Archive of Our Own

If only Dream could have another Mathematics project, he wouldn't have paid for this field trip. Hell, he wouldn't even tell his parents about it because he would rather rest his ass on the bed than make the payment ‘worth it’ through riding all the attractions he could in this park.

The scenery is extremely admirable, yes— very helpful for their math project (which he’d already started the moment they set foot in this place—finishing his photos in less than half an hour) but that meant he had the rest of the day to probably sit on one of the benches and look at everyone else enjoying the rides, eagerly waiting for this trip to be officially over.

Dream hates amusement parks because he can only stroll around it and could never will himself to get in any of the rides.

He's afraid of heights.

Basically, this place isn't really made for him. He hates the adrenaline rush— even when he knows that he’s safe and there’s nothing to be afraid of since it’s just a ride. His friends teased him numerous times for it, but he can't help but be scared— it's not his fault that his phobia clung onto him.

Dream sighed as he looked around for something he’s interested in. He's quite near the theater, one of the only places he might enjoy, but it's not within their ticket perks. He could go in with the pocket money he brought, but he decided to save it until he stumbles across a souvenir store to buy stuff for his friends and family.

He didn’t expect this place to be so huge, that you can easily get lost if you didn’t know the place well enough or you’re just bad at navigation (unfortunately, he’s the latter and now regrets not getting the free map they were giving at the entrance). And after trying to escape his friends from riding their first ride with him, he immediately finds himself exhausted. His feet were aching, he’s bored, the sun is trying to fry him, he’s lost and overwhelmed by this amusement park’s size, and worst of all– it’s only 1pm.

"I can't find anything to do!" Dream screamed in defeat, making some people look in his direction but he didn't care. He's extremely frustrated about the fact that he's supposed to enjoy this day and yet he couldn't.

He let out an exasperated sigh before starting to walk towards some of the benches to rest, hoping he could rest his frustration out along with his body. He started to close his eyes to rest them when his ears managed to recognize familiar voices in the noise around him. He quickly opened his eyes and whips his head around, trying to look for where the voices were coming from, until he found the source just a few blocks in front of him.

“Dream? Where are you?” The blond can now clearly hear what the voices were saying, and who the voices belong to— George and Sapnap.

Judging by what he can see the two were doing in the distance, they’re looking for him like he’s their lost child— scoffing as they were calling his name and shoving their phones at bystanders (he assumes has his picture on it and takes a mental note to tell them off about it later) only to leave the conversation with a disappointed look every time.

That is, until George spots Dream sitting on a bench by the fountain.

The moment their eyes meet Dream knew he was fucked, but he was too tired and it was too hot for him to try and escape from them once again.
So, he just watched how George stopped on his tracks and looked around frantically for Sapnap just to point out where he was, how Sapnap reacted, and how they ran so fast to tackle him.

Correction, how Sapnap ran so fast just to tackle him.

"Dream! we've been looking for you!" Sapnap says, voice breaking while he hugs his friend so tight that Dream thought he might’ve suffocated if George didn’t make it by the bench shortly after his friend.

"Sapnap, you're overdoing it." he says, rolling his eyes. Dream just chuckled by the short banter as Sapnap lets him go to sit with him.

“Dude— where did you go anyway? You said you were just gonna find something to take a picture for the math project?” Sapnap asks. Well, his friend was mostly correct—except for the fact that he was also trying to escape from the ride.

“Well—I kept finding good spots to take pictures of, and eventually I got lost. I tried finding you guys but this place is so huge, so I just sat here.” A half-lie. He did get lost, but he did it on purpose.
Apparently, he's that easy to read because he heard George scoff beside him,

"We know your fear of heights and your dislike of this place, Dream. You don't have to lie to us."

"Speaking of which, that's the reason why we came looking for you!" Sapnap said, enthusiastically. "We're here to help you conquer your fear!"

Great, Dream thought. This made him remember why he wanted to escape these two in the first place. Dream smiled nervously as Sapnap started looking for the attractions that were visible around them.

"We'll start slow by doing Rio Grande—" Sapnap said as he pointed out the ride but Dream cuts him off,

"Too many people are in line, not worth it." He really didn't want to ride anything in the amusement park— well the swan boats and carousel are fine, but he doesn’t think he could ride anything other than those two. Besides, it would be a bit embarrassing to admit he likes those rides.

