Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

TWS FOR THIS CHAPTER: UNDERAGE DRINKING, SWEARING, ALCOHOL, SORT OF TOXIC EX

“are you going to karl’s tonight?” nick asked clay, shoving his books into his locker. clay leaned against his own locker, and looked at nick. 

“i dunno.” he shrugged. “probably.”

nick nodded.

“i heard caitlyn is going.” nick stated. clay shrugged again.

“and?”

“just thought i’d let you know. y’know, in case you don’t want to be at a party with your ex.” nick slammed his locker door shut.

“i’ll be fine, nick.” clay declared.

“yo! clayton!” a voice yelled from behind nick and clay. clay rolled his eyes and turned around to see alex strutting through the hall, arms out, like he was expecting a hug.

“i told you not to call me that.” clay frowned. alex chuckled.

“hey, alex!” nick smiled.

“what’s up?” alex smirked. nick shook his head, referencing that nothing was happening.

“i was about to get food.” clay said.

“oh! can i come? can we get burger king?” alex asked. clay scoffed.

“you can come but we’re not getting burger king. burger king is shit.”

“ what?! no it’s not! you’re fucking weird.”

“hm.”

nick sighed. 

“i gotta get to class then. enjoy skipping!” he threw his bag around his shoulder and started walking to class.

“alright, let’s go.” clay turned and made his way to the exit, alex trailing behind him.

“hey, wait, so are you going to karl’s party?” alex queried.

“why is it so important? nick asked me that too.”

“it’s not, we just, want to know. ” 

“but why?”

alex shrugged in response.

“well, yes, i’m going.” clay pushed open the school doors.

“ok, cool.”

the two slid into clay’s black bmw, and started driving away from the high school.

“so where we going?” alex asked, throwing his feet onto the dashboard.

“not fucking burger king.” clay eyed alex. “and get your feet off.”

alex groaned and removed his legs off the dashboard.

“what about mc-d’s?” he suggested.

“no. we’re getting pizza.” clay claimed. 

“ugh, fine.”

-

karl’s house was big, and filled with people.

nick and clay walked along the grass, to the white double doors of karl’s home.

“listen, clay,” nick started, “please don’t drink too much.”

clay rolled his emerald eyes.

“i won’t.”

nick sighed and turned the door knob, walking into the building.

music blasted from multiple speakers, and bottles and cans of beer were thrown on the floor and onto tables.

people crowded the entire house, and it smelt of weed and cigarettes.

nick and clay went their separate ways when they got inside: clay headed straight for the table with the drinks, and nick went to find karl.

clay picked up a cup, and filled it with tequila all the way to the brim.

he downed it quickly, perhaps within ten seconds. clay poured himself another cup, held it to his lips, but was stopped by a hand placed on his shoulder.

“hey,” a voice soothed, “that’s a lot of tequila.”

clay turned to the body behind him: it was a boy, a short one, several inches shorter than clay. he had dark chocolate hair and mocha eyes that sparkled. one eye had more of a slight shade of blue than the other.

his lips were a rosy pink, holding a bright beam towards clay.

“oh, uh, y-yeah.” clay stammered. the brunet tilted his head, looking up at the blonde.
“are you alright?” the boy had a british accent that was calm, and sweet.

“yeah, i’m fine. just… thirsty. ” clay said.

the boy looked confused.

“so you try to drink two cups of tequila?” he asked. clay could feel his face warm up.

“i-i-i don’t know where the water is.” he spat out. he didn’t know, but because he didn’t look.

the brunet pointed to something behind clay. clay turned to see the water bottles on the table.

“oh.” clay smiled, embarrassed. “right.”

“yeah.”

clay ran finger through his hair and stared down at the boy, who stared right back.

“uh, i’m clay.” clay reached out a hand. the brunet looked at it, but didn’t shake it.

“i know.” he said flatly. clay raised his eyebrows in confusion. the boy seemed to have noticed, because he spoke up again,
“your name is on the back of your sweater.”

clay mouthed an ‘oh’ the flashed a weak smile. 

“what’s yours?” he asked. the boy scratched his neck.

“i’m george.”

“it’s nice to meet you, george. ”

“yeah, you too.” george lips twinkled, before turning and walking away.

clay couldn’t help but watch george walk away, and the stride he displayed as he did.

