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(I swear it’s a sign that we first
Met on a Friday
Everyone told me
The 13th was bad luck)
Dream meets George by a stroke of luck. He had been running late to one of his last classes of the week, and he happened to run into one of the TA’s of the neighboring class. Out of breath from both running and how pretty he was, Dream was shocked beyond belief when the assistant agreed to give him his number. Elated, Dream didn’t even care about the stern look his professor gave or the other students’ judgemental stares.
Weeks into the semester, Dream finally musters the courage to ask George out on a date. The two have been texting almost every day now, and Dream is head over heels. He learns that George is a junior compared to Dream’s freshman and that he’s majoring in computer science.
On their date, Dream realizes George is a big fan of superstitions. Dream finds it endearing. He watches with softened eyes when George stops to pick up pennies (only the ones with the heads facing up), or him knocking on the restaurant’s wooden table when he talks about acing his courses. Dream and George talk over their steak and bicker over whether it’s called fries or chips. Honestly, chips make no sense, Dream thinks, but he entertains George’s nonsense anyway.
At the end of their meal, George throws a pinch of salt over his shoulder, and Dream can’t help but ask why.
“It’s to ward away bad spirits,” George explained with a tentative expression, “if you spill salt you should always toss it over your left shoulder to ward away bad spirits.”
Dream grinned as he picked up some of his leftover salt and gently tossed it over his left shoulder as well.
George’s smile lit up the room.
* * *
Ever since their first date, George had been teaching Dream small superstitions to do. As soon as Dream finally had the confidence to ask George out and make them official, Dream gifted him a leather-bound notebook to write all of the superstitions down for him. The book is filled to the brim with George’s messy scrawl, and Dream likes to read a new page every day. Although Dream doesn’t fully believe in spirits and luck, the way George lights up every time he talks about the subject makes it worth it.
Sometimes the entries make Dream laugh. Avoid whistling indoors, it can summon devils. Or: Don’t get a haircut on Tuesday, it will bring back luck. Dream’s personal favorite is the children’s rhyme George wrote on one of the first pages.
Step on a crack,
You’ll break your mother’s back;
Step on a line
You’ll break your father’s spine.
Step in a ditch,
Your mother’s nose will itch;
Step in the dirt
You’ll tear your father’s shirt.
Dream laughed when he read it, George can’t take that one seriously, he’s too clumsy to avoid all of those things. George argues that he could do it, even if he doesn’t believe in it. When George accidentally falls into a ditch the next day, Dream’s wheezes can be heard across the street as George huffs in fake annoyance.
* * *
George’s birthday has been perfect, Dream thinks. They had celebrated with their friends earlier that day. Dream spent hours planning the surprise party for George, making sure everything was blue, including the homemade cake and the 100 balloons scattered around the apartment. Sapnap, Quackity, and Karl had all teased Dream relentlessly over how whipped he was, but Dream couldn’t care less.
When George arrived, he marveled at the cake Dream made. “Does it have the dime?”
Dream grinned, “Of course it has the dime, I let the rest know though so we don’t have to do the Heimlich today.”
Hours prior to the party, Dream added a dime to the cake batter because of George’s birthday tradition. He wrote in the journal that ever since he was a child, his parents would bake a cake and put a dime in it, and whoever got the slice with the dime would end up rich in the next year. Since George’s parents were across the Atlantic, Dream decided to take up that responsibility instead.
George was slightly disappointed at the fact that he couldn’t blow out all 21 candles in one go. It was supposedly meant to give extra good luck for the year. Dream reassured him that he had next year and the ones after that. George smiled back and laughed at his enthusiasm.
After cutting the cake, Quackity yelled in excitement when he got the dime. All the others sighed in mock disappointment.
After saying goodbye to all of their friends, Dream takes George to a local crystal shop to get a tarot card reading. While George is in the back, Dream looks around the shop. While all of the crystals and candles are appealing, it’s the rings at the counter that draw him in.
“How much are those black rings right there?” Dream asks the employee.
“$12 each,” the employee says, “they’re hematite rings, made to absorb negative energy. Be careful though, too many negative emotions can cause them to break.”
Dream beams at the employee. George would love this. “Great. I’ll take two.”
