embrace with his closets friends as they snore the night away, encompassing him in warmth and love.
Instead he’s sitting on the edge of the quarry, at the highest point of the walls, staring down into the water wistfully. His trusty lime green longboard lay discarded on the ground next to Dream’s backpack. An open notebook laid next to him, a pencil long thrown into the water. The attempt of sorting out his thoughts had spiraled into mindless scribbles, and in a fit of unbridled anguish he had thrown the pencil into the water, tears leaking down his face. The tears had long dried and he regarded his impulsive decision to just crawl out of his bedroom window to come down here. Not one f his best decisions, but one Dream wasn’t regretting, yet.
The tiny, rippling waves distorting the bright reflection of the moon. With a heavy sigh, Dream laid back against the cold limestone and stared into the inky sky. Twinkling stars blinked merrily back down to him. Dream thought it must be nice to be a star, with no responsibilities, no qualms and nothing to do aside from burn bright among the inky blackness of the universal swathes. His sole responsibility to just consume energy until he had no more energy to consume, and burned out. Sounded better than this bullshit. Insomnia laced nights, cold bedrooms, dull TV shows and a head full of thoughts and fears, with only tine reprives as his friends surrounded him, while taking advantage of the abandoned liquer around the too large house.
Dream hated nights like these, without Sapnap or George with him. This week, their schedules misaligned and Dream was spending tonight by himself. He sighed, craving a release from the inner turmoil in his head. He was itching for a release, but he was far too numb and too far away from his home to indulge in his parent's liquor On the other hand, he could smoke, but his usual dealer was definitely sound asleep, and not going to run out to Dream at 3am, no matter how much Quackity liked Dream. And Dream’s cash. The beanie wearing ravenet would surely give Dream hell if he was awoken to run some weed to the quarry. Not to mention the fact that Dream had left his wallet in his bedroom, so the point was moot anyways.
The scattering to pebbles alerted Dream and the senior scrambled away from the edge and leaned into a perched lunge, ready to flee if the cause of the noise were police officers, coming to make sure no one was sneaking around the quarry. They often patrolled the area late at night, as Dream knew. A shadowy figure soon stepped out of the treeline that encased the quarry. Dream relaxed when he saw Mr. Watson step out and knew who was responsible for the man's appearance. Dropping the lunge to sit back onto the cold stone, Dream sighed and stared out to the murky waters.
Mr. Watson, or as everyone who knew him- Phil was the dad of Techno, Wilbur and Tommy. He hadn’t seen Mr. Watson in a while, not since he graduated from the fencing academy with Techno. The older man was dressed in rumpled sleep pants, a loose t-shirt , slippers and a housecoat.
“How did you know someone would be here?” Dream asked, his voice croaking from the disuse. He still gazed out to the water, promptly ignoring the older. Hypnotized by the ripple of the water, it was the soft and pointed cough that brought Dream’s attention to the matter at hand. The same old song and dance the duo have been playing off and on, unintentionally. Phil sighed, all too used to the song and dance of pulling teens away from the quarry edge.
“Dream, I’m not stupid. Wilbur had mentioned you were MIA and I took a guess. Turns out I was right.” Phil said patiently. Dream nodded at his guess of who ratted him out being correct. The brunet cared too much, in Dream’s opinion. Dream regarded the extended hand for a second, before taking it. The older man pulled him up, and into a caring hug. Dream stiffened before melting into the hug with a shudder, his hands clutching tightly into the downy soft fabric of Mr. Watson’s housecoat. Repressed emotions bubbling up at an alarming rate, it was everything Dream could do to prevent him from breaking right then and there. Dream just fisted the coat tighter into his hands and held the man in a tight embrace. After a small amount of time, Dream stiffly pulled back from the hug and the blond awkwardly shoved his hands in his pants. With a dignified sniff, Dream grunted as he stamped down those fleeting emotions once more, blinking the tears away. It had been a while since he had a father who cared, he realized. Too bad this one was taken, and definitely didn’t need another teenage boy on his hands.
“C’mon Dream, it’s late and cold.” Mr. Watson said, nodding his head towards the treeline. Dream nodded, and picked up his board and bag. It was fairly empty, just a notebook, earbuds, a charger, a hoodie and his wallet. After tucking the board under his arm, and swinging the drawstring bag on his shoulders, he followed Phil.
“Thank you Mr. Watson.” Dream said gruffly, emotion still thick in his voice, as they made their way down towards Mr. Watson’s car.
“Dream, how many times do I️ have to tell you, call me Phil. Everyone else does.” Phil laughed, gently guiding the teen through the wooded area. The pair reached the bottom of the hill soon enough, and there was Phil’s car. Phil opened the door for Dream and he crawled in, ducking his head and pulling his phone out. He put the board in the footwell and buckled in while the phone laid in his lap. Phil climbed in as well, and started the car, cold air blowing before quickly warming up as the duo pulled away from the quarry’s gravel parking lot. Dream’s phone was a beacon of light, as countless messages had been sent, even during school, showing just how off the grid Dream had been. The messages sped past as people continued messaging him through the groupchat they all shared.
