Chapter Text
"NO!" an exasperated scream is heard as soon as George walks into what he assumes is the gambling club room Karl mentioned earlier. The voice gets more desperate and louder. "THERE'S NO WAY."
George aims his attention at the room's stylish decor instead of the ruckus. Walls painted red and covered on vintage movie posters, pictures of a place that looked like Las Vegas and polaroids of different groups of guys doing ridiculous poses. He recognizes Karl in many of them.
There are shelves full of card decks, dice sets and board games. A mini fridge with different brands of energy drinks and an exaggerated amount of snacks on top of a coffee table. George finds it amusing. It isn’t hard to figure out the fact that members spent many hours inside that room.
Tables and chairs are distributed on every corner while a bigger prominent table takes place in the middle. It seems there was a game going when Karl and George arrived.
George catches sight of two guys sitting on the big table. One of them looks defeated with his forehead glued to the table, a mop of black hair and a beanie on his head. George recognizes his complaining noises and figures he is the one who screamed earlier. In front of him, there's a bigger guy with dirty blonde hair sitting down. His left hand is positioned below his chin, and the right one is holding a few bills mockingly, pretending to fan himself. But what struck George the most was the smug smirk plastered on his face, radiating a sense of confidence that could be portrayed easily as cockiness.
"And these are another $100 for me." the blonde one leans back on his chair, putting his arms up triumphantly. The grip on his right hand remains strong, he has five bills. He looks to his left, to one of the guys standing on the side of the table and says, "Hey Sapnap, let's order dinner from that expensive place you like with Quackity's money."
"Fuck you." is the only thing the defeated guy gets to say before he gets cut off by Karl.
"Guys, listen!" the man on George's left tries to catch the attention of everyone in the room. He succeeds as it takes him only a few seconds to make them turn around and have all eyes on him and George.
Earlier in the morning, after spending an embarrassing number of minutes trying to find the way to his class, George had to resort to asking a random group of students where his classroom was. Karl enthusiastically offered to show him how to get to his class and before they parted ways, since his guide was nice and answered all his questions, George mentioned the gambling club and wondered if everything he read about it on a forum was true. Hours later, Karl was waiting outside George’s class, ready to introduce him to the gambling club.
"I brought a new face to the club, he's actually interested." Karl has his hand on George's shoulder, although everyone already figured who the new face was.
"That's what you said last time Karl, and then the guy ran away after losing $200 on his first day." The blond sitting at the big table says as he doesn't even bother on giving George a glance. George snorts and thinks, As if that will make me run away. Losing $200 on one day is insignificant compared to how much he used to bet and, occasionally, lose on one single night back in England.
"What's your name, dude? Welcome to the club." one of the guys around the table approaches him with a beaming smile on his face. He goes for a surprisingly not awkward handshake.
"George. I am from England." Some members raise their eyebrows, probably struck by George's british accent. No one says anything about it so he tries his best on not being awkward and making a conversation. He points to the black haired guy who has his head still on the table. "Is he ok?"
"That's Quackity." Karl answers as the guy mentioned holds one of his hands up without even caring about getting his head off the table. "He lost against Dream and is probably crying."
George looks up to "Dream", expecting welcoming words or some sort of greeting but the other finds more interesting the bills clutched in his hand, he is not taking his eyes off from them.
"I'm Sapnap. Computer Science major." a guy around his same height says quickly before the conversation could turn into awkward silence. He is the one who asked for George's name earlier. At least not everyone is an asshole here, the british thinks.
"I'm a computer major too." George is glad one of the members is studying the same major as he is. He believes Sapnap is younger and that the possibility of them sharing classes is slim but the club having a member who is nice and likes coding and gambling is enough for George to consider it welcoming. "Can I play?"
George moving to America made it impossible for him to find time to play and the intense yearning for gambling grew stronger and stronger. He really misses gambling. He misses screaming “ALL IN” at the top of his lungs. He misses the poor “poker-face” attempts of his opponents. He misses that unique taste of victory after everyone thinks you already lost. He misses the feeling of being on the edge. Of course he would jump at the first opportunity to play.
George’s question sparks interest in one member in particular. Dream lifts his gaze and meets George's brown eyes for the first time. The bills that were the main focus of his attention are forgotten on the table. The blond's right eyebrow is slightly raised, and a teasing tone can be recognized in his voice when he reacts "Ohh, the new guy is excited to play."
"Dream, stop." Karl cuts in, but there is nothing he can do to prevent what is going to inevitably happen.
"Let's play together." Dream suggests with an undisguised fake smile on his mouth. He casts his eyes down, where Quackity's head still hasn't moved and tilts his head backwards, pointing at him with his chin. "Unless you're scared of ending up miserable like this guy."
