#so impressed i managed to write all these sentences. look upon my works ye mighty and despair

[coquelicoq]

at that part of sleep deprivation where after every thought i'm like oh i should maybe remember that. or have a follow-up thought. or get up and do something that it made me think of. but just in having that meta-thought i have refreshed my buffer and no longer have any idea what the thought was and therefore cannot continue down that path. it's giving me "oh i feel like i was just thinking of something, what was it" but times 10000 because it's for literally every thought. like the error messages are crowding out the actual thoughts at this point.

[girlwsoftsound]

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes || George Daniel Oneshot

Word Count: 6,079 Warnings: The usual borderline abusive behavior & drama that lies within Cinderella.  Summary: A cheesy, drama filled Cinderella Story fic centered around the one and only George Daniel.  Author’s Note: Got this prompt a while back asking for a Cinderella Story fic for one of the boys, and I decided to go all out on it (as you can see by the word count). Also, it was fitting because after writing this, I hit 100 followers, which is honestly a dream come true. So, this is my thank you to all who read my stories and send me great prompts like this. Love you all. Please feel free to send more requests here! Enjoy!

“George, if you do not get your butt down here, I’m going to make you do overtime at the shop!”

Needless to say, George Daniel’s home life was hell. Or rather, what he had to call ‘home’. When he was young, merely able to remember anything, George lost a lot of his family to a terrible accident. The only survivors were him, his uncle, and his grandmother. Seeing as he was still young, the courts put George with his uncle, whom they assumed would be the best choice to take care of him given his younger age and, save for the loss of his wife, relatively stable household. George had wanted to go with his grandmother, as she reminded him of his mother, was always more tender to him, and was still relatively young, but the courts did not care. Off he went to live in the countryside with Uncle Lou to start a new life.

For a while, that life was not hard nor a burden on George. Lou put him into a relatively well-to-do school and gave him basically free-roam on his property. George learned how to take care of what animals he owned, how to drive a tractor, and his favorite new skill, how to play the drums. Lou was not always a fun man, but he loved music. Drumming in no time became George’s favorite pastime. He believed he would finally settle in with his new ‘family’ once he grew to play well enough that Lou could appreciate it and give him songs to learn. That was, until Lou met Willa.

Willa seemed harmless at first. George first saw her when he was eleven. She had reddish-brown hair and dark brown eyes, and her voice was rather low for a woman, but Lou did not seem to mind. She was kind to George then. He got gifts from her occasionally, and she took him to the park to meet friends when he needed a ride. But then, Lou decided to propose to Willa, and Willa changed. Willa no longer was the kind lady who showed up with gifts and kindness. She transformed into a strict mother who cared about her own two sons more than George and changed Lou overnight. One night, George fell asleep thinking his life was not all that bad. The next morning, he woke up in his own personal brand of hell.

Willa made George work. Not like, work around the estate work. That work George was happy and familiar with doing. No, this work was mental. Refusing to pay for George’s school anymore with Lou’s money -yes, Lou no longer had a say in his financial affairs, or was too in love to care- George had to work to pay his way. Lou at her suggestion bought with the money meant to be spent on George’s education a shop, a diner along the edge of the city, and George was put to work on it immediately. He started out as a busboy, then cook, and then eventually a waiter. He hated it. God, did he hate it. If the rude people who came to the shop weren’t death themselves, Willa’s constant nagging of his performance and Lou’s bitching any time George did not pick up an overtime shift surely encapsulated it.

It hardly helped that the twin boys he was forced to share a home with, or step-creatures as he lovingly dubbed them, would go to the shop often simply to make his job harder. They would make ridiculous orders, and frequently complain just to mess with him. Being the kids of Willa, George had to make sure that all was well with them at any cost or else it’d be his head on the platter he served with. It essentially was hell. George wondered what being he pissed off to earn their presence in his life.

