CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE. ✧ ೃ༄
❝ THEIR LATE CAR RIDES AT 5 AM. ❞

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Dream eyed the time on his computer, sighing as the numbers "4:52 AM" tainted him. He's been awake for hours and yet, he didn't feel tired at all. He leaned back against his chair, resting his hands on the arms and wondering what to do that will make him a bit tired.

He perked up at the idea that popped in his head and which much hesitation, he stood up and headed towards the room upstairs. As soon as he stood in front of the door, he raised his fist and softly knocked before peaking his head in.

"Angelica?" He called out. The girl hummed in response. "Are you sleeping?"

"No," she answered back with the same quiet tone he used. Why? No idea. After all, they were the only ones that lived in his house. "Why?"

"Wanna go for a ride?" Dream whispered again. "I can't sleep."

"As long as we get something to eat," Angelica said and he thought about it.

"Fine, but you're paying," Angelica sat up in the dark and Dream hummed. "I'll wait for you in the car. Wear something warm or just bring your entire blanket."

"Okay."

Closing the door, Dream headed downstairs towards his car where he patiently sat inside, waiting for the girl to come out of the house. After a minute, she came out of the house, a mask covering her lower face while a blanket was wrapped tightly around her. She gestured for him to turn down his window and he did.

"Do I lock the door?" She asked. He nodded and she quickly locked it before heading towards the car. She got in and Dream glanced at her.

"Are you warm?"

"Yep," she answered, eyeing the thin hoodie he had on. She shook her head and he drove off, making the girl give him a side-glance since he drove with one hand and the other was placed on the bottom of the wheel. "Can I connect my phone?"

"Go ahead," Dream glanced at her phone that she had taken off and glanced to make sure no cars were coming. "Where do you wanna go?"

"Anywhere," Angelica answered. "I'm just hungry."

"At least you're eating," he told her, staring at her when they stopped at a red light. "Are you feeling a bit okay?"

"A bit," she nodded. "I mean, I got myself out of bed and decided to come with you. I was actually going to say no but, I decided that maybe a ride around won't be too much of a problem."

He smiled at her before driving off when the light turned green. "We can have a picnic in the backyard if you want. Get your mind off of things? We can have a bunch of junk food. I also ordered you a vinyl since George mentioned once that you've been wanting one and... I got it."

"Thank you," Angelica mumbled, a frown on her face as he hummed. She played her music and Dream gave her an "Are you kidding me?" look when he heard the familiar tune of the song she had been replaying for the last few days. "Don't give me that look."

"This song makes you cry," Dream noted. "You were crying about it over dinner yesterday."

"It's such a meaningful song," Angelica chuckled. "C'mon! Sing it with me."

"I don't sing," Dream chuckled back and the girl scoffed, clearly not believe him. He looked at her before glancing back at the road, shrugging a bit. "What?"

"Please," she breathed out. "I don't believe that one bit."

"I'm being serious," Dream laughed a little and she gave him a look, still not believing him. "Fine, think what you want."

Staying silent, the two listened to Joji's voice. Angelica was glancing out the window, counting the lamp posts they passed until her eyes started to hurt from the lights. She rested her head on the seat and stared at the sky where the color was starting to brighten.

She couldn't believe she was experiencing this moment right now. Just days ago, Dream had kind of hurt her feelings when he said that she should go back to insulting herself. She knew he crossed a boundary of hers and he knew he crossed it. The only thing she cared about is that he held himself responsible over his own words.

Now, just because she and Dream are sitting next to each other while listening to music at 4 am, almost 5, it does not mean they're becoming friends. They're on a path where they're starting, beginning, to know each other, but not to the point where Angelica finally felt comfortable enough to show him her face.

A song came up and she already felt tears beginning to spring in her eyes. She had forgotten this song was on that playlist. She hadn't listened to this song ever since she left home and her dad and mom stared at her as she left. She was crying on the way to a friend's home because of how disappointed they looked at waving her goodbye and she cried because her dad hasn't talked to her. She just wanted to be independent. Why couldn't he be happy for her just this once?

Dream glanced at her at noticing how still she had become. He eyed the way she clutched her hands, stopping them from shaking and clutching each other so tight until her knuckles turned white.

"Are you okay?" Dream asked again, watching her lift up her hand to wipe away her tears. She stayed silent and he sighed. "You don't have to tell me how you feel," he passed her his hand, "but I don't want you hurting your skin. Grab my hand."

She looked at him and then down at his hand, and he noticed the hesitation in her teary-eyed eyes before glancing back at the empty road except the few cars from the people heading to work.

He smiled a little at feeling her hand immediately grip his and he heard her let out a sigh, a shaky one, stopping herself from shedding more tears. Clearly, he saw, she didn't want to cry in front of him.

"You can cry," he told her. "I won't judge you. I won't tease you about it."

It was as if this heavy weight lifted from her shoulders and she started crying a little. All this time, she had been bottling up her feelings because she felt weak. She was always good at bottling up those emotions since her parents had taught her at a younger age to do so. But even if it was not a lot, even if he thought his words didn't mean anything, what Dream had said reassured her a little that she's in a safe place where she won't be judge, compared to the times where she would get called a crybaby at school because she didn't feel emotionally well.

He reassured her a little and it's ironic because just a few weeks ago the two were spewing out words to each other about their hatred towards one another. They had a long way to go, but him clutching her hand and her being reassured she's in a safe place to cry, it was a good path to that friendship. They didn't like each other still, but Dream had practice with how mental health can affect a person and he knew, he knew, she needed someone during these hard times. He wasn't planning on immediately solving her mental health, but the least he could do was support her and let her know someone was there.

"Do you want chicken nuggets?" He asked. "I-I can get you some cookies, too?"

"I want chicken nuggets if that's okay," Angelica sniffed before pulling out her wallet. She took out some money and handed it to him. "Here."

"I'm paying."

"No, no, no. You told me I was paying so I'm paying."

"My treat?"

"I'm paying."

"Fine."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

The song that made her cry
was Sparkles by Coldplay.
I'm listening to it right now
and it just gave me an idea.
I speedran the chapter again.

Anyway, I hope you guys
like it. I'm trying to build
their friendship slowly and
hopefully, hopefully I'm
not rushing anything:)