UNEXPECTED

Chapter 41

After about a week, Clay and Lainie had gone back to the dentist again, and the kind man had given them a good report as he examined Clay before removing the stitches from his mouth, still recommending the 18-year-old to stick with soft foods for a couple more days, but to ease back into normal foods if and when he felt like it. So after wrapping things up there, Lainie and Clay left the dentist and headed towards the grocery store to pick up some ingredients they would need to cook some food that they would be taking over to the Baker's house for Thanksgiving.

Once they returned back home, Clay instantly smiled to himself when he saw Hannah, Jessica, and Alex all sitting on the porch steps as they patiently waited. "Hey, guys." the Jensen boy greeted the three friends as he got out of the car, moving to the trunk to help his mother with the groceries they had just bought. "Hey, Clay." Alex greeted back with a smile as he stood up and made his way over to the boy, soon followed by Jessica and Hannah. "Anything we can help with, Mrs. Jensen?" Jessica asked kindly as the older woman made her way towards the house. "If you don't mind, you three could help with some of those bags." Lainie said, gesturing towards the car where Clay was picking up a couple bags to carry inside. Nodding their heads in agreement, Jessica, Alex, and Hannah all pitched in and helped take the grocery bags into the Jensen house, placing the plastic bags in the kitchen before helping to put the purchased items away into their respective places.

It was currently a Tuesday afternoon. Today had been the last day of school before Thanksgiving Break. The school day had gone by fairly quickly. There were some classes that seemed to go on forever and never want to end, but other classes went by like a breeze. Now, after helping Clay's mother, the four friends found themselves up in the Jensen boy's room, not really too sure on what to do. "You two up for a double date?" Clay suddenly asked out of the blue, breaking the small silence that had fallen over the group of friends. "Sure." Jessica and Alex said simultaneously after they shared a small glance. "What do you have in mind, Helmet?" Hannah asked curiously, wanting to know what idea was going through her boyfriend's mind at the moment. After Clay took a couple minutes to pitch his idea to his friends, the three easily agreed to the spontaneous double date idea, and the four friends soon piled into Clay's car, heading off to their date location - a nearby roller rink.

After arriving to their destination, the four friends headed inside the roller rink. Once inside, Hannah, Jessica, and Alex all scopped out the area, looking pretty amazed and impressed as they looked around. Seeing their expressions, Clay chuckled to himself. "You guys act like you've never seen a roller rink before." He commented. Hearing the boy's words, Hannah smiled to herself. "I just haven't been to one in so long." Alex admitted, Jessica and Hannah agreeing to the blonde boy's statement. Clay gave a small nod of understanding as he hadn't been here in a few years, himself. He then led the way over to the skate rental area.

"Clay! Man, it's been a while since the last time I've seen you here." A male employ greeted with a kind smile, appearing to recognize and know the Jensen boy. "Hey, Donnie." Clay greeted back with a warm smile of his own. "It has been a while. How are things going?" The teen asked. "Good. Things are going pretty good. What about you, man? Last time I saw you here was back before all that stuff happened with Anthony." Donnie said, his tone saddening as he mentioned Clay's brother, who he had been pretty fond of. Clay sighed to himself at the mention as well. "Yeah. I honestly didn't think I'd ever be back here since this was his absolute favorite thing to do." Clay said, showing a small smile as he recalled the many memories he shared with his younger brother here at the familiar roller rink.

After Clay and Donnie talked for a little more and caught up with each other, the 18-year-old introduced his friends and girlfriend to Donnie, and they all got a pair of roller skates. When Donnie told them the rent total, Clay dug around in his wallet before pulling out some cash and giving it to Donnie, telling his older friend to keep the change. "Thanks, Clay. But I could've paid for Jess and myself." Alex said as the four friends walked over to a vacant bench. "No, it's fine. I really didn't mind paying. And besides. This was my idea, so it's on me." The boy said with a bright smile. As a response, Jessica and Alex could only return smiles as they thanked Clay for paying for them once again.