Salvation in the Secular Age {MH/GD}

//Slow Down, Yeah I Want You//

HEY-O! This chapter is super long! No ranting, whatever, it's late. Please have fun! Comment, vote, show the love. I love you all! P.S. Matty's hair in that gif is life. Fucking little dirt is so hot.
sunphazed ily perhapsisjustarumour ily2 bigcupofhottea you too boo

{Claire}

"That mirror is crooked," George cocked his head at the collection of antique white-washed mirrors that hung above my headboard.

My best friend was picking me up for Adam's birthday party tonight, and he'd just finished a little tour of the apartment I'd only been living in for eight days. He'd commented that he liked the dark grey wood, the exposed white brick in some areas, the big, cozy furniture I'd picked out, fabrics and furnitures in whites and creams and golds I'd become so fond of.

"Is it?" I asked George, seated at my vanity and finishing the last curl in my hair.

My leggings and university t-shirt were still on, and the outfit I'd planned on changing into was hanging in my closet, silently preparing to do its work in catching Matty's attention. Since he'd walked in at quite literally the worst possible time he could have walked in two weeks ago, Matty had been avoiding me like the plague. I'd tried to call him three times, with no answers. I'd texted him multiple times, trying to explain myself, but the responses I'd gotten were dismissive and one-worded.

"Mmm-hmm," George said through a mouthful of chocolate chip cookies I'd baked when I was bored last night. This was his fourth.

George kicked off his giant boots and hopped to my king-size bed, straightening the mirror with pride and ruffling my cream-colored bedspread in the process. He finished his cookie and swallowed, giving me a wink.

"Thanks, Danes," I said sprtizing my long, dark tressed with hairspray.

To my complete relief, things weren't awkward between George and I. It was probably too early to joke about our sexual history, but it seemed like it was more in the past than it actually was. I loved George, and he cared about me in a way that I truly cherished.

He was the one who'd convinced me to go to Adam's party tonight, though I contemplated unpacking the last of my boxes and sipping tea. But the image of me unpacking books that reminded me of Matty and sobbing into my tea cup left me depressed and pitiful. I couldn't feel sorry for myself. I deserved Matty's stand-offish behavior, every single bit of it. I knew he needed time, time to even bother considering wanting me in the same way I wanted him. It'd be a lie to say that I didn't have high hopes the outfit I'd picked out would speed up Matty's forgiveness, though.

"What did you get for Adam?" I asked George, standing and tossing my hair down my back.

George flopped to the bed and laid down, crosssing his arms beheind his headfull of brown and blonde waves. "A bunch of money in a rubber band. I'm going to throw it at him when he blows out his candles."

I giggled at the imagery, George throwing money at Adam and Adam's flat facial expressions behind a cake.

"Really, G?" I laughed. "I got him a gift card to Guitar Center."

George nodded, scrolling through his phone with his giant thumbs.

Adam was a true sweetheart, and I'd felt bad for him after Chelsea had left him and moved to America. The fire in their relationship had definitely sizzled, though. They were two very different types of people. While Adam was the epitome of a guitar god, his personal life was very quiet. It wasn't hard to figure out he'd wanted to settle down eventually, and Chelsea would never settle. The break-up seemed to make the most sense, logically, and though they didn't exactly speak often, they both had a great respect for each other still.