polaroid | georgenotfound

10

dream's phone vibrates at the dinner table violently, so he sheepishly excuses himself from the family dinner.

"hello?" his hush tone crisp and harsh.

"DREAM. please i need your help, i don't know what to do."

"george? can i call you back? i'm at dinner with my family right now."

"please, this is urgent."

dream turns to look at his mom, mouthing, i'll be right back, while pointing at his phone to signal that he's on a call. he shuts the porch door behind him, a shiver running through his spine, even though it was sixty degrees out. he'd grown accustomed to florida weather and the breeze was too cool for his taste.

"okay, i got away, what's up george? are you okay?"

"no. well, i mean yeah i'm fine but i had a life-changing realization and i don't know what to do i really need your advice."

concerned, dream sits down on the hanging bench, looking out into the starry night. the sky was lit up with little, bright sparkles he hadn't seen in years from the light pollution.

"a life-changing realization? what happened?" he listens to his friend intently.

"devyn happened."

"is she hurt?"

"no, it's not like that. i-," george sighs, "i think i'm in love with her. and there's no way she feels the same about me."

george waits for dream to say something, but dream opts to keep his mouth shut, hoping george would fill the silence by continuing.

"i'm going to keep going because i will feel a lot better if i get this off my chest. i notice everything about her. the way she tucks her hair behind her ear when she's nervous, the subtle eye roll when her mom yells at her for cursing at the dinner table, the way she says my name, her smile when i pose for one of her polaroids, fuck, even the way her head is laying on my shoulder right now.

i think i'm in love, dream. i can't mess this up. she's the best thing to ever happen to me, even if we'll only ever be platonic. if i tell her, i can't take it back, but i can't live like this- having to see her flirt with other people in front of me. wilbur, of all people. i can't breathe, i can't sleep, i can't think- i have tunnel vision for her and only her, so please, clay, help me."

dream sits, dumbfounded, trying to process his best friend's confession. he thinks for a few moments before speaking slowly.

"you mean you're admitting your feelings, for your best friend, when she's asleep on your shoulder? okay, a few things. first, i'm so proud of you, you've come far, i cannot believe you are talking to me about your feelings. second, i can't believe it took you this long to notice your feelings for dev. third, wilbur? what the hell are they doing together? and most importantly, george are you out of your mind? she's right there!"

"well yes, i know she's right here, but she's a heavy sleeper. and what am i supposed to do? shove her off? and we saw wilbur when we were shopping and she was being so fucking flirty with him and shit."

"george, you are so fucking dumb."

"thanks for the encouragement, clay."

"are you going to tell her?"

"tell her what, that i suddenly have realized that i'm in love with her and she's the only one i'll ever want? that i want to ruin our friendship and be more than that? that even though i know she'll never love me the way i love her, i'd still wait? no, dream, i can't."

"then what advice were you looking for when you called me? i know you george, you didn't call me because you didn't know what to do. you called me because you needed a confidence boost and someone to tell you to get your head out of your ass and tell her how you feel."

"okay, rude," he pauses, "i don't think i will. i can't risk losing what we have now, you know how much she means to me."

dream empathizes with george, feeling his frustration from across the atlantic.

"you can't help who you love george, it's just the way life goes. and i know for a fact that she is perfect for you. nick and i were wondering how long it would take for one of you to realize how stupidly in love you are with each other. nick didn't believe you would be the sensible one, but i did, george.

i know you don't think we noticed, but we did. after you went to bed, nick and i would talk about how you and dev are literally made for each other. your personalities go well together, and we literally looked this up but your star signs are compatible too. and then, nick searched up one of those love calculators where you put your names in, and it was like 100 percent, i'm not even joking. nick and i's brief interactions with her were enough for us to know that you're soulmates. my point is, there is no one else on this planet that deserves this more than you. you deserve to love, george; you've been hiding away, locking up your feelings so you'd never have to confront them. now's the time, she's the one, i'm telling you."

"clay, i- i don't even know what to say. was it really that obvious this whole time?" he groans.

"oh come on now, yes." dream replies.

"i just don't think i can. i don't handle these feelings well- or feelings in general, and i'll probably say something wrong. i really have to think about this."

"take your time, george. just know she won't be around forever."

another pause.

"you know, she's like my green light at the end of the dock. i am gatsby, surrounded by everything i could ever want, but the only thing i want is someone i can't have."

"you can't even see green. and you literally haven't even talked or asked her about how she feels."

"i'm trying to be philosophical and you're ruining it."

"okay, i'm sorry. let me know how it goes, yeah? i've got to go back to dinner."

"talk to you later, dream. thank you."

꧁𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑚'𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑑𝑜𝑚꧂
two in a row ayo let's go pogchamps please. making up for the short chapter. THIS IS HARD TO WRITE BECAUSE I'VE NEVER BEEN IN LOVE OKAY CUT ME SOME SLACK. I LOVE YOU GUYS <3 HAVE A GREAT DAY ( ˘ ³˘)♥︎