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Rubbing at his eyes, George grabbed a couple shirts and folded them up, shoving them in his backpack.
Sniffing, he ignored the pulse in his chest. The familiar pang that had been there for quite some time. He wasn’t even sure, actually, exactly how long it had been there for. Walking over to his bed, he reached up and stroked Dog’s head, rubbed between her ears. “Hey, babygirl.” She stared at him with those eyes of hers. His own welled up and blurred, and he rubbed at his eyes again. Sniffed loudly. Zipping up his backpack, he glanced at her. Then, he leaned in. Kissed her head. Maybe she wouldn’t understand the gesture, she was just a dog. But still…
Some part of him wanted to try and bring her with him. It was a stupid idea. There was no way he could bring a dog with him. He barely had the ability to tear himself away from the family.
Cupping the sides of her face, sliding his fingers over her cheeks, he sniffed. “Goodbye, babygirl. I love you. Be a good girl.” She wagged he tail once, thumping it against his bed. Sniffing, he rubbed his nose. Grabbed his bags and hiked them up over his shoulder. Then, he ducked into the hallway.
Around him, the world was dark. He was leaving in the middle of the night, like some sort of thief. Still, he didn’t have any choice. So, he grabbed his skateboard, threw it under one arm. Then, he strode into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle. It was one that was fairly inconspicuous. His clothes, shoes, and backpack were the same. Normal-looking, plain. With some patterning but not much, only enough to make it seem like someone who didn’t need to hide.
Filling it up, he tugged his elbow and knee pads on over his hoodie sleeves and his jeans. Swallowed nervously, tucked the water bottle into the side of his backpack. Dropped his helmet onto his head but didn’t click it. Then, he turned.
There was someone standing in the hallway.
Eyes wide, one hand resting against the wall, his sister stared at him. “George?” Delilah asked softly. Swallowing and biting his lip, George looked away. “Why are you—where are you going?”
“I-I’m leaving. I can’t stay here, I’m sorry.” He replied, looking over at her. Smiling weakly, he added, “I wish I could stay.”
“George, I—“ Walking forwards, Delilah stared at him. Reached up and touched his cheek. Leaning into the touch, George closed his eyes for a moment. Took a breath. She wasn’t wearing any shoes, just some turquoise socks with Ewoks on them that he had bought her as a joke at Christmas. A light blue tank top and black shorts. When he opened her eyes and looked at her, her brown eyes darted between each of his own. She was twenty-four to his eighteen, but he had never felt more like he was the older sibling. “Why?”
“Mom and Dad.”
“They’re not that bad. We can fix this.” Reaching up, he touched her hand. Squeezed it once and smiled down at her. Mouth drawing into a thin line, she closed the distance between them. Threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. He returned it immediately, burying his face in the crook of her neck and shoulder. Ignored the burning in his eyes, ignored the shake of his chest, the tickle of her hair on his nose. She smelled like that stupid expensive strawberry shampoo she used to yell at him for stealing, citrus fruit and chocolate. Home.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered into her ear.
“It’s not your fault.” Smoothing a hand over his hair, she stepped back. Took his hands in hers and gripped them, tightly. Stared into his eyes. “You stay safe. Find someone to stay with. Don’t wander off on your own, don’t get hurt. Okay?”
Smiling, he nodded. Quietly, said, “Okay.”
Hugging him again, she let go of him. Stared at him for a moment, like she was taking him in for the last time. It won’t be the last time, he swore to himself.
(But what if it is? A small voice in the back of his mind asked.)
Taking a shaky breath, she turned and disappeared. He slipped the other way around the house, touching the walls as he went. The counter that he and Emily and Delilah and Felix used to sit at early mornings, eating cereal. The couch that Felix insisted on sneaking peanut butter behind so that he could watch Saturday morning cartoons and still have food in the front rooms. Running a hand over Cat’s back, watching the streetlights cast silver and black stripes over tabby fur, George took a slow breath and then gently kissed Cat’s head. “I love you.” He whispered.
Slowly, he stood up. Pulled away and then looked around. Taking a breath, he kept moving. Walked towards the door and unlocked the door. When he glanced into the hallway, it was empty.
Pulling the door open, he walked outside.
Closing the door, he walked forwards. Fixed his elbow and knee pads. Clicked the helmet together and then head down to the road. Dropping the skateboard down, he hopped on it and started moving. Sucking in a breath, he closed his eyes for a moment. Kept moving.
He didn’t have a choice.
When he had almost gotten to the highway, a truck pulled up beside him. Looking over, he saw none other than Dream’s white truck. The window rolled down. Stubbornly, he dropped his gaze. Dream pulled to the shoulder.