"Okay, then let's try Flying Fiesta!" Sapnap pointed to their right where the said attraction is. George and Dream looked towards where Sapnap was pointing at and Dream widened his eyes in horror.

"Those seat things attached to a thin harness while rotating extremely fast?” He asks as he starts panicking. Sapnap looked at him and nodded excitedly.

“Sapnap, I would rather die!" he exclaimed, which made the other two laugh at his hysteria.

Sapnap then desperately looks around for anything Dream could ride that could kickstart his motivation to conquer his fear.

He wanted to help his friend because he felt bad for begging him to go with him and George. He even went out of his way to seek help from their teachers so that they wouldn’t give Dream an extra project when he requests for it (in exchange for not attending the field trip– which of course he never told the blond).
So, he thought it was a brilliant idea to try and help the blond come out of his comfort zone by doing the convincing game (again) for the rides. He was also thinking that he'd do that for his friend to execute other things he needed to let out as well, but he decided he’d leave that one up to him. They briefly talked about it a few times, one was when he was pleading Dream to go with him and the other was a few days ago when he suggested a plan for the moment. He figured this field trip would be absolutely fitting for it, but before he even present his ideas to his friend, Dream already told him that he already made plans.

His intentions were nothing but pure, but he had no idea how to pull it off without potentially risking a cool-off. He can’t risk getting blocked again on all his contacts with Dream— twice on Skype was already enough.

"Alright why don't we start with Jungle Log Jam instead? Then we could just stroll around and look for other rides?" George suggested. Sapnap's eyes brightened, almost like he was thanking George with them.

They might banter a lot but George saves him from a lot of dilemmas he has, big or small. And he couldn’t be more thankful that his friend could sense his desperation at that moment.

To their surprise, Dream agreed. Even saying, "Yeah, that one sounds safe." as he was scanning the mentioned attraction.

It was not safe.

For Dream, at least.

The ride had no seatbelts or anything else to keep him in the seat except the bar you hold on to, which made him terrified, but the worse thing wasn't that– it was the fact that the cart they're riding is supposed to slide down a steep slope not once, but twice. He couldn't get out of the ride since he's certain that he will die falling, so he held tight to the steel bars instead while keeping his eyes shut— which still made him feel like he was gonna fly away from the ride regardless.

"I hate you both.", Dream, visibly pissed, told his friends. The blond was clutching his chest while gasping for air.

The two on the other hand have been laughing so hard since they got off the ride, imitating him and his “last words” and recalling how loud Dream was when the ride went down.

"Bro...” Sapnap said, catching his breath, “Not our fault that you don't know what was going down," Sapnap teased, making George snicker behind them.

The three of them then went out of the exit and started looking for another attraction to ride.

"I don't want to go on any other rides." Dream insisted, “Not anymore—after certain people scammed me for riding that log thing.” He crossed his arms to show George and Sapnap how much he despised the ride. The two just snickered behind him.

“Aww—I was going to suggest going to the rollercoaster next…” George pretended to feel sad and pouted to convince Dream from going with them. Sapnap scoffed at the gesture while Dream was taken aback.

“Rollercoaster?” Dream asked, surprised, “George! You said you hated those as well! You should be on my side!”

George told him he hated amusement parks as well. He was already surprised that he went with Sapnap on their first ride, and with them both for the ‘log ride’. Never in his life that he thought he'll ever hear George recommend riding a rollercoaster attraction.

Dream looked over and saw George smirking as his response.

The brunet hated rollercoasters but he’s willing to set that aside if he gets to see something exciting. Besides, it's Dream; if he knows anyone who can say "Fuck it" and do what he wishes, it'll be his friend.

As if Dream could read his friend’s mind, the blond quickly declined the ‘offer’,

“No. I can accompany you guys to the line, but I won’t ride that damn coaster.”
“Even if we both pay you?” Sapnap asked. Dream quickly shook his head, “No! I’m not like George—I’d rather jump off the ferris wheel capsule than ride the damn rollercoaster!”

Dream didn’t know why he mentioned the ferris wheel— probably because they were already walking towards that way? Or probably because the ride has the highest point amongst all the park’s attractions. Yeah, probably the latter, he tries convincing himself.

