Forever

Chapter 12

Philza's office door slammed shut behind him, and George shouldered past Sapnap and then Dream in his attempt to get as far away from the room as possible. He could barely hear anything over the sound of his own heartbeat pulsing quickly in his ears, and his skin was crawling with an uncomfortable warmth that he just couldn't seem to shake.

The fact that his father had gone all these years without reaching out to him was weighing heavy on his mind, but the fact that Wilbur had known for a year outweighed all of it.

"George," Dream spoke his name, but George kept moving even though he had very little idea where he was headed, "just hold on a minute."

A hand closed down on his shoulder, and George stilled just long enough to glance back at Dream with what he was sure was a conflicted expression on his face. Dream looked worried, and his voice took on a gentler tone as he asked, "are you okay?"

George could feel a pull deep in his chest, and he knew that if he even attempted to express how he was feeling, he'd break down. And he couldn't do that here, especially not right outside of Philza's office. So with a quick nod, he responded with a simple, "yeah, I'm fine."

Dream looked far from convinced, but he knew George well enough, and so he left it alone. George spun on his heel, blowing out a sharp breath as he retreated back the way they had arrived. He headed for the elevators, hearing both Dream and Sapnap following along behind him. His only goal was to get the hell out of this building, but as he rounded the corner, his eyes caught on a man standing just past the elevators.

With a new goal in mind, George approached the man without a word, and as soon as he was close enough, he asked, "what floor does Wilbur work on?"

The man's eyes were glued to his phone, but he glanced up at the sound of George's voice. His eyes quickly scanned George's face, and when he found he didn't recognize the brunette, he shook his head. As the man opened his mouth to respond, George's hand shot out and curled tightly around the fabric of his collar. Before he could even register what he was doing, he shoved the man backwards, and his back collided hard with the wall behind him. He looked at George with wide eyes, and George dropped his voice lower as he tried again, "what floor can I find Wilbur on?"

"Third floor," the man responded in a rushed tone, "he should be in the surveillance room. Second door from the elevator."

Wordlessly, George released the man's collar, turning back towards the elevator to find both Dream and Sapnap watching him with raised eyebrows. He pressed the button to call the elevator, letting his eyes drop down as he heard Sapnap ask, "what do you need to see Wilbur for?"

The metallic doors slid open, and the three of them stepped inside as George muttered, "I just need to talk to him about something."

He couldn't explain the whole thing here, and he knew that if he did, Dream and Sapnap would try to stop him. But he needed some sort of an explanation, just one tiny thing that would make this whole thing at least a bit more clear. And who better to go to than Wilbur.

One quick glance over at Sapnap told George that the answer had done nothing to settle his nerves, but there was little he could do about it right now. He knew that Sapnap was thinking like a leader, and he also knew that personal issues aside, there was still a potential business deal to be thinking about. Anything that George might do within the walls of this building could affect that, and he had quite the history of being impulsive in the worst possible ways.

All of this fled from his mind as the elevator doors opened and spilled them out onto the third floor. George headed straight for the second door, and it slammed into the wall as he shoved it open and stepped into the room. Wilbur was the only one in the room, and he looked up as the sudden commotion shattered the silence. Shock took over his features, and he stood up as George approached him.