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George loved the lights. The scream of crowds, the sea of people looking at him, all there to see him . He loved performing, feeling the excitement of the crowds flowing back to him. He loved the view of the phones, the flash of the recording following him like limelights. He loved the sound of them screaming the lyrics and melodies he’d put his blood, sweat, and tears into, rewriting over and over again to get perfect. It was nothing short of exhilarating.
But, of course, there were the pitfalls of being a large solo artist. He was mostly by himself, had close to no one to bounce his ideas to and help him on. He was constantly anxious to leave his house because of the possibility of bad interactions, or someone telling everyone where his address was if they’d seen him go back into his house.
When he brought it up on the check in call that he and his manager had before bigger events, he was met with some advice.
“George, have you considered getting a bodyguard?” Hannah suggested. “Like, one to be with you at all times. Maybe it’ll make you feel less anxious.”
“Han, I don’t want someone just following me around,” George complained. “What if they’re an asshole, or annoying, like you.”
“First of all, I could just stop managing you and you’d have to fumble to get someone as good as me again, and second, then get another bodyguard and fire the asshole one,” Hannah said.
“Can you hire me a bodyguard?” George asked with a sigh.
“God, I just have to do everything for you, don’t I? Why did I choose to manage you out of everyone? I could’ve gone to law school.” She grumbled. George could hear typing from the other end of the phone.
“Thank you.”
“Go get ready for your stupid famous people party, you have to be there- Go talk to that modeling guy,” Hannah instructed.
“I will, bye.”
“Bye.” He heard a beep as Hannah hung up the phone.
He put his phone down and stood, making his way to his walk-in closet to find an outfit that was suitable to talk to famous people in.
Sometimes, George forgot he was one of the biggest names at the moment. He forgot he was even more famous than some people he’d grown up idolizing, that he could probably message his childhood favorite artists and get a response. He forgot that he could go and socialize with movie stars and other celebrities and it would seem natural.
That train of thought continued as he made his way into the massive house, flashing lights and loud music blasting. His favorite type of party, not stiff and uncomfortable, suits and fancy dresses everywhere, but people dancing around and dressed as casual as their stylists would allow. They would socialize and build relations, maybe make friends with people they could have common ground with. Invite only house parties.
He took a sweep of the room, immediately being rushed by his friend Tina.
“George!” she shouted. “I didn’t know you were coming, we could’ve coordinated outfits!”
“Tina! Hi, how are you?” The two moved further into the house.
Tina was the CEO and head animator of a group she had founded that worked on independent animated films and shorts. She had major connections to certain popular musicians and actors who had work featured in her projects, so she was often able to be found at events like this. People enjoyed her cheerful and funny energy around them, so she often found herself in the midst of people she would’ve previously not interacted with.
“I’m great! The drinks here are actually really good, let me get you one of your fancy fruity drinks.”
“Can’t tell if you were calling the drink fruity or me.” The two giggled as Tina shrugged. “But, no, I’ll get my own drink.”
“Come on, George! Let me treat you!” She grabbed his arm. She looked up at him with pleading eyes and he gave in.
“Fine. Just this one, though, and I’m buying your next one.”
“Fine, fine,” she said, taking his hand and pulling him towards the bar.
George never paid for Tina’s next drink. In fact, she was pulled away by her friend quickly after she’d bought George’s drink, but he’d mostly forgotten about that now. He, instead, found himself getting another drink. Then another. He was around 4 very alcoholic drinks in and dancing by himself while singing to a pop song he knew he recognized but could not place what the title or who the artist was.
He bumped into a tall figure and spilled his drink on the floor, whipping around to make an angry statement because he was really enjoying that one, when he found himself face to face with Dream West.
Clay Westaken, more commonly known as Dream West, was a breakthrough movie star. He had no connections to anyone in the industry but went straight from not being in anything, to being a leading actor in big name movies, acting immediately with the big dogs of the industry like Dan TDM and Sparklez. He was devilishly handsome and his smile was said to light the rooms he was in. He was sweet and funny in interviews, considerate of those around him, using his newfound fame to promote what he believed in.
The angry words faded on George’s tongue as he stared at the face that was cuter than people had described. He was looking down at George apologetically with the biggest doe eyes George had ever seen.
“I’m so sorry! I’ve never really been drunk before, I’ve just had three drinks and I’m not very in control of my limbs- I’ll buy you another, or, like, three more if you want them!” he shouted over the music. “Hey, wait, you’re 404!”
“Yeah, I’m- I’m 404,” George laughed. “I’ll take you up on that drink repayment only if you come and sit with me while I drink it.”
“Alright!” Dream lit up. “I’m Dream, by the way, I- You’re really pretty.”
“I know who you are, idiot. You’re, like, the most popular person ever right now.” George linked his arm through Dream’s and started leading him to the bar.