“who was that?” another voice asked. this voice sounded, sassy, and slightly annoyed. it was the familiar voice of caitlyn scott, clay’s ex.

caitlyn’s cinnamon hair waved around as she walked closer to clay, her blue eyes reflecting a somehow jealous look.

“does it concern you?” clay asked. 

“it does.” caitlyn said in a baby voice. “i want my wittle clay-boo to have the best!”

“you do know we aren’t together anymore, right” clay growled. caitlyn moved closer to clay, pushing her body against his.

“oh come on, clay. i know you miss this.” she breathed. clay sighed and looked down into caitlyn’s eyes.

“i know you miss… me. ”

-

it happened so quick clay wasn’t sure what happened. but what he did know was that he was hungover, in a bedroom, at ten in the morning, with caitlyn asleep by him.

“shit.” he muttered to himself. 

Chapter Text

tw warnings!: drinking, swearing, sexual themes

“shit.” he muttered to himself.

clay jerked his head to the door, which started creaking open.

in walked karl, but he jumped back when he saw what he saw.

“clay?! what the fuck?!” he yelled.

“i-i-i don’t know what happened!” clay stammered.

“why are you in my bed?” 

“i-”

“shit! you fucked someone in my bed?!” karl ran his hand through his light brown hair.

“i’m sorry! i was drunk, and i lost it!”

“well who did you bring up here?” karl walked to the end of the bed and looked at the girl under the blankets.

a frown formed onto karl’s face.

“caitlyn? fucking caitlyn, clay?” karl sighed. “you know she’s dating someone?”

clay’s eyes opened as much as they could.

“she’s what? who?!”

“mark!” 

“she’s dating mark? shit! why didn’t she tell me? mark could kill me in a second!” clay groaned. 

“well, maybe you shouldn’t have done it with her. in my fucking bed, clayton.”

“i’m sorry, karl!”

“should i call nick to pick you up or something? he was worried about you last night.”

“why was he worried?”

there were a few moments of silence.

“oh, i don’t know clay, maybe because you disappeared from the party and weren’t seen again?” karl growled sarcastically. “i mean, you couldn’t go thirty goddamn minutes without bringing someone upstairs?”

clay laid back down.

“please, get up and go.” karl demanded.

“can you, um, get out please? ”

“why?”

clay stared at karl before it finally was clear to him.

“oh…” he said, dragging it out. he nodded and left the room. 

-

clay sulked into the school, dragging himself to his locker. nick and alex were already there, talking to each other.

they immediately stopped when they saw clay.

“clay!” nick yelled. he stomped over to him. “what the hell happened? where did you go? we were so worried! you completely disappeared, you could of-”

“nick.” clay interrupted. “i’m fine.”

“ok, well care to tell us where you went?” nick growled. clay stiffened.

“upstairs.” he mumbled. both nick and alex raised their eyebrows.

alex let out a scoff mixed with a laugh.

“with who?!” he asked.

clay remained quiet.

“with who, clay? you always tell us!” nick pointed out. 

“c’mon! we wanna know!” alex nodded. he pulled out what looked like a warhead and popped it into his mouth.

still no answer.

“bro, are you ok?” nick frowned. clay looked up at him slightly and sighed.

“caitlyn.” he muttered.

the silence was very, very loud.

“what about cate?” alex asked, confused. however nick very much understood, and the amount of disappointment reflecting off his face was immeasurable. 

“caitlyn?” nick repeated. “clay, i told you not to drink so much.”

“wait, wait. you slept with caitlyn? your ex?” alex asked. clay nodded.

“s-she made me drink more, and then george wasn’t there to stop me, a-and i k-”

“who’s george?” nick blurted.

“there’s a george in my biology class.” alex suggested. 

“i met him at the party, h-he had brown hair and brown eyes, he was short, and he…” clay trailed off.  

“is he a brit? cause if he is then that’s the george i know.” alex said. clay looked at him and nodded repeatedly. 

“and he stopped you from drinking?” nick frowned. clay nodded again.

it was almost as if george could hear them, because soon he walked out from a classroom, and was met with clay’s eyes.

“uh, clay?” he tilted his head.

“what the fuck…” alex muttered to nick. “awfully weird timing.”

“hi, george.” clay smiled. “i-how are you?”  

“fine. how much did you drink last night? you look really…tired.” george asked.

alex stiffened a laugh.

“mom, is that you?” he whispered to nick again. nick shoved his arm. george eyed them before looking back to clay.