No, he won’t admit that the conversation he and Sapnap had a few days ago was in the back of his mind all along, and that he already has a plan to set things in motion. He knows Sapnap already knew but to admit here is a different story— he would rather ride the drop tower than admit it out loud because he wouldn’t hear the end of it.

“Aww, I thought little Dreamie here was afraid of heights?” George teases, “Do you, perhaps, require a babysitter?”

The brunet even pretended to look at his wrist to ‘check the time’, “I mean, I’m available right now… let’s go!”

To Dream’s surprise, George suddenly took his hand, pulling him towards the ferris wheel’s line. Sapnap follows the two hesitantly. He didn't think that George was that serious from his tone.
He must be in the mood to make Dream suffer until he forgets his fear of heights, he thought to himself.

"You two are really doing that lame ride?" Sapnap jokes behind them, which George responded with a glare. The youngest threw both his hands in the air while backing up slowly.

Oh well. The opportunity to finally leave the two is here— so he decided he might as well enjoy the amusement park by himself.

"Well, have fun with that then, lovebirds.” He pointed to the general direction of the other rides after pointing at Dream and George when he said ‘lovebirds’, “I'll be trying the drop tower and rollercoaster instead!" He winked at Dream and ran that way, leaving his two friends shaking their heads at what he just said.

Typical Sapnap.

The line in the ferris wheel is long, but not as long as the Rio Grande ride Sapnap has mentioned—the line for this one is only about 2 blocks long in comparison. And it mostly consisted of pairs— something that George realized just now.

As if these weren’t enough of an indicator, he hears a few couples in line talking about the rumors that ‘a lot of people realize their feelings towards each other while riding this attraction', hence its name "Wheel of Fate". George's curiosity is in peak— does Dream know about those things he overheard?

He turns to face his friend he pulled here, "Dream, of all rides, why did you even mention this?"

Does he want me to lose my mind? George wonders.

"It's the first ride I saw, George." Dream says absent-mindedly. The blond was too distracted about his thoughts to realize George's question has a deeper meaning in it.

Oh.

Well, that was awkward for the brunet. He genuinely thought there was something else about it. Guess he'll try to ask when they're in the ride later.

They were silent after that small conversation— most likely because Dream is terrified. It might've sound like an excuse but it was true. The Ferris Wheel would absolutely be one of the first rides you'll see in the park since it’s enourmous—not to mention the highest as well.

Dream gulped at the thought. He’s now regretting that little slip-up he did, but he can’t back out now— the line is getting longer as they speak, and George pulled him here himself.  He wouldn’t waste the opportunity that presented itself, but that doesn’t erase the chills he's feeling. He's actually doing this, with George, of all people.

Why in the hell did George bring me here anyways? he asks himself.

Well, it's true that this damn ride was the first thing he saw because it's ridiculously huge, but George actually pulling him here? He wouldn’t have believed it if he wasn’t standing in line to ride it—not to mention the fact that it was George’s idea that was created off his slip-up.

Unknown to everyone, he went to research this amusement park before today and he discovered that each ride has a name unique only to this place, including this ferris wheel, or like what it's called, the "Wheel of Fate".

The website said that it is named that because a lot of couples confess their feelings to each other while riding this particular attraction- it also says that the Wheel of Fate looks the best when the lights turn on at night, and if you're lucky to get in during nighttime, you might get to witness a fireworks show at the top.

Dream found it very cliché at first, but since he's here in the line with George?

He might as well give it a try.

After all, there’s nothing wrong with being with your best friend in a proclaimed most romantic ride in the entire park where you get the chance to confess your true feelings with the person you’re with, right?

But that does not erase the fact that he’s still extremely afraid of riding it, so he wanted to remind his best friend just in case.He was too embarrassed to tell George that he’s still scared, but he’s pretty sure his wobbly knees and heavy breathing were enough indicators for his friend to know how terrified he is.

George on the other hand has been watching Dream as he tries to keep his composure and fails miserably. He wanted to help his friend calm down, so he offered his hand for him to hold on to.
Though it was a cute gesture, Dream had to decline the offer.

Them falling in line for this ride was already enough of a mistake for him.

George felt the awkwardness loomed over them after that. So, despite not being the best one to start conversations, he tried to think of the best way to break the ice.

