Is This True Love? (DNF)

Chapter 78: Picnic Outside

George POV.

The TV had surprisingly relaxed me, being able to see the interaction that I had with Karl, even if it was filmed against my will and when I was unaware of what was going on. Yet to be honest, Karl coming out to me was one of the best days of my life. It was a way of showing his trust, much more trust than he’d shown me before.

Obviously there was lots of trust already, we were best friends after all. But when he confessed to me that he was gay and he was in love with Sapnap, a long time friend of both of us, it gave me the confidence to officially come out. Yet it seems that from the knowledge that Clay possesses that information was found out years beforehand.

“You are watching your show?” Clay asked, a small smile on his face as he studied me.
“Yes, I was wanting to watch something to pass the time and this appeared on your recommended.” Then I turned back to the screen, partially wanting to watch the interaction which I remembered so lovingly.

He stood and watched for only a few seconds before letting out a small sigh. From the corner of my eye I turned to see him lifting up the box that had all of the food in it. “How about we go outside and enjoy the weather?” The offer made me perk up with a smile.

“Outside?” I asked, double checking if I had heard him correctly. He gave me a nod, and I jumped out of the bed eagerly. The idea that I could go outside, even in the chilly Winter weather. With a smile I moved over to him, hugging him from behind and I could feel him relax against me. “Thank you so much Clay.”

“Of course.” Even though I was not able to see his face it was clear he was smiling. “I wanted to apologise for how I treated you earlier. You were misbehaving but I understand that you came from a difficult situation and were just upset.”
“I… um yeah.” I wasn’t sure if I agreed with that, and his words almost instantly made me sour.

He called me upset after everything that I had gone through. Just upset. He didn’t seem to acknowledge how much I had actually been through. Yet I wasn’t going to turn down the chance to get outside.

With Clay carrying the food he was a lot slower, and I glanced around as he unlocked the door, repocketed the key and continued walking. I looked around, not having had a chance to see what the house was like last night since we both basically headed up to bed and collapsed to sleep. It was a nice house, I would admit that.

He led me down a staircase and to a back door, one that he had to unlock with the same key that had unlocked the bedroom door. Once again he repocketed it after the glass door had opened, allowing us into the bright morning. The air was chilly and I wished that the clothes I was wearing were warmer.

My gaze trailed around the area, admiring the vast landscape. It extended quite far, the only place I had been that was this open and without buildings was the town park and the fields by the bridge. It was bathed in the bright rays of sunlight, yet the morning was still cold and a faint frost dusted the grass.

A stream ran past, laid with a bed of stones that trickled across the ground and eventually disappeared into the woods which surrounded the property. This was a gracious space, one that was clearly well cared for, yet I had not seen or heard mention of a cleaner so maybe Clay took care of it himself.

The blond smiled at me as he once again set the food down at a table nearby, then he moved over to me. “I hope that you enjoy the view.” Clay’s voice was calm, yet there was a nobleness and pride about this place.
“It is beautiful.” I responded, continuing to look around.

His hand moved to wrap around my waist, directing me to sit down at the table. Then he sat opposite me and began unloading the food as though we were continuing this picnic he was so certain that I liked, or perhaps a feast. “Help yourself to whatever you want. I purchased all of this for you to be able to try.”

“Thank you Clay, it’s a lot.” I said, taking note of everything as it was spread out in front of me. He waited patiently for me to eat first, and eventually I took a piece of fried chicken from a white and red bucket and began eating. It had probably been sitting in the car for half an hour yet was still warm and crispy.

When the blond began eating he continued to admire me, with me continuing to thank him for the delicious food throughout my taste test of the chicken, the wraps, and every other bit of food that I tried out. The warm food to contrast against the air was nice within my shaking hands.

“Your home is beautiful.” I complimented him. “It is clear that you put a lot of care into it.”
“Thank you.” He gave a smile. “I knew how you loved nature, it encouraged me to feel the same sense of pride towards nature which you used to show. Like when you won that vegetable growing contest in school.”

“When I was twelve?” I questioned, managing to keep myself composed despite the fact that it was strange he had taken to heart facts from over a decade ago. First it was the picnic, now it was the fact that I’d had a period in my life when I’d been into gardening. What was next? Him sharing my superhero fixation from when I was eight? My swimming skills when I was fifteen?

“It turns out that I like quite a lot of things that you like.” Clay said, he was admiring me as he spoke, as though it was something to be proud of that we had a lot in common. Yet all it did was make me feel weird, well weirder. His hand moved over to hold mine, not caring about the grease or disgustingness of my hands at the moment.

His hold was restrictive and tight. My hand balled into a fist beneath his and he didn’t seem to care. “You and I can talk about all of the things that we have in common.” The blond continued, tilting his head. “We will have a lot of time together, especially if you can’t go anywhere without being sent back to your prison.”

“Clay?” I was uncertain, feeling more and more on edge as he said that. The blond didn’t respond, just continuing on as he stroked the back of my hand with a finger. “How about we go for a walk?” I questioned, and eventually he seemed to focus on me again, and he nodded.
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1206 words

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