“i, uh, i-”
“enough to make him sleep with his ex.” alex blurted out. nick, clay, and george turned to him.

“what the hell, alex?” clay barked. 

“seriously?” nick frowned.

“oh…” george whispered. clay looked at george with embarrassment. 

“well, i’ll see you in bio, alex. bye guys.” george walked away.

-

a few weeks went by, and clay had done his best to avoid caitlyn and george. that was until, he was invited to another party.

karl had gotten over clay sleeping in his bed, and nick and alex were fine with what happened between clay and cate, as long as it didn’t happen again.

“clay, i’m serious this time. please, please don’t drink so much. maybe just one beer?” nick begged. 

“one beer.” clay agreed. they stepped inside the house and went separate ways once again. 

“hey, clay!” a voice yelled. clay turned to see karl squeezing through the crowded living room, making his way to clay.

“hi, karl.” clay waved slightly.

“we’re gonna play truth or dare, wanna come?”

clay hesitated for a second.

“yeah, sure.” he nodded.

Chapter Text

TWS FOR THIS CHAPTER: SWEARING, UNDERAGE DRINKING, DRINKING, SEXUAL THEMES, SLIGHT SEXUAL ASSAULT, WITHOUT CONSENT

“yeah, sure.” he nodded. he snatched a bottle of beer from the table and took a sip.

karl smiled. 

“great! follow me!” karl started squeezing back into the crowd, clay behind him.

“so, who’s playing?” clay asked. 

“uh, me, you, nick, alex, amber, niki, wilbur, hannah, and george.”

clay froze inside.

“george?”

“yeah, why?”

“uh, no reason.”

they finally reached the loft upstairs, where the others were sitting in a circle.

“jesus, this looks like some sort of ritual.” clay said as he sat down by hannah, a kind brunet; and nick. he took another swig of his drink.

his eyes made contact with george’s, who was over by amber and alex. 

“ok.” karl started. “who’s first?”

“can i go?” alex asked. karl nodded, smiling. 

alex started rubbing his hands together, looking around the circle.

“um, wilbur!” he pointed to the dark haired british boy with glasses. “truth or dare?”

wilbur sat straight up.

“uh…truth.”

a few people playing gave out ‘boos’ but wilbur ignored them.

“alright, if you could date anyone here, who would it be?” alex asked. wilbur made eye contact with the pink-haired, blue eyed girl across from him.

“niki.” he said, raising a finger at the girl. 

the circle burst into ‘oh’s!’ and ‘ooh’s!’, while niki turned a bright shade of pink.

“ok, ok, now wilbur, you choose.” alex instructed. wilbur nodded and looked at karl.

“karl,” he said, dragging out the ‘l’, “truth or dare?”

“dare.” karl laughed. 

“i dare you to tell a random person that they’re hot.”

“oh, please, that’s easy-”

“then kiss them.”

the others started laughing like maniacs while karl sat in silence.

“fine.” he looked around for people, and settled eyes on a pretty blonde over by the snacks. 

“ooh, a foodie?” nick cooed. karl rolled his eyes and strut over to the girl. the circle watched as karl spoke, and the girl smiled.

they erupted in cheers as karl threw himself onto the blonde.

“wow, intense.” amber giggled.

“yeah.” clay agreed. karl walked back over and plopped down onto the rug.

“my turn, bitches.” he teased. he eyed amber, then niki, then alex, then he stared at clay for an awfully long time.

he opened his mouth and--

“george! truth or dare?” karl smirked devilishly, tossing his eyes to george. 

“um, dare, i guess?” george sputtered.

“good choice.” karl started, “i dare you to play seven minutes in heaven with clay.”

george went red, and clay widened his eyes.

“oh shit!” alex laughed, as karl’s grin grew.

george stood up and looked at clay.

“fuck this.” he said, making his way to the closet. clay jumped up and walked over after him.

they walked into the closet together, shut and locked the door.

“now what?” clay asked quietly.

“we wait.” george murmured. clay frowned.

“oh, c’mon, georgie. that’s not how this game works.” he purred.

“we’re not playing the game.”

“but we were dared. we have to!”

“we don’t have to do shit. ”

clay scoffed, annoyed.

“but george,” he begged, “we’re supposed to make out.”

george looked at him with a look that said ‘shut the hell up before i shut you up.’ 

“i’m not making out with you. i hardly even know you.” george breathed. “i stopped you from drinking another whole ass cup of tequila, and that’s it. that doesn’t fucking mean that we should make out.” he snapped.