"Dream." the blond looked at George’s direction, "You know we didn't have to really get in this ride, right?"

Dream nodded in response, "Yeah?" Dream said as he urged his friend to continue, knowing what George will say next, "Why have you decided to still go through?"

There it is. Dream thought.

"Well, never too late to conquer my fear, right?" he shrugged, stating half of the truth. He really did want to at least try conquering his fears because he realized how much he’s missing after he did the log ride with George and Sapnap earlier.

He didn’t want to admit it, but he had fun on that ride—probably more than what he expected.

Dream also wanted to take this opportunity to use what he knows by telling his best friend about what he feels. After all, he didn’t want to disappoint Sapnap— he promised that he’ll at least try when given the opportunity.

To be fair, they did not plan about him confessing to George today nor he planned to give Sapnap that promise in the first place.

Sapnap was only pleading him to go on this field trip at first, because according to him, ‘George will definitely go once he gets his approval’ a few days prior. Then the conversation shifted from there to how Sapnap confessed that he knew he likes George all along after he said yes to his friend’s pleas.

Up until that moment, he thought the only one who knows about how he feels about George was only himself but apparently, he really is that easy to read. Sapnap proceeded to tell him how obvious he was about it, but he also reassured him about George being completely oblivious to Dream’s feelings despite being able to read him like an open book.

It’s almost like he can hear Sapnap tell him that ‘he’ll have lots of opportunities to confess today, and that all he needs is a plan to do it’ beside him right now’. And he’s been trying to find all those opportunities to fulfill the promise that he’ll try, but he thinks it’s a lost cause.

If he can’t get this acrophobia out of his system today, he’s more than positive that no confession will ever exist during this ride.

Although distracted with his thoughts, Dream managed to see a glimpse of George smiling gently at him. A smile that almost looks like he’s saying I’m proud of you for trying— which made Dream extremely surprised.

He was so used to George teasing him that he was taken aback at the sudden change of behavior.
Now that he mentioned it, George has been keeping this calm demeanor ever since Sapnap left the two of them alone—his usually chaotic best friend, who banters with him all the time, has been in such a serene state. Who wouldn’t have been shocked from seeing this? In fact, he was so shocked that he started to wonder if this George with him right now is really his best friend or an alien from the outer space trying to get information out of him.

— but if he's being a lot more honest, he was actually starstrucked.

Dream never realized how beautiful his friend is, especially in that angle— and expression. It’s rare to see him like this because he only shows his goofy side to everyone most of the time but he’s currently showing a completely different side to him. When Dream realized this, He couldn’t help but smile.

He's never felt so lucky his entire life to be able to witness it.

Silence filled the atmosphere again— mainly because the fact that Dream is about to ride the highest attraction in this park slowly dawns on him.

Is he really going to be alright after this? He thought, as tragic (and mostly exaggerated) scenes of their demise started filling his brain. What if the thing that connects the ride disconnects for some reason and they just fall to their death, then be squished by the metal which is the wheel itself? Or a criminal planned a hostage scene in the ferris wheel, and they were both deviant to the person’s rules, so they shot both of them while they were on the ride and then fell to their death? Or—

Dream isn't taking the thoughts too well, and George noticed how his friend’s face falls from surprise into paranoia and terror.

He's never good at comforting people or anything- but since he needed to stop Dream from falling deeper into his negative thoughts, he thought of holding his hand and squeezing it lightly.

To his surprise, it worked. Dream shook his head off and looked at George’s eyes, then on their hands.

"Don't think about it. Just enjoy the ride, okay?" he cooed, "I'm here."
He placed his other hand on Dream’s back as they got escorted into the front of the wheel.

Turns out they were the next one to ride in the passenger cabins.

The capsules are enclosed, and the top is almost spherical.

From what George heard earlier—each one can fit up to 6 people. Each one also has a metal bar going down from the middle—he thinks it’s probably there when someone who’s scared of it can hold on to something aside from the ones behind their backs. Looking at it from the outside, George thought the capsule would lean to one side if he stayed right by Dream’s side.

So, with a heavy heart, he let go of his hand and took a sit across from his friend when they entered their capsule. He’s hoping that Dream can calm down throughout the ride, so he won’t be needing to go beside him again and potentially making him more panicked when it tilts.

