Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

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For the next three days, George returns to the same spot, and waits for his "dream boy" to show up again. On the fourth day, just when the merman is starting to lose hope, he finally sees him paddling out into the ocean. George is almost ashamed at how ecstatic he is, at the feeling that warms up his chest when he looks at the pretty boy's face. Just like the last time, he is (very) happy to watch gracefully balancing limbs and strong shoulders from afar. Minutes turn into hours easily when in the presence of a boy whose tan skin shimmers in the sunlight.

The next few weeks continue exactly like this. The boy shows up on random days and surfs for a few hours, and George shows up every day and pines for a few hours. George dreams of the boy every night now. The mystery man from his earlier recurring dreams finally has a face, and a very handsome one. He has recently discovered that he is completely obsessed with Dream (a name that developed from being too lazy to repeat "dream boy" in his head), or is, at the very least, entranced. He has never spoken to the boy, has never been anywhere near him, and yet, the boy fills his head constantly. This realization was originally quite embarrassing for George.

But with no one to see it, and no one to make fun of him, he begins to accept this interest as a guilty pleasure that will probably go away soon. George isn't really sure if he wants it to go away, though. For a few seconds, he considers never returning to the surface again, and forcing himself to forget about Dream. But George is a little weak, or maybe just a little bit smitten, so he dismisses the thought quickly. He indulges himself, and shows up unfailingly every single day.

(simp)

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About a month after George's first encounter, he is surprised to see that his Dream Boy is not alone. Today, there are two boys paddling out to sea.

This new boy is everything that Dream isn't. Even Dream's sleek green longboard contrasts with the new boy's board: a white short board with red, orange, and yellow flame decals. (Like Dream's, his board has a word written on it in bold red lettering. George is just a little too far away to read it, but it appears to say something like "pandas.") Whereas Dream's hair is wavy, long, and light, this friend's is straight, cropped, and a dark brown. While Dream is all precision and elegance and straight lines, the other boy is all sloppy and graceless and bent.

This isn't to say that Dream's friend is a bad surfer. No. He is just as good, if not better, than Dream. He leans forward as he moves, bending his knees and taking a low stance as he weaves back and forth easily between waves. He rarely falls off; instead, he sinks back to his knees at the end of each wave, turns around, and paddles back out. He is talented, and certainly good-looking in a ruggedly handsome sort of a way, but in George's eyes, he is nowhere near as gorgeous as Dream. George watches him surf for a few minutes, but gets bored quickly, and returns to silently ogling his Dream.

After a little while, they sit on their boards and watch the sunset, just as Dream had done that first day. Once again hidden by the approaching darkness, George watches unashamedly from his spot in the waves. He allows himself to be drawn in, moving closer and closer until he is within earshot of the boys' conversation. From this distance, he can finally read the red lettering, and curiously observes that it says "Sapnap." Huh, George thinks, what a strange thing to name a surfboard.

He feels guilty eavesdropping on their conversation, so he allows himself to be distracted by Dream's perfection, and only catches a few passing words. He allows them to slip in one ear and out the other.

"Clay ... summer... surfer... Nick... New job ... lifeguard ... Clay... beach... surfing... Clay..."

Clay? George is suddenly paying attention. It appears that the new boy keeps calling Dream "Clay," and that Dream has been repeating the word, "Nick." Maybe those were their names. "Nick" is a much better name than "Sapnap," he thinks. George listens just long enough to confirm his hypothesis, and then zones back out to resume his admiration.

He gets lost in those emerald eyes, in his lean frame and defined limbs. He imagines running his hands through the tangled curls. He wonders how soft Dream's (Clay's?) hair would be. Would Clay like it? Would he lean into the merman's touch? Would he let George trace his fingertips along the boy's freckles, drawing constellations on his skin? George has the sudden urge to kiss every single one of his marks, and though he is too embarrassed to admit it, he'd give anything to let Dream know just how beautiful he is with the gentle brush of his lips.

Suddenly, almost as if he could hear George's thoughts, Clay shifts his attention to gaze in the merman's direction. George quickly slips below the surface, heart hammering and cheeks burning bright crimson. For a split second, he wonders if he's been caught, but his shame turns to relief when the boy turns back around without even the slightest change of expression. It must've been a coincidence, George thinks (and prays) as the boys turn their surfboards around and begin paddling towards shore.

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A/N - Hello! I'm sorry that this chapter was mostly filler, but I was really excited to introduce ya boi Sapnap! Enjoy :)

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