I'd be lying if I said I didn't wake up thinking about last night. Thinking about how bright the stars were, or how for the first time since I arrived, it was actually a comfortable temperature that was not too hot nor was it rainy. And how the wind swept through the park, spreading both inner and outer peace with it like pollen.

It was then, under the millions of stars on top of the grassy hill that I felt safe. Like a puzzle piece finally finding its place. It was like time froze. Like I could stay in that moment forever.

And Dream was right by my side. It was like talking to a completely different person. It was like he wasn't just a one dimensional character I found on Minecraft. He was a real person with real emotions.

And last night I felt them.

I woke up in a daze. A bittersweet emotion. Sad that the moment had since disappeared and I was back in bed with the sun's rays cutting through the blinds of the window, but glad it happened in the first place. For the first time, I saw Dream. Not just the cocky player with a brain the size of the sun that everybody saw and knew. I saw parts of the real him. I saw the vulnerability— the insecurity. And although I knew he didn't want me to see it and I had to pry it out of him, I wanted to see more of it. Maybe I didn't actually know everything about him. Maybe there was a whole 'nother half of him I had yet to see.

I was going to get it out of him.

He was still asleep when I woke up. He slept on his stomach, his arms under the pillow. I had since accepted the fact that I was a blanket hog as I noticed I always woke up hot with him shaking next to me. But he got used to it, too. He turned the fan off right before going to sleep. This morning was no exception, either. I looked over at him to see the most blanket he had on was the thinnest layer covering his ankles.

I wasn't planning on staying in bed long. I was starving. When I climbed out of bed, all the blankets fell down with me. At first, I just threw the giant heap back on the bed, but I ended up making the bed with him still in it in the end. He slept so peacefully. Watching him sleep was like watching a baby. They radiated peace.

But then I realized just that. I was watching him. That was when I decided I had been in the bedroom for too long and carefully opened the door. I turned around to see Patches hop back on the bed and curl up against Dream's sleepy body.

Sapnap was already awake, and he was cooking. He was leaning against the counter on his phone when I came in. He didn't notice me until I pulled out one of the stools and sat down.

“Finally you're awake," He said. "It's almost noon. I almost went upstairs to check that you guys didn't die."Sorry. I didn't think wittle Sapnap got lonely so fast," I retort a little more sarcastically than intended. "What are you making?"

"Ramen," He mumbled.

"Ramen?"

He nodded.

"You really are a classic college student, Sap."

"Well neither you nor Dream were up. You made me go full student mode." He stirred the noodles around in the pot.

"It's important to know how to cook, Sapnap."

"Don't mommy me," He said. "If I really wanted to hear it, I would've just stayed home."

"Okay." Whatever he was saying, I wasn't quite catching. My brain was acting fuzzy. I couldn't really focus on anything. All I could think of were bright stars and even brighter smiles. Or the ride home when I fell asleep to Dream humming to a slow song on the radio. And thinking about it caused my heart to suddenly become a gymnast as it did cartwheels and tumbles. I had that same feelings pretty much all night last night. It was a pleasant feeling— almost like being high. Not like I knew what that was like, but I imagined it to be something like that.

“Right?" He asked when I snapped back to what was right in front of me. He stared at me, expecting an answer.

I blinked. "Yes." I found myself tempted to ask about the way I was feeling. It was something I had never experienced before. But I couldn't get the words out. It was like my tongue had become suddenly glued to the roof of my mouth. Maybe it was better not to ask. Maybe I wouldn't like the answer.

So I dropped it entirely. Out of sight out of mind, it was done and over with.

Except it wasn't, because if there was anything Sapnap was good at, it was sensing when something was off.

"What's up? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" He asked, turning off the stove.

I shook my head, "It's nothing. Just drowsy, I guess."

"You sound sad. Are you homesick?"

"A little bit."

"I am too," He said. "But at least I have a constant reminder of home: college. Speaking of which, online classes suck ass. Can you help me?”

"Of course. I'm something of a coding expert myself," I replied.

Apparently what Sapnap needed help with was something had been procrastinating on before either of us even got there. And the entire time he had no idea what he was even doing. I procrastinated more than anybody else and even I thought that was ridiculous. At least procrastinate on something you have any sort of idea over.

We were about half way done when Dream finally came down. Messy hair and all, he looked like he hadn't been awake in a thousand years. He was a total mess, barely able to keep his eyes open. He had the thinnest blanket wrapped loosely around him as he shuffled by us over to the pantry. Patches came following close behind and leapt up onto the island.

“Morning, sunshine," I said, to which he mumbled something I assumed to be a good morning back. "How was your sleep."

"I am so tired," He groaned. "I don't even know how!"

"Hm, you stay up til dawn and woke up before noon. I can't imagine why."

What are you guys doing?"

"Sapnap's dumb homework due tonight."

Dream smiled sleepily as he emerged from the pantry with a box of cereal in his hand, "Imagine having homework. Can't relate."

"Imagine pissing the bed, can't relate," Sapnap retorted.

Dream clutched his chest. "Ouch, low blow. That was, like, two years ago."

