The next day at school is when shit hit the fan. Bryce, who showed up at lunch to pick Chloe up, spotted Clay walking with his head down.
"Yo, Clay!" He shouted, jogging towards him. Clay looked up, and stood there in shock, before walking faster. But since Bryce played sports, he easily caught up to him. "What's going on, Jensen?" Bryce said, smirking as Clay was trying to keep his composure.
"B-Bryce, what are you doing here?" Clay asked, heart rate rising. Bryce put his hand on Clay's shoulder, making him flinch and try to shake it off in response.
"I'm picking up my girlfriend dude, what's the big deal?" He said, playing innocent. Clay looked around to see everyone in their own world, pretending that Bryce wasn't on school property.
"You know y-you're not supposed to be here," Clay said, breathing faster as Bryce grabs the back of his neck.
"And what are you gonna do about it?" Bryce whispered harshly, but keeping a false smile on his face. Clay could feel panic creeping up in the pit of his stomach, as he tried to control his breathing.
"Bryce! What the fuck are you doing here?" Yelled a voice that was familiar. Clay was zoning out, but still looked in the direction of Zach.
"Relax, Dempsey, I'm just having a little fun," Bryce said, taking his hand off of Clay. Zach grabbed Clay, and dragged him to his side.
"You know I could get you arrested right now," Zach shot, rubbing Clay's shoulder to try and soothe him, which wasn't really working.
"Cmon man, I thought we were brothers," Bryce said, putting his arms out and tilting his head. Zach rolled his eyes, and began to drag Clay towards the school.
"And tell Justin to watch his back," Bryce yelled, laughing as Chloe walked up to him. The two left without another word, and Zach looked down at a panicked Clay.
"Oh shit, what's wrong? What happened? What do you need?" Zach said, shooting questions.
Clay was shaking as he let out a breathy "Justin."
Zach held him close as they made a beeline towards where their group decided to sit outside for lunch. Everyone instantly knew something was wrong, and Justin shot up, almost becoming light-headed in the process.
"What the fuck happened dude?" Justin asked Zach, grabbing onto Clay, who automatically clung to him.
"Bryce was here," he said, looking over Clay once more.
"On school property? Who the hell does he think he is? I'm gonna fucking kill him," Justin said angrily, rubbing Clay's back, who let a few tears slip. His breathing was beginning to return to normal.
"I'm gonna go take him somewhere where everyone minds their fucking business," Justin said, peering at all the pairs of eyes on them. He wrapped his arm around Clay's shoulder, taking him inside. Once they were in a more private area, they sat down.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Justin asked, only receiving a headshake from the younger boy.
"Okay, that's fine, take all the time you need," Justin said, letting Clay put his head on his shoulder.
Truth is, Clay had some sort of PTSD when it came to Bryce. Every time he saw him, he remembered everything. How he raped Hannah and Jessica, how he beat Clay up when he was trying to get his confession, how Clay almost killed himself right in front of his house. Bryce was just a trigger for Clay.
"Justin, I want to go home," Clay whispered, sounding small and broken. Justin could feel his heart crack from that one sentence.
"Okay Clay, lets get you home," he said, helping Clay stand up. He made Clay get on his back so that he wouldn't worry about his legs giving out from how much he shook. Clay wrapped his arms and legs around Justin to support himself, then laid his head on his shoulder, hiding his face from the stares as they made their way down the hall.
Justin opened the car door after unlocking it, and gently helped Clay into the car. He buckled his seat belt, then closed the door, jogging to the drivers side. The two drove home in a comfortable silence as Clay leaned his head against the window, while Justin looked over at him once in a while.
Once they got to the house, Clay told Justin that he was going to take a shower, and asked if he could make them lunch since they didn't eat at the school.
Justin agreed, and headed to the kitchen, thinking about what to make. Clay made his way upstairs, and went straight to the bathroom. He took off his clothes slowly, feeling numb.
As soon as he stepped into the hot stream, he allowed himself to break down. He sobbed silently as the water hit his tense back, before the droplets fell, leaving a soft patter on the shower floor.
He thought about everything, before his legs gave out, letting him painfully hit the ground with a hard thud. Justin looked up at the ceiling as he heard the noise, before quickly running up the stairs.
He knocked on the door urgently. "Clay! Clay! Are you okay?" He asked frantically.
"Justin," Clay sobbed, making Justin throw the door open, and run to his side. He cradled him, and grabbed a towel off the rack to cover him.
"What the hell happened, Clay?" He asked rhetorically, letting the boy cry. There was a gash on his head from hitting the edge of the tub.
"Please," Clay whispered, putting his head in Justin's neck. Justin made sure the towel was wrapped around Clay, before picking him up, turning off the water, and bringing him to their room.
He set Clay down, as he went to get him some clothes to put on. He knew Clay was too weak to do it by himself, so he helped him put on his clothing, slowly and gently.
He laid Clay on the bed, letting him curl into a ball, as he went to get the first aid kit. He came back, and made Clay look at him so he could clean the wound on his forehead with alcohol, then put antibiotic ointment on, before finally putting a bandaid over it. He kissed the spot gently, then cuddled up next to Clay.
"What happened?" Justin asked, referring to the whole day. Clay told him about how he felt, and what he was thinking about at the school, and what he was thinking about in the shower. He ended by saying thank you to Justin.
"For what?" Justin asked, pushing Clay's hair back, and looking down at him.
"You saved my life," Clay whispered into Justin's chest. Justin stopped playing with Clay's hair, confused.
"What do you mean?" He asked, tilting his head.
"That night at Bryce's house. You saved my life," Clay said, looking up at Justin through hooded eyelids. Justin remembered that night very clearly. That was the night that he knew Clay needed him. He had to be there for him. He had to make sure he was okay, and safe.
"I would save you as many times as I needed to. I can't let you go. I need you. We need each other," Justin said, making Clay smile weakly, before leaning in slowly, delivering a slow and passionate kiss to Clay's lips. They pulled away, and laid there, looking at each other lovingly.
They were both exhausted and decided to take a nap, and that's how they stayed, not leaving the room once that night.
Lainie and Matt checked up on them multiple times that night, making sure they were okay, but not disturbing the peace. They were happy to see that they took care of each other.
