Archive of Our Own

Dream sighs as he tries to fix his necktie in front of the mirror.

He personally prefers to stay at home and relax instead of attending their graduation soiree, but it was his friends' request for him to be there. 

The blond thought they were planning something wacky at first, but gave up overthinking in the end.

After all, one can’t really pull off something absurd at a ball, right? 

"Maybe they just wanted all of us to enjoy the event together." Dream tries to reassure himself as he does a look-over of himself in the mirror. He then checked the time and saw that it's already 3:45 in the afternoon.

He's supposed to wait for Sapnap and George because the youngest wanted them to go to the venue together, saying that he'll drive them to the place.

By what means?

He was not sure— all he knew was that Sapnap got his license last week, so that's probably why he wanted to drive the three of them to the venue.

That'll be a surprise for me, I guess. Dream chuckles softly at the thought.

He then was distracted about his thoughts when he heard muffled voices from outside of his apartment.

The blond does a final check on the mirror and gets his things to join, what he assumes are his bickering friends, outside.

Meanwhile, Sapnap and George were having an argument outside Dream's doorstep.

"Sapnap, I told you already, I won't dance with him!" Sapnap looked at George after sending Dream a message that they’re already waiting for him outside– like their voices won’t be enough of a doorbell for their friend already.

"George, you could just give some signs that you wanted to dance and he'll initiate." Sapnap pouts.

If anyone’s going to ask who’s the culprit behind convincing Dream to join him and George at the soiree, the youngest in their group will definitely be loud and proud about it like it’s his greatest achievement.

Sapnap knew that Dream can't say no to him that easily, especially because he emphasized the fact that George is going to be there with him. 

He knew Dream's "admiration" (that's what his friend likes to call it, and he always mock Dream about it by gesturing the air quotes whenever he mentions it) towards George, and the fact that the other reciprocates his feelings. 

Too bad for him, because the only ones who are not aware about that information are the same idiot friends he have.

Now, he's trying to take this opportunity to make his two best friends finally realize their feelings for each other– it's mostly because he's tired of always being the man in-between all the flirting they do on a regular basis.

How, you ask?

By making George dance with Dream at the ball.

It might not be enough to make anyone of them confess, but at least he's helping both of them to consider doing it.

It's the thought that matters.

"Look. If this is your plan so that I'll confess his feelings for him like the cliché shows you've forced us to watch, I don't want to be part of it." George said as he looked down to his shoes.

So, he's seen right through this one. He thought as he rolled his eyes.

The brunet didn’t catch Sapnap rolling his eyes, but he managed to hear the loud sigh that his friend obviously exaggerated.

"I don't know if you haven't noticed yet, but it's clear that he's not interested in anyone right now." George tried reasoning in defense of Sapnap's “sigh”.

Sapnap shrugged.

Of course that skyscraper won't be interested in anyone (else), he thought. Because he's only interested in one person who is being a complete moron right now. 

He mentally rolled his eyes while thinking about his two idiot friends. He then proceeded to shrug outwardly at his friend's remark, “Well… You'll never know until you say anything, right?" 

George raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms at the response. "Ever heard of 'Actions speak louder than words’, idiot?" The brunet spat as he shifted his gaze from Sapnap to Dream's doorstep— he didn't want the subject of their conversation to hear what they're talking about, after all. 

“That won't work if you're dealing with someone as oblivious as our beloved friend.” Sapnap emphasizing the word "friend" while gesturing at Dream's door like their taller friend would magically come out when he gestures towards it. 

His brunet friend scoffed in response and turned his back on Sapnap. 

The two finally give up arguing.

At least, for now.

Seeing that he might not be able to convince George like this, Sapnap starts to desperately think of something to leave the older no choice but to comply.

A few seconds of silence later, he thought of an idea.

He doesn't know if this would be going “too far”, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Sapnap’s face slowly forms into a smirk as he laced his voice with false confidence, "Also… I don't think you can call me an idiot right now, Georgie~" He sing-songed.

George immediately noticed the change in the younger's tone and froze in realization.

He knows that his friend has thought of a workaround and he has a feeling that he won't like it.

Seeing George's reaction made him have full confidence with his plan. There's no going back now— he has to proceed with this as he had a good feeling that he will finally make George agree with the “plan”.

"Don't forget who organized this event— our terror professor did. And with my convincing powers, I could easily rat your ass out for a bunch of things you did." George quickly turned around to face Sapnap, only to see him flashing a very devious-looking grin.

So this was his plan, huh? George thought to himself.

He tried standing straight to show that he's not getting nervous, but to no avail. 

With surprise and disappointment in his voice, he responded, "Oh. Now you're blackmailing me."

What will he even tell our professor? George tried making sense of his threat but he couldn’t remember any instance that he did anything to be greatly reprimanded about it…

Maybe it's because his brain was too preoccupied with something else (that being Dream coming out in the middle of their argument… and also about how his attire and other school things— okay, maybe too he's too occupied with lots of things)

"Not really." Sapnap responded, not wiping off the smirk plastered on his face, "I'm just putting the option out there. I could do it, I could not do it."

He stepped closer to George, attempting to show his dominance in the situation despite being the shorter one,

"The verdict on my next action relies on you." 

The brunet sighed. I knew I wouldn't like the other plan he has.

George went silent as he's trying to think of a way around but his mind wasn't cooperative at the moment. 

Perhaps it's because his brain has been overthinking since earlier, but he's still stuck trying to think about things he did for Sapnap to rat him out if he didn't comply.