“Oh.. Yeah, I guess I am. Weird. I didn’t want to just assume you knew who I was, that would make me seem like an asshole.” Dream frowned.
“I don’t think so, you’re a celebrity, after all.” George giggled at the frown that remained on Dream’s face, making him look even cuter than he did prior.
“I keep forgetting that,” Dream laughed lightly as the two reached the bar. “What can I get you, Mr. 404, sir?”
“You can just call me George and, uh.. a Strawberry Daiquiri.” George decided.
“Fruity drink for the fruity man? That was a question, I’m asking if you’re gay. Because I’m mildly attracted to you,” Dream blurted out. “I don’t know why I said that.” He glanced down, embarrassed. George had an amused look on his face. “Not that I didn’t mean I’m not attracted to you, I am, I just- I didn’t mean to- I didn’t mean to say it out loud and, I- I should just stop talking, I’m making things worse.” Dream covered his eyes.
“Dream, I’m very gay, and I’m attracted to you, too.” George laughed.
“Oh. Good. That- That’s good, I- Do you want to go make out or something?” Dream asked.
George laughed again out of shock about how forward he was. “Sure.”
So George found himself sitting on Dream’s lap on a random couch in a nearly empty room, filled with three other people smoking weed and and two random actors on the ground. The music thrummed through his veins and the smell of the smoke filled his lungs as his lips moved against Dream’s.
He was too drunk to care that anyone could see them. He was too drunk to notice if anyone was taking pictures. Even if he could notice, he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Not when he had Dream’s lips moving perfectly against his own, the small scratch of stubble on his chin, the large hand on his jaw.
He felt his phone buzz in his back pocket and ignored it. It buzzed three more times before he pulled away with a groan. Dream tried to chase his lips, but George pulled his phone out of his back pocket and looked at it.
Three new messages from Hannah.
He pressed the call button on her contact as Dream pulled him back in and kissed down his jaw and neck. Hannah picked up after a few rings.
“Hi, Han,” George slurred.
“George, you have a shoot with that one photographer tomorrow, I told you to get home by two so you could get at least some sleep.”
“I’m trying to kiss the cute actor guy, and you’re over here stopping me from doing that,” George whined and Dream laughed lightly from where he was still tucked in George’s neck.
Hannah paused. “Are you.. kissing someone in public? How drunk are you?”
“I’ve had.. a few drinks,” he giggled.
George heard the familiar sigh. “George, is anyone taking pictures? Because I have to call the publicist if anyone says or shows anything, and I really don’t want to.”
“I dunno, Hannah, I’ve been kissing the cute guy, not exactly looking for the pop-paparazzi.,” He closed his eyes as Dream bit down lightly on the side of his neck.
“George, go home right now,” Hannah instructed.
“Fuckin’ fine, ” he whined, standing, much to the dismay of Dream. “My manager says I have to go home.”
“Aww, man,” Dream whined. “Okay, but you should call me when you can.”
“I will. See you later.” George made his way out of the house and called himself an uber.
The drinks of the night were catching up to him as his head started to pound. He covered his eyes with one hand and rubbed the temple where the headache was forming with the other, hoping that it would stop.
The next thing he knew, his door was being banged on and he woke up on the couch. He jolted upwards and blinked, dragging himself up and stumbling to the door. A very annoyed looking Hannah was on the other side.
“I have called you four different times and sent you about a million texts. I set an alarm on your phone for this morning. Why have you not gotten up?” she asked. George blinked and grabbed his phone, pulling it up to see a black screen. It was dead.
Hannah groaned. “You’re running behind schedule! Cover up your goddamn hickeys before we have to go and face the wardrobe, hair, and makeup for your photoshoot, that is in,” She paused, looking down at her watch, then looking back up, “— an hour and twelve minutes.”
George’s hand went to his neck as he remembered the events of the previous evening. “Has anyone said anything?”
“Not that I know of. I think there’s a picture of you leaving the party, but you have to actively be looking for red marks to see them.” Hannah shrugged. “Not a big deal. However.. who the fuck’s jaw is big enough to leave those marks? Did you get eaten ?”
“Uh.. Dream West,” George said, face burning as he and Hannah walked upstairs.
Hannah’s mouth dropped open. “ Dream West gave you hickeys?”
“Yeah.. I don’t really.. remember how it happened, but it did. He’s a really good kisser. I think he said he’d text me, but I don’t have his number, so.. maybe he meant Instagram DMs or something.” George shrugged.
“Dream West is gay? ”
“Apparently.” George shrugged. “He hit on me first.”
“Dream, the heartthrob, the womanizer, likes men and kissed you of all people. Do you think he knows how irritating you are?” The two’s conversation continued as George got his makeup out of its drawer.
“No, we just.. He offered to buy me a drink because he spilled mine, and then flirted with me and then we made out for a while, I dunno.” George shrugged. He pressed the beauty blender against his neck, covering Dream’s hard work.
