Hi, thank you so much for checking out my story! Important disclaimers: This story is a continuation of tbhyourlame's Heat Waves. All credits for this idea go to tbhyourelame. I originally wrote this when Heat Waves was on a hiatus so this is a continuation after Chapter 7. Updated weekly. This is just for fun so please don't take it too seriously. I do not personally ship these creators and this is a story based on their online personas only. If any of the people referenced in this story would like it taken down I will take it down. If tbhyourelame would like this taken down I will also immediately do so. I do not give you permission to post this anywhere that I have not already posted it. Even if you credit me. This story does not contain smut or any sexual content. A slow burn love story between two Minecraft YouTubers. What did George say?

Dream felt deep raw pain. The wound caused him to be unable to move. He slowly opened his eyes to his grey ceiling. Where was he? He tried to move his hand but felt unable. Assuming it was because of the cut, he laid back down. He felt disoriented and confused. "Was that a dream?" he thought. He couldn't remember the last time that he had allowed Kalon to infiltrate his sleeping mind. He had to get control of these dreams. He rolled over gingerly, expecting to feel pain but instead he found none. He looked down at his chest and saw no evidence of a fight. I guess it really was just a dream. He didn't feel like moving. He just layed, eyes wide open, too scared of what he might face if he dared close them. His room was still dark and he guessed it was late at night. He looked down at the end of his bed to see Patches carefully curled up against his feet. He nudged her carefully, he didn't feel like being alone. After several gentle prods, Patches begrudgingly rose and stretched. She slowly walked over to Dream, rubbing her wet nose on his face.

"Come here sweet girl." Dream spoke softly. Patches began to purr and nestled herself against Dream. Her warm body warmed Dream's cold heart. He smiled brightly and closed his eyes softly, forgetting the nightmare. Seconds later he opened his eyes, panicked. He couldn't give in to his tiredness. He sat huddled under the thin sheets feeling cold and afraid until the sun rose and the birds were chirping. Patches had left him hours ago when Dream had attempted to wake her again. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her safely sleeping atop the cat tree. The sound of the birds had made him feel much safer and he slowly moved. He turned over again to see his phone on his nightstand. He knew exactly where to place his phone because of the dark rectangle shape on his table. The only spot with it's paint preserved from the damaging sun. He reached his hand out slowly and grabbed his phone. He ignored the time. He didn't feel like shaming himself for how little he had slept. Instead he checked his messages. He made sure that even though he wasn't feeling well that his friends were ok and he wasn't ignoring them. Nothing. Somehow he had both expected that and was surprised. People seem to assume that if you have lots of followers that must mean that you have lots of friends. At one point in his life Dream had been naive enough to believe this. The truth was that it was lonely. Incredibly lonely. Dream couldn't imagine what it would be like if he didn't have Sapnap, Bad, and George. He wished that he could repay them for all they had done for him. As he was deep in thought, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Dream was surprised to see Patches leap onto the bed and waddle over to him.

"I'm sorry I woke you" Dream apologized to Patches. Patches ignored him and hopped onto the windowsill to watch the birds. Dream stared along with her, watching the birds feed carefully out of the colorful feeder he had picked out months ago. He slowly rolled out of bed feeling extraordinarily tired and heavy. He slugged his way to the bathroom to splash his face with cold water. He stared at his sullen reflection in the mirror. He couldn't recognize the face that stared back. Dream's hair was a dirty mess that fell awkwardly to one side of his face. The light brown stubble on Dream's face reminded him of his dad and he quickly reached for his razor. He carefully shaved the hair but found it difficult due to his shaking his hands. He looked up at the mirror again after he had finished, expecting this time to recognize who stared back. No. He stared into his eyes and at the deep blue puffy circles underneath them. He had forgotten what it meant to feel awake. He tried to force his sour face into a smile but it looked unnatural. He ran his hands through his hair attempting to tame the chaos. He eventually gave up, walking to the kitchen. He checked his home phone noticing that he had two missed messages. The first one had been some advertisement for a new air conditioner. Dream laughed, annoyed at the timing. He clicked play on the second message.

"Hi hazel eyes, you're not too famous to answer my calls now are you? I've been missing you. The gutters are clogged again and I can't find the ladder. Did you move it after the last time you used it? I have some exciting news that I'd like to share with you. Could you meet me for lunch sometime next week? Let me know, I love you. Bye." the message finished.

Dream dialed her number back.

"Hey mom, can you talk now?" he asked.