“Do you want me to take you home? Or is there somewhere you can stay that isn’t the quarry?” Phil asked, starting the car. Warm air softly blew out of the vents, bathing Dream in warmth that he hadn’t realized he was missing. He paused scrolling and backreading to comprehend what Phil was asking. Normally, he didn’t ask, just drove him home. What changed? Dream wondered, eyes defocusing from the message he had been reading. The light gray bubble became fuzzy as Dream worked to respond, before giving a vague-“Uh, no. I don’t want to go home, not now.” all the while avoiding Phil’s kind blue eyes, and rubbing his arm awkwardly. Phil nodded, and began driving. They turned eastward, away from the more affluent northern neighborhoods of the town. More towards the center of the town, where the business squares and more notably- the police station resided.
“Are you taking me to the station?” Dream whispered, staring out of the window, his heart clenching in fear as they neared the municipal police station, before passing by without slowing.
“Nah, I’m taking you to my home, if you’re okay with that. It’s nearly winter and that long sleeve shirt won’t do jack shit against the cold night air. You warm enough, or would you like it hotter?” Phil asked, hand drifting to the temperature controls. His eyes stayed on the road, but Dream could sense the concern the man held for him. His throat clenched as he realized that Phil did care for him, and wasn’t just taking pity on him. A sad, rich kid who is friends with his sons and keeps finding himself at the edge of the quarry at 3am. He may have a reliable adult who wasn’t a teacher or teacher’s aid in his life, for once.
“Yeah, I’m okay, and that’s fine. It’s better than home.” Dream said, muttering the last sentence unintentionally. Phil didn’t comment. It wasn’t his place, but he nodded.
“Sure thing Dream. We’ll be home soon.” Phil said, and began the muscle memory journey to his home. It was a modest home, with a simple two story build, with a cozy loft space in the attic that Tommy had made his little world. The lights were on, and Phil cast a look to Dream, but the teen was already half asleep, mindlessly staring out of the window. Phil smiled sadly, and gently tapped Dream’s shoulder.
“Hey Dream, we’re here.” He said softly. Dream grumbled and blinked his eyes open back into focus squinting at the lights. The blond sat up, stretching as a yawn escaped. “Before we go in, the boys might be awake, just warning you. If you just wanna go to sleep, I can get them to go back to bed and wait until morning, but you should probably get some sleep. Three hours are better than none. Unfortunately, I don’t have the authority to call you out of school, and I don’t think either of us want to talk to Mr and Mrs. Taken about these past few weeks either.” Phil said quietly, and the blond quickly whirled on him.
“You wouldn’t dare! That is between me, and you Phil. No one else, and you promised me.” Dream said, anger seething in his voice- betrayal flashing in his green eyes. Phil chuckled lightly, hands held up in a surrendering motion.
“Easy Dream, only us know, but your parents would most likely want to ask about how I came to be such a prominent figure in your life, given we would’ve only met during the fencing tournaments.” Phil gently explained, and the anger and fight melted out of Dream’s form, the blond slumping into the seat before he clicked the seatbelt. The belt retracted and Dream laid a hand on the door handle.
“Okay, sorry for getting in your face, that wasn’t fair. Can we, uh let’s just go in. I’m exhausted.” Dream said, and began to get out. Phil nodded and got out as well, and began making his way to the door. A flutter of the living room curtains alerted Phil that at least one of his sons was awake. He gently opened the door, to see three very awake, and vaguely guilty looking boys. Tommy was the most guilty, and his nervous looks to the curtain told Phil he was the one snooping.
“Boys, it’s the-” Phil started, sighing heavily.
“Is he okay?” Techno said, cutting in. A very sloppy bun was precariously perched on his hair, pink strands falling out, with loose pajamas on. The teen was standing, arms crossed and looked annoyed, but Phil could see the worry he held.
“Ask me yourself Baconbits.” Came the tired voice behind Phil. Dream had walked in, faux casual posturing as if this was an everyday occurrence and not the first time he had spoken to anyone his own age in over 24hours, and at half past 3 am. The longboard was tucked under his arm again, and his hair was a mess, from Dream running his hands through it several times on the car ride.
“Hm, you look like shit.” Techno said, leveling the blond with an impassive glance. He found whatever he was looked for, as he nodded and stretched. Dream laughed, and shrugged.
“Had a rough couple days. Can I crash somewhere, or?” Dream asked, a light flush settling onto his cheeks at realizing his predicament.
“Yeah, I can gather some blankets and the-”
“He can stay in my room, and I’ll take the couch Dad, it’s fine.” Techno blurted out.
“Why? Surely you would want to sleep in your own bed.” Dream protested.
“Dream, unless you want to spend the day with a backache before the game tomorrow or this evening technically, be my guest.” Techno said, quirking an eyebrow.
“What, you do? Don’t wanna cuddle together?” Dream leered, trying to be annoying.
“I thought only George and Sapnap got that privilege. Didn’t want to step on anyone’s territory.” Techno said firing back easily. An easy game the duo often settled in, taunts and jabs flowing back and forth- the cruel words doing nothing compared to the smiles both boys held. Certainly not a usual friendship, one built on competition but neither boy had complained about it before. If Phil remembered correctly, they grew closer after their matches and duels began amassing a crowd, enthralled with the evenly matched skill of both boys.
