ayyyyy ed fic!

honestly thinking about writing an anorexic george book...

TW: eating disorder (anorexia), eating, dizziness

3rd Person P.O.V.

George frowned, picking apart every aspect of his reflection in the mirror. Puffy cheeks, red-rimmed eyes, dark circles. Skinny, stick-like arms and bony wrists. Thighs and an ass that, at one point, had been more plush, but were now significantly skinnier. A mostly flat stomach with a pronounced rib cage.

He looked frail, to say the least. Which he was, make no mistake. George's body was weak, from months and months of barely eating. He had never been formally diagnosed, but George had an eating disorder- anorexia nervosa, to be more specific. But if you even dared to suggest such a thing to the brunette, he would go to the ends of the earth to deny it.

Because he had been raised to believe that men don't have these kinds of problems. That eating disorders were a "female illness" and therefore, he didn't have one. His eating habits were, to him, normal- just a little more restricted than most people.

But George was wrong. He was so caught up in his denial that he was drowning in it. George had a serious problem that was killing him slowly, and he was doing nothing about it.

~

The first obvious warning sign that something wasn't right should've been the fainting. Prior to the development of George's highly restrictive eating habits, he only fainted once or twice a year, if that. But after, George began fainting more frequently, waking up on the floor of his apartment with no memory of how he got there. He always just shook it off- after all, there was nothing wrong with him!

George had completely convinced himself that his eating habits were normal. "I'm just on a diet," he would say. "Nothing to worry about." People accepted that answer. They always did.

Because why would they have any reason to think otherwise?

George's anorexia went undetected for more than a year, flying under the radar until the first time he and Dream met up in person.

"George!" Dream gasped, running toward his friend. The taller man lifted George effortlessly– maybe a little too effortlessly.

"Ah, hi Dream..." The brunette murmured, nervously gripping onto Dream's shoulders. "Can you put me down?"

"Oh! Yes, right, sorry." The dirty blond set George back on his feet, noticing his smaller friend's slight sway. "I'm so excited to finally see you in person! You're a lot smaller than I expected you to be," Dream mused.

"I'm not even that short!" George scoffed. Dream shook his head, grinning.

"Yeah yeah, sure. But I mean... you're just small in general. Like..." Dream gestured cluelessly, shrugging. "Whatever. What do you have to eat? I'm starving!"

"Um..." George hesitated, still thinking about the comment on his size. "You can get whatever you want. I already ate," George lied through his teeth, leading Dream into the kitchen.

"Oh, alright!" The taller man excitedly opened the fridge, grin quickly slipping from his features. "George...?"

"Yeah?"

"Why is your fridge so... empty?" Dream questioned, voice smaller than it had been previously. The brunette gulped, feeling stuck. How could he have forgotten to stock up on food for Dream?

"Um... I guess I forgot to go shopping...?" It wasn't very convincing, and Dream wasn't stupid. He narrowed his eyes at George, going around to search his pantry instead. Again, he was met with barren shelves, a scarily thick layer of dust built on top of the painted wood.

"George..." Dream felt his heart ache for the brunette, mad at himself for not realizing sooner. He turned to George, expression sorrowful. "Why haven't you been eating?"

"No, I-" George felt a lump in his throat as he shook his head wildly at the accusation. "I just- I've just been so busy lately, it must've slipped my mind-"

"George." Dream's voice was firm. "Don't- don't lie to me. Not about this." George immediately shut his mouth, cowering slightly in fear and shame. He stared down at the floor, gulping nervously.

"Dream, it's not that bad-"

"George!" Dream cried, shaking his head. "Yes, it is that bad! You- you're starving yourself!" He exclaimed. "How is that not bad?!"

"Dream-" George cut himself off with a choked sob.

"How long? How long has this been going on?" The blond questioned.

"A year...? Maybe more..." George admitted, feeling defeated. "But it's not what you think, I'm just on a diet-"

"George, stop it!" Dream yelled, tears spilling from his eyes. "It's not a diet. This... you have a problem..." Dream stared into George's frightened brown eyes, like a deer in headlights. "You're sick, George. And you need help."

