how could i not fall for you? - discontinued.

chapter two.

clay sat at the kitchen table, mindlessly eating a bowl of frosted flakes he had fixed for himself a few minutes before. he sat there, spoon in his mouth while being held in one hand, the other holding his phone. despite it being what many people would consider late, clay had no problem making breakfast as a snack at 4 in the morning.

he was browsing through twitter, skimming through various pieces of fanart, along with the occasional questions from fans. he clicked the home button, hoping to find something a bit more interesting than scrolling through twitter, but notification that had popped up at the top of his screen not even a split second later dragged him right back.

"@a6doff: wont be uploading for a while, visiting some friends for a bit out of the country"

clay pulled his spoon out of his mouth and swallowed.

"oh boy."

he stood up and rinsed his bowl, the rest just being milk. he looked around his house, scanning the mess he called his home. the living room had pillows from the couch on the floor, a blanket hung off of the couch, and there were a few random objects scattered here and there.

the kitchen wasn't as bad as the living room, especially since clay would just wash off whatever he was done using and then put it into the dishwasher, unlike most people who threw their dirty dishes into the sink for someone else to clean.

the towels hanging on the handles of drawers for people to dry their hands on could look nicer, and the countertops definitely needed to be wiped down.

clay's room wasn't looking the nicest either, but it wouldn't take too long to tidy up. the bathrooms needed to be cleaned, and a few things here and there could use some help.

"i feel like a maid, pointing all this out to myself." clay sighed.

"guess i'd better get to work."

but clay stopped in his tracks. how would vincent react to his house? to his taste in home decor? what about clay in general? they hadn't met in real life before.

clay started to panic, his thoughts racing. without entirely paying attention to what he was doing, he called someone he knew for years.

darryl.

he anxiously listened to the phone ring, the simple tone and his breathing the only things audible.

despite the fact that it was so early in the morning, it only took a moment before darryl answered, obviously tired, though.

"hello? what's up clay?"

clay inhaled. "so you know how vincent is visiting soon?" darryl replied with a simple "mhm."

"well, i invited him to stay at my place while he's here, but i'm afraid he won't like me... we've never met in person before and i..." clay trailed off.

"you what?" darryl asked.

"i..." clay's voice became quieter again, making it impossible for his phone to pick up what he was saying.

"clay, y'know i can't hear you when you mumble," darryl stated.

"i know, i know. i-i just- i like vin, okay?" clay squealed, almost regretting those last words.

"oh, clay. you should have told me. i'm sure he feels the same way about you. don't sweat it." darryl would gladly listen to clay's worries, especially about love. clay had done the same thing for him every night when he gushed about zak, practically praying that he had a chance with zak, since he already knew he was bi, darryl also being bi himself.

"and what if he doesn't?" clay questioned.

"don't worry about it! why wouldn't he love you?"

"i don't know..."

"see? now, go and get your house ready! you have a boy to charm!"

clay chuckled. "thanks, darryl. i'll try my best."
darryl smiled on the other side. "good luck."

and the call was over.

"i guess i should tidy up the house." clay sighed and walked towards his room. today was going to be a long day.

✨small time skip✨

clay flopped onto his couch, tired and worn out. he had done a thorough cleaning of his entire home, making sure everything would be perfect when vincent arrived. he had spent hours cleaning the place, even pushing his way through some of his least favorite parts of cleaning. because of his lengthy cleaning session, he wasn't surprised to see the sun rising, just barely peeking above the mountains.

burying his face into the pillows that were neatly placed on the couch, clay felt himself drift off into a peaceful sleep, finally able to let himself rest.

he was really going to need it for next week.

XXX

a/n: wow chapter two is over already
i've been slowly chipping away at this chapter. part one was so much fun to write, but this one almost felt like a filler even though it's actually pushing the story along (at least according to my super lazy outline that i wrote on notes)
im currently trying to write these chapters before i actually publish anything so i'll be able to get chapters out regularly since i'll have a chapter to post while i'm working on another one if i really need to
i hate leaving my books inactive so im gonna try and make sure i get chapters out regularly but anyways this a/n is getting long so bY E-