marionette | DreamNotFound

- 15 -

smiling 

George's mood was great after the word baby had slipped from Clay's lung. He was giggling to himself for at least five minutes. Until lunch, he had a soft smile on his lips and, for the first time in weeks, didn't want to cry. The way the new student cared for him made him actually feel better. Of course, Nick tried to cheer him up so many times now, but it never seemed to work.

Will and George had actually fun together in class. The tall brown haired guy was so damn confused but he was happy George seemed to be better. George had been fun to be around but since a few months, he was kind of dragging the mood down. Nobody in their friend group actually spoke about it but everybody knew it. So, this was a very nice and unexpected change. This class was actually the most boring one for Will since only George was here and they didn't really talk. It was a nice change that he desperately needed, he just hoped it would stay that way. Seeing George this happy again is making him happy, he couldn't wait for the others to see him like this.

As they arrived at lunch, George immediately seated himself next to Clay who put an arm around him. "Hello, Georgie," Clay smiled, "you okay?" George nodded quickly. "Never been better," he said while giggling quietly. "Happy to hear that," Clay said and held him tighter. "Clay, George, do you wanna eat anything?" Nick asked, holding his wallet in his hand. "How about we share some pasta?" Clay suggested. George nodded, he knew he wouldn't be able to get out of lunch and if he was being completely honest, he was kind of hungry. "Alright," Nick said and walked away with Niki and Toby.

"Alright, boys, what is going on here," Tommy yelled as soon as he saw George in Clay's arms. "Can you shut the fuck up for one minute, child?" Wil instantly hissed. "Why?" Tommy exclaimed. "You're so annoying," Wil said. "But I want to know," the younger one said. "Well, you got eyes, don't you?" Tommy rolled his eyes, pulling out his phone to check his messages. He was being quiet until Toby came back and they basically didn't stop laughing for like two minutes. Clay was used to it at this point and didn't think anything of it. George didn't really notice anything that happened around him, he was simply focused on the new student. So, he didn't really notice when his best friend placed their food in front of them.

"George," Clay said. "Georgie," he tried again, as he didn't react. "Gogy?" he said. George stared at his hands resting in his lap, you could barely see the smile plastered onto his face. Clay poked the side of his waist, yet he still didn't react. So, he lowered the volume of his voice and quietly said "baby" to which George immediately looked up to. "Yes?" he asked. "Glad to see you like your new name," Clay laughed, "I'd say you begin eating and I'll finish?" George nodded knowing there was no way out. He slowly grabbed the fork, putting some pasta on it. He stared at it and gulped. Clay drew some circles onto his back with his fingers, trying to calm him down. He knew the smaller one had troubles eating, he was trying to support George. By not paying attention to his eating, he let George know that he wasn't being looked at. As he swallowed the first bite, his throat hurt a bit, but it was delicious so he kept eating. Not too much though, he didn't want to through up. He shoved the plate to Clay and said his name.

"I'm so proud," Clay whispered and pressed a small kiss at his temple. George could feel the butterflies in his stomach flipping around and he smiled again. It felt so nice to have someone that cares for you.

Nick said "Clay, can I talk to you real quick?" as soon as he finished his food. George looked confused to his best friend. "Yeah sure, one moment, George," Clay said as he stood up. "No, don't go," George begged. "I'll be back soon, I won't run away, George," he said, "I promise" George's happy expression changed to a sadder one in only two seconds. "Okay," he mumbled. Nick pointed to the door and started walking towards it, Clay following him closely.

"What the fuck did you do, Clay," Nick asked. "What do you mean?" Clay looked confused at his friend. He didn't do anything wrong, did he? "How did you make him so happy? I've been trying for months and nothing seemed to work. The same with eating. I haven't seen him eat in forever," Nick exclaimed frustrated. "So tell me your secrets, Clay" "Uhm I might have called him baby by accident today and he seemed to like it, I guess," Clay explained. "That's it? He's simply a simp?" Nick asked. Clay nodded. "I should've known. Where were you a few months ago?" Nick joked. "Uhm probably somewhere smoking weed, I guess" Nick laughed quietly. "Keep doing it please, George really needs you," Nick said and started walking back to his friends. Clay smiled to himself and joined him. As he sat down, his arms straightaway made their way around George's body and the brunette started to smile again.