"We have all the time in the world, George… Well, except when Dream barges out of that door and sees you thinking deeply, I guess." Sapnap says, letting his friend think— whether its a loophole out of this situation or to agree with the plan, he wouldn't rat his friend either way. 

He's mostly with his friend doing all those “rowdy” things he's using as a leverage against George right now.

If he reports his friend, it would also be the stupidest self-report in the school's history of self-reports. 

George, on the other hand, couldn't really think of a way out.

Being unable to recall what the hell he did that will possibly anger their professor when told, he won't know what possible loopholes he could make to deflect his friend's plan. 

George wanted to prolong the argument and not give his friend what he wanted but without finding a way out nor remembering whatever the hell he did that could get him in trouble, it was no use. 

Feeling his imminent defeat, he sighed heavily, "Fine." George mumbled under his breath.

Sapnap was lucky enough that he was within George's earshot. Otherwise, he wouldn't have heard what his friend just said.

Still, he wanted him to give a very audible agreement so he decides to start teasing him about his response.

"Fine? With what, exactly?" Sapnap asked, acting like he didn't know what his friend was talking about.

“Ugh.” George glared at his friend. Why is this idiot making things more difficult for me? "You know what I'm talking about, Sapnap." 

"No, I don't." Sapnap shook his head as innocently as he could while trying his hardest not to burst out laughing.

"Could you specify what exactly was the thing you're fine with?" he then asked in a teasing tone.

"Sapnap. Stop it or I'll go home." George says as he attempts to go inside the car, but Sapnap stopped him.

"Oh you can't do that, silly. This is my car." The younger tapped the window on the door George was trying to open.

He heard George curse under his breath before going back into giving him a sharp glare.

"Fine. Watch me, then." George then turned around on his heel and attempted to walk back home when the two of them heard the door to Dream’s home opening with a squeak, freezing George in place.

"What are you–" Dream was about to jokingly ask the two what they were bantering about when he cuts himself off when he sees George's frozen stance.

He didn't know what and how did he find the situation funny— maybe because it was George? His mind offered, which would make sense knowing damn well how he feels about his frien— 

Anyways, he doesn't know it either, but a laughing fit has started to bubble up to the surface since he saw the two outside his door. 

Finding the situation in front of him confusingly funny, he gave up holding it in and bursted out laughing while Sapnap followed suit a few seconds later. 

George then realizes the reason why both of his friends are laughing (at least what he think the reason was— himself) and fixes his stance.

George cleared his throat and tried shifting the topic so their blond friend won’t ask what were they arguing about earlier. "Took you long enough." 

The said blond friend just shrugged in response. 

George was hoping that his friend would get the signal despite it only being implicit. 

Fortunately for him, Sapnap seems to get the unspoken signal. "Yeah, dude. It was no fun teasing George without you." 

The two briefly shared a silent conversation through eye contact while Dream, being completely oblivious, just laughed both of their remarks off. 

Their voices might be loud as hell whenever the throw banters at each other, most of it are still incomprehensible when you're inside the house.

It's their usual routine and he's used to it. 

Why would he be suspicious of what their argument was all about, anyway? He's sure it's one of those stupid topics again, he said to himself.

Nothing to worry about.

———

The three of them hop in Sapnap's car; Dream being in the passenger seat and George in the back.

The sound of car engines are heard, and silence filled the air as the car drives its way towards the soiree’s venue.

George started contemplating his argument with Sapnap earlier.

Do I actually do Sapnap's request? 

Despite being blackmailed into "doing" it, he's still thankful that his friend cared enough to be that desperate.

Truth be told, he wanted to do it. He's just terrified that things will go wrong and make everything awkward for not only the two of them, but also for the rest of their circle. 

I want to do it, but I don't want to be selfish. 

He thought about different scenarios and started to spiral whenever the scenarios collapsed on him. 

What if he's straight? If I confess and he doesn't feel the same way, I won't be only ruining our friendship with each other— I'll be ruining our entire friendship circle. I don't want that to happen and have people possibly pick sid—.

The car went to an abrupt stop and George was cut off of his thoughts.

George quickly glanced at the rear mirror, only to see Sapnap looking at him through it, face full of concern.

Sapnap was worried that blackmailing George was too much for him to take, but he's surprised that his friend backed down without too much of a fight, and actually agreed to doing the “favor” he asked.

Still, he's concerned about his friend– he doesn't want them to hold a grudge against him just because he's trying to help in his own way.

He also didn't want him to be this stressed when they're all supposed to enjoy today.

"You okay back there?" George heard him ask. He also saw Dream turn his head slightly towards him from the passenger seat.

"What happened?" The blond looked back and forth between him and Sapnap, but George waved his hand to dismiss the topic and reassured his two friends with an "I'm fine."

His two friends at the front knew that he wasn't fine, but didn't want to press on further.

As if fate was against them, the lights in the traffic light also turned green so Sapnap had to focus with his driving instead of his friend.

The entire car ride remained silent after that exchange.

———

Slowly seeing the venue be in the car's view made Dream and Sapnap's moods from gloomy to excited.

George's mind on the other hand is in a different place– he's still trying to figure out whether he should do what Sapnap asked him to do. 

It's not really a difficult choice, but he's considering all scenarios on his mind if he does comply. 

That, and if Sapnap will actually rat him out to their professor if he doesn't do it. 

Of course, he would love to ask Dream to dance with him– I mean who wouldn't?

