Written In The Stars

Chapter Eight ~ Friends?

I get ready for school, like always. This time I'm extra excited. Today I get to see Clay outside of school, again. I get ready quickly and rush downstairs. Once I'm downstairs I run out the front door, not even bothering saying goodbye. I run down the street and by the time I get to the school I'm out of breath. "What the hell happened to you?" LouLou chuckles, looking me up and down. "I- I ran- all the way- here." I gasp. LouLou facepalms and giggles, grinning. "You're an idiot." I smile, still out of breath. "We should get to class." LouLou states, walking towards the entrance of the school. I follow close behind. We go our separate ways and I make my way to class.

As soon as I open the door to the classroom I see Clay. I smile and walk towards him, sitting in my seat. "Hey." I grin at him. "Hello." He grins back. The teacher walks in seconds later so our interaction is cut short.

After class I look over at Clay, who's on his phone. "Who ya texting~" I tease, looking over Clay's shoulder. Clay hides his phone and smirks. "No one~" I roll my eyes and try to grab the phone. "Nuh uh!" He says, holding the phone over my head. "Rude!" I pout. "It's not my fault you're short." Clay states proudly. My jaw drops and I smack Clay on the shoulder. "I am not short. You're just tall." "Mhm sure~" Clay teases.

Suddenly the bell rings and everyone piles out of the classroom. I get up and walk towards the door. "Hey! Wait up! I'll walk you to your class." Clay grins. "Oh- um- okay." I smile back. We walk to my class in silence. Then once we make it to the classroom, Clay hugs me. Which is very surprising. I hug him back slowly, it's almost as if everything is in slow motion. After a few seconds Clay lets go.

"See you at lunch!" He smiles, before walking down the hall. I wave after him, even though he can't see. I walk into the art room with a huge smile spread across my face. "What made you so happy?" LouLou smirks, as I sit down. "Oh nothing..." I blush. LouLou raises an eyebrow but before she could push any further the teacher walks in.

Finally, lunch. I head to the lunchroom like always. I see LouLou already sitting with Clay and Tobi. Smiling, I walk over to their table. "Hey!" I say, sitting next to LouLou and across from Clay. Tobi is sitting next to Clay and in front of LouLou. "Hello!" Clay beams, a huge smile on his face. "Hey Oliver! I wanted to give you my number so I can add you to a group chat." Tobi exclaims, handing me a piece of paper. I take it and smile. "Thanks!" The rest of lunch goes by normally and soon enough it's time for class again. Everyone says goodbye and part ways.

By the end of school I'm super excited. I can't wait to hang out with Clay again. I make my way to the entrance of the school and wait for LouLou and Clay. After a few minutes of waiting Clay comes out of the school. "I'm so excited for you to teach me!" Clay beams. I smile and nod, saying, "I'm excited to teach you!" Suddenly LouLou runs up to us, scaring Clay. I laugh at him. "Scaredy cat!" I yell. His jaw drops and he flings his hand up to his chest. "I am... insulted." He jokes.

"Alright stop flirting and let's go." LouLou rolls her eyes. Clay and I blush at that but decide to ignore it. We start walking home and when we turn one corner LouLou keeps going straight, waving goodbye. "Bye! See you tomorrow!" I yell after her. She walks away. "My house is this way!" Clay nods and we continue walking. Once we make it we walk inside. "Mom, we're home!" I scream, taking my shoes off. Clay takes his shoes off as well and I begin leading him to the stairs so we can go to my room. Before we could make it to the stairs though, we're stopped by my mother.

"Wait wait wait! I want to meet your friend." She winks at me. "Clay this is my mom, mom this is clay." I roll my eyes. This is dumb, I just want to take him upstairs. Wait- that sounded wrong... "Nice to meet you Ms. Conner!" Clay smiles. "Call me Sally!" Mom beams, shaking Clay's hand. This is embarrassing. "Can we go now?" I ask, annoyed. "Fine fine, I'll leave you kids alone! Have fun! But not too much fun." She winks. With that I pull Clay up the stairs and into my room. Clay sits on my bed while I sit in my spinny chair. I spin in a circle and ask, "So you wanted me to teach you the ukulele?" Clay smiles. "Yes please!" I stand up and grab my green ukulele from on top of my dresser. Clay grins as I walk over to him and sit next to him on my bed.

The rest of the evening is filled with me trying to teach Clay how to play. He really wasn't lying, he is bad at every instrument. At least he's trying? "No no, you have to put your hand here." I say, placing my hand on Clays. I look up and we stare into each other's eyes for a moment. I look away quickly, taking my hand off of his. Clay begins to play and it actually sounds pretty good. "Woah. That didn't sound awful!" Clay beams. "Yeah it sounded good!" I grin. Clay sets the ukulele on the bed and hugs me. I'm surprised but I hug Clay back anyways. "You're a great friend, y'know that?" Clay smiles, hugging me tighter before letting go. Friend? We're officially friends! I grin, saying, "You are too!"

After a few more hours of messing around it's time for Clay to leave. Clay throws on his shoes and hugs me goodbye. The hug lasts longer than their normal hugs. Maybe Clay likes me back? After the hug Clay waves goodbye and heads out the door. RM clears their throat, scaring me. They raise their eyebrow, but say nothing, walking back downstairs, sipping her iced coffee. I head back upstairs and grab my notebook.

Maybe Clay likes me back? I hope so. I think I should tell him... Rosemary was probably right. I should just be honest. Anyway we hung out today and it was so fun! I taught him how to play the ukulele... sort of. He's getting better! He played a little bit and it sounded pretty good actually! Okay I think I should go to bed now.

Good night.

Just as I'm about to lay down, my phone vibrates. I check it and I have two new notifications. One from LouLou and one from Clay. Who should I answer first? I guess LouLou since I just saw Clay.

LouLou

So how was your date~

it wasn't a date!

Mhm sureeee

i swear!!!

Whatever anyway how was
it?

good i taught him how to
play ukulele

That's cute tbh

He might not be straight

he literally hugged me for
a full 20 seconds

OMG?

He's def not straight then

yeah well he texted me so
i should probably answer

gn ily <3

GN ILYT!!!

See you tmr <33

Clay <3

I had sm fun today !

Thank you for inviting me

ofc!

See you tomorrow !

<3

see you tmr <33

gn!

Goodnight !

I smile at my phone before plugging it in and laying down. It doesn't take long for me to fall asleep.