Working so hard did not offer George any free time, especially with school in the mix. It caused him to hardly have any friends, and those he did were merely friends in the sense that they’d partner with him in projects or speak to him at lunch. He also found himself hardly any time to drum. He would join the band at school and get at least a bit of practice there, but band was an after school activity, and he had to be at the shop by four every day. It would never work. George was forced away from it, and honestly anything remotely fun. Fun went to the creatures, and their mother’s money she stored only for their schooling and their dreams. They got to be on the basketball team, and baseball team, and golf team, and whatever the hell team they wished, along with any club they had time for. George loathed the fun they had. If he could have one slimmer of it, or even the girls they had fawning over them, he was sure life would be more manageable.

That was why, when it was mentioned to their school that there would be a dance, George all but sprinted to Lou and Willa to beg them to go. He just wanted one night, one chance to be a normal teenager without them getting in the way, or busting his head about work, or favoriting the twins over him. He stumbled upon the two ‘parents’ outside by the animals. They were fawning over Willa’s horse, a big ol’ white thing named ‘Ace of Spades’ with long white hair and a truly massive body. Willa always put the poor lad into competitions, but much like George, he often liked it best when he was able to roam free. George loved the moments he could take care of the beauty. He hated seeing him put up with Willa though. George would have to bear it to speak to her.

“Lou, Willa,” he said, bounding up to the two as Willa brushed Ace’s hair, “I have something to ask you.”

“Shouldn’t you be working?” Willa asked, eyeing the boy up and down. George had to fight himself to not bark back at her the snide comment swimming around in his mind for her.

“I’m on my way to, but before that, this is real important-”

“More important than your job?” Lou barked a laugh. “Did you get knocked in the head? Nothing should be more important.”

“Will you please just listen to m-”

Before George can finish his sentence, the familiar loud laughter and footsteps of the creatures approached. Drew, the older one by five minutes, and Troy stumbled up, nearly pushing George aside in the process. George brushed himself off as they turned to Willa.

“Can we have some cash?”

It disgusted George how Willa almost dropped Ace’s brush to pull out her wallet. “What for, loves?”

“There’s the Spring dance this weekend,” Troy announced, his voice high and mighty. “We have to look sharp to impress the ladies.”

“They won’t be able to resist,” Drew said with a laugh. “The theme is rock n’ roll, for Christ’s sake. It’s all about shagging.”

“And the Spring Queen gets to choose the fittest lad to be her king,” said Troy, winking at Drew. “Look fit, get the girl.”

Pulling a wad of cash out of her wallet, Willa tossed it to Drew. “Go for it.”

George fought back the bile that rose in his throat. “Can I have some?”

Willa scoffed. “You say that like you’re even allowed to go.”

“But I’ve been working overtime every day this week! And I’ve made double in tips than I did last month!”

“You do not have a choice in this,” Willa snapped. George looked over to Lou, pleading.

“Lou, c’mon, that’s hardly fair-”

“You listen to your mother.”

“She’s not my mum!”

“She’s the best you’ve got,” he growled, “so shut up and listen to her.”

“No, I’ve got my grandmother,” George yelled back, “and I would be with her not wasting away my life here being treated like shit if it weren’t for you!”

Drew chuckled. “Shut up mate, no one cares about you enough for you to even be welcomed at the dance.”

“Yeah,” Troy nodded, “you’d be lucky to even get looked at by another human.”

“Nice comeback, ya’ brat.”

“George!”

“What else are you gonna’ do to me?” George yelled, throwing his arms up in defeat. “What could you possibly take away from me that you already haven’t, huh? Is five years of life not good enough for you? Are all the years I’m going to have to fight to make up for what hell you’ve put me through not enough? Oh, I’m sorry I inconvenienced you enough that that doesn’t make up for what I did. And what have I done, exactly? Exist? Not die along with the rest of our family, Lou?”

Lou’s eyes narrowed. “Shut up, George.”

“Like you give a shit about them,” he said, eyes cold. “You used to, back before Willa came here and decided brainwashing you to let the twins here eat out of your ass was how she was going to dictate. Back before I had to fight to have an education, or passions, or a life. Honestly at this point, Lou? I’d prefer to have any of the people who died back over you. They would’ve at least cared about me enough to not let snakes like Willa come into our lives.”