But the blond seemed uninterested in the lovey-dovey stuff that makes asking him extremely scary. 

How would Dream even react when his supposed friend is now inviting him to a supposedly romantic dance?

The night went by fast after the opening program started. The three, mainly George, did not even realize that it was dance time until the people at their table magically disappeared.

To be fair, if you've been pre-occupied thinking about the scenarios in your head, you really won't realize what's happening around you until you are brought back to reality.

The other two were probably too busy talking to each other so they haven't noticed everyone being gone.

His two friends have seen how different he's acting today, but Dream thought that it was mainly because he's not used not only with formal events like these, but also with a crowd as large as the table they're currently in.

Sapnap saw George almost spill his own drink while they were eating— that's when he realized that his friend had been absolutely out of it since they were on their way to the event. 

Part of him feels bad and has been tempted to tell his friend that he can back out if he really doesn't want to, but part of him insists on reminding him about their conversation earlier instead. 

He values his friends too much and he wanted to do everything he could to make them happy. 

Well, that, and also the fact that he's sick of the two of them coming to him for advice about each other, and Sapnap fighting all his inner demons to not spill the fact that they're both being absolute idiots.

He has to find a middle ground somehow… 

And the “middle ground” came in the form of their good friends Bad and Skeppy. (Bad isn't really his name but they're used to calling him that).

The two invited all of them to come over at their table so they can catch up with each other's lives. Sapnap agreed to go with them while the other two insisted on staying at the table that's now almost empty. 

Skeppy and Bad went in between Dream's and George's seat as the former jokingly asked them if they're waiting for the “perfect time” to invite someone they love to dance with, garnering different reactions from the people in question—

Dream laughed heartily and told him that he doesn't know how to dance anyway, while George went as pale as a ghost as he urgently denies the question. 

Seeing their friend's reaction, Bad lightly gave George's shoulders a sympathetic pat and walked back to their table with Skeppy.

Before Sapnap followed suit, he tried to console George through the one method he knows will work: teasing.

He leaned down to his sitting friend and whispered, “I'm going there to give you the window of opportunity. Don't waste it. And, I want to hear a “thank you Sapnap” when we get home.” 

George lightly punched him in the shoulders and gave him a little smile, “I've been thinking about it since we're on our way, Sapnap—”

“You've literally been obvious with that, mister.” the younger countered,

“Look. I know you're really worried about everything falling apart when you do that. But this time, you have to trust me when I say that it won't.” He replied, tone a bit more serious as he continued whispering in his friend's ear, “In fact, you'll really thank me later.” 

“You're really sure of it, huh.” George raised his eyebrow and Sapnap returned the gesture through his smirk,

“I am. Absolutely 1000% sure of this one, George. Please… trust me at least this one time. You're both my friends and I really just want the two of you to be happy.—” 

The younger looked like he was going to say more but abruptly finished his sentence after realizing that he might've been this close to spilling a very detrimental secret he's been keeping.

He backed up a few steps and cleared his throat so Dream would also look his way.

“Uh… so I'll go over there now.” He pointed towards Bad & Skeppy's table,

“I'll catch up to you guys later.” He says as he gives someone a final wink and walks towards the direction he pointed at earlier.

Dream gave him a small wave while George just followed his now walking friend with eyes filled with disbelief. 

Both of them didn't really know who the wink was for but they still took it as if it was for them.

George sighed before peeling his eyes off of his friend on the other table to return his focus on the bigger problem. 

As he focused his gaze back to their table, he saw his “problem” looking straight at him. His friend is giving him the look like he wanted to say something out of concern.

Since Sapnap told him that he's been “obviously out of it” the entire night, he assumes that it'll be the question Dream will ask him. 

Preparing for an answer in his head, the blond finally spoke, “Are you really not going to dance?”

Taken aback by the unexpected question, George had to process it for a few seconds before replying that he isn't really in the mood. 

Dream gave him a small smile, “Yeah, we've never seen you so out of it since we got in the car...”

“You could've told us if you're sick or something… We wouldn't force you to go in the first place— you could've even rested in my apartment.”

Dream's voice has been tinted with sadness and guilt, something that George recognized easily. Before the blond blames himself for something he didn't do, George tried stopping him as he responded,

“...Or something. I'm feeling fine, Dream… I'm just thinking about something.” The brunet saw his friend reacting a bit surprised.

He really was in the dark with his dilemma, wasn't he? Dream seemed to recover fast after a few seconds as he almost immediately asked George,

“Would you like someone to talk to about it?” The blond offered, completely oblivious that he's part of the “something” George was thinking of. 

The older man shook his head, “Thank you, but I'm fine. I'll have to make a decision anyway.” 

Dream really didn't know what the decision George was apparently having a hard time making, but he won't force his friend to tell it to him.

The least he could do is to be someone accompanying his friend when he's absolutely out of it— so he did not reply to what his friend said and instead kept his mouth shut, at least for now.

Silence enveloped them after that… 

Well, it really didn't last for long, since their other batch mates saw their silence as an opportunity to talk to them individually.

This made the both of them pre-occupied until the DJ announced that it's almost time for the last dances. 

The announcement made the crowd very excited and everyone immediately scattered from their own groups to find a partner to dance with.

Naturally, this includes the mini group that circled around Dream's and George's seats. 

Realizing that they've once again alone on the table, Dream hesitantly continued their conversation earlier, “I don't know what you're thinking of, but all I know is right now we're here to have fun.”