“That’s crazy. That’s insane, ” Hannah said. She looked down at her phone and stood. “Also, hurry the fuck up.”
George sighed and stood up as well. He followed Hannah out of the door and got into her car. “You need to get a driver's license,” she reminded him.
“Fuck that, I have no need for it. I live in the city,” George said, tapping his fingers against the window to the beat of a song he couldn’t quite remember the name of.
Hannah just rolled her eyes and pulled out of the drive. Quiet small talk, updates to his schedule, job opportunities, and personal updates filled the silence interrupted only by the rumble of concrete meeting wheels. The ride was traffic-filled, but not too long. Hair and makeup took record time, and George was scolded for being late; back to his normal life. Rinse and Repeat.
The repetition was usually something for him to cling to, some sense of normalcy for his crazy life. Something between flashing cameras and interviews, between stages and crowds — sitting in a hair and makeup truck, listening to the workers talk, befriending them, being talked to like a normal person was where he found solace.
But right now, all he wanted was his phone to buzz and to see a message request.
The photo shoot was slow, and the food was mostly healthy and unappetizing. The photographer was sweet, a girl around his age named Sylvee, but she couldn’t take away enough of his irritation.
Finally, he went back to hair and makeup to wipe off the product on his skin and put on a little bit of makeup that he put on every day. He slumped into the passenger seat of Hannah’s car with a sigh.
“It’s so hard being so rich and famous,” George said and Hannah snorted.
“It’s hard for me, having to do all your scheduling. We’re meeting your new bodyguard soon, let’s get coffee then go to my office.”
George sipped on the sweetest coffee drink he could find (with several extra shots) as he stepped into Hannah’s office and sat. She sat across from him and the two waited for the knock on the door.
When it finally came, a young man stepped inside. He was short, shorter than George, with light brown hair covered by a black hat. He was cute, with soft features, but he was muscular. He had a light dusting of freckles, and he looked anxious.
“Hello, you must be Nick.” Hannah stood to shake his hand.
“Uh- I go by Sapnap, but yeah, that’s- That’s me.” He smiled.
“Well, Sapnap, this is George. George, this is your bodyguard.”
“Han, you didn’t tell me he’d be cute,” George flirted lightly.
“Stand up.” Hannah glared at him. “Anyways, ignore him, he’s annoying, you’ll hate him soon just like I do.” George responded with a laugh and blew Hannah a raspberry.
“Um..” Sapnap vocalized, confused.
“Sorry, George is an asshole, anyways. It’s nice to meet you.”
The rest of the meeting went smoothly, discussing duties, things he would do, etcetera. He would be the head of security in situations where there would be other guards, he would stay by George until dismissed, he would inform both George and Hannah of suspicious activity or behaviors, and…
George zoned out after that, instead just looking at Sapnap’s features. Memorizing them.
His eyes were a color that didn’t look like any he’d seen. They were gray-ish, but with flecks of yellow that he knew were actually green, and gold-ish. Freckles dotted his face, around his nose bridge and under his eyes. The hat covered most of his hair, but there were cute sandy-brown curls peeking out from underneath it.
“George, anything to add?” George snapped his head towards Hannah who was smirking at him.
“Uh.. nope,” he said.
“Mhm.. okay.” She nodded, skeptical. “You have nothing else to do today. Call a driver or something, I have shit to do here.”
“Ugh, Hannah, you’re gonna make me take an uber? What if the driver knows me and knows my house?”
“I said driver , George, not uber. You know full well you could call Sam.”
“I know. I’m bothering you on purpose again.” He grinned and she flipped him off as he walked out.
Sapnap’s first day working was the next day.
“Hannah told me to wake you up and drive you to the theater you’re performing in for a sound check.” Sapnap stood awkwardly after George opened the door, face burning as he took in George’s appearance. George was suddenly aware of the fact he wasn’t wearing a shirt, and instead just pajama bottoms.
“.. Fuck , that is today, isn’t it?” George sighed. “Alright, let me get dressed. Come in.”
George walked up the stairs, and Sapnap trailed behind, looking around at the expensive furniture and silly items George liked to sprinkle around his space.
“You can sit anywhere, I’m gonna get dressed,” George said when they got to his room. Sapnap nodded and chose a seat across from the door to the walk-in closet.
George stepped into his closet and scanned his options. For soundchecks and performance days, he often just wore comfortable clothes so that he wouldn’t have to wear stiff, uncomfortable clothes after a long show. He settled for a sweatshirt, some loose black jeans, and his blue sneakers.
“I’m ready.” George stepped out of his closet to see Sapnap on his phone. Sapnap stood immediately, shoving his phone in his pants. “You know you can relax. You don’t have to be so..” George waved his hand at Sapnap’s stance.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sapnap asked, no trace of malice to be found, but instead, teasing amusement. George grinned.
