sunset. /dnf/

eighteen

the homestretch. four days it was. four days until summer, and boy was clay pumped to spend it with his boyfriend.
this thought was one of the first things to pop into his mind as he glanced at the calender in the kitchen.
he smiled at the thought and reached for a bowl.
"morning clay!"
"morning mum." he faced his mother, however was still smiling violently.
as he grabbed his favorite cereal, capt'n crunch, his mom stopped him for a quick moment.
"what's got you all smiley, hun?" she asked, observing clay's expression.
he stuttered as he spoke. "w-well you were at work all day yesterday so i didn't say anything yet but something happened." clay tug onto his bandana tied neatly around his neck as he spoke.
"oh? would you like to sit at the table and tell me? i'll grab your cereal." she suggested.
he nodded and made his way for the table, pulling out a chair, feeling the rough wood his hand was placed upon.
taking a seat, shortly after his mother had shown up next to him, placing a plate for herself with toast on it, and his cereal.
clay muttered a quick 'thank you.'
"now what's going on here?" she asked sweetly but pryingly.
his face split into a smile once more as he began to speak, thoughts of the british brunette flooding his mind.
"well, me and george yesterday were talking and decided to start dating, i guess?"
there was a glint of surprise in his mother's eyes, but truthfully, who was she to be surprised at the news?
she had a feeling it was coming anyways.
but instead she returned a huge smile and enveloped clay in a big hug.
"i'm so proud of you, i knew this would happen some day. you and george will be great for eachother, i know it."
clays heart warmed at the words.
as much as sometimes he thought it was wrong, he wouldn't let his fathers words pollute his mind any longer.
he'd have to push his past aside and embrace this new time.
"i'm just scared is all, mum, you know how my old friends were. and- and dad."
he teared up a little at the thought and hugged his mother tighter.
"they're gone. he's gone as well, you know he was in the wrong. i won't ever let him harm us anymore clay." she had reassured him.
the words were comforting regardless of how many times in the past he had heard them. it was like taking a sip of coffee and feeling refreshed each time.
"we shouldn't worry about that anymore however. what are you doing after school?" she asked, breaking their hug as he returned to his cereal.
he looked thoughtful for a moment before setting down his spoon.
"i think i'm gonna see if george can come over for a while. and our other friend nick, you haven't met him yet though."
clay concluded.
he knew the two boys would most likely say yes, so that had him fairly excited for then.
"that sounds fun! is your room clean enough?"
clay nodded.
"yeah i tidied it a little yesterday."
"okay, well you'd better get ready for school, i have to go stop and get groceries in a bit."
he nodded once more, leaving their conversation blank.
his mum walked away, heading for the bathroom to presumably get ready to leave.
clay just stared into space as he ate.
really, he thought, it was strange. he and george almost immediately become friends and here he is now, dating the same man.
that cute man, that at is.
not that he was complaining.
the thought just seemed to daze him.
'why would he choose me?' he'd thought.
clay shoved the thought aside, not wanting to overthink it all too much. he stood up, bringing his now-empty cereal bowl to the kitchen and finished readying himself.

////

george stepped past the gate and into the schoolyard,
taking a deep breath. the brit was also fairly excited about the upcoming summer holiday. george glanced around the yard, and then looked at his phone. he had 15 minutes to spare, and the first thought that came into his mind was to find clay.

george knew that clay was most likely with everybody else, so he headed for their usual place, a small area behind the bleachers. as he was about to call his boyfriend's name, the words were kept in his mouth, the tall blonde spotted next to their friend carmen. george made his way through the crowds of people before poking clay in the back, the lanky boy spinning around, a quick flash of fear in his eyes being drowned out before he hugged george.
"you scared me george-" he giggled into the brits hoodie. george hugged him back.
"sorry" he murmured. "well hello to you too I guess." carmen scoffed sarcastically. "whatever. morning clay, morning carm."

the two others muttered their 'mornings' before falling back into a comfortable conversation. one after another,
more of their friends began showing up. jolting up to the group, connor panted, out of breath. "this-" he started while pointing at carmen. "-idiot left me behind, i woke up early and she has the audacity to leave me behind!"
he huffed.
clay's eyes sparkled in amusement and george giggled, however his attention didn't really leave clays face. carmen frowned at her best friend. "you were the one who decided to stay up late all night, most likely watching kurtis conner the whole time, right?" she accused. "how could i have not? i was watching some of his old videos!" connor smiled.
"called it." carmen had said under her breath until they fell back into regular conversation.

"so. y'all know how cool my mom is," carmen started.
"since it's the beginning of summer, for the break, she bought us disney world passes!" georges eyes lit up in surprise and clay squeezed his boyfriend's hand excitedly. "what?!" nick, who had just recently arrived gasped.
"yeah. there's 8 passes, quite a few for most of us." connor had known, considering they'd lived in the same house so he'd said nothing. george raised an eyebrow, but was excited nonetheless. "and she literally just bought all of those?? aren't those really expensive?" carmen nodded.
"well, yes, but she apparently had been planning this for awhile, saying she wanted us to get away for a while and have some fun." she explained. the teens in their little circle nodded as she talked.
"so who are you planning to bring?" nick asked.

"well there's 8 passes so i think, me, you, connor, george and clay, red, ant, and bad." she listed.
"this is going to be so fun!" clay smiled, finally speaking up. george returned the smile. "i've never been, so yeah, this'll be cool. how long?" carmen smiled as she was about to talk but connor had butted in.
"a whole week." he cracked a smile. the group was now brimming with excitement at the new news, but their conversations had been cut short by the school bell, separating each to their own classes.
george would tell ant and red later, or maybe carmen or connor would.

boy, was he excited for this trip.

////

TW FOR HOMOPHOBIC SLUR!

clay walked down the hall, he caught a pair of eyes looking at him.
unfamiliar however, very strangely familiar. he pushed it away before something clicked in his mind, his chest filling with anxiety.
he locked eyes with the boy, who walked closer to him. 'it can't be him.'
clay thought, but was proven wrong as the boy's features were becoming clearer. how the hell was this kid here?
clay knew that he went to his older school, no way he moved here as well?

"hi, clayton."

fuck.

"i don't want anything to do with you, nathan. just leave already." clay gritted.
nathan threw him a crooked smile. "i could say the same to you. anyways, fag, i moved here cause my parents thought it would be better for me. that school was crap anyways."
clay flinched but he agreed with that.
"i know its weird, they moved me at the very last week. whatever, now see you, you little twat." nathan explained before glaring at the boy.
clay felt like he was going to break, seeing his old friend again. he really wanted to let go of it all, but no! he couldn't catch a break could he? that bigoted homophobic fool was back and would only make his life worse.
hopefully he could talk to george about it later?

what if george didn't care?

his thoughts were stirring and he couldn't stop thinking.
walking to his next classroom, he tried to clear his mind for class.
his emotions were so mixed, he didn't know what to feel.