George had to agree that Dream has a huge point— Sapnap invited both of them to unwind in the very first place. 

But who could unwind when that same friend who invited you to come with him here has placed a huge responsibility on his hands? 

Going back to their conversation, Dream's face looked a bit brighter than when he started to continue what they were talking about earlier. George thinks he's trying to at least ease up his worries by talking to him. 

“Besides, I'm sure there'll be a lot of our schoolmates who would love to dance with you, George.” Dream then teased, raising both his eyebrows up and down as he lightly nudged George's shoulder. 

The brunet rolled his eyes, “The same could be said about you, idiot.”

Knowing that Dream intentionally glued on his seat because he's out of it the entire night, he voiced out his minor concern, “You didn't have to accompany me here all night, you know.”

“I know.” Dream responded in a-matter-of-factly manner,

“But I like accompanying you.” The blond continued, making George's cheeks be slightly tinged with red.

Why is he suddenly teasing me like this? George wondered, Does he know? Did Sapnap actually rat him out— not to their professor but to him?

He then made a mistake of looking around for his younger friend, only to see him looking intently at him and then mouthing the words, “Do it”.

He really didn't have a choice in the end, did he? 

George sighed.

You win this time, Sapnap.

He inwardly cursed to himself as he's thinking about all of the unpleasant words he'll say to Sapnap if this plan he orchestrated has failed miserably. 

George faced Dream who is, surprisingly, still looking at him. 

How does he even start the conversation, and how can he transition it to him inviting Dream to dance? 

Then an idea came to him in the form of the conversation they had with Bad earlier. "Dream?"

"Yeah?" His friend asked, voice filled with curiosity… and anticipation? George wondered, Anticipating for what? 

"What about you? Aren't you going to dance with someone? It's your last chance."

He said as he gestured towards the dance floor, which was currently filled with couples of all types dancing to the slow song that's currently blasting on the speakers. 

Dream went silent, looking like he was thinking about his words for a few minutes until he finally shook his head in response; 

"I don't know if they're going to accept it, so it's better to not even try." 

So, he actually likes someone… George thought, already in the process of accepting defeat when he realized what Dream just said.

———

If he's being honest, Dream has been, with the lack of words to describe it, "testing the waters" to see if George will go up on his own to dance with his crush (if his friend does have one), but so far he hasn't danced with literally anyone, and has been extremely distracted even before they went in the venue.

He's been contemplating to ask him on a dance and has been going back and forth about it with his mind because his friend seems so out of it. 

What if dancing with him makes his mood somehow worse? Dream contemplated.

I can't bear him getting mad at me for insisting myself on him when he already declined my company a few times now by insistingI go and dance myself. 

The entire night, all he has been doing was to steal glances at George, especially because he looked gorgeous in his suit.

Dream wanted to shower him with compliments about tonight, then take him into the dance floor every time a slow song comes up, but he couldn't get the proper words out. 

He's scared that his advances would make his friend reject what he feels about him and ruin their friendship. 

I can't. Dream finally admitted to himself.

I'm scared. 

With Sapnap being absolutely busy somewhere else, he's confined to his own thoughts and is lost on what to do… At least, until someone finally invited George to dance with them. 

One of their batchmates just invited him to dance, making some people near their desk look at him intently. 

George looked down. He felt like a prey being looked at before getting mauled to death. 

He couldn't do it.

He can't invite Dream to dance with him, nor confess his feelings to him. 

Not when he feels Dream's curious eyes being fixated on what he's doing. 

He can't even bear to look at how he's reacting to this person inviting him to dance. 

Is he jealous? George wonders. 

Hah. He laughed at his own thoughts.

As if. 

He played with his fingers, trying to muster up some courage to respond with the person in front of them when he felt Dream's hands on his shoulders,

"Come on, Georgie. at least try." Dream encourages him with a soft smile as he shift his gaze between him and the person who invited him.

"You'll never know what can happen."

George looked at the person who invited him and felt a bit guilty for making them wait a bit too long for an answer. 

Still, he can't decide. 

"...I'm scared…” He murmured, surprisingly quiet that he's surprised that Dream heard it and immediately have out his response,

“Oh, come on, George! They won't bite you!” Dream gestured towards their batchmate, trying his best to make his voice a bit more jovial. 

He's having success so far… 

Or at least, that's what he believes. 

The amount of jealousy he's feeling is so strong he could almost not restrain himself from the urge of hitting himself to a wall. 

He wished he was that person awkwardly waiting for George, not the friend that encourages him to go and enjoy himself with someone else.

He doesn't want to end up looking miserable as his friend finally enjoys himself after quite a long day for him. 

Dream was brought back from his thoughts by another whisper from George, 

"I don't wanna be selfish."

Dream was dumbfounded. George’s voice sounded so tired and so open… 

His friend who is known as someone so secretive you wouldn't even know what's on his mind and heart but here he was, sounding so vulnerable.

He never felt so much raw emotions coming out of George— it felt like he's finally letting him see the inner workings of his heart. 

And he feels like the luckiest person ever for that.

Well, he was, until they both realized that the person who invited George is still waiting for a response.

Hearing someone else call his name in the distance, George hurriedly looked for Dream's hands and put it with the lucky person who invited him,

“Sorry, but I don't dance— But Dream over here definitely does.” 

“Wha—” Dream, extremely surprised by what the hell just happened, frantically looked back and forth between George and their batchmate who was awkwardly smiling at the two of them. 