Dream's poor attempts of getting a reaction out of George aren't surprising. He enjoys riling up the new members but this time, all his taunting comments go to waste as George keeps ignoring them.
"Hey, are you alright?" George gets closer to the big table and puts his hand on Quackity's back.
The guy with the beanie leans back on his chair and George sees his face for the first time. It is scrunched up in a funny way that makes George let out a giggle.
"No, this is the fifth time I lose $100 at a blackjack game against this tall prick." Quackity explains, extremely pissed. Losing five rounds of blackjack in a row is very close to be considered humiliation and that was the last thing George wanted for himself.
Quackity spares one last look at Dream and spits, "He's so fucking annoying."
The blond chuckles and raises his shoulders, unbothered. Annoying isn't the worst thing he had been called in the gambling club.
Quackity stands up and walks up to Karl, who gives him a comforting pat on the back in an attempt to cheer him up. The seat in front of Dream is free and George doesn't think twice before he is sitting on the chair.
"I want to play." George begs for the teasing to be over and get to the exciting and fun part, gambling. "I have to play eventually if I want to be part of the club, right?"
"You're right... Hope you keep thinking that you want to be part of this when the game is over."
"Dream, I swear to god if you make another new member leave…" one of the members who George hasn't been introduced to butts in.
George pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs, showing he’s running out of patience. There’s no reason to keep dragging this out, he thinks. "Even if I lose, I won't quit."
"Since it's your first time here, I will give you a game of pure luck." Someone hands Dream a brand-new card deck while Sapnap collects the cards used on Quackity’s blackjack game from the table. "Do you know the game War?"
“Of course I do.” It would be weird if he didn’t. Everyone knows that game. The last time he played War was when he was camping with his high school friends. It has been a long time but the game requires no skill. Players turn up their cards and pray that theirs is higher than the other one. The odds of winning are even. "Not a huge fan of pure luck games but if that's what you want."
"Let's play 5 games" Dream lips quirk. He tries hard not to show how excited he is to play. Playing with newcomers has always been his thing. He is the one in charge of seeing if they are worthy to become a gambling club member. Dream is amazed George is still not affected by his taunting comments, maybe he has to step up his game. "I'll let you place your bet first, you know, since you're new."
George’s lips remain shut into a thin line, holding himself back from reacting to those words. Being new to the club doesn’t mean he hasn’t been gambling since he was legally allowed to. He hates being underestimated but he isn't going to give in to Dream’s game easily. George expects the other to be talented in playing as much as he is bluffing. "$25 is my first bet"
"You won, George." Dream grins and his eyes crinkle exaggeratedly. Definitely fake. "I bet it was beginner's luck."
There it is, George thinks. It's their first round and Dream hasn't stopped pushing George's buttons since he walked into the room. If George makes it until the last round without punching the other's face it would be a miracle.
"We have four more rounds." George ignores the blond's taunting remark and instead, shuffles the cards and mentally prepares for the second round. He waits for Dream to place his bet.
"I'm not a prick so..." Dream trails off, referring to Quackity's comment earlier. "$50.
Not that scary for you, right?"
"See? Last game was totally beginner's luck." Dream points at George's stacked card deck and lets out a wheezy laugh.
While he's collecting the cards on the table, he gets caught off card when his opponent finally reacts to one of his comments for the first time.
"Well, Dream" George says, "Luck and what you call—" he raises his hands and makes imaginary quotation marks, "—beginner's luck are the same thing."
Dreams tsks, he can't help the smirk that’s slowly appearing on his face. George's first reaction to his teasing being over something so dumb is amusing. "They're not, George."
"They are." George returns, eyebrows frowned. Why are we having this conversation?
"If you check the statistics of every member's first game here—” Dream takes a glance and notices that almost every member is gathered around the big table, watching his and George’s game. “I'm sure 80% of them have won."
George sighs, there’s no way he will win this dumb argument. The other one is stubborn and will insist until George gives up so he decides to change the topic. "What's your major?"
The blond furrows his eyebrows, confused by the random question. He isn’t there to make small talk, he is there to bet, play and win but he ends up answering or else he would look like the biggest asshole. "English."
"I wasn't expecting that." he murmurs with an expressionless look, leaving Dream more disoriented than he was before.
The fourth round ends up with Dream being victorious and George, very frustrated, rubbing his face. The british’s luck seems to have run out after the first game and that made him lose all the rest of the rounds. He wished he never agreed to play War. The game is already boring and George’s opponent being on a winning streak makes it more unbearable. Members who were watching their game couldn’t find any excitement in the game and left. George loves thrilling games and putting on a show so before more members dare to leave, he proceeds to try killing two birds with one stone.
