𝘾𝙄𝙉𝙉𝘼𝙈𝙊𝙉 𝙎𝙏𝙄𝘾𝙆𝙎 , dreamwastaken

xvi.

CLAY DROPPED NICK AND george off at his house, leaving him and jade to go to hers. this was the first time there had really ever been awkward air between the two, making jade's stomach hurt. she stayed silent throughout the ride, going back and forth between texting nick and going through instagram stories.

nick

when are you guys gonna be home

me and george can make dinner or order a pizza idc

jade

idk

also idc either

just don't make a mess

nick

i'll try my hardest

when they got to jade's house, clay did his normal loop around to open her door. this eased some of the anxiety she had in her stomach. the two walked up in silence, only talking when clay asked for her key.

they got inside, and clay sat down on her couch, jade going into her room to see cinnamon. on the days he wasn't with them, she would stop by to cuddle him and feed him before going back. he followed her back into the living room, jumping up onto clay's lap at the sight of him.

"hi buddy," he said to him, scratching lightly behind his ears. "i told you, he loves me," jade laughed at him, turning on the tv and sitting down on the couch a little bit away from him. clay scooted closer to her, giving her a look. "is everything okay?" jade nodded, looking down at her lap.

"i'm fine, its just," she stopped, looking up at clay, who had a concerned look on his face. "what's up with george?" clay furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the tv and then back to her.

"i don't know, why do you ask?"

"him and nick were having an argument this morning and george was weird all day. he was barely talking to me," clay sighed, leaning back into the couch.

"do you want me to ask nick?" he asked her. she thought for a moment before nodding her head. "okay, i'll text him. is that all?"

"yeah. i'm sorry if i'm overreacting but he normally makes the effort to talk to me outside of just the group and stuff and he barely did today," clay squinted his eyes, moving them from her to the floor.

"yeah. that's weird."

//

clay texted nick the second they got home, even though he was sitting across the room from him. they were all in the living room watching tv, jade and nick on one couch, clay sitting on the loveseat, and george in a chair. the two of them texted back in forth for awhile, before clay silently got up and moved into his bedroom. jade looked over to nick, who had a guilty expression written across his face. "i'll be right back," he muttered, and followed the taller boy into his room.

jade was worried about what had happened, but figured it was something between them. the same feeling of anxiety was in her stomach, making her look more pale than usual. she stared at the tv in front of her, not listening to anything that was happening.

"jade?" george said loudly, snapping her out of her head. "are you okay?" she nodded her head slowly, taking a shaky breath.

"yeah, i'm just tired," she told him, giving him a light smile.

"okay, do you wanna watch something else?" he asked her, cocking his head. she nodded, and he tossed her the remote. he hit her in the chest and she laughed, giving him a fake angry look. "shit, i'm sorry,"

"shut up it's fine,"

"okay, i'm gonna go change, i'll be right back," jade nodded and scrolled through netflix. when george walked out of the guest bedroom, nick left clays room as well. he didn't acknowledge george as he came and sat back down next to jade, smiling and spreading his legs on top of her. he had the same look on his face as before, jade giving him the same look back.

"are you and clay okay?" she asked him, moving her hands down onto his legs. he nodded, and finally looked over to george. he also had a suspicious look on his face, and that made jade's anxiety skyrocket. nick then sat up, putting both his hands on jades shoulders.

"everything's fine, i'll tell you later okay?" he told her and she nodded.

"okay, i'm gonna go lay down. night guys," she told them both, giving them a wave. she walked quickly into clay's room, seeing him laying down. "are you awake?" he rolled over at the sound of her voice, giving her a tense smile. she walked over and layed next to him in bed.

"i'm sorry," he told her, grabbing her hand.

"for what?"

"being weird, i'm sorry for being a dick and leaving you earlier,"

"it's fine. what happened though?" jade asked. clay was silent for a second, thinking.

"i think that's for nick to tell you, it's nothing bad, it's all good,"

"promise?"

"promise."