George, seeing his friend’s reaction, rolled his eyes. “Go. I told you that you didn't need to babysit me all night.” 

“But—”

“Just go there already and don't be an idiot!” He said, pushing Dream a little towards the dance floor and tried to laugh.

His blond friend on the other hand looked ready to argue but immediately deflated, apparently deciding to give up the fight before it began.

George looked sadly at Dream as he was pulled away from their table to the dance floor. He's definitely going to be lectured by his friends if they happen to see that, but he's really scared back there. 

Don't be like an idiot like me. 

He never wished to be that person more than ever, but right now he's looking at the person he admires awkwardly dancing with a batchmate who is surely elated that they get to dance with the Dream. 

God, I'm such a coward. 

"George!"

He teared his eyes away from the scene and looked for the source of the voice that called him— it was Sapnap. 

The younger had his arms crossed as he raised his eyebrow at him.

“Okay. Now that I have your attention, can you tell me why the hell did you make him dance with someone else?” 

George shrugged, “Well, I want him to enjoy the night instead of gluing himself to his seat because of me.”

“And you thought he would enjoy it if you encouraged him to dance with someone else?” 

George was silent— he didn't know what his friend felt about that… he thought he was helping. 

Feeling guilty, he replied, “I– I thought he would enjoy it. I thought I was helping him not be stuck with me all night...” 

“And you were not!” Sapnap responded, irritation obvious in his voice. The younger stopped himself from speaking more and took a deep breath. 

George took this opportunity to apologize, “Look, Sapnap, I'm sorry! I just want him to not feel miserable with me...” 

“I know, George. But I'm not mad at that— I'm mad at how you always set your fucking feelings aside for everyone else!” 

George couldn't formulate words after what he heard from Sapnap. 

His friend is concerned about his feelings? 

And he's known as someone who doesn't really show his true feelings— how the hell did his friend, who's supposed to be younger than him, work it out?

“What about you?” the shorter one continued, “Are you not jealous of him dancing with somebody else?”

I am… George immediately answered in his mind, but he had to think of a workaround as a response... His friend couldn't waterboard that information out of him. 

“We're not in a relationship, Sapnap.” George defended. 

“He's my friend first and foremost, and unless his partner is doing something uncomfortable, I won't stop him from doing what he wants.”

“I– but that–” Sapnap points at where Dream currently is— talking with their other batchmates after dancing with someone— “Is absolutely not what he wanted, is it?” 

Crossing his arms at George again, he asked, “Do you know what he wants?” while stealing glances at Dream who's currently on the dance floor dancing with another batchmate.

Oh wow, he sure is fast at socializing, he remarked.

Fixing his gaze back at his brunet friend, he asked, “A matter of fact, do you even know what YOU want?” 

“Well, I…” George hesitates despite knowing his answer. He can't just outright admit that after he let him go dance with someone else. 

“You want him?” Sapnap asked, his voice almost as loud as a whisper in the noisy crowd. 

After a few seconds of silence, George slowly nods.

Sapnap gave George's shoulder a light tap, “Then go get him.” 

The younger then attempted to push George to the dance floor and almost fell from his seat. If looks could kill, Sapnap would be above the pool of his own blood at the floor by how sharp George's glare was. 

After fixing himself, he then looked back at the dance floor to check if anyone (Dream in particular) saw what happened, only to find Dream now playfully dancing with Bad on the floor. 

George sighed in relief as Bad’s gaze fixated on him. Then their friend gave him a wink… and looked back behind him– probably communicating something with Sapnap.

He followed Bad’s gaze and saw Sapnap in the middle of mouthing something out to the former. 

Seeing that George was looking at him, Sapnap gave him a shrug as a response as the DJ announced that the next 2 songs will be the final dances. 

The brunet felt Bad's gaze at him and he looked intently at what he's trying to convey. 

He doesn't know if he read it right, but it looked like their friend wants him to go over there and replace him stat. 

George inhaled sharply as he feels the urgency of things.

He has to do this now. 

It's literally his final chance. 

Dream might not have any idea what the hell went in George's head to push him to dance instead of accepting the invite himself; but talking with their batchmates was surprisingly refreshing.

He was aware that the three of them were popular in their school, but he never really interacted with those people who knew him since he started studying there.

He discovers that it was nice to joke around with a different set of people from time to time, and he's slightly thankful to George for doing that. 

Nonetheless, that does NOT excuse that his friend did all those out of the blue— has he been planning to do that all this time just to get rid of me? He asked himself.

Did I really annoy him that much? 

“No, Dream. You didn't.” Dream looked around to see Bad standing right beside him.

His friend probably saw him zoning out with the group of people he's supposed to be interacting with and came to his rescue. 

“Sorry… I was just—”

“Thinking about George? We know…” Dream was about to open his mouth to protest, but realized it's no use. 

So basically everyone in his friend circle knows except him.

How fucking ironic. 

“Sapnap was whining about how tired he was with you two going around each other and advised him against locking both of you in a room during one of our graduation practices.” Bad shook his head as he recalled what their conversation with Sapnap was a few minutes ago. Dream, on the other hand, have only heard that Sapnap has whined about how tired he is with him and George, completely letting the rest of what Bad said get past his head.

He felt bad for making his friend feel that way, and he never wanted to make him feel like he's babysitting his friends that are supposedly older than him. 

“Are we really that bad?” Dream asked, shame slowly creeping into his body. Bad gave his head light pats, 

“No, you knuckleheads! That's natural.” He says as he attempts to invite Dream to a dance. Dream accepts while chuckling lightly. 