The way they fill up the seats is that the wheel will slowly rotate until every seat is taken— which means that their capsule will also go up to the top of the wheel slowly, but eventually.

Dream has been silent the entire ride, visibly terrified. He wanted to avoid looking outside as much as possible, so when covering both the sides of his face with his hands wasn’t enough anymore, he changed his tactic to fully covering his face with his hands.

Maybe if I don't see the view, I won't be as terrified as I am, he thought. Maybe I’ll calm down a little and actually have a little talk with George while we are here.
Maybe I’ll manage to pull it off.

Dream then removed his hands after a little while to try looking outside. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain as he went back to his earlier posture when the wind gave their cabin a little shake.

George saw what he was doing and couldn't help but chuckle, "Dream, stop-- you look ridiculous."

Well, ridiculous was an understatement.
But he can’t really blame Dream for acting this way—in fact, he understood him more because he knew how that feels like.

"George, I don’t care--!” He exclaimed; voice muted as he had hands covering his entire face. “I'm so scared."

"Don't be, I'm here." George said as he kneeled at the center of the capsule, just beside the bar in the center, as he tried reaching Dream’s hands. He then slowly removed both from covering his face, only to see Dream’s face being close to tears.

He really is terrified, huh. George thought.

He then sat right next to him and tried wiping the tears almost falling from his eyes. “Look, I don’t know if I’m allowed to sit right next to you, but—”

“I don’t care, George. Please just stay beside me for now.” Dream pleads, almost whispering. George complies.

“I’ll be here until you calmed down a bit. Okay?” Dream heard George say, but he was zoning out in attempts to calm himself down. He felt his friend’s hand rubbing his back slowly to try and help him to calm his thoughts—and it was working to his surprise.

“You know, I used to have the same fear as you.” George then started telling a story from his childhood: It was him and his mom riding a ferris wheel in a carnival near his childhood home. He was telling Dream how much he hated all of the rides, and that he wanted to puke just by the thought of riding them.

Dream was listening intently, nodding occasionally. He was in awe as he heard George share an important part of his life to comfort him. He feels honored that he gets to hear this because the brunet is usually secretive about his personal life so he and Sapnap never forced him to tell a story if it was too personal for him.

Meanwhile, George had no idea why he was telling Dream this, but seeing how his friend forgot the fact that they were in a ferris wheel at that moment because of his story urged him to keep going. There was also this strong urge to keep him safe—which happens to be the main reason why he started telling this story in the first place.

“She told me that if I was terrified of it, then I should shout all of my current thoughts when we reached the top.” Dream heard George chuckle, “So I tried it—I remember screaming how much I hated the ride because I was too far from the ground, and my mom was just laughing across from me.”

George looked away to stare at the view, visibly reminiscent of the time his story happened, “I shouted and screamed and laughed with my mom the entire time that I didn’t even realize that our time in the ride was finished until our capsule stopped on the ground.” He looked to his right to see Dream’s eyes lit up.

“So… You’re saying that if I screamed right now, it’ll help me conquer my fear of heights?” Dream queries.

George shrugged, “Only one way to find out.” He says as he tapped Dream’s back, “I’m the only one who can hear you scream so don’t worry.” He assures as he went back to the seat across them.

Only one way to find out, Dream repeats. Well—I have nothing to lose if I try, right?

--And so, he did.

"I..." He took a deep breath and screamed as loud as he could, “I— I HATE AMUSEMENT PARKS!” He started, looking at his friend for approval.

George was taken aback by Dream’s sudden change of volume but started to giggle when he recovered, realizing how much of an idiot he must’ve looked when he was a child when he saw Dream do what he did back then.

The blond, on the other hand, felt like a weight has slowly been lifted off his shoulders—and it feels refreshing. So he does it again.

“I WANT THIS FEAR TO BE GONE! I DON’T WANT TO MISS OUT ON THE FUN WITH MY FRIENDS!” Dream continued shouting. He looked again at George, who’s now laughing at him.

"You're such an idiot, Dream." He said while wiping the tears from his face.

Dream then remembered George’s story—how his mom also laughed at him for actually doing what he was told, and how that helped George lessen his fear with heights. Despite it sounding stupid, it was actually working for him, so he continued doing it.