"No!" George cried, still trying to deny it. "It's perfectly fine! I'm not sick!" As he raised his voice, George saw spots begin to crowd the edges of his vision. His body swayed, the dizziness quickly overtaking his weakened body.

"George!" Dream gasped, quickly reaching to support the smaller boy. George was still conscious, but his body was failing him. He was far too weak.

"I'm fine... I'm fine..." He insisted weakly.

"No, you're not," Dream replied sadly. "You're not fine, George. You need to eat."

"I do eat," the brunette retorted.

"When was the last time you ate? And don't you dare lie about it." George hesitated for a moment, forehead creased in thought.

"Um... three days ago...?" He answered unsurely. Dream felt his heart skip a beat, and not in a good way, either.

"Oh god... George..." Dream sniffled quietly, almost as if he was mourning his friend. "That's not healthy. I know you don't want to hear this, especially from me, but..." Dream paused, sighing. "I think you might be anorexic."

"Me? No way! I'm not- that's a girl problem!" George cried, desperately trying to cling onto whatever denial he could muster. "I'm not a girl!"

"George..." Dream sighed sadly. "It's not a 'girl problem'. Anybody can have an eating disorder. Even you."

"No." George shook his head, groaning softly from the new dizziness that hit him.

"Please just listen to me. I just want to help," Dream murmured, worry etched into his young face. "I care about you so much, and I just want you to be healthy and safe."

"I don't have an eating disorder," George insisted stubbornly. He looked pale and sickly, more than normal. His eyes closed, an expression of unease plastered across his features.

"George...?" Dream frowned. "Are you dizzy?"

"Mhm," George hummed. The blond carefully moved George so that his weight was supported. He held onto the small boy, keeping him still and upright.

"I'm going to move you, alright?" Dream informed. George responded with a soft groan, and Dream took that as his cue to continue. He bent down slightly, grabbing onto George and picking him up so that his head rested against Dream's shoulder. He carried George into the other room, carefully laying him across the couch.

"Mm..."

"George, can you hear me?" Dream was trying to keep his voice as steady as possible, knowing panic wouldn't help this situation. Still, fear nipped at his chest, doing nothing to keep him calm.

"Mhm." George mumbled, looking unwell. His skin had a slight sheen of sweat, but was also cold to the touch. It worried Dream, and knowing he hadn't eaten in multiple days did nothing to soothe his worries.

"Do you have any food?" Dream questioned. George nodded, humming.

"Fridge. Drawer."

"Alright." The younger man went to the fridge, finding a small packet of baby carrots in the fridge drawer. It wasn't much, but at least it was something.

Dream took the carrots back to George, opening the package. He held one close to the smaller man's lips, speaking softly.

"Will you eat the carrot? Please?" George's eyes were open, exhausted eyes slowly traveling from the carrot, to Dream's face, and back to the carrot. Hesitantly, he bit into the carrot, chewing slowly before finally swallowing.

"That's great George, I'll feed you more carrots." Dream continued to feed the brunette, patiently waiting for George to eat.

Eventually, the small bag of carrots had been eaten, and George was feeling a little better. He was still paler than usual, but he looked less sickly, which was an improvement.

"Better?" Dream asked softly, eyes shining with concern. George nodded, smiling half-heartedly.

"Yeah..."

"Good." Dream paused for a moment, sighing. "You scared me. I was so worried about you!" George shrunk back guiltily.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to worry you. Promise."

"I just want to make sure you know this is a real, valid problem. And just because you're a boy doesn't mean you can't have an eating disorder," Dream reminded. George cringed, huffing softly.

"Yeah..."

"I want to help you. Will you let me do that?" Dream asked.

"I..." George hesitated. "Yes. You can help." The blond smiled, running a hand through George's hair tenderly.

"Thank you. I promise I'll do what I can to help you recover." Dream trailed his hand down, gently entwining his fingers with George's. "I want you to be happy and healthy. And I'll do everything in my power to get you there."

"Thank you, Dream. I... really appreciate that," George admitted quietly. "I guess I do have a problem." Dream's grin grew, eyes crinkling.

"I'm so proud of you for being able to admit that," he praised softly. "I think things will turn out okay." George smiled, acceptance clear in his features.

"Thank you, Dream."

i love ed fics way too much for my own good tbh