As the DJ announces that the next 2 songs would be for the last dances, Bad continued from their conversation earlier, “We have our own fears when it comes to love, you know?”

Bad then smiled softly as he turned the blond around so that he's the one facing where George is. 

“Well– to be fair… I just realized what that fear was when someone invited George to dance earlier.” Dream started pouring his heart out, completely oblivious to the fact that Bad was mouthing Sapnap to 'Get George over here!' and Sapnap mouthing back 'He's on his way!' as the subject of their far away conversation looked between them in confusion. 

Bad then fixed his gaze at George, doing his best to tell him to 'Take Dream away from me to dance with him already, I literally made the opening for you' through his looks. 

George probably got the message as he rolled his eyes and slowly walked towards them.

Dream was still in the middle of his rambling about his feelings about George when he heard people behind him screaming excitedly.

Probably someone proposing to their crush. He guessed as he attempted to continue his yapping when Bad held him still by his shoulders and looked at him in the eye, 

“I think someone's waiting for you to turn around.” Bad wiggled his eyebrows as he emphasized the word “someone”. 

Could it be–? Dream’s eyes slowly lit up by the thought of George being behind him when his mind cut his forming elation short,

No fucking way that's him… Bad probably wanted me to move on and try with someone else…

I guess that's how bad it was, huh? Dream wondered, mind already spiraling towards the worse case scenarios when he heard a familiar cough behind him, 

“It's tiring to just stand here waiting, you know?” 

Dream felt like his world stopped– everyone else in the soiree suddenly disappeared and it was just the two of them as he slowly turned around. 

George was standing there with his left hand out. 

He's there. Standing in front of me. Dream describes what he sees slowly in his head, hoping it wouldn't short circuit badly,  

And he's inviting me to dance with him. In disbelief, his jaw dropped.

Am I dreaming? Dream asked himself.

He then felt something hurt his nose, only to realize that it was George flicking the tip of his nose with his other hand. 

The brunet rolled his eyes as Dream rubbed some fingers on his nose, “You really didn't have to do that.” 

“Oh, but I have to, idiot. You were standing there with your mouth open for so long, I thought a fly would go inside.” 

Okay, that so long was probably an exaggeration, Dream's mind protested. I was only standing there for probably 30 seconds at most! 

Dream let out a hearty laugh as he took George's left hand and started to dance to the song. 

They haven't realized it yet, but the entire place was extremely silent as everyone was watching the two of them in awe– Sapnap was frantically tapping Bad’s arms while pointing at the two in the background while Skeppy was asking Sam for the money he owes him.

Apparently the two had a bet on who’s going to invite who between their friends and Skeppy evidently won when George pulled that stunt.

While everyone was watching their every move, the two in the spotlight seemed to be in their own world.

“You are such an idiot.” Dream teased. 

George grumbled something to himself that he almost didn't hear except the last two words,

“... your idiot.”

… My WHAT? Dream started freaking out about those words he heard – was it real?

Is he drowning in his delusions again?

Is he inside of a fiction for the two of them where he can get all kinds of happy endings he could with George? 

He has to calm down or his friend will hear his heart that's almost bursting out of his ribcage. He breathed deeply and attempted to ask George what he just said, 

“George. What did you just say?” 

George looked away, blushing. The brunet didn't even realize that his partner (partner?) heard what he just said. 

But he had to let this out regardless, right? or all of his (and Sapnap’s) efforts will all end up in vain.

He sighed in defeat, 

“I said, I should thank Sapnap for making me realize that I want to be your idiot.” George watched Dream's reactions very carefully.

He'll base his next words on how great or terrible his reaction would be.

Dream is now frozen solid on the dance floor with his eyes widened in surprise and mouth left agape. 

As of right now, George is confused– is this a good reaction? 

He helplessly looked for Bad or Sapnap in the crowd, but he couldn't find any of them so he looked back at Dream, who is slowly recovering… and is currently whispering to himself.

“George said “he wanted to be my idiot”, right?” The blond asked himself, “He really did say that, right?” 

“Dream–” 

“No, wait!” Dream suddenly exclaimed, his right hand raised in a "stop!" gesture.

“I'm not done processing this yet!” 

George chuckled at his friend's adorable gesture.

This must be a good thing, right? 

After a few moments, he heard Dream speak again.

“You know, George. You're unfair.” Dream finally said as they went back to dancing.

Me? Unfair? George asked himself. Why?

This time it's Dream's turn to roll his eyes. Did he say that out loud? 

“I have been trying to find the right time to invite you to dance, but you looked unwell the entire night…” 

He's… what? He swore he needed to clean his ears the moment he gets home– he's scared that he might be starting to hear things wrong.

Did he mean that all this time, we've been trying to find the perfect timing to invite each other?

“So…” George breathed, seemingly running out of air despite not running himself, “The person you didn't know if they'll accept your invitation to dance…” 

“...Is you, George.” Dream looked away after finishing George's conclusion. He then started reasoning why he couldn't do it, 

“I thought you liked someone else–” 

“–that’s why you were hesitant to ask me earlier and instead encouraged me to find someone else?” George this time was the one who finished Dream's explanation.

Dream slowly nodded; “That, and the fact that you've been out of it since I went out to you two arguing by my apartment. What the hell did you and Sapnap even argue about?” The blond asked, voice laced with concern. George looked away as Dream continues his rambling; 

“I'm so used to the two of you bantering the hell out of each other but that was the first time I saw you acting like that afterwards– was it that bad?” He peeled his gaze off of George to look for the supposed culprit. 