The smack coming from Willa only enthralled George more. Laughing, he turned to the two boys who sat there, wide-eyed and judging. “Did that upset you, boys? Did it upset you to know the world doesn’t revolve around you? Does it upset you more to know that girls talk about how utterly boring you are behind your backs? How you aren’t really a good lay, but a cheap lay that they can always count on to be around because you’re just that easy?”

The punch George got to his jaw from Troy knocked him back a bit, but still did not stop him. “You’re real lucky she has me poor, Lou,” he growled with a wicked, now slightly bloody smile. “I have to still live off of your shitty waiter job to stay in school. Otherwise, I’d clue you in a bit more on what I’ve picked up over the years about you and your shitty life you’ve created for me, and then go right up to CPS and get your ass imprisoned. Willa, too. You guys would be lovely together in the pen. But alas, I can’t. I’m locked into my job, and your bullshit, and while these guys go impregnate a few poor souls, I’ll be waiting empty tables and just building up more fodder for how utterly shit you all are to make my future case. Sorry if that angers you,” he said, mockingly cold as he did a small curtsy for the group. “Sleep well.”

George didn’t even look back and face the string of hateful words Willa had set up for him as he headed back to his room. He knew he would face hell for it later. Hell, the dance was as far of a fetch then as him winning the lottery. But, he was glad he said it. He was glad that, after five years of hell, he finally got to let Lou, the man in charge of protecting his family’s legacy, just how hard he had screwed up. The flash of fear in his eyes was all George needed. It made the possible tears and probable anger he would face the night of the dance all worth it.

~~~~~~

George felt no surprise the night of the dance with how he was set up. Door locked and barricaded, he had only a small thing of food and his cell phone to keep him company in his room for the entirety of the night. He didn’t get the pleasure of working the night, because ‘why should we give you money that could benefit you as punishment’. He simply got to watch the twins leave the house happily with some girls George knew wouldn’t be theirs by the end of the night, and sit in self pity all alone. It pissed George off. Then again, it forced Lou to have to spend the night alone with Willa as she obsessed over making sure he didn’t try to escape, so was he the true loser in this situation? Opening his phone, George chuckled. Poor bastard.

Something on George’s phone stopped the boy from playing Tetris, the only game the shitty old thing provided. It was a text from an unknown number. Opening the text, he read it in a whisper out loud.

“George, it’s Sandra, your grandmother. I got an email from a lad saying I could and should contact you on this number and that it was urgent. Is everything alright, love? I’ve been so worried about you.”

George could barely see straight. Who the hell texted his grandmother? How in the world was she able to contact him for the first time in five whole years? Fumbling, he hurried to type out a reply.

“Nan, I thought I’d never hear from you again. Lou’s new wife has me living in pure hell here. I’m currently locked up in my room because of her. Lou’s lost his mind. I miss you.”

Her reply a few minutes later hurt George to read.

“I told them he wasn’t stable enough to care for you. I’m so, so sorry George. I’m so sorry I didn’t fight harder for you. If I could, I would come there for you in a heartbeat.”

George was about to type out an equally as heartfelt reply when suddenly, he got an idea. He typed furiously.

“Nan, if I send you the address of the flat here, are you able to send me a cab? They’re currently keeping me from a dance, but I think if I can go, I can set something up that might get me to you. Okay?”

As soon as her yes came back as a reply, George was up and off of his bed. Reaching into his closet, he took out one of his old band t-shirts, a leather jacket he had saved up for the previous year, and a pair of roughed up jeans. He snatched a small bit of cash he had been saving up after he got dressed and opened up the window. He was on the second floor, but George was also tall. He tossed the belongings he needed down to the ground, and after carefully positioning himself hanging from the windowsill, he dropped. He made it to the earth without an issue. Snatching up his stuff, he ran as fast as he could towards the long wooded drive that led to their home. He waited until the trees lining the drive masked his location from the house, and sat there in the dimming night until the cab arrived. He got in, and without looking back, left the property. Lou and Willa could beat him up later for this. Tonight, he had plans.

