Chapter 295

Dream just stares at him in disbelief. "Why not? Then who would take care of your annoying self and remind you to eat." He snaps, harsher than he had intended.

Considering the drama and trauma he had to go through to get his way, even he was surprised that he came back.

Dale just blinks myopically at Dream trying to figure out if it was really Dream or it was just an apparition of his addled mind.

He wouldn't be surprised if Dream as a figment of his imagination was as mean as the real Dream usually was, his prickly attitude was part of the adorable Omega's charm.

Dream just rolls his eyes. "I see I have to do everything, come on, you need to wash up, you look horrible, have you been sitting in front of that desk since I left? Haven't you ever heard of breaks?..." Dream starts to scold him, taking him by the wrist and leading him to the in-built bathroom in his office.

Dale lets himself be pulled along, a peaceful smile on his face, even his mom had never been this worried for his health and the annoying dates he had been blackmailed on were so pretentious it made his eyes bleed.

"So you're not leaving?" Dale prompts, seeking reassurance, he didn't particularly care that at the moment he sounded like a needy child.

Dream glances briefly at Dale from where he had guided him to the sink. "If I didn't know better I would say you were trying to get rid of me." Dream narrows his eyes at the glum looking Alpha.

This sends Dale into panic mode. "No, no…"

"Good." Dream cuts him off. "Because I'm not leaving, now please wash up, Hayden invited us for dinner, we don't want to be late."

Dream leaves him all alone at this wondering what was wrong with him, he was hired to be the secretary and somehow he had managed to be not only a caretaker but also a babysitter to the Alpha, no wonder Erin had run away.

He chuckles dryly at this, knowing there was no way Erin would be this way around Dale, maybe he needed someone to lean on every now and then, for an Alpha everyone would expect him to be strong all the time.

It wasn't like Dream was offering a shoulder or interested in the position, he could say he and Dale were friends… of sorts, he could be nice sometimes too.

He walks back to the office to find out that Dale had left his laptop running, files laying haphazardly.

Dream helps him put off the device and reorganize the files, his salary better be worth all these or he was leaving after the first month.

Dale comes out looking way better than he had first met the Alpha when he came in, freshly washed face gleaming under the fluorescent lights.

"Great!" Dream exclaims when he sees him. "You're ready to leave."

"Yeah." Dale mutters, tugging on his comfortable shirt, feeling sleepy which was a huge shock considering that he has been battling with insomnia and all it took was Dream telling him to wash his face to get him stumbling around sleepily.

"Thank you." He adds, voice dripping with sincerity.

Dream looks up at him and an unbidden, soft smile stretches his full lips. "Sure, now let's go."

The dinner is already in full swing by the time they get there and Hayden is quick to welcome them, ever the gracious host.

At first glance the dining table looks like any lively gathering of old friends eating together but when you look closer that image just falls apart.

Other than the twins, everyone else was a tense mess.

Virgil seemed to be at the center of most of it, Yanis and Jaxon sending him death glares while Hayden outright ignored him, Dream wasn't left out of this.

There was also the triangle that was Dream, Dale and his older brother who was watching each and every of his interaction with the sleepy Alpha with a hawk's eye.

Somehow the meal is eaten without any explosion or catastrophe and Dream is grateful for this, in his opinion, the only person ignorant of what was going on was a sleepy Dale.

It had taken him a good long while to even notice Yani's presence.

Dream could practically feel his brother's eyes bore into the back of his head each time he assisted Dale with something that shouldn't necessarily need his assistance if the Alpha wasn't so drunk on sleep.

Everyone seems to dash away from the table as soon as the meal is over, Hayden insisting on escorting Yanis to his apartment, although the man could clearly make his way around already.

Virgil doesn't say a word, he doesn't even make any indication that he was aware of what was going on and Dream might have believed that if he didn't see how the Alpha's hand shook every now and then.

The entire situation was quite complex and just sad and all he wanted that night was to take a shower and retire to his new place.

This time around he could sleep peacefully in his new apartment because he had earned it and it wasn't from a friend's graciousness, appreciative as he was of his friends, he didn't like them doing extreme favours for him, he felt ultimately better about things when he did them himself.

Perhaps it was a trait of his mom rubbing off on him, he wouldn't say it was bad.

He ignores his brother's very loud stares as he slips his hand in Dale's hold, saying goodbye to the rest before making quick his escape, perhaps when the sun came up, things would look better.

He also hoped that Hayden and Virgil would be able to talk things through, he absolutely adored their relationship and even if Alpha Virgil got on his nerves most times, he also knew how broken they would be without each other.