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Dream hadn’t been on a road trip since he was eighteen. Now, he was twenty-two and the Dream Team was heading to Texas to visit Sapnap’s family. The trip was significantly longer than any road trip he had ever been on. Sixteen hours, that they broke into two full days of driving.
It wasn’t even a full hour when Dream felt his stomach starting to turn. Now he remembered why it had been so long since he had been on a road trip, his motion sickness.
It was bad when he was younger but he thought he had grown out of it. His heart strummed with anxiety and he tasted something bitter in the back of his throat.
How could he be so stupid? The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind when they decided to drive instead of fly, he was just focused on avoiding his fear of heights.
In the front, Sapnap and George were happily chattering away, Sapnap’s playlist on low as he drummed his fingers against the wheel. George’s eyes were full of excitement and wonder, at seeing this part of rural America for the first time. Everything was so great and nice.
And now Dream was going to ruin it all.
Of course.
“I’m r-really sorry, can we pull over?” A desperate voice whined from the backseat. George and Sapnap shared a confused look before glancing back at the unwell boy. "N-Now?"
“Fuck! uh, yeah, In a minute. A-Are you gonna puke?!” Sapnap asked, hastily pulling off the highway to find a place to stop at. George watched Dream nod his head miserably, clenching his jaw. "I'll get off at the next exit,"
“Just one more second, Dreamie,” George tried to soothe, watching the blond quiver where he sat. George reached out to put his palm on Dream's jumping knee, hoping to ease a tiny bit of the boy’s discomfort.
The car was turning, not even that dramatically but Dream felt his stomach lurch into his throat. He quickly clamped his hand over his mouth, whimpering.
Sapnap finally managed to pull the car over on the side of a less busy road. Before the car even came to a complete stop, Dream swung his door open and violently threw up.
George leaned over, quickly unbuckling his seat belt for him, wincing as another forceful heave pulled Dream out and away from the car.
The sight on the asphalt wasn’t very pretty, and the door of Sapnap’s car had not been spared from the rush of sickness.
George moved closer, starting to gently rub Dream’s back as he coughed and spat through the remaining nausea. Sapnap made himself busy by going to the back of the car and grabbing some water and a spare shirt, he didn’t deal with vomit the best anyways. George had been to university and cared for countless drunk friends, he could handle it.
When Sapnap came back around to the front of the car to his friends, George was gently cleaning Dream’s face with a tissue with one hand, the other supporting his head, nestled deep into his messy blond hair.
“S-Sorry,” the blond sniffles, trying to gulp back nausea still sitting in his throat. He didn't know what was worse, the insufferable nausea or the bitter humiliation. “Haven’t been in the car this long i-in years…”
George bit back a laugh at the sheer irony of the situation. Dream really hadn’t been on a road trip since he was eighteen.
"It's okay, Dream." George reassured, knowing it would do little to alleviate the anxiety he was surely feeling.
“Do you think we can get back in the car? We still have like seven hours to drive today to get to the hotel.” Sapnap asked sheepishly, not wanting to rush his friend but also not wanting to lose their hotel reservation.
The truth was, Dream didn’t quite know. He felt absolutely no relief from vomiting all his stomach contents onto the pavement. But he didn’t really have a choice, he had to get back in the car, despite still feeling queasy.
“Yeah, I just-" Dream's voice jumped a few octaves as he suppressed a sob. "W-We uh- we might have to pull over again. Or something. I’m sorry. I'm so sorry. This s-sucks.”
“Try not to worry about it. We can find a bag, just in case.” George told him, helping the dizzy boy stand up. Dream had his arms wrapped painfully tight around his abdomen, slouched over as he made his way back into the car.
Sapnap was still driving, but Dream moved to the passenger's side. George sat behind him and traced random figures into the sick boy's back as he ruthlessly held back gags over an old shopping bag. Dream tried to focus the shapes rather than the lurching of his stomach but it was really difficult.
“Try to focus on the horizon, love. Think about something else.” George raked a hand through sweaty blond hair. He wished he could do more. “We could stop at a gas station and pick up some Dramamine," he thought out loud.
"That's a good idea. I'll get off at the next exit." Sapnap agreed, pulling the car off the highway to some small town.
He found a nice parking spot and the boys took a moment to put their masks on and make sure they had their wallets.
“Do you want to stay here or go in?” George asked, gently tilting him upright. Dream fumbled with his safety belt like he was drunk.
“I’ll go in with you guys,” he mumbled, putting his mask on. “Jus’ wanna get out of this fucking car,”
It didn't take long for Dream to find out that the cure to motion sickness isn't just getting out of the car. Upon entering the gas station, the nauseating smell of coffee and gas and cigarettes quickly overwhelmed him and Dream and George disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Sapnap to do all the shopping.
He picked up some Dramamine, a pack of wet wipes, ginger ale, and some water. While he was eyeballing the medications an idea hit him.
Sapnap paid for the goods and waited outside the gas station on the curb. He waited for another five minutes before Dream and George finally emerged. The blond looked impossibly paler.
“Hey, you brought your melatonin right, Clay?” Sapnap asked as he uncapped the ginger ale and pushed it and the Dramamine into his shaky hands. "You could take some and try to sleep for the ride."
“Yeah, it's in my backpack. That’s a good idea.” Dream replied, taking a hesitant sip of the ginger ale.
In a few minutes, they were back in the car, but this time Sapnap was alone in the front. Dream laid across the backseat and put his head against George's chest Thankfully, with Dream all drugged up, he began to doze off, finally getting some relief.
The last thing he could remember before he fell asleep was George pointing out some awful conspiracy theory bumper sticker and Sapnap laughing his ass off.