AN: this one is pretty short, but future ones will be a bit longer :)

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The first night Dream was with George, they talked.

George sat with his legs pulled up to his chest in the center of his bed, with Dream sitting beside him, hands in his lap.

"Why was he here?"

George blinked at the sudden question, not expecting it. "I- I don't know. He just...walked in. I think he still has his key to the house."

Dream nodded, forehead creasing in thought. "Okay. We'll change the locks in the morning. I don't like the idea of him just...walking in."

George agreed, wrapping his arms around his knees. The two fell into silence again.

"When..."

Dream looked up as George began to speak.

"When did you buy your ticket to come here?"

Dream's cheeks turned a bit pink and he picked nervously at his cuticles. "It was the night you called me," he said, clearing his throat. "I was worried about you."

George huffed out a laugh and fell backwards, laying out on the bed. Dream glanced back at him, eyebrows raised. George patted the spot next to him, and Dream laid down with him.

"I'm really glad you're here, Clay."

"Me too, Georgie."

Sleeping was weird. It was like George had completely forgotten what it was like to sleep next to another human being.

Clay breathed softly beside him, curled up beneath the blankets with a pillow clutched tight to his chest. George smiled at the sight. He looked like a big baby.

Sighing, George rolled over to the other side, staring out the window at the dark sky. For once, his head was empty - he had nothing to think about.

It was... kind of nice.

Eventually, Clay's warmth behind him and the soft sounds of his breathing lulled George to sleep.

"Wake up!"

George shot up in bed as a pillow hit his face, and he quickly whipped it off. Sapnap stood at the foot of his bed, laughing loudly at the discombobulated look on his face. Clay groaned beside him and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"What time is it?" he muttered, blinking blearily at the two others in the room. Sapnap threw another pillow at him, making Dream splutter.

"It's almost 1:00,' he complained, picking up another pillow and holding it over his head. "You guys have been sleeping for forever. You left me all alone for hours."

George smiled smally at Nick and slid out of bed, heading over to the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower. Why don't you guys go eat something?"

The two boys nodded at him and George shut the bathroom door behind him, letting it lock shut.

TW: SH (please this might be graphic, don't read if you don't want to!)

The blade on the counter practically begged to be dragged across his skin, and who was George to say no?

One, two, three times, the cuts growing in quantity on the pale skin of his thighs. The flesh there was clean, unmarked.

He hated it. Hated it, hated it, -

"Hey, George?"

George gasped and dropped the razor blade, blood pooling around him on the floor. He swore under his breath - he had forgotten to lay a towel down. This would be a pain in the ass to clean up.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah?" he called shakily, feeling slightly faint. Outside the bathroom door, Nick shuffled a bit before speaking once more.

"Um, Clay took all the eggs to make his nasty scrambled eggs, and then he drank the rest of the orange juice-"

"We can go grocery shopping later, Sap," George said, his hands shaking a bit as he turned the shower on and limped under the water, hissing as the water hit his fresh cuts. "We can get stuff for you guys then, I promise."

"Thanks, Georgie!"

George slid down to the shower floor and listened to Sapnap leave the bedroom before inhaling deeply and letting out a silent sob. Blood oozed slowly from the new gashes on his legs, and he traced the outline of them with a trembling hand.

Do it again. Go deeper, harder, it's not enough, keep going-

George clutched the sides of his head, fingers tangling painfully in his hair. "Shut up," he whispered. Water trickled over his head, scalding hot and burning his skin. "Be quiet."

"I have it under control."

AN: this was pretty much just a filler chapter, setting the stage for future issues. Thank you all for over 4k reads! You're insane!!