“i’m-”

“and you’re acting like this is normal. for me to just start kissing you. it’s not!” george tried to push himself away.

the closet was tremendously small, which left clay and george’s bodies touching.

but clay could hardly help himself. all he wanted right now was to kiss george.

so he did.

he pushed himself onto george, their mouths crashing together. 

it was soft, and sweet. it felt like it lasted only about ten seconds, because george broke himself away with a loud gasp.

“get off of me!” he yelled. clay backed up quickly, colliding with the wall.

the closet door was swung open by nick, who was standing there, shook, along with karl and alex.

“how did you unlock the door?” clay asked, his breath shaky.

“oh, it, uh, doesn’t actually lock.” karl chuckled sheepishly .

“that’s not fucking important.” nick barked. “what happened?”

neither george or clay said a word.

“are we really doing this again?” nick asked.

“i-i-i-”

“clay fell, on my…arm, and it hurt, and i overreacted.” george lied. 

clay looked at george, confused inside.

why would he lie about what happened?

“right, yeah.” clay nodded. 

“how long were we in there for?” george asked.

“way over seven minutes.” alex smirked. 

“what?” george frowned.

how long were we kissing for then?

“huh.” clay mumbled.

“i think we’re done with truth or dare then, for tonight.” karl suggested.

“yep.” alex agreed.

“i’m gonna go get something to drink.” clay said. nick shot him a look.
“like juice, or soda.” clay added. 

“yeah, i’m gonna go with him.” george noted.

clay and george walked into the kitchen, but clay was stopped when george grabbed his green hoodie.

“what the fuck was that, clay?!” he barked, trying to keep his tone low. “i told you multiple fucking times that we were not going to kiss, and then you fuckin’ kiss me!”

“how long was it?” clay asked.

“ what? ”

“how long were we kissing for?”

“i don’t fucking know!” george pulled him into the bathroom by the kitchen, and locked the door, hoping it would actually lock.

“i don’t want to be with you, clay.” george clarified. 

“yeah, neither do i.” clay shrugged.

“so why the fuck did you try to make out with me?!”

“because it was a dare! and you let me once it happened!” clay yapped. george scoffed and rubbed his neck.

“you are so ridiculous, clay. you know that? you can’t take a simple no for an answer-no, instead, you just have to do it, then wait for me to force you the fuck off of me!” george yelled. “y-you know what that is, clay? do you know what the fuck you did?”

clay didn’t respond. he just looked down at the brunet.

“fucking assault! you kissed me without my consent!” george pointed at clay, poking his chest with his index finger. “i get that you’re some popular jock that all the girls obsess over, but i’m not one of those girls, clay. because i know you. ” he inhaled. “even if we were together, i would just be some stupid sidepiece to you.”

clay had no idea what was even happening. george was saying things all over the place: first he was saying that he didn’t want clay, then he was saying what would happen if they were dating.

“some sidepiece to fuck when your girlfriend doesn’t know.” he added angrily.

huh? what does that even mean? clay thought.

“are you gonna fucking say something, or is it just me talking?” george roared. 

“well what do you want me to say, george? do you want me to agree with you or argue with you?” clay asked.

honestly, what the hell does he want?

george shook his head in disbelief.

“oh my god, nick was right.” george muttered.

what? what did he mean nick was right?

“you’re such a bitch.” george said as he turned and unlocked the door, walking out. 

Chapter Text

“you’re such a bitch.” george said as he turned and unlocked the door, walking out. 

clay stormed out right after, but instead of following george, he was stomping around the house, looking for nick.

what did he say? what did he tell george?

clay’s thoughts were racing as he scanned for the familiar face.

and there nick was, on a couch, talking with karl.

clay felt anger for some odd reason. he had no idea what nick had said, but he was mad. he wanted to yell at nick, but despite all that, he caught nick’s attention with a smooth, calm…

“can we talk?” 

nick looked up at clay and frowned.

“yeah, what’s up?” he asked, remaining seated. clay eyed karl, who was staring at him.

“in private?” clay adjusted. 

“o-oh, sorry, i’ll go.” karl smiled weakly. he jumped off of the couch and rushed off.

“what?” nick patted the seat next to him, gesturing for clay to sit. clay flopped down and looked at nick.

“did you…tell george anything about me?” clay asked, frowning.

nick’s eyes lit up, as if he had seen a ghost. 