“I dunno.” He shrugged.
“Well, see if I drive you anywhere now.” Sapnap narrowed his eyes.
George laughed. “Come on, Pretty Boy, you’ll make me late.”
Sapnap scrambled to follow George out of the door.
The show went smoothly, and George was still full of adrenaline when he made his way back to his dressing room. Sapnap was waiting outside of the door.
“That was cool.” Sapnap smiled. “There were a few times security had to get involved with things, but not as many compared to other big artists I’ve done work for.”
“Good show, George.” Hannah smiled. “Now get ready for the after party. Sapnap, you can feel free to be mostly off duty and go and have fun at the party if you want.”
Sapnap glanced at George and back at Hannah. “Uh.. Alright. Sounds.. Yeah, okay.”
George smiled. “Maybe Dream will be there.”
“You fucking simp, didn’t he not even text you?” Hannah teased.
“Well.. Okay, I don’t remember if he even actually said that, I was sloshed,” George said.
“Idiot. Then hope he’s there. And get a move on, at this point we’re not even fashionably late, just late to your own afterparty.” Hannah shoved George towards the door as Sapnap snickered behind them.
“Shut up, idiot, or I’ll assign you duties during the party,” George called back to Sapnap.
The loud music was close to overwhelming in George’s weed-addled mind as he draped himself over Sapnap’s arms and shoulders. Sapnap was drunk enough to just giggle and let George grip onto him. The two made their way to the middle of the group dancing and started singing, laughing as they swayed.
Suddenly, George’s grip on Sapnap loosened and he stumbled backwards into broad shoulder blades. The tall man turned.
“George?” the voice said.
“Oh my god! Dream!” George cheered, looking back towards Sapnap. “Sap, ‘s Dream.”
Sapnap giggled. “Crazy.”
“We keep bumping into each other,” George laughed.
“Yeah, I thought you were gonna text me.” Dream frowned.
“Oh.. I thought you were texting me.” George cocked his head.
“Oh. Well, uh.. We probably should’ve communicated that better. Can I buy you another drink? And your pretty friend if he wants. Sap, was it?” Dream turned to Sapnap.
“Oh, uh.. It’s Nick, but I go by Sapnap,” Sapnap slurred slightly.
“M’kay. Do you want a drink?” Dream asked.
“Sure.” Sapnap grinned.
Dream grabbed George’s hand, George linked his arm and Sapnap’s as the three made their way over to the bar.
George remembered snippets of the rest. Shotgunning with Dream, making out with Sapnap, dancing to the obnoxiously loud pop music with both of them, Dream’s number in both of their phones, but most of it was a blur.
He awoke on an unfamiliar bed, shirtless and laid nearly on top of Dream with Sapnap’s arm around his waist. He blinked, not wanting to move and disturb the men around him. His eyes were sore and his head hurt like hell. Instead of facing the day, he decided to close his eyes and go back to sleep.
When he awoke the second time, Sapnap had retracted himself from the pile and was nowhere to be seen, and Dream was awake and scrolling on his phone.
“Well, hey there, handsome,” Dream said, voice still sounding groggy, assumingly having woken up not long before George.
“Mm.. Hey.” George rubbed his eyes. “Where’s Sapnap?”
“I think he left before I woke up. I didn’t see him,” Dream said.
“Alright.” He yawned. “Sorry about.. not texting you. I thought that you were gonna text me, so I was, like, waiting.”
“I thought the same thing.” Dream laughed. “Well, this time maybe we won’t just accidentally ghost each other.”
“Hopefully.” George smiled. “I would love to get to know you more. Not just drunk at parties.”
“We should make plans, for sure.” Dream smiled back.
George stretched and untangled himself from the mess of long, lanky limbs that was Dream and stood. “I should probably see if my manager has told me of my bodyguard’s resignation or something.” He picked up his phone.
“Oh, he’s your bodyguard? He’s really cute,” Dream said, also standing.
“Yeah, I hope drunk me didn’t scare him away or something, I get.. handsy, as you may know.” George giggled.
“And here I was thinking I was special for being kissed by famous musician, 404. Guess not,” Dream joked.
“Well, to be fair, most of the time I just grab onto people and let them drag me around, so you’re special in that regard, I suppose,” George said.
“Well, guess I’m just the greatest.” Dream giggled. He grabbed his hoodie from the end of the bed and put it on. “I should probably get going, I have to film some audition tape for something today, but I’ll text you and we’ll, like, meet up, yeah?”
“Yeah, sounds good. I think I have.. something today, so I might be a bit late in responding, but.. I’ll reply eventually,” George said vaguely, but not on purpose. He just genuinely didn’t know if he was scheduled to do anything today.
