12 Hours (A Dɴғ Fᴀɴғɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ)

Chapter 5- Nicknames and Formalities

Chapter 5: Nicknames and Formalities
- George's POV -

Almost an hour had passed since I started treating Dream's wound and my fingers and back were aching for rest. I hadn't gotten a wink of sleep since our "reunion" and that would add up to almost a full day of no sleep if not more. Sleep really was tempting me but two things held me back from actually giving in. One, I didn't know if I'd get annihilated in my sleep or not, and two, I'll feel guilty about it later if I actually left the wounded boy to bleed to death. I know, odd thinking.

Tenderly, I ran the roll of bandages across Dream's chest, re-wrapping it around his waist before bringing it back up to cover his cut. I did my best trying to stitch the wound closed and if I'm being honest, I didn't want to have to repeat the process again if it reopens. However, having met Dream just so recently, literally, I concluded he actually was the rowdy type and will live up to my troublesome expectations.

"It looks like you know what you're doing." Dream murmured thoughtfully, glancing at me as I tied together the end pieces of the wrap after fully shielding the cut from any exposure to bacteria. I raised an eyebrow. "And you noticed that after I stitched you up?"

"I thought you were gonna do a shit job." Dream shrugged. "You- wait you thought I was inexperienced and you still let me? What if I really was bad at this and made it worse?!" I gaped, watching as the other slowly stood up and carefully stretched his limbs before walking around the small room, grabbing his discarded clothes. Was this guy insane?!

"But you're not. Besides, I take what I can get. I expected you to at least be able to wrap it up but instead you performed a full on surgery and saved me a lot of pain. Thanks Gogy."

I was bewildered. Quite frankly, I was confused too. Who knew how this man thought the or what he thought but what really pushed my eyes to almost popping out of my head was the fact the Dream just called me- "Gogy?!"

"What the fuck is that?" I cringed, catching Dream's lips that peaked under the mask curve upwards slightly before going back to their "innocent" confused look. "That's what I said. Gogy. I've got to call you by something, don't I?"

"You're an idiot. Out of all the other names you could pick from you chose Gogy?" "Okay, fine. What do you want me to call you then?" Dream sighed as he worked to put his shirt back on. My frustration and flusters were amusing to him... I could see it in his spiteful smirk.

Unlike Dream -who seemed to enjoy pestering me- I was contemplating my next move. Quite frankly, all I wanted was sleep. But still it was too risky sleeping here, and risking going outside and finding shelter was only a possibility if I was willing to be hunted down again. In other words, I was put in a sticky situation.

Dream too seemed to notice as I also stood up, stretched, and ran a thoughtful hand through my hair. 'I can hide in the sewers if I can make it out without being followed' I thought to myself, frowning thoughtfully.

An object was suddenly thrown my way from the corner of my eye making my nerves pick up and push me to catch it. An apple?

"Eat up." I heard Dream say, moving my attention to the blond boy as he pulled out a set of blankets, dropping them on the other side of the room. I watched with furrowed brows as he laid the blankets flat on the ground and folded up a smaller one to form the shape of a "pillow".

"What are you doing?"

"Making your bed." Dream answered calmly. "Wha- I know that but who said I'm staying?" I asked again, crossing my arms against my chest knowingly. Dream shrugged. He seemed to do that a lot. "You look smart so I'd assume." [/A.N "look smart" not as in stereotypically/]

"And you aren't worried of the possibility that I'd kill you in your sleep?" Dream turned towards me, pausing.

"You know I might just take back my words on that. You wouldn't have gone all motherbear on me if you were just going to kill me afterwards, Gogy. That's just waisting your time." He did have a fair point.

"Stop calling me that, and I didn't go motherbear on you. I just.. had to repay a favor that's it." I mumbled, tilting my head to the side in attempt to hide my red cheeks.

"Here," Dream sighed, handing me a bottle of water. I noticed the boy was quite stacked with materials. Weapons, clothing, blankets, food. It was shocking how he'd gathered so much but I was too tired to ask at this point. There was one thing that was still bugging me though as I took my place on the makeshift bed.

"Why were there posters of you? Specifically 'wanted' posters. What'd you do?" I dared quietly, taking a small bite out of my apple. "Nothing."

"I went against the government and they put a hit on my head. I mean, its not like they can do much since not many of the "Daredevils" are interested in turning me in and other survivors are primarily focused on grabbing what their hands can grab and trying to survive." Then he was once one of them?

"Wait, but won't they get like a reward or something for catching you?" I asked confused. I was given the opportunity to get the answers I want so I might as well. "Maybe, maybe not. I mean maybe not a reward but probably a week of luxury and protection before they're back on their own." He tutted. "It's pointless either way, the government's a scam so people didn't really want to gamble on it and eventually gave up." It was true. The government was a shithole. Even if they did promise safety, they'll let you enjoy it for as long as you can before you're being stabbed in the back and thrown back to reality. Literally and metaphorically.

"So let me get this straight. You're why the government's people keep scouring the streets when the 12 hours are over? I thought they did that only for surveillance purposes or something."  I do see them around more than what I'm often used to. Or maybe I just never ran into one of them since I'm always in hiding.

"Guilty as charged." Dream snickered, leaning his back against the wall. "They're shit at their job though. I'm like putty in their hands." He hummed.

"Anyways, forget about me and your little interview session. Get some rest." He yawned, shifting so he was laying down on his back and throwing the covers over himself to block out the cold. I also moved to sleep -not needed to be told twice- when I heard Dream murmur,

"Night, Gogy."

"Stop calling me that-"