"Last game." Dream crosses his arms and gives George an amused smile, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Place your bet, George."
"$500."
"WHAT?" Dream yells loudly, making his voice crack. He thinks George must be joking, there is no way he would bet that much money on his first day. He looks around to confirm he is not the only one who heard that and he notices many of the members with the same shocked expression as his on their faces. The new member caught the attention of everyone and stunned them with his bet.
"I said-"
"ARE YOU SURE?" he interrupts George, indignant. He can’t wrap his head around the thought of why someone like George, who Dream presssumed was smart, would make such a dumb decision. Dream was worried the other one would leave like the past three newcomers. "That's a lot of money on your first day, are you aware there's a 50% possibility I could win?"
"Dream. $500" George’s tone showed no sign of him joking. His cold gaze focuses on Dream, challenging. "Come on, match my bet."
Dream clenches his jaw and grits his teeth. The audacity of a newcomer challenging him in such a daunting way made Dream think George was either the most annoying guy he ever played with or an interesting player who loves gambling as much as him. Maybe both.
"I hope you don’t cry and run when you lose all that money because—” Dream points with his thumb behind him, where Karl and other members, who complained about his manners, are. “these guys will be mad at me."
George completely ignores the blond’s words and repeats, never breaking his staring contest with Dream’s fierce eyes. "Match it. I thought you weren't a chicken."
"I'm anything but a chicken." Dream says flatly, trying (and failing) to convince everyone that he’s not affected by the trash-talking. He is used to Sapnap and Quackity but it took George only one annoying comment to hurt his ego. He would never admit it out loud but, although his huge ego feels threatened, he shamelessly enjoys the teasing. It spices the games up and makes Dream more eager to play with George again.
"Yeah, a prick." Quackity scoffs and high fives Karl, who can’t stop laughing at his friend’s comment. Usual Quackity and Karl behavior, hyping each other’s jokes and cackling loudly.
Dream completely ignores the other member’s banter and offers his hand to George. He wants to make a deal before they end the round. "Promise me you won't quit the club after this game."
"I'm going to win so you don't have to worry about that." is George’s nonchalant response but he shakes hands with the blond anyways, sealing the deal.
Gambling club members around the table wish their favorite player good luck and get quieter as the game starts. Dream takes a last glance at George while shuffling the card deck and finds impressive how many people are cheering on George. He even sees Sapnap, his own best friend, giving George a back pat. Traitor.
The first pair of cards they turn up goes to Dream, since he gets a Queen while George gets a five. He wins the first two “War” rounds and collects many cards, which makes a good start for the blond. He hopes he can remain as lucky until the game finishes. After a few rounds where they show their cards, Dream’s deck looks more stacked than George’s but the blond knows George is able to make a comeback if he is lucky enough to win the next “War” rounds.
Surprisingly, George gets luckier and manages to collect many cards, making his deck grow slowly.
Dream reaches a point where his luck seems to run out, making him lose cards as fast as he won them at the start of the game.
"This game is pretty intense." states Karl, as if everybody in the room hasn't noticed it yet. “How is George on the lead now?”
“If you’re lucky, you can turn the game around and win.” Quackity answers.
"WAR." George yells as two identical cards are turned up. Two eights. He hopes he wins this War round, it would lead to Dream having no cards on his deck and George ending up victorious. George looks up and sees Dream running his hand through his hair attempting to look calm and collected but George knows inside he’s stressed about losing $500 to the newest club member.
Both players place three cards on top of the table turned upside down and when it’s time to reveal the pair of cards who decides who wins the War round, George dares to wish Dream good luck and giggles when he sees the other rolling his eyes.
"YES!" George jumps up in a second, celebrating his first victory in the gambling club. His flipped card was a King while Dream’s was a seven, making George get the entire deck and win. "I told you I was going to win."
Dream is stunned in his seat, no sound coming out of his mouth, until he lets out a huff. “Lucky.”
"Maybe Beginner's luck does exist after all." George sarcastically says with an effortless grin spreading on his face.
Dream leans his head back and groans in frustration while rummaging through his jeans' pocket. He takes five one hundred dollars bills and places them on the table without giving George a look. "Here."
George takes the money and before he can say something back to the blond, he gets interrupted by loud screaming and happy claps on his back. Members of the club congratulate George on his first win and officially welcomes him as the newest member.
“Let’s go George!” Karl puts his right arm around George's shoulders. "I know you were going to be a nice addition to the club."
"Congrats!" Quackity claps and flashes George a smile. The reason for his happiness obviously being a newcomer winning on his first day and not because a certain prick lost. "You had some balls to bet those $500."