“Mm, very specific. Well, see you, then.” Dream leaned down and kissed George on the cheek before leaving the room. George’s face went cherry red as he watched Dream leave.
“Pull yourself together, George,” he muttered as he tore his eyes from the door. He rushed to get dressed and called his driver.
Sapnap, apparently, had not quit, as George’s driver pulled up outside of his house and saw Hannah and Sapnap sitting in Hannah’s car.
He knocked on Hannah’s window and she opened the door. “Hey, George. Get in, we have to go. You have interviews, idiot.”
“Can I get dressed first?” George asked.
Hannah sighed. “Quick. Run. Cover your hickies, too, there’s already a picture online.”
Sapnap had the decency to look sheepish at that. “Sorry!” he called as George rushed into his house.
A solid 5 minutes of fixing himself up later, he rushed back out of the house and shut the door of the backseat.
“Took you long enough,” Hannah snickered, pulling out of the driveway as he strapped his seatbelt.
“Blame him.” George pointed at Sapnap who covered his smile with his hand.
“I’m innocent, Hannah,” he said.
“Uh-huh, sure, you totally didn’t put four hickies on my neck.” George narrowed his eyes.
“To be fair, I only did three,” Sapnap said.
“Dream was there?” Hannah asked.
“Han, I got his number this time. He was waiting for me to text him,” George said.
“You’re such an idiot,” Hannah said. “Are you actually going to text each other this time?”
“I hope so. He wants to arrange a date or something. Sap, would you wanna come, too?”
“On a date? With you two?” Sapnap asked, face going red. “Uh.. I- I mean, yeah, it- I’d like that.”
“Good.” George smiled.
The drive was quickly over and soon, George settled himself in the uncomfortable chair on the set as the interviewer sat across from him.
“Hello, and welcome back to HotCraze! I’m here with world famous musician, 404, here to talk about his songwriting process, new rumors, and a look into his fame. How are you, 404?” The interviewer turned to him.
“I’m good, a little tired from my show last night, but I’m good. How are you?” George smiled.
“Oh, I’m wonderful, thank you for asking.” The interviewer smiled back. “Now, tell me about your process for songwriting.”
“Well, it depends on the song. Sometimes, I’ll sit down with an idea and struggle over my piano for hours at a time, and sometimes I can get a song draft done in an hour.” George shrugged.
“Wow. So, what are the easier types of songs for you to write?” The interviewer leaned forwards slightly.
“It depends on how I feel. Like, my songs where I’m angry or feeling very strongly about something, those usually are easier to write. A lot of the love songs or joke songs take a long time because of thinking of the contents of the song more and, as mentioned before, I have a bit of a hard time with expressing vulnerable emotions, so it tends to take longer,” George explained.
“What’s your favorite song you’ve written and a rundown of what you were feeling when you wrote it?”
George paused. “I like.. Well, my favorite is in process, so I’ll talk about that one when it comes out, but my favorite released one has to be Tragedies. I was.. in a harder spot in my life, and instead of falling into my depression like I’ve done prior, I turned to reading. I found familiarity in the stories, from my own breakups and hard relationships, these things felt familiar and comfortable, so that song references old Greek and Shakespearean types of tragic love stories, along with old poetry and songs I could find. It took a long time, but I was very proud of it.”
The interviewer smiled. “My favorite of yours has to be Hyacinth.”
George chuckled. “I like that one, too. That one, similarly, is about loneliness. I’ve been.. very good at pushing away people in my life, so themes of loneliness are very common in my music.”
“I found that song particularly relatable. It’s quite.. poetic,” the interviewer said.
“Yeah.. sometimes I look back at my lyrics and wonder how I wrote that stuff, like.. Sometimes I’ll find scribbles of the greatest lyrics I’ve ever written and get super confused.” George laughed.
“Do you have any secret themes or names of songs you can leak for me? Any at all?” The interviewer leaned forwards again.
“Hmm.. Well, this is a working title, but I’ve been thinking Golden Eyes ,” George said, speaking the title quieter for effect.
“I have one more segment of questions before we run out of time.” The interviewer grinned and George nodded. “So, there are new rumors that you have recently been taken, maybe by another musician, maybe by someone out of the limelight entirely- What do you have to say to that?”
George giggled. “Well, firstly, I’m single, and for the foreseeable future that won’t change, and secondly, I have no idea where these rumors come from.”
“Well, a photo was circulating of you with what looked like hickies on your neck, and there’s a picture where it looks possibly like you are kissing someone at a party,” the interviewer said.
“Well, the hickies one, that is just untrue. Maybe it’s edited, maybe it’s shadow, I don’t know, but I have not been given hickies in quite a long while. And if I kissed someone in public, my manager would have my head on a stick outside of her office. I love her to death, but I worry she’d actually break into my home if I made her have to deal with that,” George laughed. The interviewer laughed along.
