Teach me how to Love

Chapter 12

Sitting at the circular dining room table a red pen clicking in a thematic way George watches Tubbo scribble words across a sheet of paper.

"Done" Tubbo declares pushing the filled-out work towards his teacher George grasps the sheet pulling it closer to himself to review the work done.  He uses the red-inked pen to correct each mistake.

"This looks pretty good Tubbo" He praises "the only thing is the spelling of butterfly has two T's and not 1" rotating the paper George points out the word showing him the correct answer beside it as an example.

The brunette boy nods his small head "B-u-t-t-e-r-f-l-y" He spells out loud in understanding.

George nods happily with the correction "Really good job you're such a fast learner!"

A month has passed after Tubbo's tutoring and George believes things have been going very well. Every Friday afternoon he would drive to their apartment and engage in an hour or more of school work teaching everything Tubbo has fallen behind on and has also managed to convince Tubbo to join the school reading club that George supervises after school.

In perfect timing, Clay appears carrying a plate full of sandwiches for the three of them, placing them down on the table before taking a seat right next to George "Dig in!" He smiles, taking a turkey sandwich for himself.

In addition to Tubbo's skills developing, George was noticing a closeness he and the blonde shared, whether they glanced at each other or touched too closely,
The sudden sparks of touch and lingering eye contact, created an unfamiliar bond of admiration between the two.

George knew falling for one of his student's parents is unprofessional, but his mind and heart betrayed him as the two organs yearned for something more, begging to be fed the attention they have been starved for so long, but at last, he had a job to do, locking away those feelings. Smile on the outside and suffer on the inside.

"Can we take a break" Tubbos question halts George's thoughts he lifts his head to nod

"Yeah, you've done a lot so far, go ahead" He agrees.

Tubbo jumps from his seat sprinting over to his stuffed animals colliding with the plush pile giggling to himself.

The men still seated at the table laugh shoulders pushing against one another a slight spark catching at the action "Yep that's my son" Clay chuckles heartfully.

"Yeah pretty adorable just like his father" The moment those words mindlessly fell from George's lips the colour of his face drained skin becoming a pasty white "I- Uh mean..."

Clay once again laughs a hand landing on the brunette's shoulder "You think I'm adorable?" he asks with a knowing smirk.

"Well, I uh-"

A phone rings suddenly and George silently thanks the gods above for saving him from such an embarrassing moment victimizing himself as a fool.

Clay pulls his hand away, the spot becoming a cold void. "Sorry I gotta take this" he sighs standing from the table and heading to his bedroom.

Closing the door behind him Clay answers the call lifting the device to his ear "What do you want Sapnap?" He impatiently asks annoyance coating his words. He wasn't usually one to use such a harsh tone with his friends, but Sapnap interrupted a moment Clay wanted to stay in.

"Well hello to you, sunshine!" Sapnap teases.

"Yeah yeah, Hey... now tell me what's up" Clay impatiently huffs.

The man on the other side laughs "I just wanted to let you know me and Karl extended our trip and won't be back until next week" He explains "and to remind you to take your meds because I know for a fact my dearest friend that your orange bottle has not been open in weeks."

Clay couldn't stop his eyes from rolling. He knew his friend was right, but the constant reminder of those terrible pills made his stomach churn a layer of frustration to seize against his mind. "Okay," He simply said through Clenched teeth "I gotta go now though so I will talk later."

Clay doesn't wait for a response before hanging up his phone and discarding it into the mess of his bedsheets. His eyes gaze at an orange bottle sitting on his gaming desk staring daggers into the object "Fuck" he mumbles under his breath guilt crawls up his back forcing him to reach over shaking a white pill into his hand and drowning it down his throat with a sip of water.

Back in the main living area Tubbo and George are by the front door dressed in coats and shoes. "What are you guys doing?" Clay wonders out loud.

"We decided to go to the park and were waiting for you!" George replies smiling, "So hurry up!"

The park is fairly empty other than an unamused Phil trying to ignore a small blond boy hitting him with a wooden sword which excited Tubbo even more.

Clay and George choose to sit on a neon yellow park bench close to the playground, eyes watching two small boys fight over some handmade Minecraft discs Tommy made in art class.

A couple of minutes passed and George's eyes wandered to the blond man beside him noticing Clay's eyes staring off into space, fingers tapping away on his thigh.

The silence of nature and the medication he had taken before their park trip had slowly started to take a toll on Clay's mind and body.

A scene of deja vu washes over George reminding him about the incident in his office a month ago; he frowns, placing his hand gently on Clay's shoulder to catch the man's disoriented attention.

He wasn't completely sure what had been going on with Clay but was determined to help. Once Clay's fogged green eyes meet George's brown ones he smiles interlocking their fingers in a tight hold. "Follow me" George demands playfully running towards the swings, his hand still in mine.

They got to the swings and right away George chose one of the empty ones jumping on to swing his legs giggling. Clay stands confused in front of the set, eyebrows scrunched together "What are you doing?" He questions.

"No questions, just actions."George laughs

Clay's mouth opens to respond, but he quickly shuts it a second after a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips not knowing how to respond he instead joins the teacher choosing a swing for himself, legs pushing his body forward.

The two break out into a fit of laughter, Clays being more of a tea kettle wheeze. Parents around gave them strange looks, but they could care less. The only thing that mattered to them at this moment was each other, both of us swinging high up towards the cloud enjoying the childlike freedom.