TW: Panic attack. I'll put a ~squiggle~ line where it ends with a little summary of what happened if you don't want to read the panic attack bit. It's from the beginning of the chapter to the ~squiggle~ line.

Also I REALLY hate this chapter, sorry.

"Deal."

Dream POV

"George STOP." I say in a stern voice but it only causes him to panic more and wiggle underneath me aggressively.

I've never seen him like this.

Not when I was kidnapping him, not when he woke up in the basement, not even when he tried to escape his first day.

Tears stream down his face rapidly as he struggles to breath and keeps choking on his breath. His legs still squirm underneath me where I have them pinned with my own legs, however his arms are a different story. He claws desperately at anything and pushes away anything that comes near him.

This isn't going to work.

"Alright that's enough." I say in a calm but loud voice so he can hear me through his own breathing and sobs.

I stop fighting while the brunet continues to squirm.

"George." I mutter as my anger rises, grabbing his attention as I look into his eyes for the first time.

All I see is a mix of negative emotions.

Terror, fear, sadness, confusion, desperation, hopelessness and most of all betrayal.

But that's fine.

No matter what he's going to hate me for a while anyways.

"George, you're going to fucking listen to me right fucking now because you're not going to get another offer. So shut up your fucking crying and listen." I hiss in a deep, low growl just loud enough I can ensure the brunet can hear me.

He stops fighting but his hands continue to shake violently, out of sync with his rapid breaths.

"Do you remember when we made a deal for you to stay upstairs? We're gonna make another one, just different." I pause and George nods shakily and listens. "If you can prove to me that you can control yourself and be good with the shock collar on for one week, then I'll take off the shock collar. And from that point on you won't have to wear it, long as things go right." I speak slowly and calmly as I make eye contact with George (which he keeps trying to avoid for some reason) to have him know I'm telling the truth. "I also realize we haven't really set up any rules or boundaries, but we can do that too." I add.

The brunet contemplates it for a moment before speaking up. "A-And i-i-i-f-f I d-don't be-e good?..." He asks through choked sobs.

I sigh. "Then you'll either restart the week or I'll extend it." I say.

As much as it seems like I'm making this a choice for George, it's really not.

"A-and if I a-ag-gree, y-you won't b-b-be m-mad anym-more?" George asks through multiple breaths in the one simple sentence.

I nod my head.

There's a few moments of silence aside from George's rigid' breathing before he lets out a small whisper. "Deal." George manages to get out without stuttering.

The moment the word leaves his lips I give in to temptations and bring him into a comforting hug which he freezes to the touch.

George POV

The moment Dream starts moving again my muscles tense and I freeze, but to my surprise Dream doesn't resume his effort to put the collar on me. Instead, he brings me up into his arms and in a hug, which is slightly difficult for me considering he's still on top of me.

"George, calm down." Dream whispers in my ear.

I nod and start trying to get my breathing to calm down but it isn't long before I find out I can't.

After a few minutes or so things only seem to get worse as I panic more and more at my struggles to calm down.

"George, I'm not gonna hurt you- oh shit-, okay George, c'mon." Dream says and he scoots off of me and I retract my legs to sit criss cross which Dream soon mirrors in front of me.

"Shit- alright. Okay, George look at me." Dream says and he swiftly grabs my hands and I instantly grab back onto his desperately. As much as he scares me right now and as much as I feel like I should hate him, I just need comfort right now. And if I can't get that, I don't know how I'll calm down.

"George, look at me, you're having a panic attack. I need you to breath with me, okay? You're gonna be alright." Dream says I aggressively shake my head no.

I don't even know if calming down is possible at this point, and that only throws me further into panic.

"George- look. I'm not leaving you alone or putting the shock collar on until you're okay. You're not breathing well and I don't want to risk you doing anything stupid if I leave. Now look at me and do as I say." Dream says.

I say nothing and look into his eyes. I don't stay quiet because I don't have anything to say, because trust me, I do. I stay quiet only because I know if I open my mouth I'll only let out another sob.

"Okay," Dream takes the silence as an invitation to continue. "I want you to try and breath with me alright? It's okay if you can't do it, I just want you to try." Dream says sincerely.

"Alright, in," Dream breathed in slowly and I do the best to copy his actions, choking a few times in the middle of just the one breath. "and out..." He breathes out slowly.

"C'mon, again. You can do this." Dream reassures.

Time Skip

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We repeat the action for around 20 or so minutes, but for me it feels like hours.

Eventually when I can breath somewhat normally again Dream immediately pulls me into his chest, causing me to freeze for a few seconds before slowly relaxing. I don't necessarily want comfort from him but I just need comfort.

I lay my head on Dream's chest and listen to his heart beat outside of my own occasional sniffles. I'm somewhat sitting on his lap but I honestly can't be bothered to care at this point of exhaustion. I might even fall asleep with Dream's hands running up and down my back

"Are you comfortable enough, George? Do you want me to move?" Dream asks quietly.

I shake my head no, not wanting to miss his warmth for even a second.

"George... I need to be serious for a moment alright?" I hear Dream say and my heart stops.

