Love the Lost BxB

Moving (Brant)

Clare wandered past the curtains in front of Brant and noticed a small green truck idling in the driveway. "Whose truck is that?" She asked, noticing Brant enticed with it.

"It's Jeff's." Brant mumbled behind the curtains from the corner of the couch, fascinated with the little truck.

Clare sighed loudly enough to pull Brant's attention away from it and looked over at her anxiously. "Are you going to invite him in? Or are you just sit there and stare at him all day?" She asked as she wandered forward and opened the curtains all the way so that Brant couldn't hide in the corner anymore.

"Not sure yet," Brant replied, still standing by the window, frozen in place as his gaze returned back to the truck.

Clare wrapped her arm around Brant and pulled him over to her side. "You're are sure a strange one Brant Larson. You're just going to look at him through the window while he waits to help you move? Isn't that just a little weird?" She asked, squeezing his shoulder in a soft, yet supportive way.

"I just don't know how to talk to him right now." Brant murmured, his pastel green eyes focused on the beat-up truck in front of him. "He kissed Spencer. It's like he's a different person now. Almost as if he's lost his innocence."

"He lost his innocence a long time ago sweety." Clare sighed, squeezing him again. "The moment his father was called dirty, his innocence was stolen from him." Clare looked out the window at Jeff's anxious frame. "He was ruined by circumstance, and after he was forced from us. His heart was broken. He was forced to become somebody different in the name of survival."

"What if the new Jeff is different, and we don't like each other?" Brant asked, suddenly breaking contact with the truck, and looking at her directly.

"He's not a new Jeff." Clare replied trying to comfort him. "He's just different, anything different about him now is not going to change the fact that Jeff does indeed love you. He's here to help you move right? After all this time, he could have just moved on. He could have stayed in Mississippi and went out with anybody else, but instead he came here to help you move into the new dorm. Would somebody who didn't care about you do that?"

"I guess not..." Brant replied, looking down at his feet as the conversation died between them. As Clare let go, he took a soft breath and took a step to the side. "I guess I should go at least talk to him-" He looked out the window and noticed Jeff wasn't in the truck and froze. A sudden knock on the door made him yelp in surprise as he looked over towards the door. Oh no, he's here! Brant thought anxiously as his trembling feet began to lead him to the doorway. I just need to be cool, I'll be fine if I keep calm. He opened the door and Jeff immediately looked up from the ground and smiled awkwardly at him.

"Hi Brant..." Jeff mumbled before looking back down at the floor.

Brant shut the door in a panic and began walking towards his room. Clare called up from the window, freezing him in his tracks. "Brant Larson, you get your stupid ass back to that door and let Jeff in now!"

"I just need to use the bathroom real quick." Brant lied, his fingers beginning to tremble as he tried to walk back towards his room.

"Brant!" Clare called out with a frustrated growl that stopped him again.

"Fine, I'll let him in!" Brant whimpered, turning around and heading back for the door with hesitant steps. When he made it to the large door, his hand shakily rose towards the doorknob and grabbed hold of it. Taking a deep breath, he opened it again. This time with much less gusto.

"Are you going to shut the door on me again?" Jeff asked awkwardly, trying hard to avoid making eye contact.

"Oh u-uh, hi, Jeff..." Brant stammered, looking at him for a second before looking back to the ground.