― do over

George gulped, his gaze hesitantly dropping down to Dream's lips and back to his face. With the furious blush on his face, he managed a small "okay."

"Really?" Clay looked surprised and leaned back, letting George squeeze by him. "Wait, you're gonna tell me?"

"That's what you wanted, isn't it?" He shot back weakly, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Dream stared after him, his feet moving on their own accord. The faraway look in the other's eyes told a tale that reminded Dream that the hurt from that night may have been mutual.

He could only hope it was a misunderstanding.

George turned off the lights in the room with the remote nearby, maybe to hide his face, and he begun talking. Clay watched his silhouette with wide eyes and trembling hands. 

"I don't think I ever told you this, but my family was very close growing up. My mother and her siblings were best friends, unlike any siblings I've ever seen today. So of course when they each had kids of their own, they wanted us to be friends.

"One of my aunts stayed in my mom's neighborhood, so her and my mother were ecstatic. That's when I met Henry, my cousin." A sad smile touched his face, and Dream had an urge to wipe it away. "He became the brother I never had. We did everything together. Every day we would go over to one of our houses and just talk. You remind me of him. Your sense of humor, the way you care about others. You're so goddamn protective, I don't think you even know it."

Dream rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Oh."

"We told each other everything, from friends we made to girls we liked. Except he didn't like girls." 

Clay immediately saw what was coming, and didn't want to hear it. It clicked at once.

"He came out to me as gay in freshman year, and I told him I had a crush on you." His laugh was sad and pitiful. "He was so proud of me, told me to go for it, but I couldn't risk losing you. But he gave me confidence, and I was going to ask you out a lot earlier, but..." A deep breath settled in the air. "He came out to his parents and everything went downhill. They sent him away, Clay- their own son! Just because he was gay. It was awful. I remember my parents talking about him, and I realized my own goddamn family was going to hate me. 

"I tried so hard to stop liking you. I really, really tried. I distanced myself, I tried to crush on girls, literally anyone besides you. But you made it so damn hard." His voice broke, and his hands covered his face. Dream was motionless, a look of disbelief and anger a twirling, violent mess in his eyes. "And then you told me you loved me, and what was I going to do? I was convinced you were my soulmate. It's silly, but-"

"I don't think its silly," Dream whispered. "I think it's brave." 

He shook his head. "I told you to hide our relationship because I was afraid of being sent off to wherever Henry went. I didn't want our friends to know because what if they let it slip? Sapnap always tried, that's why I always got so mad at him. He spoke too loud and too much, and I was so afraid.

"And senior year came around and I couldn't keep doing this to you. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to you, me, my friends, to everyone. I wanted to let you go but I didn't know how to phrase it. What to say. You would have gone to the ends of the earth to get me back, wouldn't you?"

Dream didn't confirm or deny it, but George read the silence fine. 

"I had to do something that would chase you off," he swallowed his tears. "I hated every second of it. The look on your face, the way you tried to hide how hurt you were at graduation. But I had to keep up the act, if only to protect you and myself. It was so selfish, so, so, so sel-"

Clay didn't know what came over him. He didn't forgive George, but he would learn to. He had said everything that he needed to hear, and listening to George beat himself up, like he no doubtedly did every day after Dream left, he couldn't take it. He couldn't let those ugly tears run down his pretty face.

So he leaned over, and pressed his lips to his.

George melted in his grasp as his hands gently cupped his cheek, angling his face to his own. It was slow and careful, every bit as electrifying as before. The heat flared under Clay's hand as a happy blush spread across George's face. 

A few salty tears were tasted on the brunette's lips, but Dream took no notice, as the other boy had stopped crying the moment he had kissed him. Their mouths moved as one, like how a gamer could pick up a controller to their favorite game and remember the controls. They had done this before, and kissing the other had become a habit, a skill. And god, Clay wanted to practice more. 

Dream had missed him so much, and it was clear George had too.

A mumble against his lips brought him slamming back into the present, his eyes flying wide at the realization of what he was doing. He jerked away, pulling his hands to his chest in horror. "I-I am so sorry, I-I didn't know what to do, you..."

Deadbeat quiet skipped by as the pounding of his heart thundered in his ears. "I think we should go to bed," George murmured before his voice broke again. He scooted away and under the covers, his back to Dream. Dream slapped himself in the face without making a sound before he too got into bed. The silence was highly unwelcome, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to talk about it either. What would he say, anyway? Sorry, you were crying so I thought it was cool to kiss you. 

He was a stupid, stupid idiot, who had made a stupid, stupid choice.

Sure, George had said he had 'thought he was his soulmate' but that didn't imply he still believed that. Clay had forced the truth out of him by pinning him to a wall. There was no way that kiss should have happened. 

They would forget about it and move on. Dream was just doing him a favor, since George had stopped crying. It was fine, it never happened. 

Then why did it feel so right?

-

( 1208 words )

i have nothing clever to say so you should vote 

an: everyone guessed the homophobic upbringing D: however was it how you expected? i also dont think you expected them to kith.....

but of course, they wont talk about it like grown men, theyre little pissbabies. the show must go on- besides, were only on 4th? 5th? day idk, why didnt i keep a timeline i will do that soon F

another chapter tomorrow perhaps? :D