Maybe I could ask him what happened through my eyes, Dream thought.

Unbeknownst to his partner who seems to be looking for Sapnap, George’s face is now extremely hot– he could tell that he's been blushing hard outside and is ashamed at this kind of display. 

He's known for not showing his true feelings for God's sake! He shouldn't be seen like this! 

Especially not with Dream!

Dream, on the other hand, wasn't successful in finding his friend. 

He thought that maybe Sapnap had read his mind and hid as fast as he could, so he'll go to his second option which is dance partner, George. 

Speaking of which, he looked back at George and saw him avoiding his gaze while his face is bright red– whether he's embarrassed or starting to show symptoms of sickness, he doesn't know.

So, he attempted to touch his forehead to see if he's suddenly showing signs of sickness. 

George, on the other hand, jumped at Dream's sudden action. “I'm fine, Dream.” He assured the blond, “It's just…” 

Then he made a mistake of looking directly into Dream's face– mainly because his eyes are already locked on him and it doesn't look like he's going to look away soon. This just made George's cheeks more red.

“George– if you're actually sick, why did you even come with us? Was the argument actually Sapnap convincing you not to come–” 

“No!” George exclaimed, making Dream blink in surprise. 

“Then what?” Dream asked, confused. “You've been out of it since earlier, and now you're as red as a tomato.”

“Then a few minutes ago you said you wanted to be 'my idiot'.” He points out details that he remembered about George the entire night up until the start of their dance, 

“You're really confusing me now, George. Did I assume something else from what you meant, or you're just high off your sickness?” 

George felt pressured and scared— only then have they both realized that they're still dancing at a school event. 

Mainly because Sapnap said— actually yelled— “COME FUCKING ON!” somewhere near them. 

The two then felt like they've been awoken from their own reveries as they look around, and finally going back into looking at each other's eyes…

… And then bursting into laughter. Which lasted for quite a few minutes.

George, being the first one to slightly recover, put his hand on Dream's shoulder as he breathed, “Have I mentioned that Sapnap blackmailed me into inviting you to dance?” He admits, emphasizing the fact that their friend blackmailed him into doing what he did.

Still recovering from the laughing fit, gears seem to start moving inside Dream's head. “So…” He attempts to speak, “You two were arguing about inviting me to dance while waiting for me to get dressed?”

George nodded as a response. A few lightbulbs in Dream's head light up, one by one.

“... and, the reason why you were so out of it today…” Dream guessed,

“...was because I was going down all possible scenarios when I invited you but all of them really didn't go as we–”

“Oh my god– we're a couple of idiots!” The blond exclaimed after the last lightbulb lit up in his head. He then wheezed at the realization that he was part of George's dilemma earlier.

No fucking wonder he didn't want to tell me about it when I asked. He said to himself as he wheezed. Why the hell would he tell me that I'm his problem? 

We were so fucking stupid dancing around each other like this. Dream concludes. 

Surprised at the sudden exclamation of his dance partner, George just giggled with Dream his response.

He didn't mind being interrupted with his rambles as he found Dream adorable while trying to piece things out in his head.

After getting their laughs out, the rest of their dance was filled with comfortable silence as they did every step in synchronicity with each other and the music. 

For two people who both claimed that they're not good in dancing, they were actually doing pretty well. 

As they were dancing, Dream took the silence as his go signal to look around to find where Sapnap is when he spotted him besides Bad, Skeppy and Sam talking with each other.

He was about to look away when he heard George sigh beside him. Dream looked at his partner only to see him looking at Sapnap as well. 

Well, more like he's glaring at the poor guy than just looking at him.

“He's never gonna let me live this down…” George whined, “That fucker even said to 'thank him later'!” 

“Well– he might have known a thing or two about how I feel…” Dream said, a bit of shyness can be heard in his voice.

About how he feels…? George repeated the words slowly inside his head. 

He knew what Dream is implying, but his mind couldn't swallow that information as well as he wanted to. 

About what… he feels… for me?

“Obviously, George–” Dream responded, eyebrows raised. “Who else do you think I’d like?”

Who else do you think I'd like? 

He likes me? George tried speaking, but ended up opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish.

Okay, so he likes me. George concluded inside his head, still trying to let those words sink in.

And I like him… Now what? Are we like… a thing now? The brunet wondered, eliciting giggles from his partner. 

George looked up at him with a confused face, which made Dream laugh, “You should stop saying things out loud, George.” 

His face instantly heated up after Dream's remark.

“But to answer your question– we could be, if you want to. Because I really do like you, George.” 

If anyone could see inside his head and heart right now, they probably can see the fireworks show his mind was lighting up and the party his heart is hosting after hearing the words of confirmation his entire system has been waiting for Dream to say. 

George beamed at Dream and the blond smiled back. 

“So… should I take that huge smile as a yes?” Dream teased. George playfully rolled his eyes at him, 

“Sure, if you insist…” He said, trying his best to pretend like he's not interested but the joy in his voice was so obvious. 

Sapnap's voice from their earlier conversations echoed in George's head; 

"...But this time, you have to trust me when I say that it won't...” 

“...Absolutely 1000% sure of this one, George. Please… trust me at least this one time..."

“God– Sapnap really won't let me live this down, I just know it.”

“Guess I have to thank him, too.” Dream remarked which made George whip his head to look at him with the unspoken question, 'Why the hell would you do that?'