“w-what do you mean?” 

“did you say anything about me? like that i was bad for george? or that i was toxic?” anger rose in clay’s voice, and it only got louder.

“n-no! why would you ask tha-at?” nick stuttered. clay had been friends with nick long enough that he knew nick stuttered when he was lying.

“ right. that would explain why george said ‘nick was right’.” clay growled. 

“clay, i-”

“what did you tell him, nick?!” clay barked. nick eyebrows bunched.

“i just warned him a-about you, clay, it’s not like i told him not to date you, i-” nick sped up his answer, because he wanted to finish it before clay interrupted him.

“what did you tell him, then?”

“i-i told him not to…get too attached.” nick muttered.

“and why is that?”

“because, clay. everyone here knows you. they know what type of person you are.”

“what does that mean?”

“you go into a bedroom with one girl, but next thing i know, you’re leaving the whole party with another. i just-” nick took a deep breath, “george is a good guy, and maybe you’re not the best for him. i don’t want you to break his heart, clay.” he explained.

clay was speechless. instead, the only thing talking was his mind. and it was mad.

what the fuck? why would he tell him that?

“look, man. i’m just looking out for you and george.” nick added. clay frowned and stood up. he stared at nick for a while as his fists clenched.

“fuck you.” he said. before any of them knew, clay’s fist was on nick’s face, leaving a big, purple bruise.

“what the fuck, clay?!” nick shouted, grasping his cheek. nick stood up as well. he was shorter than clay, but not by much.

“i was just trying to protect you, clay!” he yapped.

“by choosing who i fucking date?!” clay swung his fist again, but nick had dodged it, and this time, his fist was pushing clay’s face back.

the whole school knew clay, he was the quarterback for his highschool team. he was a jock, could it be more obvious? he was big, strong, and had anger issues. what else could i say?

“bitch!”

clay had jumped onto nick, causing him to fall on the floor. nick was holding down his legs, while punching nick’s already bruised face.

“hey! hey, stop!” wilbur’s familiar voice yelled. the whole party was already watching.

“oh, fuck!” clay heard karl and alex yelp at the same time.

wilbur’s hands were thrown around clay’s arms, attempting to pull clay away from nick.

luckily, clay gave in. but so did nick. he had stopped fighting already, and he seemed unconscious. 

“shit!” karl boomed as he ran to nick, throwing himself by the knocked out body. “someone call 911!” he added.

there was chatter from the guests before the sound of the dialing tone was projected from someone's phone.

clay watched karl as he tried to wake nick up. he was out of breath, his hair was ruffled, and blood was dripping from his knuckles and lips. everything around him seemed to slow down as he watched.

shit. he whispered in his head. did i do that…? to my best friend?

there was a loud voice in his head that sounded like it was responding,

“yes. yes you did. what a horrible friend.”

i’m not a horrible friend!

“you could of killed him if they hadn’t stopped you. what kind of friend kills their best friend?”

it stopped. the voice in his head. now there were just echoes of yelps, and the loud blaring of what sounded like sirens from down the street.

shit. now were all gonna get fucking arrested. he thought.

-

luckily, he didn’t. but his life was now somehow worse than getting arrested. 

half the school was at the party, which meant half the school saw clay beat up his best friend.

he now got dirty looks from people he passed in the school hallways. especially from nick.

clay had got kicked off the football team for-

“safety reasons, clay. safety reasons.” coach k told him.

he had tried to talk to nick, but the closest he got was the eyeroll from nick when clay arrived at his locker. 

it sucked.

clay walked slowly through the main hall, trying to hide his face from the judgy glares he was receiving. he slumped to his locker, and there, was alex. he was alone, waiting by the locker, as if he was waiting for someone.

“alex” clay slurred as they made eye contact.

“hey, clay.” alex said in a low tone.

“how-uh, how’s nick?”

“he’s better.”

“does he still hate me?”

“no, but, clay, you…you beat him up. i don’t know why, but it must of been something bad if you beat up your best friend.” alex sighed.

“why are you here?”

“i-i wanted to ask…about george.”

“what did you want to ask?” clay bunched up his eyebrows.

“what happened in the closet?”

clay took a deep breath.

“what do you mean? we told you what happen-”

“no, clay. what really happened? every single person in the world could tell that you two were lying.”

“alex, i-”

“please.”

clay took another deep breath, but this one was long and slow.

