1 am || dreamnotfound

fourty - three

run, run, run run. keep running, we can't stop.

his lungs burned and each thud of his feet against the ground killed his legs.

but he couldn't stop.

he had to get to george.

it was already a ten to fifteen minute ride on skateboard, but he was begging himself to get there faster. he cut through any shortcut he could find, even if it meant running on lands he wouldn't have gone onto a few days before.

he stumbled at george's front door less than ten minutes later. his lungs begged him to take a second, his throat screamed for water and his legs theatened to buckle. he ignored it all.

he knocked harshly on the door, feeling shadows fall over him as the other four stopped beside him.

no answer, not even footsteps.

"fuck," clay said.

"goddamnit," techno said, shoving clay to the side gently. "who cares if one of them answers? we gotta get to your boyfriend."

he pulled a bobby pin from his hair and squatted down in front of the doorknob, carefully but quickly beginning the work of unlocking the door.

minutes later, it opened. as soon as techno opened to door, clay barged in, stopping only momentarily to take in the surroundings.

and he noticed, as soon as george's parents got home, the house became a mess. from the corner of his eye, clay noticed a door leading downstairs--perhaps the basement--was open. were his parents down there.

he didn't care. he sped upstairs, hurrying into george's room and gripping the doorknob of the bathroom and twisting. locked.

"george, open the door,'' clay begged.

"you came," a voice from the other side whispered. "i told you, clay, pointless. this'll be the way i can escape my family."

"but what about the rest of us? your friend group? me?" clay asked, still shaking the doorknob.

"you'll be okay. months will go by and i'll only be a memory. you can visit my gravestone... if my parents even do anything," george said.

"george, stop it. you can't just be a memory," clay whispered.

"i love you."

"NO! george! fuck!"

not even waiting to see if techno was in the room. clay twisted the doorknob and shoved, hearing something in the door and the hinges. when he shoved again, he stumbled and was able to get into the bathroom.

just then, george tipped his head back and whatever much of pills was in his hand went into his mouth. he swallowed.

clay threw himself forward, his hand met george's back. the boy who was suddenly in his arms lurched, gagging, but he had already swallowed the pills.

"fuck," clay breathed, leaning back against the wall with george in his arms. "call 911, call 911, call 911!"

he didn't care how much he was screaming.

wilbur was already typing away on his phone and putting it to his ear.

george looked up. "you can try to save me, sweetheart, but honestly, what's the point?"

clay shuddered to supress a sudden sob. he reached over and gripped the jar of pills. it was almost empty. his heart dropped.

george noticed. "i've been taking them for a while, more than needed," he whispered.

he continued, slowly, "i'll see you someday."

his breathing slowed. no, it wasn't death, but the pills were getting to him.

clay bent over, now letting his tears slip as he pressed his forehead against george's.

karl was also on the phone, and he guessed it was nick and punz.

he didn't pay attention to anything else. all he remembered was relunctantly letting the paramedics take george in their ambulance, but only when he remembered his hoarse screams had began to subdue. he was able to ride with them.

techno and wilbur stayed behind, saying it was something george's friends should be there for.

and now, he waited in the waiting room with the rest of his friends.