“I’m not going back.” He said firmly.
“I won’t make you.” Dream replied. Head jerking up, George looked over. Taking a slow breath, Dream tapped his fingers against the wheel. Then, he glanced over. Smiled softly. In the bright light of the ghost town of a stoplight, his eyes seemed to be glowing like the lights on Disneyland Main Street. Blinking, George stared at him for a moment. “Want a ride, pretty boy? I’m sort of…heading out of town for a while.”
“You have film classes.”
“They can wait.”
“Dream, it’s your…” Dream parked the car, turned the hazards on. Looking to the side, George shook his head as Dream got out, leaving the door open. “It’s your dream . You can’t just throw it away.”
“Hey.” Reaching over, Dream gently held onto George’s arms. Looking up, he met his gaze. With a soft smile, Dream replied, “They can wait. Besides, most of them are online.”
Closing his eyes, George sniffed and dropped his head forwards. Instead of a sweet moment, Dream swore and stepped back as the front of George’s helmet smacked his collarbones. “Sorry! Sorry. Oh Go— gosh I don’t—I didn’t—I wasn’t thinking I’m so sorry are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Gently unclicking George’s helmet, Dream removed it. Smiled at him softly. His eyes darted to the side, he licked his lips and smiled oddly. “Mind if I kiss you? You look kind of cute in this light.” George stared at him for a moment, mouth partially open in confusion. Kissing Dream? Oh yeah, that seemed fun. But kissing him on the sidewalk of an unusually empty road, right after running from his house, with a cemetery behind them? Not exactly the epitome of romantic.
“Why don’t we wait until we’re in the car?” George asked. Looking at him, Dream smiled. Then, he closed his eyes, shrugged with a hum, and grabbed George’s backpack and skateboard from him. Loading them into the truck’s backseat, he turned to him. Took the helmet and held out a hand for him.
“Princess?”
Dropping the smile that had made its way onto his face, George said, “Oh, don’t call me that.”
Still, he took Dream’s hand.
Pulling him close, Dream dropped the helmet in the backseat. Then, he wrapped his arms around George’s legs, picked him up, and put him in the driver’s seat. Bracing his elbows on George’s knees, he leaned in with a smug grin. “Sure, princess. How about that kiss?”
Shoving his face away, George turned, swung his legs over the console, and pulled himself into the passenger seat.
Laughing, Dream hopped into the car. Turned the radio on, started driving once his hazards were off and the light was back to green. Once they were on the road, he started singing, looking at George with a smile tugging at the words. “Sometimes all I think about is you, late nights in the middle of June,” he joked, leaning over. Placing a hand on Dream’s cheek, George shoved his face away. Shook his head and looked out the window. “Come on! This is Glass Animals! Heat Waves! It’s a classic.”
Leaning an elbow on the window, George looked out at the dark silhouettes of the hills as they drove on. “Of course I fall in love with the only boy in town who loves Glass Animals. Your music taste is ancient.”
“The song is, like, a year old!”
“Mhmm, and so is your sense of humor.” They pulled to a stop at another light. Frowning, George straightened up and looked around, then looked to Dream. “Where are we going?”
“Phil’s. Thought it might be nice to get some sleep, plan out where we’re going. You’re an adult, so there’s no worry about harboring a runaway like there would be in the past.” Dream explained, with a shrug. “Besides, what you said in the Discord worried a lot of us.”
Looking Dream up and down, chin braced against his curled fingers with his elbow still on the window sill, George murmured softly, “So that’s why you were out tonight.”
Dream met his gaze. Smiled softly and reached across the console, rested his hand on George’s thigh. “It’s worth it. Besides, I needed to think. I was the only one who drove, everyone else was going to buzz your phone at specific times to try and get you to talk to them in case you wouldn’t chat with anyone else.”
Moving on impulse, George glanced at the light. Then, he leaned across the console, grabbed Dream’s chin and tipped his face towards his. Kissing him, he felt Dream’s fingers tighten a bit on his leg. That hand went up to his cheek, brushed some of the unshed tears from his eye and then his hair. Then, George broke it off when the light turned green. Sat back down in his seat. “I did say I wanted to wait until we were in the car.”
Dream started driving numbly.
Once they pulled onto the street where Phil’s house was, George stared down at his lap for a moment. His eyes started watering. “George?” Dream asked softly. Looking over at him, George paused.
“I left my house.” He whispered. Looked ahead to the dark trees where he and Dream used to go with the others. Grip tightening on the chair, he whispered, “I didn’t even say goodbye.”