“he-he didn’t want me to kiss him, but being the dickhead i am, i fucking kissed him, and now he’s saying i assaulted him.”

“ shit. ” alex muttered.

“yeah, shit.” clay sighed. “have you seen or talked to him at all since the party?”

“yeah, we talked the other day.” alex nodded.

“does he hate me too?” clay scoffed under his breath. alex tilted his head and looked at clay with a look of pity.

clay hated being pitied. 

“they don’t hate you, clay. maybe they just need a minute. i know nick will come crawling back to you.” alex smiled weakly.

“how do you know that?”

“ because, clay. you’re his best friend, and he loves you more than anything.” alex placed his warm hand on clay’s shoulder. “trust me, clay.” he flashed one last soft smile before nodding slightly, and leaving to class.

Chapter Text

TW: SWEARING, DRINKING, UNDERAGE DRINKING, ALCOHOL

 he flashed one last soft smile before nodding slightly, and leaving to class.

-

god. george really was all over the place. he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about that party. and that kiss.

george distinctly remembered every detail about it.

the way clay smelt like vanilla, and a strong cologne. the way his mouth tasted like bubblegum mixed with a light taste of alcohol.

he remembered how his lips felt like marshmallows against his own. but what he remembered the most was how good it was.

“george? geooorrggee?” a muffled voice repeated. george was pulled out of his imagination and back to reality by niki, who was sitting by him, snapping to get his lost attention.

“hey, you alright?” she asked softly. 

“yeah.” george muttered. he took in his surroundings. before remembering what brought his attention to the kiss he shared with clay.

karl and the ‘dare’ girl were making out in a corner of the house, as music blared throughout. george recognized the song playing as the one that played during the kiss.

do i wanna know,

if this feeling flows both ways?

sad to see you go,

was sort of hoping that you’d stay…

  they were at another party, but it wasn’t a crazy one like last time.

it was only about ten people, in which they called it more of a gathering, type of thing.

“i’m gonna get a drink. want anything?” niki then queried, standing up. george beamed and shook his head, declining the offer.

niki skipped away, into the kitchen, leaving george in his thoughts.

what if i hadn’t told him to stop?

george frowned at his own mind.

what would have happened then? 

george’s eyes darted to the blonde figure that had pushed the living room door. he had deep blue eyes, which were probably contacts, and his hair was perked up at the tip, and faded blue mixed with a dirty blonde shade. a headband with abstract art on it covered the top of his forehead, surrounding his head. he eyed george, flashing a smile. 

“yo, alex!” he boomed. his cracky voice echoed throughout the house. george had to admit, he was attractive.

alex poked his head from another room, but his eyes lit up when he saw the boy.

“richard!” he yelled, grinning from ear to ear. “how are you, man?” he asked, grabbing the boy’s hand then leaning in for a hug. the two patted each other’s back before pulling away.

“i’m good, i’m good. college sucks ass though.” the boy, who george assumed was richard, sighed.

“oh, yes. college.” alex nodded. richard glanced at george again.

“what about you? how’s life been going?” he asked, turning back to alex.

“oh, it’s alright.” alex scooped a bottle of beer up into his palm and handed it to richard. richard walked into the living room, and got closer to george.

“hey.” he gave george a nod, then took a sip of his beer. george lifted a hand to wave and then looked away. 

niki had trotted back into the living room with a can of pepsi in her hand. he flopped back onto the couch and sighed.

“oh,” she said, looking at richard, “rich is here.” niki sounded a bit disappointed.

“what?” george frowned as niki scrunched up her face while richard walked by.

niki turned back to george and shook her head, before pulling out her phone and bringing her attention to it.

george retreated from his seat and made his way to the kitchen.

he pulled open the fridge door and scanned for anything he could eat.

“hungry?” a voice behind him asked. george turned, and of course, there richard was, grinning.

“yeah.” george chuckled. richard nodded, understanding.

“do you want pizza?” he pulled his phone from his back pocket.

“pizza sounds good.” george agreed. 

“great!” richard faced the living room. “we’re getting pizza!” he yelled.

an “ok!” that seemed like it was from karl was heard from across the house. richard looked back at his phone, and started tapping the screen.

“so,” richard started, not taking his eyes of the screen, “how old are you?”

george looked at him.

odd question.

“seventeen.” george answered. richard displayed a nod, eyes still glued to the small screen.

