Clay was skipped today in favor of resting at home. He was getting pity from everyone. His friends, teachers, even his bratty little sister was giving pity. Dream hated it. He was almost an adult. He broke his foot, he wasn't dying.
But he might as well have been.
Anxiety latched its ridged fingers around his throat and squeeze. His one chance to impress the one man who would give him a head start in life career was gone. Taken anyway by the snap of a bone. Dream stared straight up at his ceiling. He focused on the sensations around him. The warm blankets hugged Dream body as he laid in bed. The air smelled like sweet vanilla and apples. He left a soft throbbing in his foot.
He really fucked up. But how could he possibly blame himself? Not like he knew he was gonna royal fuck his foot up. Clay was angry. He was mad at everyone and everything. He was getting treated like a child, whose hand needed to be held. He cursed the world's name. It really screwed him over this time. On top of all this, his parents hired a tutor. He was absolutely insulted by this. He wasn't stupid, he was actually really smart he just didn't care about school.
"Clay, darling!" His mother's voice called from down stairs. "Your tutor is on his way with your work! Come down please." Clay scrunched his nose and sighed.
He lifted himself up and swung his legs off his bed. Clay stared at the crutches he was bound to. "This is so fucking dumb..." He hissed and grabbed them. Getting down stairs was a trip. It took him so long to go down one single flight. When he finally made his way to the first floor of his house, he made his way to the living room to wait.
"Are you excited hun? This will be good." His mother greeted him in the living room. Clay scoffed. She was trying, Clay would give her that.
"I guess..." Clay flopped down on the couch, throwing his crutches to the side. His mother paced around for a few moments before a soft knocking sounded from the front door. The knocking was meek and quiet, as if the person on the other side didn't want anyone to hear it.
"Oh goodie, he's here!" His mother rushed to the door. He. Clay thought. Is this a last ditch attempt at my parents trying to set me up? Clay was very much a homosexual. He came out to his parents when he was in eighth grade. They took it pretty well. They were uncomfortable with it a first, trying to avoid the topic but over Clay's high school experience, they became really involved in the LGBT+ community. No one at school knew though. It's not that he did he attraction towards men, no one really asked him. Of course Sap and the bunch knew but that was really it. Everyone else assumed he was straight because he only got the attention of girls. "Welcome George!" His mother swung open the door to reveal the medical intern.
He wasn't in his scrubs though. He wore dark jeans and a dark blue hoodie. Clay immediately became way more excited for this tutor. He looked nervous, but he smiled awkwardly. He was really freaking cute.
"Thank you Mrs. Blocc, your home is lovely." He complimented. George was absolutely mortified to be here. The house was so fancy. It was in the richest part of town and was three freaking stories tall. George never even seen something so elegant. Mrs. Blocc was in casual wear but she looked so fancy.
"Well, Clays over there," She pointed to the living room, "I will be in the study if you need me." Mrs. Blocc smiled and wondered off down the corridor. George looked over at Clay then his feet.
God damnit he was attractive.
"You look nervous." Clay laughed. Fucking adorable laugh. George could listen to it all day.
"Y-yeah... I've never tutored anyone before." George walked over to the couch and sat beside him. He took off his backpack and placed it on the coffee table. "Shall... shall we start?" George dug through his backpack and pulled out a thick textbook.
Clay shifted in his seat to sit up properly. He looked at George and blinked. There were heavy bags under his eyes. He saw them the other day at the hospital, but now he was so close. They were so dark. In fact, Clay noticed a lot of details about him. He was so thin. "Do we have too?" He asked.
"I mean yeah, that's why I am getting paid." George let a soft chuckle escape his lips. Clay melted slightly, his chuckle was cute. God he was cute. Why was he so damn cute?
"Oh, wait, is that why you are here? For money?" Clay asked.
George nodded. He was fiddling with the textbook. "Money is kind of tight right now so..."
"Doesn't the hospital pay well?"
"No, not enough." George shrugged.
"I'm sorry." Clay frowned. "What does your mom do?"
"She..." How was he going to tell him that his mom was chronically ill and probably dying. "She's a stay at home mom." He lied.
"And your dad?"
Why did everyone bring up his father? George shifted uncomfortably. "He isn't around." Clay hit a nerve by accident.
"I'm so sorry..." Clay looked at my injured. He understood now. George was the man of his house, they only one bringing in a flow of money and he was supporting three people including himself. That's why he looked so tired, why Clay never saw him after school. Clay looked back at him and smiled.
"Let's not study." Clay took the book from George's hands and set it on the table. "You worked all weekend, i know because i saw you, and you were at school today. Let me give you a break from working." He smiled.
George looked scared. "What?" He muttered. George hadn't relaxed in years. And now he was just offered to relax and get paid to hang out this his crush, which he hadn't come to terms with yet. "A-are you serious?"
"Yeah! Of course!"
"S-sure." George got really excited. Genuine happiness buzzed his blood. He haven't smiled this wide in a very long time. Clay made a vow at that moment, sub-consciously. He was going to do everything in his power to protect that smile. Just from the past few days, Clay knew George had suffered a lot and he did it alone.
That smile had become so damn important to Clay. And he wanted to be the reason why that smile came into existence.