~~~~~~

George arrived to his school hearing the loud sound of rock n’ roll blaring from its gym. He could pick out the song any day - Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin. Sure, it was an odd dance choice, but he didn’t complain. He hardly could. He tried to play the song multiple times when he still could as a kid. Sauntering into the gym, George noticed the dance was in full swing. Every boy was dressed in suits, and every girl had some sparkling dress. He stuck out like an odd ball. Some theme.

Not knowing anyone, and hardly knowing how to properly dance, he decided to grab a bit of punch and find himself a place to sit. He made his way over to the table with punch. His hand reached forward to grab the ladle for the punch, but accidentally found itself bumping into a much smaller hand across from him.

“Sorry love-”

“It was my fault, I-”

Both mouths fell silent. Across from George stood you, perhaps the most beautiful girl he had ever set his eyes on. You had on a midnight blue dress, not flashy but certainly eye catching. Your hair was braided, and in it tucked away was a gorgeous blue flower that matched the dress perfectly. George felt unworthy in your mere presence. He had no clue of it, but you felt the same about him as well.

“I-I’m {Y/N},” you said once you could catch your breath, holding out your hand to him. George carefully took your hand and brought it up to his mouth, giving it a small kiss. Upon seeing you blush from it, he smiled.

“I’m George. I-I hope I’m not too forward in saying this, but you look awfully beautiful. Truly.”

You blushed further, averting your gaze down to the punch. “Thank you, George.”

His name sounded wonderful on your lips. George felt his heart skip a beat. “I-I don’t suppose you came here alone, did you?”

You shook your head. “No, I came here with Finn McGill. I’m not sure if you know him, he’s on the golf team.”

A chill went down George’s spine. If he was on the golf team, he would know the creatures all too well. The thought of them even having a mere connection to someone as beautiful as you made his stomach churn. You gently placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look back over to you.

“He’s off dancing with some other girl, though. I only went with him because it saves face.”

George bit his lip. “Why do you need to save face? You look stunning, you’re sweet.”

“I also don’t tend to do what most girls trying to get Spring Queen do and talk only to mainstream, ‘popular’ kids,” you mentioned, eyeing him up and down. George blushed. He didn’t know whether or not to be embarrassed or blessed by your words. “Want to go sit and talk somewhere? I’m sure Finn will be hooked on that other girl for a while. She looked like she was dancing on him real good.”

George was amused. He couldn’t bear the thought of leaving you to go back and deal with whatever mess you had waiting you back at the dance floor with Finn, even with his nerves through the roof at having to actually talk to someone else, especially someone as beautiful as you. He had to give you a chance. Nodding, he waited until you both got punch before following you over to a small table just off the dance floor. After making sure to hold out your chair, the two of you dove into a pleasant conversation. You discussed everything from your favorite books to your favorite foods and favorite types of music. George of course went on a rant about the songs being played at the dance, telling you far more than you thought one person could know about them, though you did not mind. You countered by telling him right back about your favorites. It all seemed to be following swimmingly when, out of nowhere, George heard a familiar set of laughter come up behind him. He cannot move away quick enough to avoid Drew and Troy, sauntering up with their plastic dates by their sides and meddlesome smiles. You looked to them curiously, but George met them with a death glare.

“What are you doing here Georgie,” Drew asked, smirking and ruffling up his hair to George’s dislike, “I thought you weren’t allowed to go tonight?”

“Mom’s going to kill you when you get back,” Troy said, shaking his head. “You watch, she’s going to never let you see the light of day.”

“George,” you asked, gently placing your hand over his that was about to break the side of the table, “who are these guys?”

“Meet Drew and Troy,” he muttered through gritted teeth. “The people I have the misfortune of living with.”

