autumn breeze || dreamnotfound

chapter six

Sapnap went to the apartment upstairs, where he and Dream lived, and I heard a door slam.

[1465 words]

George POV

I felt hopeless in this situation. Dream had probably gone to talk to Karl, meanwhile Sapnap doesn't seem like he wants to talk right now. I thought about leaving but saw the dark sky, and the drizzle from before become a hard pour. I sighed, and hung my head before reluctantly going to check on Sapnap.

As I walked up the stairs I tried to stay quiet. The old wooden steps creaked as I held onto the railing for support, but it barely helped. I knocked on the door to the apartment and waited for an answer. There was none. I knocked a second time, louder now. Still, no one answered. Growing anxious I began to talk through the door, hoping he could hear me.

"Sapnap? I'm gonna come in, okay?" I waited for a third time, and finally he answered.

"He hates me doesn't he?" Sapnap opened the door and pulled me into a big hug.

I hugged back, attempting to give my friend as more comfort that I could muster up. His head was on my shoulder as he started trembling. I walked us slowly into his living room, rubbing calming circles on his back. I sat us down on the sofa and lifted his head from my shoulder to make eye contact. He kept his eyes on his hands which were shaking because of his unsettled nerves.

Softly putting my hand on top of his, I tried to get his attention, "hey, sap, what happened earlier?" I tried to keep my voice as soft as possible not wanting him to break out into crying once more.

"I-I'm not gay, George," was the only thing he managed to say before he sniffled again.

"Okay, then what happened with you and Karl earlier?" I didn't mean to sound patronizing, I genuinely wanted to know why he was crying and how I could help.

"W-we kissed... that's it. Noth-ing else happened," he was now hiccuping slightly, and began looking around the apartment. "B-but I'm not gay. I can't be. So I told him..." he looked at his shoes regretfully. Making the tip of the shoes hit each other softly as he was talking, "I told him I didn't like him like that," he barely whispered this sentence, but I heard it clearly.

"So, why did you do it Sap? I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt Karl, but there must've been a reason," he looked up at me, making eye contact. I could see his eyes began to water again and his bottom lip trembled a little, as he fell into my arms for a second time. He looked broken from the inside out. I couldn't imagine what Karl must feel like right now.

"Help me get him back, George. I love him so much, please," was all he said before he got quiet again. Tears stained the front of my shirt, but that was the least of my worries right now.

I stayed and comforted Sapnap to the best of my abilities. About half an hour later I heard soft snores, his mouth as it hung slightly open. I got up and gently placed him on his couch getting a blanket to keep him warm. I got out of the apartment and went downstairs while checking the time. It was 15 minutes after their closing time. I turned the sign from 'open' to 'closed' before I washed the stations. I felt I needed to help them, Dream was no doubt tired and well, cleaning isn't so bad.

Once I finished doing that and noticed Dream wasn't back yet, I sat down at a table and decided to read my book.

<t><i><m><e><><s><k><i><p>

I heard the familiar bell ring, and lifted my heavy eyes from the pages of my book The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, my favourite out of the series. Dream walked in with a tired expression. He glanced over in my direction and immediately softened his look. It had stopped raining by now, but he was still drenched.

I placed my bookmark, got up, and walked over to him, the only sound in the room were my shoes hitting the hardwood floors. I was worried about Sapnap and Karl's relationship, whether as friends or a couple was their choice. He opened his arms, asking for a hug but quickly closed them again remembering he was wet from the earlier rain.

We stood in front of one another, Dream holding his shoes in one hand, and I held my book waiting for him to break the silence. It was now 22:00 [10 pm], and I could see that Dream was exhausted from running around.

"How's Sap? I wasn't too easy on him," his hand travelled to the back of his head as his eyes travelled to the floor beside my feet.

"He was crying a bit, saying he needed to get Karl back. That he loved him too much," my smile soon twisted into a confused look as I continued. "But, he also mentioned that he 'wasn't gay'. I thought you said he told you he liked Karl?" I looked up and the eye contact came back.

"He did. Or, he told me he did. I don't know anymore," a large sigh left his mouth as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can I- do you need a drive home?"

"That's okay, I can walk," I waved him off. Dream opened the door and got his keys from the counter. I rolled my eyes, "You're stubborn. You know that?"

"Yea?" Dream chuckled when he opened my car door. "Kinda reminds me of someone," he smiled as he closed the passenger door when I was comfortably seated.

He opened his own and started driving in the direction of my flat. He played music and the song 505 by the Arctic Monkeys started playing. I sang along, and so did Dream. We were having fun. The next song started playing, I Love You So by The Walters. The car ride fell into a comfortable silence as he concentrated on the road ahead of him, asking for instructions a few times.

We arrived at the apartment and Dream got out to open my door. I rolled my eyes but let him think that he did something gentleman-like. To be honest, it was kind of cute. Dream was definitely a momma's boy growing up.

He walked me to the entrance and thanked me for taking care of Sapnap and waiting at the café.

"Of course, you guys are my friends. I would do anything for you."

Dream looked almost sad, placing a fake smile on his face but simultaneously blushed at the ending part of my sentence. I studied his face as he tried to say something but just couldn't quite get it out. His mouth opened and quickly closed. I patiently waited, nodding my head once, as if to encourage him to take his time and continue.

He took a deep breath, the air leaving his mouth turned to smoke as it made contact with the cold air outside, "George? "He asked.

"Mhm?", I quietly responded. I saw him inching closer, and my breath hitched slightly in my throat, becoming hyper-aware of everything in sight of me. The small plants cracked through the concrete, swaying in the soft but stinging wind as it howled. The trees in the distance seemed ominously dark in my peripheral vision, his eyes searching my face and keeping strong eye contact as I flustered under his intense gaze. I could play it off saying that it was cold outside, and that was why my cheeks were red, but we both knew it wasn't because of that.

He stayed quiet for a few seconds. His eyes held an emotion I wouldn't be able to put into words. He jumped out of his 'trance' and he grinned, eyes crinkled as much as they could get, "I'll see you tomorrow, can't wait for the scary movies," he ruffled my hair and left to go in his car.

I watched as he left. I was slightly disappointed that he didn't hug me or something but quickly removed that from my thoughts as I made my way through to the front desk and towards the elevators.

I opened my door and got the food to feed Cat. I changed into sweatpants and a white crewneck t-shirt. The playlist that Dream had been playing in the car, playing in the background as I fell asleep thinking about him. About us. Together.

....

A/N

kind of a short chapter :/ gonna post chapter 7 tonight tho :)

HAPPY NEW YEARS !! hope you all have an amazing 2022 ;^

-lilo<3