George laughs while he watches Karl and Quackity do a celebratory dance with their arms.
He notices Dream is watching them too and George raises an eyebrow at him. The blonde rolls his eyes and stands up. He starts heading to the exit but before he gets close to it, George does what he has been planning the whole game.
"Hey, Quackity." George puts a hand on Quackity's shoulder, trying to make him stop dancing while his other hand has the same bills with which Dream paid the bet. George offers the money to Quackity as he smiles and says, "You can keep this money, I don't need it."
Dream stops on his track and shrieks an scandalous "WHAT." as soon as he hears George. He looks back over his shoulder, muttering under his breath "There's no fucking way."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Quackity is dumbfounded. He meets eyes with Karl, expecting it to be one of his jokes that he might have planned with George earlier but Karl's surprised face says otherwise.
"You lost $500 earlier." he reminds Quackity. George turns to where Dream is now and sees the blond's eyes are wide open with anger. George feels like being a dick and gives him the most annoying smirk he can. "Now you have your money back, Quackity."
"George, what the hell is wrong with you?" Dream snaps as he walks over near George, Quackity and Karl. He glares at George and spits, "You can't just give the money to another person."
"Well, I just did." George shrugs with his arms folded and an shit-eating grin on his face.
"God, you're so annoying." the blond shakes his head and spares George one last glance before he storms out of the club room.
"That was the first time someone used the word annoying and was for someone other than Dream." Karl comments, trying to break the tension in the room.
"George, I can't accept the money." Quackity's voice softens, completely different to the loud one everyone is used to. He was touched by George's action and still finds it hard to believe someone would give away five hundred dollars without batting an eye.
"I'm serious, you should have it." he insists and laughs softly thinking of Dream's hilarious face. "I already got my prize anyway."
"Fine but at least let's eat dinner together, come on." The excitement in Quackity's voice is back again and he grabs George's arm. "I will pay for everything, Karl you too."
Karl doesn't get any time to celebrate before George cuts in, "Sorry, I still have things to do in my place."
"Tomorrow, then." says Karl, he would never lose an opportunity like that. Quackity paying for his meal happened once in a lifetime.
"Sure." George nods. He makes his way to the door and waves to no one in particular. "Bye guys, that was fun."
As he gets out of the room, George notices one of the members that welcomed him earlier, the one that is also a Computer Science major, is on his tail and asks him "Are you going that way?"
George feels tired after an entire day of classes and gambling but he doesn't want to be rude so he slows down, letting the guy walk with him. He seemed nice when they greeted each other earlier. "Sapnap, right?"
The other guy nods and lets one his hand rest faintly on George's back. "Congrats dude… and welcome to the gambling club."
"Thanks." George smiles gently and does what he always does when he is tired, he rambles. "I apologize if I looked too cocky, I swear I'm not like that but Dream was being annoying and I had to match his energy."
Sapnap chuckles lightly and assures him with pats on his back. "It's fine, he deserves it."
"Is he always like that with every new guy or were you guys just joking?"
"Today his ego was bigger than what I expected."
"Oh my god." George murmurs. Dream must be the guy with the biggest ego he ever met.
"He's a nice guy, though." Sapnap states, like he was listening to George's thoughts. "You should talk to him outside that room."
"Well..." George trails off, he wasn't sure about that.
Sapnap must notice George's awkwardness because he changes the topic quickly. "Those were some fun games today, by the way."
"Not the most interesting game, but at least the end was pretty funny." George smiles as he remembers the blond's hilarious reactions.
"Dream's face at the end…"
"I wish someone would have taken a picture of his face." Sapnap lets out a loud laugh, bubbly and high pitched. "I was trying so hard to contain my laugh but I lost it at the end. Why would you give Quackity the money?"
"I thought winning wasn't enough to knock his ego down." George answers with a light chuckle. He is glad he got lucky earlier and now he can joke about it and laugh like this with someone.
"I've been trying to do that since we were kids." Sapnap's words make George's laugh stop abruptly.
"Oh, so you're friends with Dream?" George is flustered, he has been laughing at Sapnap's possible childhood friend. He hopes he didn't look like a dick earlier when he rambled about Dream's attitude.
"Yeah, we met in middle school." he answers and George already pictures this as the last time he speaks to Sapnap.
"Oh, wow…" he blinks at Sapnap and apologizes. "Sorry for everything I've said about your friend then."
Sapnap notices George actually feels bad and assures him with pats on his shoulder. "It's fine, he has that effect on people."
"The "I want to erase that smirk from your face with my fist" effect?"
"I've heard worse."