“It’s not our fault your family died and forced you to live with us,” Drew spat. George felt the color wash out of his skin. Yours did the same, though instead of the empty feeling that overwhelmed George, you felt a fit of anger rush in to take the color’s place.

“How about you shut your mouth, you prick?”

Drew raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me? Don’t you have someone’s dick to go suck so you can win Queen?”

George could not even pause to process him doing it. All he knew was that one minute, he felt more rage than he had ever felt before, and the next, Drew was on the ground with a broken nose. You stood up at George’s side and watched slightly horrified as Drew wailed on the ground, his brother trying to stop the blood his nose began to gush. Though you were confused as to why George felt so angrily about his brothers, you knew he needed to get away. Grabbing his arm, you quickly rushed him out of the gym. He followed you out down one of the long hallways. You stopped him at the end of the second one you passed. He rested himself against a locker.

“What was that?”

“You did not deserve to be talked to that way,” George muttered, folding his arms. “He had to be taught that.”

“No- George, believe me, I’m grateful you did that, but that’s not what I’m talking about.” You sighed, bringing his face up with your finger so he looked at you. “What’s going on with them? Why weren’t you allowed to come here?”

George’s face fell even darker. “Their mother ruined what shitty life I had after my family died. I got put with my uncle and he remarried this lady and she took whatever I had left and spoiled those two brats. It’s been that way for five years, {Y/N}. You’ve probably never seen me because I’m lucky I can even make it to school. I pay my way here.”

Your eyes widened. “You pay it all?”

“She cut me off the moment she walked in with his ring,” George replied. “I blew up at them for it when the dance was announced earlier this week, and since they insist on ignoring how bad they are, they essentially made me a prisoner in my own house for tonight. I snuck out, though. That’s why those idiots were shocked to see me.”

“George, that’s-”

“Horrible?” he asked, kicking at the locker behind him with the back of his shoe. “Terrible? Borderline abusive? Yeah, believe me, I know.”

“You have to tell someone.”

“I plan on doing so tonight,” he told you. “After the dance. I’m going straight to the authorities and letting them know what they’ve done. My Nan lives not too far away, and she’s lovely and has money and a good house to care for me. The moment they find out what my uncle’s done, I’m going straight to her, and he’s going straight to jail.”

You did not know what to say. Here, you spoke to George because he looked different and bumped into you and looked at you as if you were truly beautiful, not just another good shag option. Yet, he was so much more. He was pained, mistreated, powerful, but also so in need of love and a second chance. A new start. You had no idea what to say, but you knew what to do. Making sure to catch his eye, you carefully leaned him back against the lockers behind him and kissed him.

George felt all his anger melt away. As soft and gorgeous as you looked, you kissed ten times better. Sure, he hardly knew what to do with this being his first kiss, but the feelings he felt were too strong to get all nervous about it. He simply let his emotions, let you, take the lead, and allowed instinct to guide him. You had not kissed many boys in your past, but knowing them all, you could say with confidence that George’s instinct led him well. You saw George smile immediately after breaking the kiss. In that moment, you knew he needed to be loved more. You knew he needed his fairytale happy ending. Oh, how you hoped he’d get it.

A loud boom of the gym door closing made you both jump. The soft patter of heels made their way down the hall, until finally a girl in a soft pink textured gown reached the two of you. She looked at George with a bit of shock, but quickly dismissed it in favor of speaking to you.

“{Y/N} c’mon, they’re about to announce Spring Queen! You need to hurry!”

You looked at George with apprehension. He merely smiled and leaned forward to kiss you again. “Go on, win that thing. I’m not going anywhere yet.”

With a grin, you reached to squeeze his hand and then trotted off to join your friend, the pittering of both of your heels echoing off the walls. Sure, George had no idea of his words would be true. Knowing Drew and Troy, he probably already had the firing squad on their way over to take him and never make him see the light of day again. But he would be damned if he ever saw sadness or fear in your eyes. You did not deserve that. Pushing himself off the locker, George dusted himself off and then headed back to the gym.

