Friend

#1.3

My sweet violence is a drug for your broken mind.
-Bacardi

After that kiss, the night went on like nothing happened, although George still couldn't get his mind off of it.
At the end of the night, they dropped him off to his house, and after drinking some water George went to get ready to sleep.

He ended up remembering his flavours.
Gin, Vodka, vanilla flavoured cigarettes... he didn't forget them.
He was still feeling flustered, only the hot pan suddenly touching his arm could be able to get his mind off of it.
He retreated the hand immediately, as he hit the pan handle with his elbow, causing it to fall along with the food that he was cooking.
The loud noise it made by falling caused Claire to stop getting ready for work and rush downstairs.
"George? Are you okay?" she asked as she quickly arrived to the kitchen, seeing George turning off the stove.
"Hey, it's nothing really..." George said picking up the pan from the floor, "Don't worry about it."
"It's not nothing." Claire grabbed his hand, looking for the burn on his arm, which was in the middle between his wrist and elbow.
She opened the sink faucet letting the cold water run gently on the burn.
Claire sighed, "You seem thoughtful today," she seemed worried from her tone, "is there something wrong?"
George kept his eyes focused on the burn, feeling his girlfriend's gaze on him. It was in moments like these when George remembered how he fell in love with her. Her sweet voice offering to help him when he couldn't find that computer science book in the library, the afternoons they spent together after they met each other again at the café nearby, the sweet words she whispered in his ear while a thin layer of sweat covered their bodies...
Moments that felt so full of life but now seem like a foreign memory.

"This happened almost a year ago, George..."
He hated that Karl was right.
"You know I don't like you being used like that..."
He hated that Sapnap was right.
"Are you gay?"
I don't know.
"You're a disgrace of a son."
I already know that.
"You think my work is easy!? You're always so ungrateful!"

"I'm sorry..."

"What?"

"Fuck I said that out loud."

George turned to look at Claire, only to be met by a mixture of confusion and worry.
George took a moment to think, his pale fingers going between the knots of his hair.
"I think I'm just tired," George lied, "I didn't sleep well tonight."
Claire smiled warmly, her expression softening in front of George, "I see..."
He looked down at the food still laying on the floor, "I'm sorry about the lunch..."
Claire cupped his cheeks in her hands, turning him to look at her.
"Don't even worry about it," she gently kissed his lips, "I'll clean that up and I'll just eat something at the cafeteria."
She went to get the cleaning supplies and I opened the med-kit to search for the burn cream.
"You should take a nap before going to visit your parents." Claire suggested, I nodded as she put back to their place the supplies.
She gave him a kiss on the cheek and waved goodbye as she disappeared from the front door.
George sighed, he wasn't sleepy at all, he was overthinking too much lately, scared his parents might figure out he's not straight.
He's been hiding it for so long, so why should they find out only now? George couldn't stop worrying about it every time he had to meet them...

Sapnap was calling George, as the sweet smell of the chocolate scented the kitchen-living room. Karl and Sapnap were baking a cake while Dream started preparing something for lunch.
"Hey Nick." George said answering the call.
"Hi George." Sapnap greeted him, "Tonight Karl and I were planning on going to a restaurant with Dream, do you wanna come over?"
George sighed, "I'm sorry but tonight me and Claire are going to have dinner with my parents."
Sapnap frowned, "So you still keep in contact with them."
George was silent for a moment. "They're still my parents... and they still care about me." he answered just after.
Sapnap let out an audible sigh, "you're not planning to tell them about your sexuality, are you?"
"No..." George mumbled, "Plus I'm a little confused at the moment."
Sapnap let out a small laugh, catching Dream and Karl's attention.
"Is it because you kissed Clay last night?"
Karl turned around almost instantly, "Who did WHAT?!"
He turned to look at Dream, who started laughing uncontrollably, clear red on his cheek as he tried to wash the embarrassment away.
George sat silent as his cheeks grew redder than a tomato.
"Nick!" he said loudly through the phone.
Sapnap turned to look at Dream with a grin on his face, talking to him and George "You guys were holding closer than how Karl holds me when he's having a nightmare, George. What did you expect?"
"It was George!?" Karl shouted, still confused from the situation.
George began laughing at Karl's shocked tone, as Sapnap began laughing influenced by him and Dream.
Karl sat confused, his eyebrows touching his hairline, "Why am I knowing about it just now!?"
After they calmed down, Sapnap asked George, "Have you eaten?"
"Not yet, I was cooking but I burned myself with the pan and everything fell on the floor." he explained.
Sapnap snorted, "You never change."
"Stop mocking me!" George said annoyed, a laugh escaping his lips after. Sapnap turned to look at Karl and Dream
"What about you eat at our place?" Sapnap proposed, earning a nod from Karl and Dream.
"Sounds good." George smiled, "I'm coming over."
After that Sapnap ended the call, turning to look at Dream who was already looking at him with a grin on his lips as his cheek were still a light red fade.