"I AM GEORGE'S IDIOT!" Dream shouted and laughed after it. George realized what Dream said and was embarrassed about it— his face quickly became as red as tomato.

"Dream!"

"What, it's true!" Dream defends, “You said it yourself.”

“No—I said you’re AN idiot, not MY idiot.” He retorts, emphasizing the difference in what he said; face still red from being flushed.

“So? It’s basically the same thing, George.” Dream laughed again, realizing how stupid the argument was,

"Besides, the capsules are enclosed so no one from outside can hear whatever I scream about. Our secrets are safe." he casually said and winked at George.

George was about to retaliate when a stronger breeze of wind greeted their pod, making it lightly shake. Both fell silent as they grabbed on the handles near them.

“Okay—can you look outside yet?” George asked, trying to shift the topic away so Dream won’t come back to what he was at the start of the ride.

Dream looked behind him to see if he could—and he was amazed by the view.

The capsule might be enclosed, but the glass wasn’t tinted so they could still enjoy the view as it is. Since the Wheel of Fate was the highest point of the park, he could see everything at the summit— the mountain range a few kilometers away, all the fields near the park.
And the people—no, the entire amusement park looked like a toy from their perspective. The tourists in the park looked like little ants, almost invisible to the naked eye.
It was the first time that Dream managed to pull this off without crying out of fear or fighting the urge to puke, and it was exhilarating.

“Wow…” Dream says, almost speechless.
“Nice, right?” He heard George asking him and he hummed in response.

Another silence envelops the cabin, but both were comfortable in it this time.

Dream had the idea to take a video from the view up there, so he looked away from the view for a bit to pull out his camera—taking a few pictures first, then changed its mode to video and started filming him and George up there.

“George!” he calls his friend, “Say hi!” George smiled and waved at the camera’s lens. Dream then started telling the camera about how he’s afraid of heights, and that riding the ferris wheel terrifies him so much.

“But this silly friend of mine told a story, and I followed what he did! And it feels good.” He smiles at the thought. He owes George for that one, he thought, “This view is great! And I wouldn’t have been able to view this scenery if it wasn’t for him, so thank you, George.” Dream flashed George a grateful smile. 

“I better receive a payment for this tomorrow.” The shorter one joked, making Dream laugh.

“You’re such an idiot.”

“Oh—now I’m the idiot?” George retorts, raising an eyebrow, “I thought you said you’re my idiot earlier?”

“Yeah, but that’s different, idiot.”

“Says the one with the fear of heights.”

“Says the one who also has the same fear as I do!” George went silent after that as he tried thinking about a good rebuttal against what Dream said. Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of one.

Dream turned off the camera shortly after and sat beside George. “I’m sorry, Georgie.” He cooed so the brunet won’t be pissed off,

“I know you don’t like sharing too much of your personal life so don’t worry—I won’t tell anyone else about your story. I promise.” He says as he holds out his pinky, signifying that he was doing a pinky promise.

George looked up at Dream and then his pinky, then burst out laughing. The blond looks at him, confused.

“Dream? I’m not mad—I was just thinking of a good counter-retort but I couldn’t think of one.” George stopped laughing and placed his hand on the taller one’s shoulder, “Don’t worry.”

Dream then got a glance of what's outside their capsule and realizes that their ride is almost over. He starts to panic, again, this time because he still hasn't done what he planned.

He desperately tries to blurt out the few words he could think of, “George, do you want to know a secret?” George tilted his head to the side, looking confused.

Dream sighs. He shouldn’t have said that. Oh well.

It’s now or never, He thought to himself.

“Did you know that this ferris wheel’s name is Wheel of Fate?”

“Yeah…?” George was confused on where this was going, but he was more curious on why Dream is basically telling him that he knew the things he overheard all this time.

Why is he telling all this just now? He asks himself.

“Apparently the people who went on this ride realized what they feel towards the person they were with—basically this is a giant matchmaking ride! That’s cool, right?”

“Yeah—”

“When I searched for our destinations for the Field trip, this one resonated to me the most for some reason—it felt like I was invited to go here so that I can tell this person how I feel towards them…”

Oh.

“So, you were planning to go here with someone in the first place?” George slowly asks and Dream just nods in response—he looks like he was waiting for George to realize something.

“I didn’t know you liked someone in the school…” George trails off, looking away from his friend’s gaze to the view outside.

