laminated lavenders | dreamnotfound

2

2 - red string of fate

~

it was quiet, george stared outside his window - admiring the clear sky and listening to the chirping of the birds. it was a nice day today, and it was amplified when the aroma from the bakery down the street wafted through the air towards george's nose - the smell of sunflowers and pastries filling his senses, a small smile settled itself on george's face. the morning was calm, almost too calm.

"gEORGE!" the said boy heard his blond friend, and he looked down his window to see the boy waving his arms around, with a bright smile etched onto his face. ah, yes, the day was indeed too calm - because clay hasn't ruined it with his loud voice. don't misinterpret, clay can't ruin george's day even if he tried, but he did ruin the silence and the serenity.

"clay! stop being so loud!" george scolded, but let's be honest - he wasn't mad at clay, only reprimanding him lightly, "wait for me, i'll meet you there downstairs."

george walked down the stairs and opened the front door, "hi george." clay greeted sheepishly, and george took a step back when his friend moved closer.

"hello, clay." george smiled, even if clay was loud, george did adore his best friend. "what's up? why are you yelling so early in the morning?" the brit asked.

"well, i was just bored and wanted to hang out." clay responded, leaning against the brit's door frame awkwardly. george raised an eyebrow, urging clay to continue.

"sure! do you have a place in mind?" george asked, and clay nodded with a smile. the latter for sure exuded golden retriever energy and george would never change that about him.

"yeah! i found this place, it's a surprise by the way! so don't bother asking." clay said, teasing george lightly - he hated secrets and clay always used it to his advantage, often hiding surprises from him, george appreciated the gesture but his anxiety creeped up on the back of his neck whenever he wasn't aware of what was happening.

"okay then, just, let me change my clothes first. you can sit down here in the living room while i change." george stepped aside and allowed the taller boy to enter he and his mum's place. clay wordlessly sat down on the old, brown couch as george walked up to his room. "oh, there's cookies on the table, by the way!" george yelled from upstairs. clay excitedly hopped over to the dining room, and lifted up the cover from the plate resting on the table; george's mum went to run errands, it seems. to clay's disappointment, what was inside the plate wasn't cookies - but rather, health bars.

"george, these aren't cookies!" clay called out, listening to george's faint laugh from upstairs. clay grumbled, but despite his disappointment - he grabbed a health bar and sat on the couch.

with clay alone downstairs, he couldn't help but let his mind wander; specifically, he thought about george's eyes. gosh, he can write a novel about his best friend's eyes and how pretty they were, as well as his smile - which, his smile was rare, because george opted to just stare at clay's polaroid camera rather than smiling, but whenever george did smile, it was refreshing and calming. george was so breathtaking and calming and clay didn't know how a perfect human like him could exist. george's voice was magic and his form reeked of elegance and beauty.

"let's go?" clay was broken out of his trance when he heard george's voice interrupt him from his thoughts, and he mustered up his best smile and nodded.

the two boys exited the house and started walking, with clay leading the way. they both fell into a comfortable conversation, buying two white monsters and maltesers along the way. it was an adorable sight, really, clay and george were walking side by side, with george carrying the other things they've bought - clay didn't want to let george do it, but the shorter boy insisted - and since george didn't have a free hand, clay was feeding george pieces of maltesers from the bucket they bought and shared.

finally, they got to where clay wanted to be, and george was in awe of what he saw. clay brought them to the prettiest forest there was, and underneath the blanket of trees was a lake. walking into the forest, george noticed how well lit it was, despite there only being natural light. 

it was just the two of them, and the forest felt magical, like something out of a fairytale. the two boys continued walking into the forest, with clay lifting up the curtains of vines and leaves for george to go through. and for a few minutes, none of them spoke - basking in each other's presence.

clay moved his hand closer to george, the latter noticed immediately, and with a smile - george interlocked their fingers together. there, the two boys basked in each other's silence.

they sat down on the grass - in front of the lake, and they laid out the food they bought. george was already drinking his white monster, and clay kept eating the maltesers. clay even threw some in the air, catching it with his mouth, and george laughed at that - that's all clay wanted.

"this place is beautiful, clay." george muttered, a small smile on his face.

"i know, that's why i wanted to show it to you." clay responded, and george perked up at the response he got. "what?" clay asked, upon seeing george's expression.

"i don't know, i didn't expect that. that was awfully sweet." george explained, and clay let out an airy laugh at that. george stared at clay with a fond look in his eyes, and the latter returned the gesture.

"george, you deserve all the good things in the world." clay looked out at the lake before them, kicking the pebbles beneath his feet, "and one of the greatest things in the world, is this. it's not extravagant but i don't know." the blond trailed off.

"no, i love it." george reassured, "even if it's not extravagant in your eyes - it is in mine. plus, this can be our thing."

"yeah." clay smiled, staring at george's features, and the brit took that as wanting more maltesers - and so he shovelled a handful of maltesers at clay's face. the blond choked and laughed, with george laughing along with him. "what was wrong with you?" 

"hey, you had that weird look on your face." george rebutted, he didn't think it was weird, in fact - george found it endearing, clay looks at him as if he hung the stars in the sky.

they started talking about anything and everything all at once, with george leaning on clay's shoulder as they watched the lake flow. clay leaned his head on george's head and continued feeding him maltesers. the two boys stayed there until the moon arrived and the sun had to take her leave. 

basking in each other's presence, with the invisible red string of fate interweaved between their limbs.

--

02/09/21 - first draft
03/09/21 - edited