“Well, that’s all the time we have for today!” The interviewer closed out the interview as George sat, listening.
He rubbed his eyes and he found Sapnap outside of the door. Sapnap waved and George flung his arms around Sapnap’s shoulders and went limp. “I’m sooooo tiiiired ,” he elongated the words with a whine.
“George, if you stand, we can leave,” Sapnap snickered.
“Carry me!” George demanded, not seriously.
“Fine, then.” Sapnap scooped George’s legs as George yelped, and the two were out the door.
Sapnap set a laughing George down next to his car and walked around to the driver’s seat. The two chatted as they drove back towards George’s house, exchanging teasing words and happy laughter.
George was surprised how well their personalities matched, how well they got along immediately, and even how after kissing while drunk, they weren’t awkward as George would’ve been with others. They were perfect.
So, when George invited Sapnap to stay over a few days later, when he invited him to sit and watch movies and eat dinner and cuddle on the couch until they both fell asleep, Sapnap accepted. And when they kissed again and again, when they smiled as they listened to each other’s slow breaths as the heat of another body pulled them to a restful sleep, when they had a small conversation when they woke up, no one had to know but them.
Not dating, but together in every sense of the word.
They explained that quietly a few days later, sitting in a backroom of a restaurant with Dream.
“So.. you guys are like.. dating?” Dream confirmed after the explanation.
“Well.. no? But.. we’re like, kissing and shit.” Sapnap laughed.
“Okay.. and you want me to.. join this little arrangement?” Dream asked.
“Well, this was set up as a date, right? So, uh.. We could technically be dating now, all three of us,” George said. “I’m not sure how this sort of situation would work, so I think we’re.. If you both are okay with the term dating, of course.”
Dream and Sapnap glanced at each other, and back at George. “I’m alright with us all dating.” Dream shrugged with a smile.
“I am, too,” Sapnap offered up.
“Great, so.. We’re dating. Are we boyfriends, or like.. is this what the talking stage is?” Dream asked.
“Maybe we should try the talking stage thing first?” Sapnap suggested.
“The talking stage is such a confusing thing. We’re.. getting to know each other,” George said. “We can like.. go on dates and shit, yeah? And we’ll, like.. have a sit down and decide shit later?”
“Sounds good to me.” Dream smiled.
“Same,” Sapnap agreed.
The relationship was awkward for a bit - working around schedules and media attention, trying to find places where they wouldn’t be seen, trying to find ways to see each other more with their various conflicts. Dream sat backstage at George’s next gig, cheering loudly and clapping as George sang. The result was photos of him grinning widely while looking to the wings and another big spark of theorizing about his relationship status.
The three often found themselves in either George or Dream’s house, not wanting to go to Sapnap’s apartment in the middle of the housing area of the city. They would find themselves often in Dream’s bed, watching shows and cuddling. They had long talks on George’s couch, where they talked about boundaries, how to be discreet, and silly conversations about things they hated.
Dream had a private Instagram story on his personal account that he’d started, only with Sapnap and George’s personal accounts on it. They often found themselves smiling like idiots when they got the notification that Dream had added to the private story, watching it together and talking about the day.
Soon, they spent every day together. But they hadn’t made anything official.
Together , George liked the word. It felt noncommittal enough for their unlabeled relationship status, but official enough to make himself feel happy.
George smiled as the screams rushed over him, the multicolored lights shining on his face.
“How are we tonight!” he shouted, hearing a crowd screaming back to him. “Good, good, I’m great!”
He smiled as he glanced towards the wings to see Dream do a little cheer for him. His heart spiked with love. He grinned wider.
“You guys wanna know why I’m great?” More screams. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been, I just released an album, and I’m here with all of you! And, I get to play a little bonus unreleased song!”
The screams increased as he continued. He glanced towards where Sapnap was on the floor, and he saw a little thumbs up from the younger. He nodded to the band, Hannah’s voice rang in his headset, and the sound started.
He sang his heart out, he screamed, he danced, he interacted with the stadium, he laughed. Adrenaline ran through his veins until he couldn’t think past this moment, until he couldn’t breathe without drinking in the screams of the audience.
“Alright, guys, we only have time for one more song. I’ve had such a good time with you all, I always love performing for you, but I think you guys are my favorite crowd. So, just for that, I have an unreleased song to play for you.” George looked over to Dream again. “I’ve only played this one for my manager, guys, not even my best friends have heard it.”
Screams.
George noticed Sapnap come up beside Dream. He grinned. George looked at them as he spoke.
“It’s called.. Without Fame and Fortune.” He let the screams wash over him as the band started playing.
After that performance, Hannah was flooded with requests for interviews, for articles, wanting the scoop on what — or who , his new song was for. She accepted one article and one interview for him.
“Your new song, a beautifully written song about.. your very secretive love life?”
George laughed, “Thank you,” only acknowledging the beautiful part.
