Chapter Text
How's the trip?
Sapnap had the audacity to text Dream three weeks into the trip.
Dream wanted to tell him how he was really feeling. That he kinda felt like he was suffocating being alone with George everyday. That when George wasn't looking, Dream would study his face, taking in every feature. That for the past three weeks Dream had an all too familiar pit in his stomach, a feeling he had memorized over the years.
Instead he typed, it's going good, miss you man!
Dream focused his attention back onto the road. They hadn't made much progress, not with George insisting to drive and stopping every five minutes at a new tourist sight. George drove like an old lady, but to be fair, he didn't grow up in Florida, or even America. Dream on the other hand, had grown up in Florida and learned how to drive in Florida traffic. He was sort of a reckless driver, and George hated it. So he insisted on driving, at least till they got to Texas, marking halfway.
"Maybe we should stop here for today, you seem tired" Dream offered to George.
George only smiled and pulled up google, looking for the nearest hotel.
When they slumped into the hotel room Dream was relieved, there were two beds. Some of the places they had stayed at only had one bed and Dream awkwardly had to share with George. The urges to pull George close to him were strong during those nights. He wanted to fill the empty space in his heart with George's love, but instead he would turn the opposite way and drift to sleep.
Dream let George hog the shower as he pulled his shoes off and flopped onto bed. He was already asleep when George got out of the shower.
They were on the road early the next morning, Dream had a special place in mind. He wanted to get there early so they had time to explore.
Finally George had let him drive. George wasn’t looking well and said he woke up with a headache. Dream got into the drivers seat that morning, with no argument.
Dream had found a national park in Texas to visit. He knew how much George loved history and this was the place to go.
When George first moved to Florida in seventh grade Dream immediately wanted to be his friend. Everything about George drew him in.
His accent was very thick back then, it’s grown softer now, more American.
They became friends quickly, probably because Dream was very outgoing. Him and Sapnap were the popular jocks everyone loved.
George didn’t really fit into the group at first. Dream noticed that George enjoyed reading and learning, while he and Sapnap played football and skipped class.
Then George opened up to the boys and started to laugh at the jokes and that’s when Dream knew.
George’s laugh was like honey, sweet. Dream started to do anything he could to make George laugh, to see his smile.
Of course as a middle schooler Dream didn’t know what he was feeling, he thought it was just a knew kinda friendship.
When he got to high school and people started to date around him, he was confused. He would see people holding hands in the hall and wish to do that with George. The worst was the school dances with the couples everywhere.
Dream remembered one dance during sophomore year. It was a soft and happy memory.
“Dude Sapnaps got all the girls!” George pointed at their friend on the dance floor.
It was true, Sapnap had a thing with the ladies, they were drawn to him.
Dream and George were sat in two chairs on the side of the dance floor.
“You should go dance, I want to read” George sighed, “Don’t let me hold you back.”
“I like it here with you anyway, those girls don’t want anything serious” Dream laughed.
George shrugged and made a look. Dream couldn’t read it so he decided to get up and walk over to Sapnap.
“Woah dude careful, don’t scare away the ladies.” Sapnap grinned as Dream got closer.
“Oh shut up” Dream punched the other boy’s shoulder.
Sapnap looked over at George reading silently. “So when you gonna tell him how you feel.”
“Excuse me?” Dream asked, confused.
”Common man I’ve seen the way you look at him, it’s the same way I look at uh-uh,” Sapnap glanced at the girls around him, till he landed on some random girl, “Emily.”
Dream rolled his eyes, “He’s my best friend Sapnap”
Sapnap said something along the lines of, ‘then why don’t you look at me like that’, but Dream was already gone, heading back to George.
A rose glow stuck to Dream’s cheeks. He definitely didn’t feel the same way about Sapnap that he felt about George, but for the time being he ignored it.
The night faded into laughter of best friends and a high school dance.
Dream kept driving, the memory stuck in his brain. He was really gonna miss high school with his best friends.
George drifted to sleep in the passenger seat. Dream knew he was exactly where he was supposed to be.
“Time makes us sentimental. Perhaps, in the end, it is because of time that we suffer”- Call Me by Your Name