The smile plastered on Dream’s face was replaced by a scowl— that George didn’t see because he was too busy thinking about why he was the one here instead of the person who his best friend likes.

“Why did you let me pull you here, then? You could’ve asked me to help you find the girl you like?” George innocently asked, making Dream plant his palm hard on his face— the sound making the brunet look towards his direction and seeing how he looked confused him more.

“… What?” Dream sighs at George’s reaction, “How oblivious could you be?” He asked, frustration heard in his voice.

“Dream, you know I’m not a nosy person—I wouldn’t go around and ask for my friends’ love interests out of the blue…”

“I know that, George. But that’s not my point.” Dream states as calmly as he could.

At first, he was hoping that George couldn't hear how loud his heart was pounding— he’s extremely nervous, but the nerves are slowly getting replaced by frustration over his oblivious friend.

Maybe Sapnap was right, he thought. Maybe he really is this oblivious about feelings.

He tried setting it aside, thinking that George probably knew by now and he’s just playing with him. “My point is, I was glad you pulled me here earlier.” Dream says, grinning widely. “Because I didn’t know how to ask you to go here.”

If a person could have question marks as eyes, George would’ve probably have them.

He’s confused about so many things within Dream’s "secret": Him researching their destinations, Dream liking someone in school? And him planning to confess to her here? He thought he could read Dream for so long, but turns out he actually couldn’t.

All that’s inside George’s mind right now is how jealous he was of the girl his friend likes—in fact, he was too jealous to the point that he wishes she was him instead.

Lucky girl.

“But— I thought you planned on going here with the person you liked—?”

“I did, George. I did go with the person I like.” Dream says, cutting him off.

He went here with the person he likes? George repeated inside his head, more times than he could admit out loud until everything clicked.

Wait.

Did he mean me? He asked himself. He turned to Dream, eyes asking for confirmation.

“She wasn’t a girl?” George exclaims. Dream was surprised at George’s question but regained his cool and started laughing.

“No George, you’re not a ‘she’.” He slowly said while pointing at him, trying to make George understand that he’s confessing to him.
George on the other hand, couldn’t believe what he’s hearing right now— Dream’s secret is that he likes him?

“Wait—you like… me?” George asks, face slowly forming to a confused smile while pointing at himself. His mind is still processing what’s happening.

“You’re starting to make me regret it.” Dream jokes. “One more stupid question and I’ll flick your forehead.”

“But… Why me?” George asks, struggling to say anything after his friend’s confession. He might have a lot of questions in his mind but one thing was for sure– he liked what he just heard. So much that it rendered him (almost) speechless.

“Why not?” Dream shrugged, “Can I not like my best friend that I’ve known for years?”

“So you also like Sapnap—OW!” George placed his hands on the spot on his forehead that Dream flicked. The blond rolled his eyes at George’s reaction.

He’s so dramatic, it was just a light flick!, he thought. Dream then cleared his throat, making George pay attention to him.

“George, you’re an idiot—obviously that’s way different! I like all my friends, but I like you like you.” He says sincerely, emphasizing every word he says.

“Look, I know you’re in shock right now—me too, I didn’t expect to pull this off… That everything will fall according to place—” He cuts himself off,

“Well, except for the fact that I couldn’t get the phobia off before we get on this damn ride… But—” He searched for George’s hand to hold it, “What I said was true—I really do like you, George.” Dream said before kissing the palm of his hand, then letting it go.

“I don’t want to pressure a response out of you, so take your time. You can tell me how you feel whenever you’re ready.” Dream says one last time, giving George a reassuring smile and goes on to enjoy the view while their cabin slowly goes down.

George was once again rendered speechless. Every time he could think of a word to say, his voice failed him.

He wanted to say how happy he was, and that the feeling is absolutely mutual, but he couldn’t find the voice for all of his thoughts, nor the force to at least try and reciprocate Dream’s gestures. And he’s starting to get frustrated because of it.

Earlier he was hoping he’d experience something cliché when he pulled Dream to this ride, and now he got what he wanted.

And he didn’t know what to do with it.

He’s now stuck in this situation where he desperately wants to tell his friend that he actually likes him too, but all he could mutter were words that were almost in a hushed tone that even he couldn’t understand.