“The lyric, ‘The cameras fade / Nothing stays the same / But you and I / I love you without the fame,’ is very cute. May I ask what, or who, you were thinking of while writing this?” the interviewer asked.
“Well.. I was thinking of being famous. I was thinking of past and present relationships. I was thinking of how epic it would be to be able to go out with someone I’m romantically interested in. That’s all I’ll say.” George giggled at the use of the word epic in the otherwise serious sentence.
The writer had similar lines of questioning. “So are you romantically involved with someone right now?”
“Romantically involved is funny wording, I would never classify myself as involved with someone,” he dodged.
“So.. are you dating someone?” The interviewer amended.
“No, I am not in a relationship right now.” George smiled.
He wasn’t lying. He had no boyfriend, he had no girlfriend, he was only involved with the two that he had rolled out of bed with to go to this same particular interview.
The interview and article came out in similar time frames, and the internet broke again, shocked that the singer was single, believing he was lying, using minor details like word choice and pauses to speculate who his secret partner could be.
George scrolled through his Twitter feed and giggled. Sapnap’s arm was around his waist, Dream’s face buried into Sapnap’s back.
“What’re you laughing at?” Dream’s voice was muffled.
“People are theorizing I’m dating Tina, Punz, or Mina,” George retched. “As if I’d ever date Punz.”
“But Tina and Mina?” Sapnap asked jokingly with an accompanying giggle.
“Sapnap, I’m a gay man.”
“Hm.. I don’t believe it,” Sapnap teased.
George turned his head and kissed Sapnap. “Believe it now?”
“Mmm.. no. I think I need some more convincing,” Sapnap said.
George kissed Sapnap again, and again. He set his phone down and leaned closer to his Sapnap.
“ Heyyy , I need convincing, too.” Dream pulled his head out of Sapnap’s back.
George pulled away and giggled as he leaned over Sapnap to kiss Dream on the cheek. “That’s all you get, gay-boy,”
“Unfair, I’m actually super homophobic,” Dream said.
“Well, we can’t kiss a homophobe.” George frowned jokingly. He kissed Sapnap again lightly and laughed at the pouting from Dream.
“Y’all are mean,” Dream whined, puppy eyes big and shiny.
“Loser,” Sapnap snickered and Dream whined as George and Sapnap pressed their lips together again.
The three didn’t go out publicly together very often. The most public that they’d been was George’s song and interview, and otherwise they had kept mostly quiet about it. George and Sapnap showed up to Dream’s movie set a few times, and occasionally they would go get food together, but they tended to stay private within the walls of their homes.
“Dream, why are you hanging out with famous singer 404?” Foolish asked.
George giggled and leaned into Sapnap more as Dream whipped around towards his castmate. “Because we are BFFs, Foolish, why else?” Dream smiled hearing the quiet laughter from George and Sapnap behind him.
“ Ohh -kay,” Foolish said, narrowing his eyes, confused.
The three knew that the people closest to them suspected things, but nothing had been confirmed, not even to Hannah. It was hard to confirm when people wouldn’t comprehend what they were. They still hadn’t had the conversation about officially being in a relationship - they still were confused in the relationship status department, and they all were too scared to make the first move.
George slowly brought up being in a public relationship and gauged reactions. He slowly inserted the idea of going public if they became official into their brains. The idea was met with mostly positive thoughts and ideas of how they would do it.
Soon, the Met Gala arrived. Dream and George picked out their outfits, and Sapnap judged them both. There were photos of the two of them standing together, of the two of them laughing in conversation, of the two of them dancing together, and of Dream ogling George from across the room. People speculated.
Pictures of George holding Sapnap’s hand as they ran down the street surfaced a few days later. More speculation.
Dream and Sapnap were spotted a few days later, so the speculation started to calm as they realized the three might be a friend group, not knowing who the third in this group was, but agreeing he was cute and if he wasn’t dating George, they wanted to date him.
George had slowly formulated a plan. He ran it by Hannah and Sylvee (who befriended Hannah at the photoshoot and now hung out with Hannah frequently), who responded with a simultaneous aww and encouragement.
“How are we tonight, LA!” he yelled over the screams of the crowd. “How are you all? I hope you’re good!”
He glanced anxiously over at where his boys were told to stand, barely out of vision of the stadium.
“So, as you guys have probably seen, I released a new EP.” Screams. “And I think it’s pretty good. But, you all could hear the more consistently happy love songs, and you all just love to speculate. But you aren’t getting answers right now! On with the show!”
The new EP played in sprinkles between older content and jokes told as the band set up for the next song, before finally, he played the second to last song on the setlist.
“Alright, guys, I’m sorry, but we just have time for one final song. This one is.. niche, and you’ve probably never heard it before. You’ve definitely not heard it on the streaming services top 50.” George laughed as the audience screamed. “But first.. we’re going to have a little talk.”
