George pov

I was at school.

I couldnt get my mind off of Clay, and I could tell my brother noticed.

I continued to glare at everyone I encountered, unable to stop myself.

Walking through the halls, I pulled my hood up over my brown hair, ignoring the ghost that walked beside me, a warm hand on my shoulder.

No one dared approach me, but I wished they would.

The fact that I was quiet didnt mean that I didnt want someone to talk to.

My introverted personality didnt excuse my longing for a friend.

I sit down on a bench outside, Ken walking around the trees lining the lawn peacefully, his hands in the pockets of the hoodie he died with.

I ignore him like I usually do, pulling out my phone and staring at the one contact on it.

Dream

I wanted to text him, but I didnt want to seem like I was trying to hard.

I didnt want to come off as awkward like the fucked up person I am.

I knew that my best bet was to just be myself, but I hadn't had a friend in years, and I wasn't able to read people's gestures very well.

I scoff to myself.

Pathetic.

If I wasn't able to talk to Clay, I wouldn't have a friend.

But I'd survived this long without one this long, I would be fine.

I don't need anything other than my usual routine to pass the time.

I didnt need anyone.

I'd make it by alone.

I had been on my own all this time.

Ken came and sat beside me, his wispy figure blowing and obscuring in the wind elegantly.

"You know I can't read your mind?" he says, his voice as echoey as ever.

"I know." I say. "I wouldn't want you to be able to."

"Oh, believe me, neither would I. However, I would like to know what you're thinking at times. I know I'm not really there, but I can still talk to you. And listen. So spill, dumbarse."

I look back at my phone as it shuts itself off in the time of my indescisiveness.

"No, I don't think I will." I say, deciding to be stubborn.

There's silence between us as we listen to the wind and watch the leaves fall off of the trees.

"You should call him." Ken says out of nowhere, his red-brown hair forever blowing, into the ghost of his eyes and over his forehead.

I wished it would stop blowing for a few minutes so that we could sit in silence like we used to, still and content that we were together.

I didnt have that anymore.

I didnt have anything.

"I would rather not." I say. "Besides, that's the least of my worries."

"It should be your priority, actually." he says, responding almost immediately.

"Why?" I ask, peering into his dead eyes, the eyes that were incapable of emotion.

"Because, he might not have much more time. Same with you, of course. Take the opportunity."

I shake my head, turning away. "He probably doesn't need me anyway. He probably has a ton of friends. He probably only helped me because he was pitying me. I don't need that."

Slowly, a frown overtakes my brother's dead face. "It's hard to see the scars on the back of the hand that helps you."

With that, he faded away, disappearing as he always did whenever he knew it would irritate me.

I let out a groan of annoyance at his cryptic nature.

~time skip because i can~

I was walking home now, each step filled with a new thought that ate at my brain, tormenting me silently.

This was what happened whenever Ken wasn't with me.

I was attacked by so much hate, a contrast to the pity.

Sharp bets of guilt gnawed at me, the opposite of the reassurance I'd received from others.

Jabs of hopelessness pierced my heart, filling it with fear every time I gazed at the money I had left.

I would have to get a job soon.

I needed a friend.

My parents could find me at any time.

I would have no future.

I had no living support.

I had no one.

And that was why I was so hopeful whenever I thought back to Dream, the blonde providing a sense of comfort with a mere memory.

I found a safe haven from the pressures of society in the forest green of his eyes.

I found happiness that was hidden in his smile, something he seemed surprised with every time it appeared.

But, of course, as I sat silent in my classes, nothing to distract me from my thoughts, my doubts had gotten to me before I was able to contact him.

Before I was able to talk to him properly.

Ken rea[[ears beside me as i slide my lock into my front door, walking inside and sitting down on the couch with my head in my hands.

Finally, I was alone.

"C-could you leave, actually, Ken?" I say, my voice thick with a sadness too long suppressed, caused by the childhood I spent with Ken, oppressed and unhappy.

Until...

Until my big brother took a stance against the world.

He stole for a scrap of food to provide for me.

He lied so he could take a beating for me.

He worked so he could give me a home.

And what did the gods reward him with?

Death.

Death is such a nasty word.

I began sobbing even though I knew Ken was still there.

"Y-you would have been 22 today, Ken." I say through my tears.

I can feel his arms wrap around my shoulders in the only form of comfort he could provide me.

"Yeah I would have been. And I would have taken off work so I could be with you. You're really important to me, George."

I nod, continuing to cry into my hands.

"Wh-what's it like to be dead?" I ask.

"It's peaceful. I get to watch over you still, so I'm grateful for that."

"K-Ken.... p-please tell me when it's over. The pain. Tell me when it'll stop. I don't want to uncover my eyes and be met with your ghost of a face without having my own match its fade." I say, desperate.

He said nothing.

"W-we were almost out." I say, wiping my eyes, getting a reign on my tears, knowing that there were still more to come.

It was evening now, and I sat beside the ghost, gazing off into the sunset.

"We had almost escaped, almost had the dream to live. We would have been together without bruises. Two brothers with no one to put boundaries on our lives. Now it's only one life. And the gods chose for it to be the one that was fucked up."

We are silent, Ken slowly fading for the night.

I was dozing off when my phone buzzed with a text message.

Dream

Save me (location sent)

He was in trouble and I needed saving.

That made two of us.

Dream pov

As the water rushed below me, i thought about the blue that would be the last color i would see.

As I shuffled closer to the edge, I took in the feel of the hard concrete below my feet, and I chuckled dryly at how much i resonated with the rough texture of the ground.

As I thought about my life before I leaned forward, the brunette boy I'd met stuck in my mind.

He hadn't called me.

He hadn't texted me.

He probably didnt need me.

Probably was only pitying me.

But he could help.

And I needed help.

I texted him, not trusting myself to stay alive much longer.

Alright, big chapter here.

You guys weren't supposed to get Clay pov this chapter actually.

That was supposed to be next chapter, but i gave you guys a sneak peek.

I know I said no more angst, but at this point I cant help myself. Be glad no characters have died yet.

Anyways, i love you all.

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SadlyHopelesRomantic takes second.

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You guys are all my friends.

1362 words