“are you into girls or guys?” he then asked.

what type of questions are these?

george thought for a moment.

shit. shit. shit.

wait.

what do i say?

“girls.” george spat out. richard finally looked up, a small amount of chagrin reflecting of his face.

“oh.” he breathed. he inhaled the cold air around him. “ alright well , i ordered two pepperoni, and two cheese. it’ll be here in around thirty minutes.” richard explained. he smiled again at george for a second, then hiking back over into the living toom.

george hardly was even paying attention to what richard said about the pizzas. he was still wondering why he said he was into girls.

why did i say that? fuck. what if he goes and tells everyone? what if then everyone thinks i’m straight then i never get a get a boyfriend then-

george’s thought train was thrown off the railroad when another train crashed into it…

  would clay ever be my boyfriend?

george frowned.

wait, what? i’m not even into him! god, george, get it together. 

george shook himself out of his thoughts and turned back to the fridge.

“where the fuck is the tequila?” he asked himself.

-

shit. there he is. there was clay’s chance. clay’s chance to apologize, and clay’s chance to get his best friend back. he was standing right there, less than twenty feet away. right there.

c’mon clay!

he’s alone, the perfect chance for clay to talk with him.

just go!

clay inhaled a long, deep, steady breath and launched a foot forward. another foot, then one foot after the other,

jesus fuck, clay, are you learning to walk again or are you gonna talk to nick?

clay thought. he finally brought himself to nick, gathering his attention.

nick released a face that was soaked in annoyance. he didn’t say a word, he just stood there, and stared at clay.

clay noticed the dark purple bruises on nick’s nose, and under his eye. 

“nick, can we talk?” he stammered.

nick crinkled his beat-up nose and chugged whatever was in his red solo cup. he crunched up the cup in his fists and tossed it onto the white rug.

“about what?” nick asked, frowning, and tilting his head.

“about…” nick raised a finger to his waist, pointing at the bruises. “that.”

nick sniffled.

“about you beating me up?” he scoffed. “i’ll pass, thanks. ” he began to walk away. clay frowned at pulled on his hood, causing him to be jerked back, and spun around to face clay.

clay didn’t remove his hand.

“let go of me, clay.”

“are you gonna listen to what i have to say?”

“let go!”

“just listen then!”

“fine, then fucking talk!”

clay scrunched his nose.

oh, fuck!

he wanted nick’s attention so much, that he forgot to think of something to say.

shit!

“clay?”

silence sat between them as clay thought.

he wanted to attempt a ‘sorry’ then explain what he was sorry for-but it sounded too much like he was a little kid apologizing to their mother.

nick pulled away from clay’s grasp and scoffed.

“ ass. ” he muttered as he moved away.

clay wondered if he meant these things-sure, it was obvious nick was angry, but did he really mean what he said?

“i need some tequila right now.” he muttered, stomping to the kitchen.

Chapter Text

“i need some tequila right now.” he muttered, stomping to the kitchen.

he was pulled to a halt by the brunet, digging through the fridge.

clay couldn’t see his face, only his back.

“can you move?” he demanded, crossing his arms. the brunet turned around, to be faced with clay’s sphene colored eyes.

the brunet’s eyes widened, as did clay’s. 

“george!” clay spat. “sorry, i didn’t know that was you.”

“it’s fine.” george murmured. clay had hardly noticed the bottle of tequila squeezed into george’s palms. he eyed it and frowned.

“you gonna share that?” clay pointed to the bottle. george looked down at it. he popped the top off and began chugging it as if it was a challenge.

and he said i had too much tequila. clay thought.

when george pulled the bottle from his pink lips, he was heavily breathing, gasping for air. for some strange reason, clay found it attractive.

he shoved the empty tequila bottle into clay’s stomach, sending him back a step.

“george, i’m sorry about the other night.” clay started, grasping the bottle. “i wasn’t thinking straight, and i-”

“it’s fine.” george repeated. clay tilted his head with empathy.

“can we start over?” he asked softly. george nodded and stood up straight.

clay placed the bottle on the counter and reached out his hand for george to shake.

“i’m clay.” he greeted, beaming. george forced a smile onto his face and shook clay’s hand.

“i’m george. it’s nice to meet you.” he pulled his hand away and shoved it into his sweater pocket.

george knew he wouldn’t be able to forget what happened, and clay knew he wouldn’t be able to either, but they were going to start over.

clean.

