D E V O T I O N - Clouis | AU

Chapter One

I was sleeping peacefully, until my alarm rang loudly next to me. I groaned as I grabbed my phone and turned it on. The brightness from my phone made me squint my eyes as I clicked 'stop alarm' on my phone. I looked at the time, it was 6:25 AM.

I turned my phone off and sat up, as I rubbed my eyes and yawned. I got out of bed, left my room and headed to the bathroom. I closed the door behind me, then I turned on the light. I hissed as the bright light hurt my eyes a bit.

I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I then brushed my curly hair thoroughly. Lastly, I put my hair in it's signature look--in one messy low bun. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled, but I was missing something.

My hat.

Once I was in my room, I grabbed my hat the was on my nightstand and put it on. Now, I need to figure out what to wear.  

I open my closet and grab a blue cropped hoodie, so it can match my hat's color. Then I grab some black leggings and my ankle high combat boots, lastly I grab my purple hoodie--just in case.

I grab my phone and leave my room. As I'm walking to the kitchen, I hear some odd shuffling noises. It's too early for mom, dad and AJ to be awake. So I swiftly lean against the wall and crouch down. "AJ?" I whisper as the shuffling noises continued. "Mom? Dad?" I say a bit louder, but I didn't get a response.

I stand up quietly as I walked further into the kitchen, the shuffling noise getting louder and louder. I take small and quiet steps; trying not to make too much noise as I immediately stop.

It was AJ. He was on the kitchen counter, trying to grab a box of cereal from the top of the fridge. "AJ, why are you up so early?" I ask as I place my hands on hips. He jumps in surprise, and turns to look at me. "Shit, you scared me Clem!" AJ shouted as I glared at him. "What did I say about cursing?"

"You curse all the time, so why can't I?" He asks, his tone a bit sarcastic. "You're a child, AJ. You're too young to curse, you know that." I tell him, as he looks down. "I know..sorry." He apologizes as I smile a bit. "It's okay, kiddo. Now can you please get down? I can get the cereal for you." 

He shakes his head. "No no, I can get it. I'm so close!" He tells me as he stands on his tippy toes and leans against the fridge. He grunts as his small fingers touch the box. Instead of the box getting closer to him, it does the opposite. "Damn--I mean, dang it." He mumbles as I sigh. I walk to the fridge and grab the box of cereal. "Clem, I could've had it. I was so close!" He whines as I grin, "Not close enough." I say playfully as I shake the box teasingly.

He frowns as I place the box of cereal on the counter, and extend my arms out in front of him., signaling him to jump. I watch as he jumps in my arms as I catch him and put him down. "The reason why I'm up so early is because a new episode of Disco Broccoli is coming on soon. So can you please hurry up and make me a bowl of cereal?" He asks as I nod.

Once I'm done making his cereal I place it on the table. AJ eats his cereal quickly, not wanting to miss his favorite show. Once he's done, he runs to the living room and turns on the TV. "Alright kiddo, I have to head to school." I tell him as he frowns. "Can you stay home for a bit longer? Please?" He asks as I shake my head. "I can't AJ, I don't want to be late." I state as he gets up from the couch, runs towards me, and hugs me. "I love you, Clem." He mutters as my eyes softened. " I love you, back."

Me and AJ both let go of each other. I grab my dark colored backpack that was sitting next to the door, and I leave the house.

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Once I finally made it to Ericson's High School, I make my way inside the gigantic school. There were a ton of students either at there lockers or talking to there friends. I start to walk to my locker, gliding past students and apologizing every time I bump into someone. Once I make it to my locker, I unlock my lock and then grab all the things I need for my classes. I put my book bag inside my locker and then lock my locker shut.

As I'm adjusting my books and binders that are in my arms, someone grabs me by my shoulders and yells boo!

I jump in surprise as I turn around. "Jesus Louis, you scared me!" I yell so he can hear me. He rubs his neck shyly as a big smile appears on his face. Seeing him smile makes me smile, so I smile back. "Really? It didn't seem like it. I thought I would at least get a scream out of you." He tells me as I chuckle. "How am I supposed to be scared, when you try to scare me every other day?" I ask rhetorically as he looks down, embarrassed. "Well, the only reason I scare you as much as I do is because one, it's funny, and two..."

I wait for him to continue, but he scans my body instead. He looks me in the eyes and smiles; it's barely noticeable but I notice it and smile back. He looks at my cropped hoodie and arches a brow. "What is that?" He asks as he points at my hoodie. "Uh..a hoodie?" I state as he rolls his eyes. " I know that Clem, but why do I see skin showing?" He asks, a bit serious this time.

"Because it's the style of the hoodie, Louis. It's no big deal." I tell him as he crosses his arms and looks at my purple hoodie that's wrapped around my waist. I watch as he pulls it off of me and wraps it around my shoulders, keeping his hands placed on my shoulders. "I'm glad you brought a hoodie with you. Put it on when you get in class, okay?" He asks as he squeezes my shoulder's, and stares at me. "But--"

He interrupts me, "Just do it, please." As he says that he walks away, leaving me confused.

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I would continue to write but my fingers hurt from playing my ukulele, and I'm just too excited to get this chapter out. How was the chapter? It was pretty short, so sorry about that. ANYWAYS, please vote, comment, and follow me! It really helps!

Question of the day: How are you feeling?

My answer: I'm feeling okay. I've been listening to this one non-upbeat song on repeat for a while and it's making me think about things from my past, and it's making me a bit unhappy. But overall, I'm okay.

See you soon (1/19/19)