Comfort in Silence // dnf

Stay

George was sat with his legs crossed in his own bed. Clay was in the shower and Nick was down in the lobby of the hotel, taking advantage of the free breakfast provided. 

George had his passport in his hand and he was running a finger over the cover. He stared at it, thinking that if he tried hard enough he could will the cursed thing to disappear. 

He didn't want to leave, he wanted to stay. He didn't feel right leaving for his home, because he felt at home here, with his friends. He flipped through the little book, examining the pages, thinking about how things would be different if the fire had actually eaten it up. 

Would he be able to destroy it and wiggle his way into staying in Florida, with Clay. His mom would be worried, and eventually he would have a replacement so this plan would be a temporary solution. 

The thousands of miles that would separate them come tomorrow terrified him. 

But he still had calls with Clay and Nick. It wasn't like he would immediately stop talking to them when the distance separated them. But he knew that it would still be different. Seeing Clay in person filled that empty feeling he got when the other wouldn't vocalize his thoughts, that personal feeling he got when they were looking at each other face to face. 

George startled when he heard the pipes turn off and the water from the shower no longer sounded. He had a few minutes before Clay would be out in the room but never the less he still frantically shoved his passport into the front pocket of his backpack. 

He let out a sigh, releasing all the pent up stress and frustration so that he would seem normal. He even went so far as to pull out his phone, and seem like he was occupied when Clay walked out of the bathroom. 

And when he did, he was violently shaking his head with a towel, getting rid of the excess moisture. His dirty blonde hair was colored brown and it was clumped together from the water. He used his hands to fix it to his liking, and figured he could run a brush through it later. 

Clays eyes quickly drifted over to George for a split second, but he quickly diverted them when George seemed disengaged from the room. 

He had on one of his hoodies, and a pair of jeans, like that first day, before Clay recommended otherwise. Clay himself was dressed in his own pair of jeans, but had a white t-shirt instead of a hoodie. He grabbed his phone from the charger and plopped onto his bed, laying on his side while scrolling through the different social medias. 

They sat like that, on their phones, in silence. Clay contemplated texting George but he figured that his friend didn't want to talk since he hadn't already initiated a conversation. Which was weird to Clay because George liked to talk, even if he only got a text in response.

Clay looked just past his phone, seeing George holding his phone in his lap. He could just make out the stressed look on his face.

He sat up which got Georges attention, who clicked off his phone when he saw the look on Clays face. Georges eyes trained on him as he waited with a curious look. 

* You okay *

Clay signed, 

George had taken the time to learn at least some of the basics last night and he already knew some signs, so at least he could partially understand his friend. 

"What do you mean Dream? I'm alright." George said, looking at the questioning look on his friends face. Clay shook his head looking back.

* No you look sad *

It took George a moment to decipher the phrase but he understood eventually and he shook his head in response. 

"Dream, trust me, I'm alright. You don't need to worry about me." George reassured, but Clay was able to call his  bullshit. He decided to take this to the phone so that the conversation would move faster. He quickly turned around and picked his phone off of the comforters and unlocked it to start.