Monophobia [DNF]

Chapter 12: Stargazing

George's back was sore from the not so ergonomically angle that he'd fallen in. Still, he woke up feeling warm and safe. As the confusing haze from the sleep faded, he felt how his face was buried in a soft material while a strong arm was wrapped around his waist. Gently, he tilted his head up and found Dream deep asleep next to him. His heart made a flip. Physical contact wasn't something he was used to; therefore, he'd thought that he didn't like it. But the previous hours had proven him wrong. Honestly, right now he couldn't think of a thing he rather be doing.

Was it awkward to be engulfed in a tight embrace from the captain of the football team that he more or less just met? A lot less than he would've expected. Part of him wanted to stay like that for the rest of the night but thought that Dream wouldn't want to wake up to that.

If his mind wasn't so clouded from sleep, he might've remembered Dream's confession that nearly had sounded like his way of telling George that he liked him. Maybe then George would've felt confident enough to stay by his side for the rest of the night.

But no, instead he crawled off the bed and awkwardly landed on the floor next to Patches. His head was racing as he tried piecing together the last couple of hours.

Kicked out again. Though he felt like he should've expected it.

Still difficult to understand why Dream would treat him this nicely; even offering him somewhere to stay. It hit him that the blonde had seen the state of George's home. The misery. A glimpse of how much the addiction had stolen from him and his mom. A part of him wondered if Dream had made the connection.

Maybe he should hate his mom more. Despise how her hatred for life turned into this downward spiral of abuse and misuse of everything and everyone. Having to withstand such neglect had both shaped George's difficulties to let new people into his life and his issues with keeping in touch.

Yet as he thought of his mom, he couldn't blame her completely. Sometimes her old self shone through. That's when he got a glimpse of the woman he referred to when he thought of his mom. The joyful woman who refused to let life's struggles bring her down. The part of herself that seemed forgotten back in England.

The moon shone through the window and created long shadows on the floor. Suddenly he felt a heaviness on his chest followed by a soft purring.

George was just as convinced that cats could sense people's emotional state as he was certain that a good chunk of the problem in this world could be solved by owning animals– especially cats. His fingers threaded through the soft fur. It had a therapeutic effect.

With a sigh he thought back to his mom. Despite her awful ways he would continue to blame the addiction. It took her away from him.

Carefully he sat Patches down on the floor and took out his phone. Something urged him to call Wilbur. It was daytime back in England, and he hoped that Wilbur would still remember him.

Not wanting to awake Dream, George walked up to the window and was delighted when he saw that it'd be possible to climb out to the roof. So, he proceeded with his plan cautiously out of fear of angering someone if they were to find him out there.

Millions of stars sprinkled all over the dark sky, the perfect night to reconnect with Wilbur. Space was one of his old friend's many interests, he used to speak about it with such passion. It'd been the perfect distraction from George's messy life.

A few hesitant moments passed before he pressed 'Call' and tilted his head to observe the constellations. He smiled slightly as he spotted Big Dipper, or Ursa Major as Wilbur insisted that he called it.

Nervosity paced up as he heard the familiar voice.

"George?"

"Hello Wilbur."