The room was quieter as George sat on his stool.
“So.. a few months ago, I hired myself a personal bodyguard - his name is Sapnap. He was just so lovely, I had to kiss him at least once. And a few days before, I kissed famous TV and movie actor, Dream West. That was crazy. A little while later, we all three went on a date, which was lovely and felt like where I was meant to be, like my whole life was building to being alone with them. And so.. we sort of started dating. But none of us have wanted to make the first move by asking each other to officially be in a relationship. So I am here today. Can you two come on stage?”
The two red-faced boys came out shyly onto the stage. More screaming.
“This is Dream and Sapnap. We’ve been.. dating-ish for a few months, but none of us have wanted to be the one to ask the others if we’re official yet. So..” The crowd realized. George could tell from the cheering and screaming of supportive words. “Dream, Sapnap.. Will you two be my boyfriends?”
Sapnap nodded and Dream yelled a “Yes,” and the two lunged forwards and wrapped George in a hug. Screaming, cheering, confusion, excitement, all emotions George could feel radiating off of the crowd. He hid his face in Sapnap’s shoulder to hide the happy tears. He hadn’t fucked anything up.
He wiped his eyes and pulled away from the hug, only to take Dream’s hand. “Now that all of that’s out of the way, we’re going to sing the first song I wrote about these two fucks. Without Fame and Fortune.”
George relished in the ability to now kiss his boyfriends in public. He relished in the ability to call them his boyfriends. He could post pictures of them, he could hang around Dream’s set, he could take them out on dates - it was everything he’d wanted.
Dream did an interview. Sapnap made a Twitter account. Dream posted a spam of the photos and stories on Instagram that had previously been on his personal account.
“404! 404, over here!” George smiled as cameras pointed at him and microphones were put in his face as he showed up to a red carpet premiere.
“How do you feel about Dream posting your private photos?” The microphone was pushed closer to his face.
“If you think we didn’t talk about him posting these things, you’re insane.” George laughed. “Every photo he’s posted, he’s run by me and Sapnap. If one of us says no, it won’t go public.”
“What are some unposted photos?”
“Well, for the sake of our privacy, you cannot see some of them.” He giggled. “But there are some that are just.. for us, so they won’t be released. I’m gatekeeping how cute Sapnap is with our cat, you guys are never seeing it.” He pointed at the camera.
“Where did you meet Sapnap?”
“He’s the head of my security team, I think that’s an obvious answer. Anyway, I should go inside now- Work on asking more interesting questions next time.” George laughed again, turning and walking into the building.
Sapnap met him in the lobby and the two linked arms as they found their seats next to Dream.
The movie was fantastic. The three stumbled home after the afterparty and collapsed onto the bed. George’s house was the one they had all mostly moved into. They giggled as they scrolled through people talking about George’s interview on social media, people talking about how excited they were for the movie, people talking about how much they loved the three’s relationship, and funny cat videos that spliced George’s feed intermittently.
Patches, the little tabby that they had adopted when moving into George’s house, hopped up with them when they settled to sleep for the night, kneading on the pillow beside George’s head for a solid five minutes before climbing on top of him and curling up. The three drunk men cooed and pet her until her purrs subsided into sleeping breaths.
George wondered how he’d gotten this perfect of a life. He wondered how he’d gone from nothing, to famous, to dating the two most beautiful people he’d ever seen.
“ I love you guys ,” George whispered, now almost sober and wrapped in the arms of his boyfriends.
Dream perked up. “You love us?” he asked, his voice so excited that George smiled even wider.
“Yeah.”
“I love you guys, too.” Dream grinned.
“I love you guys, also,” Sapnap slurred, tired.
George sighed as he relaxed back into the pillows and warmth of his boys, the loves of his life.
George loved them. He found himself scribbling about it in his lyric notebook the next day, after the hangover wore off.
Memories flashed through his head as he scratched out vague lyrics, a first draft.
He remembered Sapnap and George yelling and screaming as they ran around the kitchen with nerf guns as Dream laughed on the couch. He remembered Dream begging George to go and get another piercing with him because he was too scared to do it alone. He remembered taking care of a sick Dream while whacking at Sapnap anytime he got too close to Dream, not wanting to have to care for another sick boyfriend. He remembered warmth. He remembered happiness. He remembered feeling like he was flying when he looked at his boys. He remembered butterflies. He remembered his heart beating for them.
He loved them with his whole heart.
He scribbled out a test title. He closed the book. He went downstairs to see his boyfriends wrapped around each other, clearly having a spirited discussion about sports or video games, and he sat beside them. His heart felt lighter when they looked at him.
Winged Heart became George’s new favorite song that he’d written.
He hoped he could live like this forever. With them forever. He knew they wanted that, too.
He wanted to feel this happy forever.