out of the blue | george clarkey

9; the nightmare

we head back inside and i am freezing. "i'm gonna get changed" i tell george and he does the same. it was currently 11:45pm and i wasn't quite ready for bed, partly due to the alcohol and partly due to the buzz i was feeling from what happened with george.
i finished getting changed and decided to sit on the sofa, ready to watch some tv. i was scrolling through disney + and decided to watch the latest kardashians episode. i don't really like the kardashians but their lifestyle always intrigued me. george walked out of room and saw the title screen, "not the kardashians again" he sighs. i forced the boys to watch it with me last week and i could tell they secretly loved it. "yes the kardashians! you don't have to watch it, can always go sit in your room like a loner" i say to wind george up and he rolls his eyes jokingly. "does the birthday girl want a hot chocolate?" george asks me walking into the kitchen. my eyes go wide, he knows it's my favourite i have been making the boys try all the different flavours in my hotel chocolat machine this past week but no one loves them as much as me. "yes pleaseeeee" i say dragging the e. i cuddle up to the unicorn teddy on the sofa for a few minutes before george returns with my hot chocolate and his cup of tea. the sofa wasn't big enough for the both of us to sit with the position i was currently in, legs sprawled out all across the sofa. i go to move legs down so george can fit on but he says "no, stay. i can manoeuvre you" and i raise an eyebrow in confusion. george lifts my legs, sits down and places them back onto his lap. "are you sure?" i say. "as it's your birthday, i'll suffer" he says, taking a sip of his tea and i just laugh. we (more specifically me) turn our attention back to the tv screen.

george's pov
sitting on the sofa with elena was the simplest of things to do, but it was the simple things i enjoyed most. the past few weeks have been weird for me. i've never had a girlfriend before or had a situation quite like this so it's been hard for me to differentiate liking her as a friend or wanting more than that. trying to figure these things out whilst also respecting her boundaries has been tough but it's the little moments like these that make me think, maybe i do want her more than a friend and that kiss was concrete proof for me. staring at her, focused intently on the tv with wet hair and smudged makeup, but to me she's never looked better. the only issue is, we never discuss any of this sober so i never know how she's truly feeling. i am not very open about my feelings without cracking a joke and elena was the same for the most part so it was going to be interesting to see who cracks first.
the episode finished and i could see elena's eyes drooping insinuating it was time for bed. i tap her legs slightly. "hey, i think we should head to bed" i say to her. "yeah i'm falling asleep" she yawns and laughs. she picks up her teddy and turns the tv off. i get up slowly behind her and we say goodnight and head off to our separate rooms. just before elena closes the door, i hear "wait george" i turn back around and she walks over to me. "i just wanted to say thank you for today, it really means a lot to me and i had a great day" she smiles. "no problem" i smile back. "oh and also, i forgot this" she starts her sentence and before she can finish it, her lips are back on mine. she kisses me and this time it lasts a bit longer than the first. however this scares me slightly because the butterflies in my stomach are intensifying and i don't want to be sick. she pulls away and says goodnight one more time before walking off for good this time.

i head to sleep feeling lucky that evening for a great day with a great ending.

about 3 hours into my sleep, i am woken by the sound of screams and crying. it's coming from elena's room, i immediately get out of bed and run across to her room. i open her door and she's sat up in her bed, it's still dark but i can make out her reflection. i manage to find her lamp and turn it on. she looks terrified and i don't really know what to do. "hey, hey you're okay" i try to reassure her. i go to touch her arm but she jerks it away immediately which startles me slightly. "i-i had a bad dream. he hit me" i can immediately put together what she's referring to and my heart breaks. "he's not here, i promise it was just a dream. you're safe it's just you and me here" i try to comfort her. "i know it just felt so real. do i have a bruise?" she asks me to check her stomach and i can see previous marks that must have came from him but nothing that looked fresh. "no, nothing there. it was all in your head" i say, smiling sympathetically. "okay" her voice shakes. "can you stay with me? i would feel better knowing i'm not alone" she asks. "yeah of course, i'll go grab some pillows for the floor" i say, going to leave her room. "no, just stay in my bed" she says. "are you really sure?" i say not wanting to overstep boundaries, especially after what just happened. "yes, please just come" she says and i get under her duvet, keeping as much distance as i can. i feel her reach a hand across and place it on my arm. "just so i know you're there" she says and i smile in response. seconds later realising she can't see me but i stay silent anyways. i move slightly closer so she's not having to stretch so far and we end up falling asleep like this.