The entire group in attendance stood eagerly awaiting the news around the stage at the far center of the room. Up there, George saw a gorgeous diamond crown and a larger gold crown nestled on  pillows beside two sashes, which he suspected were to signify the King and Queen. On the stage next to the Principal stood all candidates for Queen. You stood out to George like the moon on a dark winter’s night. The sight took his breath away.

“I’d like to thank you all for coming out tonight, and for voting for our new Spring Queen,” Principal Hews spoke, his grand voice bellowing through the room. “It is my great pleasure and honor to announce to you, this year’s Spring Queen…{Y/N}!”

The cheer George gave was louder than he had ever cheered before. You looked near tears as the crowd clapped and hollered, the losing girls slinking off the stage with catty sneers as you got your sash. You looked absolutely regal with your crown on. A true princess. George felt as if he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. He wanted nothing more than to pick you up and twirl you around just to see if he could make your radiant smile match the glittering gems on your crown in vivacity. He wanted to give every last cent he had to let you know you were truly worthy of that crown.

You wanted to give him a chance to do so.

“As my first decree as Spring Queen, I would like Mr. George Daniel to please come up here with me on stage.”

George’s heart stopped. Me? She seriously chose me? George got a mixture of confused and angered looks as he passed through the crowd of people to join you up on stage. No one knew him, and if they did, they hardly knew why you would choose him over them. One particularly angered boy had to have been Finn, for he flipped him off and mumbled something about him stealing his girl before George made it to the stage. Once he was there with you, all of the people faded away. Your smile blinded him to them.

“I hereby announce that George Daniel is this year’s Spring King.”

To an assortment of cheers and boos, you had George bend down slightly so that you could place the golden crown on his head. As soon as it was on, and George managed to get his sash on, the two of you made your way to the gym floor. There, you were to share a dance together. George felt like something out of a dream.

“May I have this dance, George?”

Grinning, George pulled you close to him and gave you a tender kiss. “It would be my honor, my Queen.”

And then, the music started. George never imagined himself finishing off the night dancing to ‘I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing’ with a beautiful girl like yourself, but he felt right lucky to be able to do so. He twirled you and held you close as if you were the light of his life. You held onto him and smiled back up at him as if he made your world perfect. Somehow, this big ol’ boy with a rough life completed your beautiful queen’s life. All at once, everything was different. Both of you wouldn’t have the fairytale moment any other way.

Like all fairytales though, there had to be drama. That drama came in the form of, as soon as the music stopped, George being torn away from you by none other than a very bruised and bloodied Drew  alongside Troy. He went to shove them away, nearly hitting Drew’s nose in the process, when he froze before the sight of an irate Willa and a smaller than life wilted shamble of the man he knew to be Lou. Willa snatched his arm, nearly throwing him forward with a slew of angered words. All eyes were on them, most consisting of shock and confusion at his treatment. You tried to follow them, but found yourself unable to catch up. George was up and gone, riding miles away with his family, his fairytale ruined. Looking down, you realized he did not even get to say goodbye. You also realized something equally, if not more sad. He never got to go to the authorities. Tears in your eyes, you tossed your heels aside and ran to your car.