Dream safely packed the rings as a surprise for later. when George comes back with a pale face. Dream furrows his brow, concerned.
“Is everything okay?” Dream asks.
George notices Dream’s worried glances and straightens. “I-, I’m fine really. I might be getting a cold,” George stammers.
They both know it’s a lie.
Dream swallows the vile taste in his mouth and decides to play along for both of their sakes. “Let’s go back to your apartment then. I have a surprise for you.”
“It’s okay, I can walk back alone. My parents were asking to call me earlier today anyways.” George says weakly.
George hurries out of the shop, and Dream is left to wonder where it went wrong.
* * *
(Is it karma if I end up the fool? Is it karma?
I keep coming back to you)
George is ghosting Dream. Sapnap begs Dream to dump him and move on. He says George isn’t worth his tears. No matter how hard Sapnap tried to raise his spirits, nothing worked. Party after party Dream sat alone watching as others got drunk over beers. Sapnap said it was the best way to spend his Fridays.
George was born on a Friday. Dream thought bitterly. It was one of the later entries in the book. People born on Fridays are fickle with their love, usually ending in love affairs. Prone to heartbreaks, these people choose who they love carefully, and their married life is always happy due to their smart decisions and affectionate behavior.
Dream used to joke that Fridays were their day. After all, Dream and George met on a Friday too. George would tell Dream that he shouldn’t mention that. They met on a Friday the 13th, the definition of bad luck.
George used to ask him if their relationship was doomed because they met on the 13th.
Dream would kiss him instead of an answer.
* * *
Back at his dorm, Dream throws his ring against the wall.
It breaks.
* * *
(Superstition keeps me thinking it was karma
But I can’t listen, my intuition says I want you)
Dream goes to return George’s ring the next day because hey, $12 is $12 for a broke college student like himself. Maybe I’ll buy a pack of beer for Sapnap’s next party, Dream thinks dejectedly, how symbolic, using my heartbreak money to get drunk. Dream pulls out the box from his pocket. The last time he opened it was on that ill-fated day.
Before Dream could continue to wallow in his sadness, he overheard shouting coming from the back.
“I don’t care if it’s not how it works! Pull the cards again.”
“But sir-”
“Just do it! I’m meant to be with him, I know it.”
The muffled voices seem to die down. Dream is about to leave when the two of them come out from the back. His eyes turn to the brunet standing behind the fortune-teller.
Dream swallows. “George?”
George hears him and turns his head in shock. He looks the same since Dream last saw him, but his eyes look sadder. They used to shine when he was happy, now they’re a dull brown.
Not wanting to see him anymore, Dream interjects before George could say anything. “I- I was just going to return something. I can come back later.” Dream was humiliated. Here he was, in a constant self-pity party over George while he still goes to the same crystal shop to get readings. Dream couldn’t believe it.
“No Dream, I- wait please just let explain.”
Dream doesn’t know why for the life of him he stopped, but he did. The fortune-teller got the hint and excused themselves before they had to see the shouting match of a lifetime.
Dream turns to look at George, ready to tell him to never talk to him again, but the tears in George’s eyes made him stop. Dream motions for George to talk. George breathes a sigh of relief.
“I’m sorry for ignoring you these past weeks. It’s- fuck, it sounds so dumb. It’s cause of the tarot cards. They said we were destined to break up, and I stupidly thought there was no use in keeping our relationship if it was just going to lead to heartbreak down the line,” George says in a rushed ramble, “Then I realized how much I missed you, and I came here to get another reading to prove fate wrong. Well, I’ve gotten readings for the past week actually. This was the fourth time and I was actual-”
“George?”
George looks likes he could break down at any moment. “Yes?”
Dream pulls the ring from his pocket, close to tears. “I was meant to give this to you on your birthday but it’s okay, you’re here now. Let’s hope this never breaks.” Dream starts to hand the ring to George, but he shakes it away.
“I don’t need a stupid ring to protect me from bad spirits when I have the man I love.”
“You love me?” Dream asks, his eyes welling up.
George choked back a laugh, “Yes of course you idiot, how could I not? I don’t care what anyone says anymore, I know I’m destined to be with you.”
It’s everything Dream wanted to hear. “I love you too.”