“If you two are going to be flirting, I’m going to bed. Fuck this shit.” Tommy said, pushing past to retreat up the stairs. His steps thundered loudly as the freshman exited, before the slam of a door sounded, shaking through the house.
“Dream can stay in my room. I have a huge bean bag that is fairly comfortable. That way no one has to sleep on the couch.” Wilbur said softly, pushing his floppy curls away from his eyes. Bags laid heavily under warm brown eyes, and Dream felt a stab of shame curl in his chest. While Techno was blunt and easily hid his worries under sarcasm and scathing indifference, Wilbur wore his heart on his sleeve and let it show. Definitely some sort of weird twin thing, where one was more empathetic and the other was more logical, Dream assumed.
“I don’t care, I just wanna crash.” Dream said, a jaw cracking yawn cutting the end of his sentence off.
“Don’t you have the bunk bed from when you and Tech were kids, Wil?” Phil asked, already halfway up the steps.”
“Yeah, but the bottom bunk became my writing area, unless Dream doesn’t mind waiting for me to move everything out of the way.” Wilbur said, scratching the back of his neck.
“Beanbag sounds fantastic.” Dream said. Wilbur nodded and with the agreement- they all headed to the upstairs. Techno turned into the first bedroom, his door shutting softly with an exhausted “goodnight”.Across the hall, Tommy’s door was closed and covered in signs and stickers, soft music flowing as the teen presumably slept. Wilbur’s room was right next to Techno’s and was covered in blankets, wall decor and soft lighting. Dream noticed that candles, paper and pens littered every available surface.
Against the wall was Wilbur’s refurbished bunk bed, with the top bunk hosting a waterfall of fluffy blankets. Twinkling fairy lights lined the ceiling and even looped through the railings. On the bottom bunk was a mountain of pillows, a laptop tray, and a horde of notebooks. A couple of mugs littered the bedside table as well, spoons and straws rising out of the cups.
Next to the bed was Wilbur’s collection of guitars ranging from ukuleles, acoustics, bass and electric guitars as well. A couple amps, a battered and graffitied music stand and a milk crate filled with notebooks and instrument learner books surrounded the instruments. A keyboard was pushed against the wall as well, with a small stool flipped onto the cover.
On the opposite corner was the beanbag that Wilbur had mentioned. A large, overstuffed sack, piled with blankets, pillows and a woolen jumper haphazardly thrown, missing the hamper of clothes next to the bag.
“Sorry it’s so messy.” Wilbur apologized, picking up the sweater and putting it in the hamper.
“It’s okay, it’s very cozy. I love it, actually. It’s really you.” Dream said, smiling softly as he took in the space. The faint remnants of burnt incense filtered between the scent of the candles as well..
“Uh, if you don’t wanna sleep in jeans, i have a pair of sweats you can borrow.” Wilbur offered shyly, digging through a dresser that Dream had missed but was still cluttered with little trinkets, and books. The mirror was encased with pictures- most of them were their friends, but some were just candids of people who probably didn’t know they were being photographed.
“If you don’t mind. I may need to pilfer at least a new pair of jeans from Techno for school.” Dream said, blushing slightly as well.
“True, but that’s for in the morning. You must be exhausted. Here, they’ll be a bit big on you but they’ll work for the night.” Wilbur said, handing Dream a pair of pajama pants and a loose t-shirt. He showed him to the bathroom, and allowed him to change disappearing back into his room.
When Dream walked out, Wilbur was back in bed and scrolling on his phone idly, his eyes flicking to meet Dream’s and a soft smile graced the taller’s face as he laughed at the sight of Dream.
“You are swimming in those clothes.” Wilbur laughed.
“Because you are like four inches taller than me, and lanky as fuck.” Dream laughed, collapsing on the bean bag. He quickly sunk into the soft material, and felt the blankets begin to cocoon around him.
“How do you have so many blankets?!” Dream laughed, cuddling in.
“I know people in good places.” Wilbur said laughing, but not explaining further. Dream wheezed with laughter, and they lulled into silence, but Wilbur broke the peace after a couple minutes.
“You may wanna just check in, and reassure everyone that you didn’t ghost them all. I feel like they will just ambush you tomorrow.” The brunet warned, before burrowing under the pile of blankets. Dream nodded and clicked his phone on, feeling overwhelmed at the slew of messages. 99+ said the glaring red bubble on his messages app. Anxiety curling in his chest, he tapped open the thread he shared with his friends, seeing hundreds of messages of growing concerns, worried sentiments and even threats to Dream. Out of love, he assumed but the overwhelming number of messages caused his heart to clench, the anxiety fading with the strength of love he felt for his friends. He tapped out a barely coherent message, before his eyes grew too heavy and he succumbed to sleep.
Dream’s Bitches
Dream Taken - 4:12 AM
You all worry far too much, but i lve you guys. Tahnk you for the concern, but i’m okay. See yu all tmororw <3 <3 <3