If George couldn’t get himself free, then by all means, you would do it for him.

~~~~~~

“THE NERVE YOU HAVE.”

George stared at Willa, his eyes cold and sunken in as her words hit him. She had not quit yelling at him since he arrived back home. A bruise growing on his cheek signaled she had done even more along the way.

“You think you can disobey me like that? Like some ungrateful tramp?”

“What on Earth would I owe to you? You ruined my life!”

“Shut up,” she said, another slap rattling George. “It is your fault for ruining mine!”

“What are you even talking about?”

“We would be a perfect family if you weren’t in the picture,” she snarled, pushing at George. “Drew and Troy are model children, and your Uncle and I are in love. Without you, we would be wonderful. And yet we have to deal with you, and your horrid nature, and your horrid hair, and-”

All eyes in the room, including George’s slightly bruising ones, flew to the door. A few more knocks came, followed by a loud voice.

“Police, open up!”

The eyes suddenly all flew to George. He was a walking black and blue billboard, angered and easily able to talk out about what happened to him. If the police saw him, they would not be able to deny what was going on. George knew he was in trouble. He made it almost to the staircase before Willa threw Lou at him to catch him. Lou put a finger to his lips, and a harsh hand on the back of his throat. George followed him into the kitchen merely out of the pain from his hand. When he got there, Lou grabbed a steak knife and held it at him, eyeing the boy.

“Say one word and you’ll regret it boy.”

George stared him down cold as the man’s hand held his wrist down. “Why would I? I’d rather be dead than deal with you all one more day.”

“And let that poor girl at the dance know you bled out before she could save you?”

“You leave her out of this.”

George heard the door open. Willa spoke cheerfully, fakely so to the cops in the other room. “You’re pathetic,” he whispered, eyeing the knife. “You can’t possibly love her enough to threaten me like this. You used to love me.”

“Who says I don’t love you?”

“Probably the butcher’s knife at my throat.”

“It’s complicated George, you do things for those you love.”

“If you loved me at all, you wouldn’t let your ‘wife’ over there lie about me getting abused and mistreated here. You’d turn her in, not protect her.”

Lou shut his eyes and sighed. “But I am.”

“What?”

“George! George, where are you?”

{Y/N}. Your voice echoing through the kitchen, it took everything in George not to call out back. You sounded so terrified. So, so terrified. George hated that sound. He nearly let tears overtake him when, suddenly, his hand no longer was held down. George looked to Lou in confusion.

“What-”

“George!”

Bursting through the kitchen door, you ran in followed by the police to find Lou holding the knife up, and George standing like a deer in headlights. The police told him to drop the knife immediately, which he did followed by letting them willingly handcuff him. George did not know what to say.

“What...what the hell just happened?”

“I knew if you contacted your Nan, you’d alert someone about what was going on here and they’d rescue you.”

George’s jaw dropped. “You...you let yourself get caught?”

“I’m fucked up George,” Lou said, the other officer moving to go arrest Willa in the living room. “I love Willa. But you opened my eyes up to how horrid she was to you, so...I decided that the best thing would be for us to get out of here together. You were right, George. You were right. And now you get to live your life with your Nan how it should be lived. Take care of that pretty little thing by your side.”

George briefly looked down to your shaken face before looking back at Lou. “Lou, I-”

“Don’t speak,” he said defeatedly. “Just...go live your dream. Please, have a good life.”

With that, George watched as Lou, followed by an erratic Willa, were carried away into cop cars. Drew and Troy, though both not technically guilty of anything, went along in the cars with the cops, as they were still minors and could not live on their own even if they wished. They would probably end up at a foster home. George hardly cared what happened to them. All he cared about was the fact that, soon, he would have a new life. He would have his Nan, his education, and his freedom. A small kiss placed on the side of his arm reminded him that, to his delight, he also had you.

“Did you call the police?”

Nodding, you wrapped your arms around his waist. “After what you told me, I was so scared to see you taken away like that so suddenly. I went to them as soon as you left and got them to come over here. Are you okay?”

George nodded. “My face hurts, but I’ll be alright. I’ll probably have to go to the hospital with the medics outside just so they can check once they’re done dealing with all them, but I’m okay. Are you okay?”

“Now that I know my King isn’t hurt and won’t be any longer?” You pulled George down and gently kissed his swollen cheek. “I’m wonderful.”

“Wonderful.”

There was no time like the present to do what he wanted to do next. Picking you up, George twirled you around and, upon setting you down, gazed at your beautiful smile and kissed you deep, his hand moving to your cheek. You were his new dream. You were the key to his future, his rescuer with a dazzling smile. You saved his world and put the pieces back together because your kind heart told you to. George would spend every day with his newfound freedom thanking you for that. You would send every day thanking your lucky stars that you were able to.

George’s home life had been hell, but his future became the sweetest form of heaven.

And he lived happily ever after in your arms.

The end.