The man was tall, probably somewhere around 6'2. He was wearing a navy blue suit and a red tie. His most distinct feature, though, were the mutton chops he'd grown on his face. Paired with them, a bushy mustache sat on his upper lip. He stood behind a podium on top of the stage. George thought that the man looked awfully familiar, but he couldn't figure out where he knew him from.

"My name is John Schlatt. You probably don't remember anything from before your arrival, so I'll recap. The world has been stricken by a terrible, fatal disease. But I have recently discovered that some young people are immune to this disease. So, we have set up facilities to keep track of and monitor you to figure out why you're so special. This group is of 100 kids aged 15-20. There are two other facilities just like this one: one with an age group of 10-14 and another with an age group of 5-9. I have chosen to personally advise this one because I believe that it holds the most promising individuals." He explained.

Everyone began to look around. Some looked scared. Others looked proud. But most of all, they looked confused. George immediately thought of his parents. He couldn't remember them, but he had to have them, right? Were they okay? Why did they let this happen to him?

George felt out of place. He wasn't special at all. He wasn't athletic, artistic, or especially talented in any way. Why was he here?

"Now, don't let that get to your heads," The man continued. "We aren't going to tell you why you've been chosen, in case you decide to use it against us. Just know that you're here for a reason. It would be greatly appreciated if everyone would cooperate voluntarily, but if you choose not to, be prepared to be punished. We need to find out why some are immune- we need to find the cure."

This part of the speech earned applause from a few people in the audience. George shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Something about this seemed wrong.

"Thank you, thank you. Now, I know you probably have a lot of questions, but I don't have time to explain everything today. It's pretty late, after all. Speaking of which, here is how sleeping arrangements will work: There are 50 boys and 50 girls, so you will be divided into groups of four. There will also be two groups of five for both the girls and the boys, for the sake of keeping things even. You will get your assigned group soon, and these will be the people you will be around the most. You will share a room with them, eat with them, and if we decide to run group tests, you'll be with your group for them. Also, each group will be assigned to one of my lovely employees here." He gestured to a line of people standing against the wall next to the stage, all wearing white lab coats. Quackity was at the front of the line, closest to the stage. He met his gaze and the shorter boy wiggled his eyebrows at him. George rolled his eyes and looked away.

This time when everyone looked around, it was out of excitement. George found himself getting giddy too. He was eager to see who he'd be in a group with.

"Alex, read off the groups. I have to go now. Everything you want to know will be explained tomorrow. Goodnight everyone." And with that, Schlatt stepped off the stage and left through a door at the back of the room. Quackity walked up to the podium and tapped the mic a few times before speaking.

"Hey guys! I'm Alex, but you can call me Quackity. No, I will not tell you why." At this, he locked eyes with George and winked at him. "These will be your groups for the entirety of your time here. No switching, got it? Good." Then, he started to read off of a piece of paper he held. He started with the girls, making his way through all of the groups. George had just began to tune him out when he heard his name.

"George, Sapnap, Karl, and Dream. You are Group B4, and you're assigned to me."

George sat up straight and began looking around for people who would also be looking around. He locked eyes with a raven-haired boy, and they smiled at each other. The boy got up and quickly walked over to where George sat, taking a seat across from him.

"Group B4, huh? I'm Sapnap." He said, sticking his hand out.

George gratefully took it and introduced himself. "I'm George."

"Nice to meet you, George. I wonder where Karl and Dream are." He said, looking around once more.

"Sapnap. That's a funny name." George blurted out, immediately going red. He slapped his hand over his mouth as he met Sapnap's eyes. "I'm so sorry. I don't know where that came from."

Thankfully Sapnap didn't seem to be offended. He just laughed and shook his head a bit. "No worries. It is a pretty weird name. My real name is Nick, but I prefer that people call me Sapnap."

"Oh, okay." George said, flashing a quick grin at him. The boys fell into a comfortable silence as they waited for the rest of the names to be read off. Finally Quackity finished, announcing the last group and then stepping off the stage. The white lab coat people started to walk around, collecting the people in their group. George watched as Quackity made his way over to them.

"Hey boys! Let me guess: You're Sapnap?" He asked, pointing at him.

"Yep, that's me." He replied easily.

"Sweet. What's new, George?" He asked, turning to him.

"Quackity I just saw you like, twenty minutes ago." George responded with a small smile.  

"Right. Anyway, let's go find Karl and Dream, shall we?" He offered, walking away from the table. George and Sapnap quickly hurried after him.

"Karl? Karl Jacobs? KARL JACOBS WHERE ARE YOU?" Quackity yelled, his hands cupped over his mouth. George looked over at Sapnap and they both started laughing before Sapnap decided to join in.

"KARLLLLL!" They yelled in unison, whipping their heads back and forth to try to find him.

Suddenly a boy walked up behind Sapnap and tapped him on the shoulder.

"I'm Karl!" He said excitedly. He smiled at Sapnap and looked past him to Quackity and George, waving his hand quickly.

"Hi! I'm Sapnap, and that's George." Sapnap said, casually throwing his arm over Karl's shoulders.

"Hi George!"

"Hey Karl." George responded, smiling at him.

"Hola Karlos, I'm Quackity. Now, we gotta find Dream." Quackity butted in, cupping his hands over his mouth once more.

"Oh Dreaaaammmm!" He called out as they weaved through all of the other groups. George looked to his left and he accidentally walked right in to someone in front of him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." George said, a blush present on his face. He backed up as the boy turned around. He towered over George, being at least 6 inches taller. He had tan skin and dirty blond hair that fell messily onto his forehead. He had bright yellow eyes that George assumed were actually green and just looked yellow due to his colorblindness. An array of freckles sprayed across his nose and onto his cheeks. He was pretty skinny, but George could tell he was toned by the faint outline of muscles evident in the sleeves of his thin shirt. Needless to say, he was very attractive.

But he was looking at George like he wanted to kill him.

"Watch where you're going." He said, furrowing his brows.

George stepped back even more, putting a hand up in defense. "I-I'm sorry, it was an accident."

"Whatever." The boy said, rolling his eyes.

"Dude, calm down. He didn't do it on purpose." Sapnap added, moving to stand next to George.

"Aww, is this your boyfriend, puppy?" The boy teased.

"Puppy? Who the fuck is puppy?" Sapnap asked, a disgusted look on his face.

"Your little boyfriend over here is wandering around like a lost puppy. Isn't that right, puppy?" He leaned down a bit so that he could look George in the eyes, tapping him on the nose.

George crossed his arms over his stomach, suddenly feeling self conscious. "Stop being a dick." He said, surprised at his own words. He could hear Karl gasp from behind him as Sapnap let out a laugh.

"You sure you wanna take that route, puppy? You're gonna be seeing a lot of me." He turned to Quackity, sticking out his hand. "Hey, I'm Dream."

AN: hey guysss i was super motivated today so here's another chapter yayay!! this chapter was a bit shorter than i planned for it to be but expect longer ones in the future. ofc i had to add the smallest scrap of karlnap in so ur welcome ☺️ feedback is always welcome! thanks so much for reading and have a great day <33
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