The Things I'd Do For You.

Chapter 10: Motion Sickness

TW: Mentions of self-harm

The train shook softly as George lay on Dream's shoulder, fast asleep. Dream stared out the window, watching as the blank white slate continued for miles. Dream was tired, but couldn't fall asleep. The shaking of the train kept him awake and the plain white sky made him uneasy. He rested his head on George's, listening to George breathe deeply as he slept. He smiled and closed his eyes, only to get dizzy and open them again. He picked his head up and looked around the train. Not many other people were on it, but he recognized a few of the people. George shifted his weight on Dream's shoulder, drawing Dream's attention back to him.

Suddenly a speaker sounded across the train and George woke up sleepily to the sound of a voice over the speaker. George rubbed his eyes and stretched, resting back on Dream's shoulder.

"Hello Everyone, and welcome to the Afterlife. In this world, we try our best to recreate real-life for those whose lives got cut too short. We are giving you a second chance to make a first impression on the world. You will experience everything that happens in real life, from having fun at an amusement park all the way to grieving a loved one's death. Remember your lifespan only lasts so long and you do not live forever, so use your time wisely. Your location has been selected to best fit your needs and wants and if you have any other questions or complaints, all the answers lie in your card. Thank you for listening, and we hope you enjoy your stay!"

Dream leaned over to pull his card out of his back pocket, shifting George off his shoulder. George sat up and looked at the card Dream held in his hand. His eyes followed down Dream's list of loved ones, and sure enough, George was listed right below his immediate family. Only George noticed it was only females. He read the names and it listed his mom and two sisters, but his dad's name wasn't on there. George thought about it and realized that Dream never talked about his dad.

George looked up at Dream, who was still looking down at the card. George looked back down at his lap but paused as he saw something strange on Dream's arm. It was discolored, thin and long, like a scar, only it was extremely faded and almost unrecognizable. George had never noticed it before, which was odd being that George had seen the worst of Dream.

"What's this?" George asked, grabbing Dream's hand and flipping his arm to point to the scar. He looked down to see many, many more scars. George lifted his eyebrows. Dream didn't say anything.

"Are these... self-harm scars?" George asked. Dream pulled his arm away. He still looked down at the card in his other hand, avoiding eye contact with George. Dream took a deep breath and held it for a second.

"Yep," he said, letting go of his breath with a sigh.

"When did you get these?"

"When I was a teenager."

"Dream, why did you never tell me about them?"

"Because you never noticed them, I guess."

"Well, tell me now." Dream sighed again, looking up from his card finally.

"You don't want to know," he said firmly.

"Yes I do, Dream, I've seen the best of you, but something we both do is avoid the worst. I think it would be better for both of us if maybe we opened up more about this type of stuff."

"Ok," Dream nodded, flipping his arm to look at his scars. He pointed at the most legible one, it was surrounded by a cluster of more faint ones. "These are from the night my parents were fighting. That same night I had backed into our mailbox with my dad's tractor. I was only 12. It left a scratch on the tractor and the mailbox was crushed. They were fighting because they couldn't afford to get a new mailbox, but all my dad wanted was to fix the scratch on the tractor which would've costed more. That was the first time I picked up the blade." Dream picked up his arm and looked out the window, only to look back down at the floor.

"The next morning, they announced they were getting a divorce. I blame myself every day for what happened that night. I was just a kid fooling around, trying to practice mowing the lawn so I could get a job. And I hit the fucking mailbox." Dream's tone turned angry and disappointed. George grabbed Dream's hand and comforted him. He sat silently, not knowing what else to do. Dream sat up a little bit and continued.

"I never liked my dad. He was never home, out cheating on her with his coworkers and always fighting with her over money. When he was home, he was either playing video games or drunk. He hit us a lot, especially mom when she asked him to do simple things. He always claimed he was the man of the house and we should do every word he says because he makes all the money. Now I realize how wrong he was. After he was gone, the cutting only got worse. Every time I had a bad grade on a test or I got into a fight with my mom. I finally decided I needed to stop when I had nowhere else to cut." He turned to George, the scars went all the way up the inside of his arms.

"My arms were the only place that satisfied me enough when I cut. The last time I ever cut was the night my dad died in a car accident. The next day I woke up and said that was it. It was really hard, and to this day I still think about doing it, but I have the scars to remind me not to. I still wonder if my dad would've stayed if I hadn't run over the mailbox. But then again, he was always a horrible person to us and deserved every ounce of pain he got." Dream stopped talking and sighed. George grabbed both Dream's hands and turned Dream towards him.

"Thank You," He said, looking into Dream's eyes. George pulled Dream into a hug and Dream slowly wrapped his arms around George.

"I've never told anyone that, not even Sapnap. It always scared me to tell people, I didn't know what people would think."

"I appreciate you telling me, I was curious as to why your dad wasn't on your list of loved ones." Dream pulled back from the hug and kissed George's forehead. He picked up the card he had in his hand and pointed to George's name.

"You see that? That's the person who made it all worth it. That's the person who makes me smile every day and lights up my world. That's the person who is my best friend and I trust him with my whole life. That's my soulmate, my world, my home. That's you." George smiled with tears in his eyes and Dream kissed him.

Dream settled back down into the seat and George lay his head back on Dream's shoulder. Dream rested his head on George's and closed his eyes.

"I love you," Dream said before George could fall asleep. George smiled.

"I love you too." George quickly fell asleep and Dream followed soon after, marking the first day of George's Afterlife. 

Author's Note: Omg, I enjoyed writing this chapter so much! I don't know a lot about self-harm so please don't bash me for something that might be off or a wrong assumption. Same goes for any other mental illness or event that takes place involving something not everyone might go through. I'm so sorry if you are currently struggling with self-harm. Remember that you are strong and you will get through this, no matter what it takes. Stay safe lovelies <3.