Chapter Text
(Three years prior to the main plot)
“Dream! You’re like, my best friend, but you’re sweaty! Get off of me!” George hollered, playfully trying to shrug the blond off his shoulder.
“But I’m tired!” Dream whined.
“Don’t be such a pissbaby.”
“Sapnap, you watch it! You’re nearly as bad as he is!”
The dark haired boy made a face.
“Gogy! You’re supposed to be on my side!”
George stuck out his tongue. “I’m on my own side!”
Karl giggled. “You’re all a bunch of babies.”
Sapnap gasped in mock offense. “Karl! How dare you! I am a very mature fourteen years, thank you very much!”
The taller boy only giggled again.
“Sappynappy, I hate to break it to you, but you are not mature,” said the short brunette with goggles. He had finally managed to shrug Dream off his shoulders, and had fast walked a few feet ahead to spite the blond.
Sapnap was about to fire back a witty retort, when a branch to their left cracked. The four boys froze, glancing around.
“Who’s there?” Dream called.
Silence. Then the rustle of a leaf. This time it was from their right. George had stepped closer to Dream again, eyes darting around behind his clout goggles.
Karl spoke up. “We won’t hurt you. Just come out a little so we can see who you are. Don’t worry.”
Maybe it was something about the kindness in the boy’s voice, or the cautious way he had stepped closer to the trees, that made the girl step out.
She looked about their age, with tangled hair and wild eyes. Scratches lined her arms, legs, and face. There were tears in her clothing, which had left marks too.
To Dream, Karl, and George’s surprise, Sapnap stepped forward, hands raised to show peace. The boy stepped closer to the girl, making sure he kept eye contact. Once he was within a few feet of the strange girl, he stopped.
“What’s your name?”
It was a minute before she spoke. Her voice was thick and raspy, like she’d been without water for a while.
“Y/n.”
“I’m Sapnap. That’s Karl, Dream, and George,” he said, pointing to each of his friends as he stated their names. “What happened to you?”
The girl didn’t answer. Instead, she observed each boy for a few seconds, obviously avoiding the question. Sapnap seemed to catch on, because he said, “Don’t worry. You don’t have to tell us if you’re not comfortable with that. Would you like to come back with us, and get something to eat or drink instead?”
The mention of food and water seemed to spark something in the girl. She nodded, trailing after Sapnap and the other three. They walked in silence for a while, nobody knowing what to say.
After about fifteen minutes, the five had exited thr trees, and appeared in front of a large wooden house. There was a lopsided sign out front with the words ‘The Community House’ written in messy handwriting.
Dream pushed open the large oak doors, revealing a long hallway with photographs and other knickknacks on the walls and floor. Lanterns had been hung on the ceiling every few feet down the hall, bathing everything in a soft yellow glow.
“Just down here. Our friend Bad is probably baking something delicious. He loves baking.” The girl only nodded in response, still not sure what to make of this situation.
A big kitchen came into view, with white countertops and plush barstools across from a matching White Island. There was another boy in the kitchen, in a black hoodie, humming away as he baked.
“Bad! We’re home. And we met someone new,” announced Dream.
The boy turned around, a large smile growing on his face. The round glasses he wore became slightly lopsided with his smile.
“Hello! I’m Badboyhalo, but you’re welcome to call me Bad. What’s your name?”
“Y/n.” The girl’s voice was, if possible, even raspier.
Bad’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh you must be thirsty! I’ll get you some water.”
He hurried over to a cabinet and pulled out a small glass cup, filling it with water from the fridge while the other boys sat down at the island and started chatting.
“Here you go!”
The girl took the glass cautiously, hands slightly trembling. She had just brought it to her lips when it slipped out of her grasp and hit the floor, shattering. Everyone turned to see what caused the loud noise.
Y/n’s eyes widened, and filled with tears.
“I’m sorry,” she croaked. Her hands were still trembling. Sapnap hurried over to the girl, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, causing him to pull away.
“Sorry, uh, don’t worry. It’s okay. We can clean it up and get you another glass.”
He guided her over to the barstools, keeping his hand an inch or two above her shoulder. Karl and Bad went to sweep up the glass and throw it away, while George cleaned up the water with a towel. Sapnap and y/n sat alone at the island.
She was still trembling, from breaking the glass or some other reason, Sapnap didn’t know. But she seemed really upset.
“Hey.” He gave the girl a soft smile, hoping to calm her.
“It’s okay. It was an accident. We can clean it up. You’re okay.”
Y/n stopped trembling, taking slow breaths to relax. “I’m okay,” she whispered, the words barely audible.
George sat down next to her, this time holding a plastic cup with water. He slid it to her. “Here’s some more water. Don’t worry, we got it cleaned up. It’s no big deal.”
Y/n grabbed the cup, a little more confidently now. At first, she took slow sips, and then chugged the last of it in seconds.
“Woah, careful! You don’t want to choke, you muffin!” Bad chastised. He’d noticed her shaking and ready eyes, and had gone into dad-mode. He was usually always in dad-mode, but situations like this called for extra dadness. It was no problem. Bad always had some extra dadness ready to help his friends out.
“Are you hungry? I made some strawberry muffins for everyone. Good thing I made extras, huh?”
He sat a plate with at least twenty muffins on it, stacked on top of each other. George, Karl, and Dream quickly grabbed two each, not bothering to worry about how it might taste. Bad’s muffins were always excellent.
Sapnap noticed y/n’s startled face. He picked up a muffin and sat it near her.
“If you’re hungry you’d best grab a couple. And soon. Those three are like maniacs when it comes to Bad’s cooking. They’d eat every single one of them if they could.”
With that, he grabbed a muffin and followed the other three off somewhere into the house. Y/n just stared. The boys were certainly energetic. And kinda loud.
“Don’t wait too long to eat that, or it’ll get cold. I don’t think that would really change the taste that much, but they’re much better when they’re still warm.”
Y/n hadn’t noticed Bad sit down next to her. She’d been to busy staring after Sapnap, Karl, George, and Dream.
“Oh. Thank you. I hope I’m not too much trouble. I’m a complete stranger.”
Bad just laughed. “Not at all! I’m glad to help out. Besides, we’re friends now, if you’d like.”
A friend? An actual friend? Like....someone that cared about you and was there all the time? Someone to make bad times fun?
“Y/n? Are you ok? You’re just staring again.”
“Oh I’m okay. I-I’d like to be friends.”
“Yay!”
“Thank you.” Bad nearly missed what she’d said, it was so quiet. His cheery demeanor faded into a more serious one.
“Of course.”