The next thing he knew, he was crying.
The door opened and shut. All of a sudden, Dream was at his side, pulling him out of the car and into his arms like he didn’t weigh anything. Setting him down on the concrete, holding him with one arm around his waist and using his free hand to shut the door. Then, he pulled George into a hug again. Let him hold onto the classic Dream hoodie and cry into it for a moment. “I know, I know.” Kissing his hair, Dream quietly said, “It’s going to be alright, George. Come on, let’s go inside. We’ll get some hot chocolate. Some food. Get you a nice bed, make a plan.” Slowly, he rocked George back on his feet a bit.
“Okay, okay.” George whispered. Slowly, Dream guided him towards the little, pale pink house with the white trim that Phil and Kristin and their family called home. Then, Dream knocked on the door. The lights were on.
Immediately, the door opened.
Looking up, George sniffed and met Wilbur’s gaze. The man exited the house, pulled him into a hug. Sniffing, George buried his face in Wilbur’s chest, sobbed again. I’m a fricking mess, he thought. Reaching up, he rubbed at his nose, sniffed loudly. I sound like a pig.
Fingers rubbed over his hair. “You don’t sound like a pig.” Wilbur whispered. “Come on, come on. Let’s get you inside. Okay?” George nodded, let himself be guided inside.
There were…a lot of people in the house.
Immediately, George ducked his head, pulled his hood up. One of the last times he had cried, freshman year, his mom decided to point it out to a bunch of people in their house as he walked up the stairs. Decided to point out that she had made him cry, just to be petty about a fight or something that they had.
Slowly, Wilbur guided him to an empty spot on the couch. Dream went over to talk to Phil. As soon as George was seated, the other members of the SMP moved over to him, to talk and comfort and…well, just be amazing, he supposed. On one side, Bad shuffled closer. Waited for any signal he might not be welcome. Leaning over, George grabbed onto his arms, dropped into him completely. On his other side, Sapnap decided to pull a cat and lay on him, arms wrapping around his waist while Bad held onto him as he shook and cried. No one talked. No one asked questions. The kids weren’t there, thank the Lord. The youngest person was Niki at nineteen. She wasn’t a kid.
“Hey, sweetie.” Opening his eyes, George looked up to see Kristin crouching in front of him. Holding a mug of something. “Here, have some hot chocolate.”
Sniffing, he rubbed at his eyes. “Thank you.” His voice scratched at the words. Behind him, someone wrapped their arms around him. Niki. Kristin smiled, rubbed his knee, then went to go talk to her husband, Dream, and her oldest sons. George coughed, watched Techno and Wilbur and Dream and Phil.
“We love you, George.” She said softly, with a small crack to her voice. Clinging onto her, George smiled weakly and closed his eyes.
“Thank you.”
+++
Needless to say, it was no surprise to anyone that they all ended up draped across various furniture and beanbags and even the floor.
Cry sessions did that to you. Of course, Dream woke George up in the middle of the night. “Hey.” He whispered. Gently, he helped him pull away from the others. In his sleep, Sapnap grumbled, turned and pulled Quackity and Karl into his arms. Whereas Quackity was sleeping very serenely, which was not what George expected, Karl was snoring like a broken chainsaw. Or maybe a lawn mower. Or a broken washing machine. Bad and Skeppy were cuddled up together. Niki had fallen asleep in Puffy’s lap, fingers playing with Eret’s hair. Wilbur was curled up in one of the chairs in an almost catlike way, Techno draped across the top of another chair with Fundy thrown across the chair arms and Sam piled underneath him. Ant and Velvet were sharing the same couch cushion.
“Hey.” George replied.
“Come on.” Gently, Dream tugged him out into the back. Sat him down on the porch. “Look.” Then, he pointed upright. Following his gaze, George looked up at the stars and wrapped his arms around his knees. Dream shoved a hoodie over him, one of his hoodies. Immediately, George looked over at him and smiled softly. Pulled his arms into sweater paws and held them up to his cold nose.
“Thank you.” Leaning over, Dream kissed his hair. Started kissing down his cheeks. “Please don’t try to get me to make out with you in the backyard of the Minecrafts’ house.”
“I’m not trying. But can I have a kiss?” Gently, he touched George’s jaw, slid a hand beneath his chin so they were looking at one another. His eyes flicked down to George’s lips. Softened slightly. Smiling, George nodded. Leaning in, he let Dream move the rest of the way. When they finally broke it off, George let out a soft breath.
“Definitely better than out in front of the cemetery.”