Through the Smoke~ DTQK

Blurred Visions

Clay was about to close the door behind George when Luke walked up the stairs to their apartment, giving George a nod who was on his way down.

"Hey Luke." Clay said, holding the door open for him to walk through.

"Did y'all just like fuck or something?" He asked, pointing his thumb to the door.

Clay's heart dropped. "What?" He tried to play stupid, but he could feel his face heat up.

"His shirt was inside out and backwards." Luke shrugged, heading to the living room and taking his spot on the couch. "Did Mike come through for his re-up?" He asked, now putting his feet up on the coffee table.

"He did, but I didn't have the Vicodin so he threatened me pretty hard on Arch's behalf." Clay responded, joining Luke on the couch.

"Alright we'll just watch the security camera closer at night, and make sure the doors are locked when you're leaving the apartment. That's all." Luke reassured Clay. He pulled a joint out of his pocket and sparked it, offering it to Clay who refused.

Clay's cellphone started to ring in his pocket, the vibrations on his thigh startling him. His heart dropped even further when he realized it was Karl who was calling.

"Shit." He muttered under his breath while standing up from the couch.

"Is it George?" Luke giggled as he watched the fear on Clay's face.

"Shut the fuck up." He said through gritted teeth. He swiped across the screen to answer as he walked into his room, closing the door behind him. "Hello?" He whispered into the phone.

"Hi Clay, it's Karl. Can we talk?" Karl asked, his voice a little shaky. Clay's chest tightened, suddenly feeling guilty for what he had done to Karl earlier that day, and now about George.

"Yea, sure. What's up?" He asked, trying to sound open.

The two boys talked for a long time. Karl apologized profusely to Clay about the pills and said he had the money to give to him. He also told Clay he had the right to beat him up because what he had done was wrong. The guilt hit Clay even harder then. Clay assured him that he was sorry too, and that everything was ok between the two of them.

When they hung up the call, Clay felt better that his and Karl's friendship wasn't ruined. He also felt confident that he wouldn't pull anything like that again.

—

The following Monday at school, Clay and George steered clear of each other. When Clay and Sapnap were walking into the building and down the hallway to their first period class, George was walking the opposite direction towards them. Their eyes locked for a split second before Clay pulled Sapnap down a different hallway.

"Why the hell would we go this way?" Sapnap asked, looking back at the hallway they just came from to see what the issue was.

"AJ was coming towards us." Clay lied, keeping his eyes trained forward.

"I don't have to avoid him you know, it's not going to like trigger me or anything." Sapnap laughed.

"Just to be safe." Clay shrugged. The detour almost made the two late to their English class, but they walked in just as the bell rang. They took their seats at the back of the room as the teacher began talking.

Clay tried to force himself to pay attention to the lecture, but his mind kept going back to George. He eventually gave in and let himself run through the events of that night for about the millionth time. Starting from their acid trip, to the kiss, to the rest.

He thought about the way his body looked in the dark room, the way he felt under his touch, the way he tasted. Clay crossed his leg up and over the other one in his chair to hide his lap.