Dream shrugged, “If he didn't blackmail you like what you said, you wouldn't have had the guts to steal me away from Bad while we're 'dancing'.” 

The brunet scoffed, “I would've done it even if Sapnap didn't blackmail me.” This made Dream smirk. He leaned down to get closer to George's face and teased him;

“Oh, would you?” George put his hands on Dream's chest and lightly pushed him away, “Oh my god– Stop!" He exclaimed, exasperated. "Yes, I would have done it regardless!” George insists.

“Knowing you, George, I know you wouldn't.” Dream stated like it's the fact as he widened the distance between them.

George was about to protest when Dream continued, “But I'm glad you still did it, though.” He spoke in a more gentle but serious tone,

“I wouldn't have been able to get myself together to invite you, and Sapnap would've killed both of us for 'wasting such a good night to finally get your asses together'.” He says as he gives George a gentle smile. 

“So… are we…” George suddenly asked, gesturing to the two of them. “... you know?” 

“Like what I said earlier, George– if you want to. I've liked you for years, what's a couple of weeks? or months more?” 

Wait— years?

“Who says I'll make you wait that long?” George scoffs, 

“I like you too, idiot. That makes us a couple now.” 

Reiterating what he said earlier, Dream playfully teased; “A couple of idiots?” 

“Oh my god…” George said in a pretend exasperated voice. He heard Dream giggle above him but before he could add on to their banter, he was pulled into Dream's chest as the taller guy hugged him tight. 

He heard cheers erupting from near them as a round of applause quickly followed.

George was thankful that he was buried in Dream's chest or everyone would've seen how red he is from utter embarrassment. 

He couldn't believe that he forgot that everyone was literally there and that they're supposed to be at a party, not a private date. 

Now it's not just Sapnap who's going to be insufferable with him, it would be literally everyone who showed up in this godforsaken venue and event. 

He groaned, wanting to complain about how embarrasing this scene is right now. But he can feel Dream tapping his back lightly to the rhythm, probably telling him to don't mind it. 

And he chooses to listen to his beloved. Because at the end of the day, who really cares?

George has finally gotten the answers to all of his questions— and the answer was him.

The answer was Dream liked him. For years. 

His friend liked him, probably as long as he liked his friend, too… And now, they're about to face the next moments together. 

He still can't wrap his mind around it, but all he knows is that he likes the feeling of his hug, his hand on his, and the feeling he's feeling when he heard Dream say that he likes him. 

And he wanted to experience those feelings everyday for the rest of his life. 

George can worry about the insufferable yapping Sapnap will rain upon them as they take the ride home but for now, him and Dream decide to enjoy the rest of the night with their friends and each other.

After all, it was already a night they would remember for the rest of their lives. 

###

Bonus: 

Sapnap shows the two of them a picture each of their friends have taken during their dance (Sapnap even took a video with him adding a what he calls his "very emotional" voiceover on top of it) and told them how their little "love scene" looked in everyone else's perspective. 

"We look like a couple of idiots..." George remarked as he heard Dream snorting beside him.

He looked over to him in confusion at first, then recognition the moment their eyes met. 

As a result, he's now snorting with him. 

Sapnap rolled his eyes at the two, "Oh, look at the lovebirds– finally having an inside joke, are we?"

The youngest then looked at George, smirking, "By the way, you're welcome." 

The brunet rolled his eyes at Sapnap. "I would've done it even if you haven't blackmailed me, by the way." 

"We all know you wouldn't, George..." Dream retorted, siding with the perpetrator instead of his supposed boyfriend. 

George clutched his chest and acted hurt, "I can't believe my own boyfriend chooses to side with the person who blackmailed me!"

He then dramatically touched his forehead with the back of his palm as his two friends huffed at his theatrical acting. 

"Fuck off, drama queen." Sapnap joked, "Dream's supposed to have that role." 

"Hey!"

While pocketing his phone, Sapnap added on. "By the way, I wouldn't have ratted you out either way, George. It would be fucking stupid of me to report you when you're with me the entire time we did those things." 

George widened his eyes in shock– mainly because he still couldn't remember what the hell they did, nor the fact that he's with Sapnap doing all those... things? 

What things did they even do in the first place?

"What the hell does that supposed to mean?" George bit his lip nervously. He's not feeling good with where this conversation is going. 

Sapnap shrugged, "What I meant is that, we might have done something wrong together, we might have not... But if your brain doesn't remember anything, it's probably that..."

How did he know I wasn't able to remember anything we did together that can possibly make our professor mad? George wondered. Was I really showy with my emotions recently?

Also what does that last part mean? If I don't remember anything then it's because we did nothing? George was trying really hard to recall something, anything, but nothing really comes to mind.

They've been good students in their school and sometimes he himself hates it.

But if there really was nothing, does that mean that Sapnap lied? Puzzle pieces in his head started matching up as he tries his best to correctly comprehend whatever the hell Sapnap meant by what he just said. 

But he said it with so much confidence that time... George recalled. Was it because I– 

Realization dawned upon him.

He got played like a fool that he is.

By his friend who is much younger than him.  

Oh, I am absolutely going to kill this idiot. 

The moment George's rather murderous glare reached Sapnap's eyes, he sees the younger already backed away until he's running from George, who is now chasing after him around the school grounds. 

Dream looked over to the two fondly as he chuckled to himself.

He couldn't be happier to graduate soon with all of his friends, especially with these two idiots he call his best friends. 

###