Not Warriors- Awsten Knight

Chapter 44

Claire was sitting in the living room on the couch, smiling at herself to the banter between Awsten and Collin.

She always figured that the two boys would get along well, they were similar in a lot of ways and that was becoming abundantly clear as they were bonding over god knows what in the kitchen right now.

Even with everything that had happened today, she felt content with life at the moment in a way that she hadn't felt in a long time.

"No dude I am telling you that he does not shower. Ever." she hears Collin say dramatically, laughing when Awsten makes a fake gagging sound in reply.

"How do you just not shower on Warped Tour?" Awsten says dramatically and Collin yells in agreement.

"I literally saw him wash himself off in the rain one day, like bar of soap in the fucking rain like he was at summer camp." Collin tells him, and Awsten gasps.

"That's literally barbaric." Awsten replies earning another laugh from Claire.

"Who the fuck are you both talking about?" she calls outs, being nosy because this story was almost too good to be true.

"This douche bag from this shitty band, his name is either Rob or Bob I literally cannot remember but he's so gross Claire." Collin tells her and she nods.

"I'll remember not to go near any Rob's or Bob's anytime soon." she assures the both of them shaking her head still laughing.

She feels her phone start to vibrate in her lap, picking it up curiously she feels her heart stop when she sees Madisons contact photo on her screen indicating that she's calling her.

She sharped inhales, not wanting to speak too loudly and end up interrupting the boys in the kitchen.

"Mads?" she says softly, tears forming in her eyes when she hears her sisters voice on the other end.

"Hi sis, I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier when I say you. I think I was just in shock to be honest." Madison tells her honestly with a sad laugh at the end and Claire quickly reassures her.

"No it's okay, it was a lot all at once and I didn't want to overwhelm you." she says honestly, and Madison clears her throat.

"Mom told me-" Madison starts slowly, stumbling over her words.

"Collin is with you?" she asks, her voice cracking at the end and Claire smiles softly.

"He is, we're both at Awsten's parents right now." she tells her, keeping her tone soft and calm in attempts to keep Madison calm.

"Can I come see you both?" she asks, and Claire immediately agrees.

"You never have to ask if you can see me, the answer is always yes." she assures her.

"Wait did you just say Awsten? As in Awsten?" Madison asks in disbelief, and Claire lets out a genuine laugh.

"Now that's a long story. But yes as in Awsten." Claire replies still laughing.

"You sound happy Claire." Madison says happily, pausing at the end of her sentence and Claire can tell that she's hesistant.

"Collin, Awsten, and I will be here all night okay? His parents and Gracie went out so it'll only be the three of us. You know where the house is, if you want to come we are here and we would absolutely love to see you but there is no pressure." Claire reassures her sister gently.

"I'm coming Claire, I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't. Can you just warn Col? I can't handle him being mad at me when I get there." she pleads.

"He's not going to be mad, I can assure you of that okay? I love you." Claire tells her softly before hanging up the phone and standing up off of the couch turning around to look at the boys.

Both of them stopped their conversation looking over at her with an eyebrow raised.

"What's wrong?" they both ask in unison and Claire laughs out loud shaking her head.

"Absoutely the fuck not, if y'all are going to be on the same wave length I'm cutting this friendship off before it can begin." she says jokingly and Awsten pouts.

"But I like him more than you." he teases, earing a giggle from Collin and Claire raises an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah?" she asks, folding her arms over her chest staring at him.

"Okay no." Awsten answers quickly, looking over at Collin.

"Sorry man." he tells him and Collin gasps dramatically.

"I was just about to ask if you wanted to get your nails done with me, you're already breaking up with me?" Collin says with a soft sniffle at the end, joking around.

Awsten gasps looking at Claire with puppy dog eyes, "You can't tell me I can't go." he says jokingly, his mismatched eyes twinkling.

"Okay enough bromance for a minute. That was Madison on the phone, she wants to come see us." Claire interupts looking at both boys to gauge their reactions.

"You said yes right?" Collin says quickly, and Claire nods.

"Of course I did, my parents house is only a few streets over so if that's where she's staying it shouldn't be long before she gets here." she says, and Awsten hums in agreement.

"She specifically asked if you were here Col." she adds in and his face lights up.

"That means she's not mad at me, right?" he asks, his tone a little desperate and she nods.

"I think she's afraid you're mad at her, so if she's up to talking about things this is your chance okay? Just don't get ahead of yourself, I think this might be overwhelming for her in some ways." Claire assures him.

Awsten was relieved over the fact that Madison was coming to see the both of them, he recognized how much pain was left behind with how little questions they had answers to.

"This is good, I'm glad she's coming over. We still have pizza too." Awsten says hopefully, pointing towards the stove top.

"I'm sorry that our quiet night in turned into a family reunion in your kitchen Aws." Claire tells him and softly and he shakes his head waving her off.

"We still have two days together, besides this is good that it's happening. Don't apologize to me for these things okay?" he says to her, and Claire can tell by the look on his face that he genuinely means it.

She just hopes everything goes well once Madison gets here.