Action (DNF)

Chapter 11: Emerald

Clay POV

The entire night I had been watching George out of the corner of my eye, making sure that he was okay. I mean, he didn’t have social media and he wasn’t very social, so being around all of these larger than life personalities seemed to make him feel pretty anxious.

During the entire auction his hand was holding mine awkwardly from under the table, and he’d been continuously sipping on glasses of wine. He’d probably drained a couple of bottles already, and although he seemed to have his composure for now I knew that he’d probably have a major hangover in the morning.

“We’re nearing the end of our event this evening with only one item left up for auction!” The host announced with a smile as one of the neatly dressed employees carried a glass box with a necklace inside. The necklace was displayed on a mannequin head and shoulders and it shone in the bright lights of the dining room.

I got one look at the necklace and my eyes practically widened. It was stunning to look at to say the least. A large emerald was the centrepiece of the necklace, with a golden chain and other smaller blue gems to decorate. I couldn’t help but find myself staring at it, and how absolutely dazzling that it was.

“This was a necklace made for the wife of a former Prime Minister, donated to this auction with the condition that all money was donated to the UK branch of the Child in Poverty Prevention Agency. So that is what we are going to do. Bidding starts at five hundred thousand!”

Without even thinking, I raised my paddle, and the man pointed at me to show that I was currently leading the bid, but a moment later someone else lifted up their paddle for five hundred and ten thousand. I was about to lift up my paddle again but Sapnap’s voice made me pause for a moment. “Clay, are you wanting to get that necklace?”

He and Karl were both looking at me, and George had even stopped sipping on his alcohol to give me the same look that the other two were. I just nodded. “Yeah, it looks pretty.” I then glanced directly into George’s eyes and smiled at him. It was going to be a surprise, but I decided that I would get the necklace for him.

It was a bit unfair of me to bring him here without telling him everything about what was going on, and so I figured that this necklace would be a nice way to apologise. The gold, green, and blue would contrast perfectly against the pale skin of his neck. Plus, it would be a nice way for him to remember tonight.

Without answering any more of the group's questions I raised my paddle again, not even caring how much it was. The auctioneer pointed at me and called out ‘we have eight hundred and ten thousand over here, do we have eight hundred and twenty?’

Sure enough, someone from a table near the back of the room raised their paddle causing the auctioneer to point in that direction and smile while saying ‘okay we’ve got eight hundred and twenty thousand, do we have eight hundred and thirty?’. I raised my paddle again however he pointed to someone in the corner instead.

The total quickly raised to over one million, and each time it went up less people put their hands up to bid. Soon enough it was just me and a disgruntled looking ravenette woman sitting at the very front of the room. I’m pretty sure she was a model with her fair skin and piercing brown eyes, but I honestly couldn’t be sure.

Every time that she made a bid she’d turn back to look at me. A smug expression would be on her face, but it would quickly turn to a glare whenever I put my paddle up again to bid. I tried to resist the urge to smirk back childishly at her, but decided not to when I noticed the way George peered curiously at me.

People around us began chuckling at the back and forth interaction. It continued for several long minutes, and I was starting to find it amusing, unlike the other woman who was getting increasingly pissed. When the money finally reached over nine million pounds she finally seemed to give up.

The man chuckled before sighing into the microphone. “We have got nine million, one hundred, and twenty thousand pounds.” The man said motioning at me. “Would anyone be willing to bid nine million, one hundred, and thirty thousand pounds?” The audience chuckled at the number he gave, and as he spoke, the auctioneer looked directly at the ravenette woman.

An annoyed look was on her face but she shook her head, setting the paddle down on the table in front of her in a defeated manner. The auctioneer smiled. “All right then folks. The emerald necklace, going once… going twice… and sold to bidder number 70! Congratulations sir, come and collect your winnings backstage.”

Most of the crowd of celebrities were all applauding at what was going down, having found amusement in the small competition for the necklace between myself and the ravenette model. I leaned back in my chair happily as they eventually grew quiet. On either side of me, Sapnap, Karl, and George were continuing with their curious looks.

"That is all for our events this evening!" The man on stage announced. "All winners from the auction please head backstage to collect your winnings and provide your money. The rest of you have a safe journey home. Good night everyone!" He gave a couple waves to the crowd before hurrying off of the stairs on the left side of the stage.

At all of the tables surrounding us, the conversation began to pick up again. Some of the people stood up to head towards the exits, others took their time and chatted with their friends who they might not be able to see for a while after tonight. I was among the two dozen people heading backstage to grab myself the necklace that I won.

When I reached the front of the line to pay with my card the woman in charge of transactions smiled at me. "Clay Smith, I am a huge fan of yours. Plus it is so nice how much you've donated. The necklace you won looks beautiful by the way."
"Thanks," I responded with a smile as I swiped my card.

I was passed a decently sized velvet box, I opened it for a moment to admire the jewellery. It was better from up close, and I honestly felt like Gollum from Lord of the Rings as I held it close. "You donated so much money," she smiled. "You'll be able to help so many children."
"Yeah. Well I best be off now," I responded. "I don't want to keep my date waiting."

"Of course. Have a good evening." As the woman moved to the next person.
I turned and left, heading back to the table where we had been sitting. George was standing there awkwardly. He gave a small wave to the people he'd been introduced to but seemed relieved when he saw me approaching him.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked while holding my arm out for him, and the brunette nodded at me. He took my hand and the two of us began walking out to the front of the building along with all of the other celebrities as they were going to head home. The paparazzi from earlier had been sent off after we'd gotten in and so we could quickly get to our limo.

George was appearing slightly tipsy as we settled down on our seats, with him sitting a lot closer to me this time than he had when we had driven here. There was no space in between us and in his drunken state he cuddled up to me, so I wrapped my arm around his waist and adjusted myself to make him comfortable.

I smiled at him as he fell asleep. I hoped that he enjoyed this evening as much as I did, and I couldn't help but wonder if he'd be willing to do this with me again. Plus, I had the emerald. Surely he’d find it special.
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1406 words