Free the Game, Beat the End [DreamNotFound]

Chapter 22

Liking Dream had always been a weird feeling.

And actually knowing that he liked Dream, actually admitting it to himself and acknowledging the fact was even weirder.

George had assumed that things would change, even if it was by a little bit. That was part of the reason he was so afraid of it. He didn't want to jeopardize the friendship they had, he didn't want his interactions with his best friend to change. But if he was being honest, barely anything did.

He knew why. It wasn't that he just liked him now all of a sudden. He had liked him for months; almost a year, really.

What he felt towards him was the same. It was always like this.

His heart always skipped a beat around him, he was always happy to be with him. He cared about Dream, he always did.

The only thing different was that he could actually admit he was feeling that way. Now he wasn't in denial.

He missed the excuses of being able to shrug off the skips in his heart when his friend laughed, and being able to ignore every time he blushed.

He couldn't do that anymore, he didn't have that same escape.

That's all that has changed.

Oh, and the fact that George was sitting in one of the makeshift storage rooms, practically staring at an unmasked Dream.

The mask was off. That was the best part of it.

Because George just adored looking at Dream's face, even if it was for a little bit. His stupidly pretty smile, and piss-yellow eyes.

More than anything, it made George want to see green, just so he could actually, truly see his friend.

Maybe friend wasn't the right word anymore.

"If someone comes in, just warn me," Dream said, taking some blaze rods from the chest, transferring it into an enderchest right next to it.

It was the third day since Dream had removed the mask, and it's almost as if he made an effort to keep it off around George, at least when he had the chance. When they were alone together just talking, the mask was always kept off.

And it was the third day since the hunters were killed. And all the players with them were getting ready to leave again; they had more than enough blaze rods.

George took another glance at the rods, a sigh of relief leaving him.

Because the blaze fight was a complete success, at least from what he had heard. They were able to completely encase and surround all the spawners, placing water in cauldrons nearby.

They may not have been ready for the hunters, but they were certainly more prepared for this.

The blaze fight was something they had been planning for, strategizing about. And within just a few days they were able to farm more than enough blaze rods with the only interference being the blazes themselves.

And compared to the enemies they just faced, it was much easier than they thought it would be.

Still, both Dream and George completely sat out of the blaze fight, along with the rest of the injured players. There was really no more urgency, there was really no need to.

The hunters were gone, the distance from here was weeks away. It was the least of their concerns, they had more than enough time.

They didn't want to risk it, no one did, and for the first time, they didn't have to.