What A Wonderful Nightmare

Toxic Air and Untold Truths

TW: slight abuse

George's POV

The relaxing and refreshing air that George was enjoying moments earlier suddenly changed to an uneasy feeling of coldness despite the hot weather outside. George looked at Clay with a confusing glare, but his yellow eyes were now glued to Sapnap, a strange kind of look behind them. His eyes were seemingly full of regret? No not regret. More like embarrassment mixed with an underlying sense of some other emotion George wasn't quite sure of.

"George, I asked you a damn question!" Sapnap was clearly frustrated over Clay being here. But why?

Sapnap and I are best friends, if something happens he always tells me so what exactly happened that was too big for him to tell me about?

Before speaking, George directs his line of sight to Sapnap. "Um me and him just met in third period and because of the hurricane I was gonna ask you to give him a ride home since I'll obviously be staying with you for at least the night and it wouldn't be any extra driving." George shifted his eyes back to Clay. Clay's hands were deep in his pockets and his posture had gone from one filled with confidence and joy to one supported by nervousness and angst.

"No"

That was abrupt

"No?"

"Fucking NO you have no DAMN clue who this- this- this social REJECT even is!" Sapnap's words got weaker and more fragile as the sentence went on.

"Sapnap stop this is none of George's business!" Clays voice was even more fragile sounding than Sapnap's. It was as if any change of the wind as he spoke those desperate words would have shattered his voice into a million pieces right in front of them.

"No, it is! Clay, you may know me better than I'd like but you don't know him. I won't let you hurt him like you hurt me!"

"Sapnap just tell me what's going on????" George hated yelling, he already had enough of it in his day to day life.

"Sapnap, if you're going to tell him and make me sound like the devil's son can we at LEAST sit in your car? The wind is fucking stinging me" Clay's nervous voice had dissolved into a hopeless one. He clearly had the same realization as George that no matter what, Sapnap was gonna say it. With a silent nod from Sapnap the three boys walked over to the warmed up vehicle. Sapnap hopped into the drivers seat, slamming the car door closed behind him. Clay went to sit in the back seat behind Sapnap. This was a smart choice by him, he wouldn't have to look at Sapnap from there. George went to sit in the front passenger seat. As he grabbed the handle he remembered the event from that morning and climbed into the back with Clay instead. Sapnap rolled his eyes when he noticed the abscence of George in the front seat. Clay didn't show any real reaction to this, but George thought he saw a small tug of the corners of Clay's mouth. He was probably seeing things though.

Sapnap cleared his throat and than turned to George. "You know how we met about halfway through 7th grade?" George nodded in response. He didn't expect the explaining to start so soon. "Well about a month before that is when Clay stopped attending the middle school. When he fucking left me."

Okay so what happened between them happened before I even knew Sapnap. That makes me feel a bit better.

Sapnap continued. " Me and Clay actually grew up in the same neighborhood. Our moms were close and we would hang out like all day everyday when I wasn't at practice. Like you and me now George." Sapnap gave George a half hearted smile as he paused to regain his thoughts. "One day, Clay didn't come to school. He had just gotten a phone so of course I spammed the absolute shit out of him. Since I had known him he had only ever missed school for one week because of....nevermind that part doesn't matter."