Dream already told him to not force himself to speak a couple of times already after hearing him struggling to speak, but he really wanted to tell the blond how he feels. Eventually he gave up and looked at Dream to give him an apologetic smile.

Their ferris wheel ride ended on that note.

When it was their turn to get out of the capsule, Dream tried finding George's hand to hold it, and the brunet let him intertwine both of their hands to each other.

George felt bad that Dream had to witness him struggling to tell what’s on his mind, so he thought this would be enough of an answer to the blond’s confession— at least for now. He still needs to actually talk him through this.

Dream smiled at the gesture. He didn’t expect the brunet to allow their hands to intertwine— let alone allow him to hold it.

He was hoping for a verbal response from George before the ride ended but seeing how he reacted earlier made him think that this would be enough for now. He’ll open the topic again when George is ready.

Just when they thought they’ve had enough surprises, another one presents itself when the two of them see Sapnap waiting for them outside the ride, looking like he's in a call with someone. They looked at each other before sneaking behind their friend.

"... You two nimrods owe me dinner—I'm not lying, dude! I saw them holding hands when they got off the capsule!” The two heard Sapnap say to the other line, making them realize that their friend was spying on them all this time,

“...Come on Karl, do I even have to send a proof? I’m not the kind of person to lie—" Sapnap felt a familiar hand on his shoulder and immediately froze on the spot. He manages to recover in less than five seconds and cuts the call short after telling his goodbyes to the other line.

He nervously turns around to face Dream and George, looking a bit more serious than he expected.

“… Hi, guys…?” He awkwardly greeted the two. He didn’t know how much they'd heard, but from the looks on their face, they did not like any of it.

His mind struggles to think of an excuse so he remained silent after greeting the two.

"Was the rollercoaster ride fun, Sappy?" George asked, eyebrows raised.

Dream, on the other hand, suddenly clutched his chest, "Sapnap! I can't believe you were betting with your friends about our relationship! I'm so hurt!" He even tried fake crying but he couldn’t hold his laughter long enough to make it convincing.

Sapnap looked at George and mouthed the words “drama queen” to him while the brunet rolled his eyes at the blond and both laughed right after. He’s relieved that their serious faces were just for the ‘suspense’.

Sapnap composed himself a few moments after, "Come on, guys. If I didn't let you two be, you wouldn't have done what you needed to do. You're welcome." Sapnap said, winking after.

It was now Dream’s turn to roll his eyes, “Yeah, right. And I assume you two finished taking pictures for your Mathematics project as well?" Dream says as he pointed to Sapnap and George, who answered his question through widened eyes and presumably an empty camera roll.

They definitely forgot about the project, he thought.

Sapnap was the first one to recover, looking like he thought of something brilliant, "You've taken lots of pictures, Dream- we can just get the spares—"

Dream knew he’d respond with this so he cuts him off, “Sapnap, it would be obvious that I took the pictures!”

“No, it won’t if you shut the fuck up about it!” Sapnap exclaims, turning to George to seek help.

“George, c’mon. Help me with your boyfriend, will you?” George’s face flushed red after hearing what Sapnap said.

“Sapnap!” He protested, “He’s not—we’re not—”

“Yet.” The younger replied. “Now help me plead our case and I’ll help you with him in exchange.”

George pretended like he was thinking about it to tease his friend more, while Dream was telling Sapnap that “they’re talking about him in front of him.” in the background.

“Fine—so that you’ll shut up.” George teased Sapnap, who sticked his tongue at him after.

The brunet then turned to the blond. “Dream, I haven’t taken my pictures as well. Can we take your spares?”

“No.” Dream answered firmly.

“You have a lot!” George pleads, getting carried away. Probably because he wasn’t really in the mood to prioritize the project right now.

“You guys can still take pictures right now; I can help you—”

“No. We want your beautiful shots.” Sapnap chimes in, supporting George.

“You two are just being lazy—"

"Please?" the two said in unison, pleading like children wanting to be treated in a candy store.

Dream sighs. "Fine.” He eventually gives up.

“Now let's go buy some souvenirs before we go home." He says, pointing at a nearby souvenir shop.

George and Sapnap lead the way with their banters while Dream gazes at the two adoringly.

He's more than thankful that he have those two idiots in his life to change the wheel of his fate.