“pizza’s here!” a voice yelled. the two turned to see richard, standing in the center of the living room.

“richard?” clay raised his eyebrows.

“oh, hey clay!” richard grinned. he waved slightly.

“you know him?” george asked.

“yeah. do you?”

“kind of.” george shrugged. “he asked me a few questions and that’s it.”

“what type of question?” clay queried. george looked at him.

shit. he thought.

“i don’t know, he asked me i wanted pizza, and how old i was.” george shifted uncomfortably. clay nodded. 

“oh. alright.” he said. “did h-”

“hey, guys!” alex interrupted. he threw his arms around both george and clay’s shoulders. “what’s up?”

“nothing.” george muttered. he pulled himself from alex’s grip. “i gotta go. my parents are probably wondering where i am.” he explained. clay removed alex’s hand.

“it’s pretty late, i can drive you if you want.” clay offered. george nodded.

“yeah, that’d be nice.” he said. clay flashed a smile at alex before they started walking to the door, and to clay’s car.

george slid into the passenger seat.

“where do you live?” clay asked, slipping into his seat.

“ what? i’m not telling you that.” george slurred.

right. clay remembered. he drank a whole bottle of tequila.

“you’re drunk.” clay sighed. george shrugged.

“and? weren’t you when you tried to fuck me in a closet?” george frowned. clay scoffed.

oh my god.

“one, i didn’t try to fuck you in a closet and-”

“course you didn’t.” george interrupted sarcastically.

clay ignored his comment and continued,

“ and two, i wasn’t drunk. i had one beer.” he added. george nodded.

“oh ok, so you’re just a bad listener, or…?”

“george, i thought we were starting over.” clay pointed out. george shook his head. 

“how do you expect us to start over?”

“well what were you expecting when you said yes?”

“i don’t know!”

“oh my god, george.” clay groaned. he threw his head onto the steering wheel and sighed. “george. tell me where you live so i can take you home. please.”

george mumbled something under his breath before finally telling clay.

george’s home wasn’t exactly the nicest place in orlando. there were dead plants everywhere, and mold and moss was growing on the side. the walls on the outside looked like popcorn ceilings. the door’s wood was chipped and peeled off. 

clay inhaled as he looked at the house. 

“we’re here.” he said.

“yeah.” george said unbuckling his seatbelt. “i can see that.” 

clay sighed.

“george, wait.” he breathed. george turned away from the door and looked at him.

“hm?”

“i really want us to start over. i want to put the closet, and the bathroom behind us.” clay explained. george stiffened slightly before nodding.

“ok.” he whispered. “goodnight clay.” he opened the passenger door and got out. he closed it and began walking across the yard and to his door. 

clay watched as he opened the front door and walked in.

-

george slid inside, trying his best to keep quiet. he closed the door slowly and turned, only to be stopped by the man standing by the stairs, gawking at him.

“do you have any idea what time it is?” he growled. 

“i-”

“you could of woken up your mother!”

george frowned.

“mom’s dead.” he said sourly.

“don’t you ever say that again!” the man boomed.

george fell back a step, startled. the man stomped over to him, grabbing the collar of his shirt.

“where the fuck were you, boy?” he asked.

boy.

“i was at a friend’s.” george murmured. 

“which friend, exactly?” the man scowled

“a-alex’s.”

“i told you not hang out with him!”

why? george raised his eyebrows.

“why? he-”

george was stopped by the cold fist pressed to his cheek.

“who drove you home?” the man barked.

“no one!”

another punch.

“don’t lie to me, boy! i saw the fancy car outside! who drove you the fuck home?!”

george’s eyes swelled, tears dripping down to his neck.

“my friend. clay.” he mumbled.

“the one that kissed you?!” the man yapped.

george froze. he didn’t tell his dad about that. how the fuck did he know?

“how did you-”

more punches.

“oh you thought i wouldn’t find out? i bet you thought you could be into boys and get away with it!” he drew his fist into george’s stomach this time.

george winced in pain. he collapsed onto the floor, gaining a clump of spit from his father figure.

“gay bitch.” he kicked george before walking away.

Chapter Text

IM SO SORRYYYYYYYYYYY
I know i said i would be back super soon but guyssss im stuck and i cant think of anything!!
so i am depressed to say...but the story is on hold until further notice.

dont hate me guys i dont want it to be on pause but im not motivated to write this story until i think of anything.
bye bye for now..

-the sorry bitch, l