"I'm gonna put the shock collar on and we can go upstairs. I'll make breakfast and then we can work on setting up some rules and boundaries. Are you going to freak out if I do that?" He asks calmly.

My stomach churns at the idea of wearing the shock collar and how I'll feel bound to it. But nonetheless I slowly shake my head no against the fabric of Dream's hoodie. It's not going to do me much good postponing it. Plus I'm hungry so... There's that too.

Dream nods and lifts me off his lap and grabs the shock collar that somehow ended up behind him. "I'll take it off for sleeping, okay? Hold still, alright?" Dream says softly. I tense up and freeze as me eyes follow the ring as it nears closer and closer to my neck.

I close my eyes as I feel the cold material wrap around my neck, followed by the 'click' sound of a lock.

I feel Dream remove his hands and move away as I hear the bed creak faintly and the dip of the bed change slightly. I open my eyes to look down at my lap and slowly bring my hand up to touch it. The cold metal makes contact with a finger and I flinch back in distaste.

Pushing down the urge to cry again, I shake it off and take a deep, deep breath that's only ever so slightly constricted by the collar.

"L-Let's go get breakfast?" I say looking up with question into the blond's green eyes which shine with a hint of hidden sympathy.

"Yeah, let's go." He says after a quick second and stands up. I quickly follow to stand up but the moment my foot makes contact with the ground I jump back with a yelp of pain.

Dream looks back at me startled before his eyes soften at the sight of my bandaged feet.

"Oh- um- do you want me to carry you or something?" He asks. I shake my head no in embarrassment.

"Not even a piggy back ride?" Dream tries to hide a smile of amusement and I roll my eyes while my cheeks turn a light shade of pink from embarrassment.

I nod nonetheless and Dream turns around to let me on his back.

I jump up and wrap my arms around his neck as he holds my legs. It's odd how quickly the mood between us changes. One moment I'll be scared for my life from him, the next I'm riding on his back with my face hot with embarrassment.

"I left everything unlocked, so don't worry about the locks." Dream says when we enter the poorly lit hallway.

We make it to the top and Dream sets me down on the couch before going to the kitchen.

"I'm not in the mood for making anything, so you can just have cereal, does that work?" Dream asks from the kitchen. I nod my head as I search around me for the TV remote.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Dream pouring some cheerios into a bowl.

After Dream pours in some milk, he makes his way over to the couch right as I find the remote, which he immediately snatches from me. I pout and look up at him questioningly and notice a pen and notebook in his hand.

"What do you want to watch?" Dream asks.

I shrug and Dream starts flipping through shows on Netflix.

I start eating my breakfast while Dream picks a random show for us to watch. I focus on the show as much as possible to try and forget the metal wrapped around my neck, and soon enough, I do.

Around 10 minutes later, I notice Dream randomly scribbling something onto his notebook now and again. I also notice outside it's a bit cloudy making it a little bit colder than normal.

"Where are the blankets?" I ask, after finding none in their usual spots on the couch.

"In the wash. Won't be out for another hour or so." Dream says, returning his attention to the TV.

"Oh..." I say sadly, before an idea pops into my mind and an invisible light bulb sparks above me. "Can I have your hoodie?" I ask.

"I- uhm-" Dream starts but I cut him off. "Please?" I ask with puppy dog eyes.

"George it-" I cut him off again. "With a cherry on top?" I ask with pleading eyes.

"George I'm not-"

"With extra sprinkles???" I practically beg at this point.

"I- ugh. Okay, fine." Dream stands up and reaches for the collar of his hoodie before pulling it above his head.

I smile widely before my face drops and my eyes blow wide.

Oh...

That's why he didn't want to give me it...

He wasn't wearing anything underneath.

My eyes travel from his waist and up to his chest slowly.

Shit...

"O-oh..." I trail off quietly, unsure whether Dream heard me or not.

Dream held out his lime green hoodie to me.

"Here." Dream says, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I nod and take the hoodie before slipping it over me, immediately being consumed by it's warmth.

I hug myself as the coldness of the air disappears and fades into the warmness provided by Dream's hoodie.

"Thank you..." I mumble as I shove my nose into the hoodie and take in the smell.

Smells like Dream... I thought.

"Welcome." Dream says as he turns his head to me and immediately smiles.

My cheeks immediately flush a dark shade of red from embarrassment.

Not only is Dream sitting shirtless next to me, but I'm wearing all of his oversized clothes, including his hoodie which still lingers of his warmth.

Wait- FUCK. Snap out of it George. He literally kidnapped you and put a literal shock collar on you.

But hey... At least I got kidnapped by someone hot... It would be much worse if I got kidnapped by some creepy old dude.

WAIT-

I did NOT just call him hot.

Well I mean I did... But just because I call someone hot doesn't mean I'm attracted to them...

I carry on watching the show absentmindedly while zoning out while Dream continues to occasionally scribble something down on his notepad.

"Alright, done!" Dream says snapping me out of whatever world I go to when I zone out.

"Done with what?" I ask looking at him with a slight tilt in my head and a raised eye brow.

"Your rules."

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