To my surprise, he kept up his end of the deal. I honestly thought he'd tell the whole world that on September 2nd, 2021 at approximately 3:01 in the morning, George (yes, his best friend Georgenotfound) told him (Dream) that he loved him in person. But no, he truly did act like that night never happened. And now I wasn't sure how I felt about that.the morning went by per usual. Both Sapnap and I had been here for about three weeks now and had fallen into routine. Usually Sapnap was the first awake, and either Dream or I (usually Dream) woke up soon after and helped make breakfast. And then after that, it'd be quiet. We had all adjusted well to living together. It was like we always did. Dream even returned back to streaming, and neither I or Sapnap dared to interrupt. The only reason Dream was streaming again in the first place was so that nobody suspected anything going on. That didn't mean nobody caught on, though.Bad was the first one.

We were all gathered around the marble island eating breakfast and helping Sapnap finish up his work when all of our phones suddenly went off at the exact same time. They were all stacked up together in the middle of the island next to Patches, and when all of them vibrated intensely, she jumped right out of her skin and right onto the floor.Dream was the first to grab his phone.
"It's Bad," He said. Sapnap grabbed his next.

"Me too."

I grabbed mine. "Me too." He had put all four of us in a group chat together and texted the most simple text ever: "hi."

Dream texted back hi, and so did Sapnap.
Bad: What are you guys doing?

I glanced up at Dream, and he was looking back and forth at me and Sapnap. He was thinking the exact same thing as me.
Dream: I just woke up.

Sapnap: Homework.

George: Nothing.

I really had to work on my lying skills. The air around us was heavy. It was thick like fog. All of us were tense, I could just feel it.

Bad: Do you guys want to stream tonight? I haven't played with you guys in forever :(

Sapnap and I texted Bad back "I can't" at the exact same time. We both looked at Dream, and he was staring right back at us with wide eyes.He knows," He said, not quite cutting the tension like I had hoped.

"No, you're just being paranoid," Sapnap replied. "He can't possibly know. The only way he'd know is if we told him."

"Yeah," I said, trying to bring myself to believe it.

Dream looked back down at his phone, but before he could type a response, Bad had already begun sending more messages.

Bad: Aw why not D:

Bad: Is everything okay?

Bad: You guys haven't played in sooo long

Bad: Are you all together or something?

Bad: ARE YOU GUYS MEETING UP

“Oh, my God, he knows." He put his phone faced down on the counter and rubbed the mousepad to wake his laptop back up.

"He's just guessing," I reassured.

"That's a real specific guess, George."

"Well we all said we want to meet up, and we all told him that when we do, we'd probably keep it private." In our defense, we told him that over a year ago a little after me and Dream first met up. We didn't think he'd actually remember that.

"I mean, is it a bad thing if he knows?" Dream asked.
"Are you serious?" Sapnap and I both said at the same time, taking Dream aback.

“Well, I mean, we're getting married soon, and we only have one witness. We need another one."

"But he's Bad! He cannot keep a secret," Sapnap said.

"He can keep one if he knows how serious it is. Guys, think about it. How many of our other friends would actually support our marriage?" Dream asked. "Sure we all joke about it, but actually doing it? That's something entirely different. We can't just let anyone in."

"So why Bad?" I asked. I wasn't totally against it. We had all known him longer than anybody else. He always supported us through everything, even if he thought it was a bad idea. I only really had one issue with it. "And not just your family?"He scowled at me. "Why are you so bothered by that? They don't need to know."

"Yes, they do. How are you going to explain that I came here as a trip and then never left?"

His lips formed into a straight line, and his eyebrows furrowed. "My parents have a standard, okay? And so far I've done a pretty good job reaching it. But they want me to marry someone I-I'm in love with. They want me to marry for love, not a green card." I watched his ears flush red.

"Just tell them it's for love, then. You're used to lying to them anyway."

"Why'd you say it like that?" His soft gaze became a hard glare, and my heart leapt into my throat.

"I just mean yesterday you lied to your parents, and it just looked a little too easy. That's all."He huffed and put his phone down. "Don't take it personally. If we were getting married for love, I would have told them before you even came, but we're not. We're getting married because of a fucking green card." His voice cracked and became small.

Total silence. The air between the three of us was absolutely suffocating.

I saw his lip quiver before he hung his head. My chest sank to the darkest abyss. My head became light as realization of what had just happened settled in. He pulled the blankets tighter around him and took a deep breath before gazing up at me with what looked like glassy eyes.

"I don't like lying to my parents, George. Don't make me do it more than I have to." It was almost a whisper. Like a feather falling. It sounded so fragile, like any louder and it'd completely shatter.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, "Fine. Bad can be our second witness."

"I'll let him know," Sapnap mumbled, turning his phone back on. "And I think I've got it. I can do the rest of my homework by myself. Thanks." He quickly gathered his laptop and papers and headed out into the living room.

I turned my attention back to Dream, and he was looking right back at me, his eyes drooping. He stared at me for a couple more seconds before turning on his heel and joining Sapnap in the living room.

There was no way I could joke my way out of this one.

=======