Fingernails (Mrog/Matty x George)

Four: Removing Confusion

u might not have seen the last chapter because of wattpad notifications fucking up again so like check u read it 

the spacing for this chapter was fucking ridiculous, when i pasted it over from my new writing software it deleted random spaces, so if you see any words stuck together that shouldn't be, please comment and tell me  

"Your turn."

George paused for a moment, thinking. "When's your birthday?"

Matty and George were sitting at opposite ends of Matty's bed, cross-legged and listening to whatever shit came on shuffle on Matty's Spotify Premium account that he nicked from his mum since she never used it. It was around half eight, and they had just got back upstairs after eating the pasta Matty's mum had made them.

Matty cocked his head at the question, smirking at how unimaginative George was being. "Really?"

George closed his eyes, letting his chin fall so it almost touched his chest, and leaned to the side so the top of his head touched the wall in embarrassment. "Yeah, really. It's important, you know? Don't wanna miss it. I don't know."

The curly-haired boy giggled, leaning forward to place a hand around George's upper arm, his long fingers wrapping around the soft flesh and soft, thin sweater that George had taken from Matty's wardrobe the second they entered the room. "It's fine, mate. It's the eighth of April. Yours?"

"Twenty-third of March." George paused, sitting upright once more. "Your turn now, though. Good luck." He winked jokingly, causing Matty to visibly wince.

"Don't take the piss if I end up asking something stupid, alright?"

"Ah, I don't know, seems biased to me – you're allowed to be a bitch about my questions, but I can't be about yours?"

Matty groaned, leaning back so his spine touched the bookshelf at the foot-end of his bed. "Fair play, I guess." He thought for a moment, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear as he did so, not noticing George carefully watching Matty's fingers as they twirled through his hair. "Do you play any instruments?"

Matty looked back up at George as he spoke, uncrossing his legs and bringing them up to his chest, wrapping his arms over his knees.

"Not really – well, I do, but only a bit. I have an acoustic guitar, but I'm pretty shit, and I have drum lessons at school. I'm getting pretty good at that, I s'pose."

A wide smile decorated Matty's lips, teeth showing and all. "Oh my god, that's so cool – we should totally play together some time, I've always wanted to start a band! I play guitar, this could be so cool, man," he chattered excitedly. George listened intently, watching as his mouth stretched wider as he spoke louder and became more enthusiastic.

"Yeah, definitely."

There was silence for an awkward moment between the boys before George tore his gaze away from Matty's stretched lips.

"Matty, mate – can I ask you something?"

Matty made a sound somewhere between a snort and a giggle. "Of course, you prick, that's literally what we've been doing and it's your turn."

"Okay, well – look, you don't have to answer this, and it might come across as kind of rude? I don't mean it to, but... Anyway, I was just wondering, why are you friends with Joe and that lot? They don't seem like the nicest guys around."

Matty's smile sunk into a frown, and his bit his lower lip, leaning his chin on his knees and looking up at George from his lowered position.

"Honestly, Henry's not as bad as you think. He's my best friend, you know? And he's got..." Matty paused, unsure of whether or not to confide in George about Henry's personal life. "He's just struggling with school at the minute, and it's really getting to him – the stress, I mean, with exams coming up and all that."