𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦. | 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝

21

"And... open!" Clay exclaimed, nudging the boy beside him with his elbow. George retracted his hands from his eyes, letting them set on the building in front of him. "An- an ice-cream place?" He leered, turning to look at Clay with furrowed brows.

The blonde only nodded, a smug look on his face. "I've been coming here ever since I was a little kid. C'mon!" Without warning, Clay grabbed into George's hand and led him into the ice-cream parlor.

After their conversation was interrupted by Clay's mother yesterday night, the boys silently decided it would be best if they continued talking about it at a more convenient time- preferably when they were alone. They had only worked for another hour or so before George went home, leaving Clay to think about everything that happened that night.

But, the next day continued as normal. Clay and George had added their finishing touches on the project in their first period together, ready to turn in that next monday. The day progressed rather quickly, leading up to that Friday evening.

They boys approached the counter, no longer holding hands. Clay smiled when he made eye contact with a worker coming from the back room- coming up to the register. "Hi, what can I get for you today?" She smiled, a small bit of recognition in her eyes.

-

"Y'know, you never seemed like a chocolate kind of guy to me. I honestly thought you'd get something like vanilla." Clay bumped George's shoulder with his own, teasing George as they walked outside with their cones.

George scoffed in mock disbelief. "Look who's talking! Mr. Mint chocolate chip! How do you even eat that stuff?" He objected, inching away from Clay's ice-cream. Clay only laughed in reply, shrugging his shoulders.

Neither boy spoke before their laugher died down. "Hey." Clay said, his voice noticeably more tender than it was just moments before. "I wanna show you something." The blonde tilted his head towards the woods behind the ice-cream parlor.

George seemed to think for a moment before reluctantly nodding, unsure of where Clay was taking him. The blonde ushered George to follow him, starting to walk towards the woods ahead. George stared in awe of the tall tress ahead of them.

The two sat in a comfortable silence as Clay led the shorter through the bramble, occasionally holding a branch or two so George could pass through. The brunette continued to eat his cone in silence as Clay navigated them through the forest.

"I swear to god, this seems like some sort of creepy ploy so you could murder me out here." George scoffed. Clay shifted his eyes towards George- giving him an ominous side-eye- not saying anything. George stopped, jaw dropping.

"You asshole! Don't do that! That's not funny!" George laughed- almost nervously- landing a slap on Clay's shoulder. The blonde couldn't contain his laugher, loosing his daunting facade almost immediately.

Clay hesitated for a moment, debating saying anything more on the subject. "Now that you mention it..." Clay jokingly pondered, putting his hand up his chin. He only received another slap to the shoulder.

"I'm joking, I'm joking!" He put his hands up, acting fearful of more slaps. George raised his hand up again- a goofy smile on his face. Clay only hunched down lower, acting fearful towards George's painless blows.

The two yet again fell into a silence- Clay still trying to navigate his way towards where he wanted to take the brit. "The forest is still awfully green for fall, don't you think?" Clay mindlessly pawned, attempted to spark some sort of small talk.

George seemed to hesitate for a moment, clicking his tongue. "..Yeah, uh.." He took his lip between his teeth, a concerned look clearly painted on his face. "About that," George breathed out, a nervous chuckle following.