"Sure. I'm glad you got my message," she said, with just a hint of sarcasm.

"Yeah I'm sorry, I haven't been getting much sleep." Dream responded not having the energy to lie.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Has Patches been keeping you up? she asked, concerned.

"Something like that" he carefully avoided.

"Well you can always bring her to me for a couple of nights. I would be happy to catsit." she offered.

"Thanks," Dream responded, knowing how much his mom adored Patches. "What did you want to talk to me about?" he asked, curiously.

"I'd rather tell you in person. Would it be alright if we went out to lunch sometime this week?" she responded.

"Sure, I don't have much planned yet," he said, assuming it was bad news.

"But you would make time for your dear old mom either way right?" she teased.

"Of course" Dream smiled through the phone.

"How about Thursday?" she suggested.

"Sure, that sounds good. Did you have a specific place in mind?" he asked, trying to get information about what she wanted to talk about.

"That's a surprise. Be sure to dress nice." she said, secretly.

"I will." Dream hated surprises but played along.

"I'll let you get back to your busy schedule but don't forget to call me every once in a while." she reminded.

"I won't." he said, meaning it.

He listened for the sound of her hanging up. He loved his conversations with his mom but that had made him feel emotionally drained and guilty. She was right, he should have made time for her and not allowed himself to go so long without calling her. He walked over to the pantry, grabbing a packet of microwave oatmeal. He refused to buy the brown sugar flavor and instead opted to buy the plain and put the right amount of sugar in. He stared at the spinning bowl impatiently, too impatient to wait the extra minute. He burned his fingers attempting to take the hot bowl out of the microwave. He mixed in exactly a teaspoon of sugar and a dash of cinnamon. He chewed the soggy oatmeal. He knew he had taken it out of the microwave too soon but refused to admit defeat. He scrolled through his dimly lit phone. He hadn't checked his Instagram for a while. He responded to comments and liked his friends' posts. He got bored quickly and decided to switch to his personal account. He checked Sapnap's story. It was a picture of him awkwardly posing on a rock. The caption read:

If only I was a bit boulder, I would ask you out right now.

Dream responded.

Dream: I bet the girls are loving this one.

Sapnap: Oh yeah you know it.

Dream snickered. Sapnap was such an idiot. He finished his oatmeal and stacked the empty bowl on top of the growing pile of dishes in the sink. He sat down at his desk and opened Minecraft. Dream loved playing Minecraft off stream. He loaded up his main survival world. He was working on a new tower so that he could practice different types of MLGs. He walked slowly, checking on his dogs and horses. He liked being alone. Minecraft was his escape but the more followers he had gotten, the more it had felt like a job. Now, he rarely logged onto public servers. He preferred to hide in the perfect cities of his own worlds. He collected the materials from his emerald chest room and sprinted towards the tower. He enjoyed listening to the peaceful Minecraft music. He always kept his favorite disk on him, along with a jukebox. He played until his room was dark and the only sounds he could hear were the sounds of his farm. He forced himself to stay awake. Switching between Reddit and Minecraft, testing out new skills for an upcoming manhunt. His eyes were heavy and the dimly lit screen was causing a sharp headache to develop behind his eyes. He looked through his Spotify trying to find energetic music to fight the exhaustion. Dream settled on a new song, switching to his personal Spotify. There are just some songs that you want to listen to alone. He clicked on Hallucinogenics, grabbing his headphones and putting them over his ears. He heard the opening of the song, ignoring the game.

Pushing past the limit

Trippin' on hallucinogenics

He just wanted to sleep.

Go find yourself a man

What was he just doing?

I don't remember your face

Or your hair, or your name, or your smile

I don't remember-

Remember

His headphones slid down his head. He slipped in and out of quick dreams; unable to find peace. He watched in his dream as his house burned and flames engulfed his possessions. He gripped the empty container of gasoline. The lighter was stashed carefully in his pocket. He laughed at the destruction. The shrill scream of his phone broke the maniacal moment. He glanced around the foggy scene for his phone. Where was it coming from? It sounded clear, real. Dream looked around, suddenly panicked. He had to wake up. He shut his eyes tight in an attempt to escape his dream. He startled, waking suddenly. His eyes glanced around his house nervously. He had immediately left his chair in search of the sound. He had fallen asleep, he guessed. But what was that noise he heard? He got up walking to the kitchen. His home phone blinked bright colors that annoyed his unadjusted eyes. Who would call him this early? George.