The Withering-Dreamnotfound {Sequel Out Now!}

The Deep End

          Dream and George manage to locate the small hut Sapnap and Bad made just as the day became night. Once the door was closed, Dream could hear zombies groaning right outside. But come daytime, they'd either retreat into the darkness of a cave or burn trying. Dream wasn't too concerned about them.
          The place itself wasn't too big. There were four beds, all different colors, all next to each other with a little bit of room on each side to allow someone to walk. In the corner of the room, there was a furnace and a large wooden block surrounded by four wooden steps. That was it, besides a torch of two on the wall. One room, four guys. Can't be that hard! At least, Bad didn't think so.
          The night started out alright. Dream fished a few pieces of raw steak out of his inventory and Bad cooked them in the furnace for everyone. The four ate on the wooden steps that Bad swore looked like chairs even though they were uncomfortable. After dinner, they fell into their beds. Bad laid on a black bed closest to the furnace while Dream laid on a green bed closest to the door. Sapnap's was red and in between Dream's and George's, who was blue. They laid in silence for a few moments before Sapnap spoke up.
          "I'm bored and I'm not tired. How about we do something to get to know each other?" Dream was skeptical. Sapnap wasn't the type of person to offer to play games. He would rather arm wrestle than actually have conversations. But here Sapnap was, a big smile on his face, waiting for the other three to join his game.
          "I think that this is a great opportunity for us!" Bad says. "We're a team now! We should at least get to know the basics about everyone!"
          George sits up and pulls his legs to his chest, ready to play whatever game they were about to suggest. Dream, on the other hand, was more reluctant. He had a feeling that something was up. But nothing was up. Sapnap legitimately wanted to get to know the new guys better.
          "We are going to play a game that I've named 'Bullshit!'" Sapnap says proudly, followed by Bad whispering, "Language!" Sapnap rolls his eyes, then begins to explain his game. "So, we take turns asking one person a question. They can answer it with either a truth or a lie. If the person who asks the question thinks that the answer was a lie, they get to yell-"
          "DON'T you say it, Sapnap!" Bad says. "If you guys are going to curse, save it for the game."
          Sapnap shrugs. "Well, you guys get it. Here, I'll go first," Sapnap looks at the three other guys, then his eyes land on Bad. "So, Bad, what is your favorite color?"
          "Oooo I don't know. I think I'll go with red. Red is a good color. It's on my jacket. I like it," Bad responds.
          "Ok, I think that's true so I won't yell BS. Bad, you now pick someone to ask a question," Sapnap directs.
          Bad's eyes jump directly to Dream. "If you could have one superpower, what would it be?"
          "Oh easy. Invisibility," Dream says.
          "Really?" George asks. "You don't seem like the kind of guy that'd want to disappear."
          "Well, it'd be nice to escape for a little bit, you know? Especially right now. I'm feeling all of the feelings and I don't understand half of them!" Dream chuckles. "Ok, George, I've got one for you!"
          As the game continues, the guys learn a lot about each other. George ended up sharing a time when some of the other village kids thought he was bilingual because he talked fast and with an odd accent. Dream talked about his awkward first kiss and, after George asked who it was with, Sapnap had claimed he was Dream's first kiss, making everyone bust out into laughter. Sapnap even talked about that one time his mom walked in on him singing and dancing to a song called "Rasputin." Their evening was filled with laughter and joy as the bonded over stupid stories where they all must've shared the same single brain cell. They had completely forgotten about the bullshit part of "Bullshit" because they were honest the whole time.
It was going well until Dream asked Bad, "Bad? Have you ever fallen in love?"
Bad's smile fell as he thought long and hard about the question before finally responding with, "No."
"Bullshit," George says.
"Dream asked the question, so he has to be the one to say it," Sapnap attempts to explain.
"I don't care," George says. "Bull. Shit."
Bad covers his face. "George, come on. Let's not kill the mood."
"You've kept it to yourself for over nine months, Darryl." George gets off his own bed and hugs Bad. "It'll make you feel better if you talk about it. Besides, you were called out on a lie and it's the rules to tell the truth."
Bad closes his eyes tightly, staying silent. Dream felt extremely bad for asking what he thought was an innocent question. He could see the pain in Bad's face as he thought about it. "His name was Zak," Bad says, eyes still closed. "He was my best friend. We did everything together." Bad smiles as he starts to recount old memories. "In our village, all the kids would make these clubs where we would do activities together. Each club had a name and a couple kids who were in charge. Zak was the leader of a group he called 'The Invaders'. I was the leader of a group called 'The Munchies' and I was looking for other people to be leaders of my group. I was made fun of a lot and had barely any respect amongst all of the other kids, so when Zak asked if he could be a leader, I was shocked. He was the kid everyone liked and wanted to be friends with and he chose me."
Bad starts to relax a little as he talks. "So, me being the huge nerd I was, I decided to 'interview' him to see if he would be a good leader. It started off serious, but quickly spiraled into chaos as he began giving the worst answers to the questions I asked. I asked how he would make sure everyone got along and he said he'd just kick anyone out who was being mean. Then, things got worse when he started playing pranks on me. Suddenly, every kid in the village would torment me with stupid phrases he said to me to get me all bothered."
"And you liked this guy?" Sapnap asks, confused.
"I did." Bad admits. "I don't know why, but I couldn't stay away. I couldn't stay mad at him. He'd make me so angry, but then he'd come back and show me how kind and amazing he was and I'd instantly forget about anything that happened." Bad smiles fondly as his eyes begin welling you with tears. "I think it was his laugh that got me. Every time he'd mess with me, he'd laugh. Not at me, with me. He'd show off his perfect smile which would make me smile and I couldn't help but laugh along. I don't know if any of you get it, but I think you know you're in love when you can listen to that person laugh for hours on end without growing tired of it."
George lays his head on Bad's shoulder, still not letting go. He looks at Dream and fondly smiles, hearing Dream's wheeze echo in his head.
"So, Why didn't you two end up together?" Dream asks.
Bad shivers thinking about it. "Because we ran out of time." He takes a deep breath. "We were walking in the forest right by the village just talking. I decided that day that I would tell him how I felt. I'd tell him that I wanted a relationship and that I was ready to make a commitment to him. But then pillagers showed up. We were too far away from the village for anyone to hear our screams for help. So instead, Zak distracted them so that I could go run to get help. When we got back...he.....he was..." Bad gets choked up on his own words. He turns his head towards George and begins crying, unable to finish his sentence.
"By the time help came," George says, picking up where Bad left off, "They were gone and they took Zak with them. It's been more than nine months and we still never found him."
"I love him so much," Bad sobs. "I'd give anything to see him again. I just want to hold his hand and tell him how much he means to me. But I'll never get that." Dream and Sapnap both get up and embrace Bad in their arms. To an outsider, it would look like an awkward group hug. But to them, it was a sign of friendship and understanding. After a few moments of hugging, they slowly separated from each other and retreated into their beds, ready to sleep off the sadness.