Is This True Love? (DNF)

Chapter 18: The Death of Georgenotfound

Clay POV

Much to my surprise as I stood in town, the voice in my ear came to life again. “Karl and George are about to approach you.” It told me, and I watched the two brunettes crossing the road after a car passed them. “Jimmy requests that you interact with them.”
“Oh… okay.” I said, giving a small smile as I began walking towards them, closing the distance.

When I got close enough Karl spoke up, loud enough for me to hear. “Hey Clay!” He grinned, waving over to me.
“Hey guys.” I replied. “What are you doing here?”
“I had some errands to do.” George explained. “And Karl insisted on going with me.”

“After what happened with George yesterday, Sapnap, Fundy, and I didn’t think we should leave him alone.” Karl spoke solemnly. “Since I had today off of work I figured I’d join him.”
“Wait… what happened with George yesterday?” Obviously I had seen the helicopter, and I’d heard gossip from the other people around, but they didn’t know that.

“I fainted.” George spoke briefly, not seeming to care about it that much. “Fundy overreacted by calling the hospital, but I feel fine. None of them seem to care about that though.”
“It’s because we care about you George.” Karl put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

The earpiece began cracking again and I worried that perhaps George would hear it, however as I spared a glance over it seemed that he was oblivious. He just continued to talk about how his friends were overreacting. “Karl, can you give Clay and George some alone time. It’s what the viewers want.”

My eyes widened and an unsure smile grew on my face at the idea of being able to be alone with George. It was like being alone with a celebrity, unbeknownst to him. “Y’know, George.” Karl began. “If you don’t want to hang out with your concerned friend then perhaps you could hang out with Niki’s concerned cousin Clay.”

“Karl, I already told you that I’m alright.” George began, looking over at me sympathetically. “You really don’t have to bother if you don’t want to.”
“No, it’s fine.” I responded with a smile. “I did wanna make some friends while I was in town.”

“See George.” Karl smiled. “This is also good for Clay. How about the two of you hang out for half an hour? I wanted to buy some stuff for me and Sapnap as well.”
“What, lube?” The Brit asked, his accent especially thick on that word. Karl rolled his eyes.
“I think I’ll save that for you and Fundy to use.”

He exchanged goodbyes with George and gave me a wave before walking off. The voice in my ear reappeared, asking me to just take him to a cafe. “So… are you hungry?” I asked him cautiously. “Niki told me about a cafe here she really likes, it’s called…”
“Main Street Espresso.” The voice in my ear told me.

“...it’s called Main Street Espresso.” My smile didn’t falter once. “She tells me that she loves the food there, and the coffees obviously.”
“Oh…” George hesitated, not seeming to think that I would have invited him. “Sure I guess. I’ve been there once or twice and the food is alright.”

“Great…” I grinned, before growing awkward. “Do you think you can show me the way? I’m not all too sure about directions yet.” That made the brunette grin as he nodded. His hand grabbed mine, causing an awkward blush to run up my cheeks before he began leading me away towards the cafe.

A lot of people in the town were sparing glances at the two of us, since it’s not every day the main person in your life was leading a celebrity through the street. He kept pulling me, only stopping when we reached a road and allowed some cars to pass. Right across the road was the cafe, a sleek black building with yellow letters having the name.

There was a crowd of people inside and I seemed hesitant. “Maybe this wasn’t the best idea, it seems busy. We could come back later.”
“No, it’s fine.” George responded. “This place has fast service. Trust me, Niki always talks about it.” I smiled at him as he led me inside, his hand still holding mine.

The brunette only seemed to realise he was still holding my hand when we reached town, where he blushed and let go of it. “Sorry about that.” He murmured, his hands clasping themselves together in front of him. He turned to look towards the menu which hung behind the counter. “So what are you wanting?”

“I’m not sure.” I responded. There was all sorts of stuff written up on the menu and there was also a cabinet as well, half-full of different sandwiches, salads, and baking. “Maybe a milkshake, since it is warm today… a chocolate milkshake might be nice.”
“That could be good.” He nodded in agreement. “I was thinking maybe a strawberry milkshake.”

The line inched closer to the counter, allowing me a better look at the food. “Is there anything you are interested in eating?” I asked him. “Since I don’t want to get anything if you aren’t getting anything. That would be kind of unfair.”

George looked at me with a loving smile before quickly looking away. “Maybe some cake.” He stated. “There is red velvet cake, lemon slice cake, coconut cream cake, chocolate and vanilla swirl cake… I can’t decide.” The brunette looked back over at me, wanting my input.
“If you could narrow it down to two we could split it.” I shrugged.

His eyes widened. “Really?” George questioned. “None of my friends like sharing their food and so I usually end up having to buy multiple to try, or I buy some and end up wasting it.” For a moment he hesitated before adding on a ‘thanks Clay’.
The soft voice was so sweet and a grin tugged itself at my lips. “No problem, anything for you.”

He blushed and nodded as we reached the counter, he was right about the line moving fast. “Oh my…. hi there Cl… customers.” The male barista said, almost tripping up and saying my name. My eyes narrowed into a glare at the fact that he nearly exposed me to George. He must have been new. “How can I help you both today?”

“Can we get two milkshakes, one chocolate and one strawberry?” George smiled. “Then one slice of coconut cream cake, and one slice of chocolate and vanilla cake.” The man nodded and pressed some buttons on the screen in front of him.
“Is that all?” He asked, still seeming embarrassed over accidentally almost exposing me.

“Yes thank you.” I managed a smile. I pulled my card out, since I had been the one to invite George to the cafe.
“That will be $19.50, thanks.” The man said with a smile. I nodded and paid, with George seeming shocked.

After I was done and we went to sit down he gave me a side eye. “Really?” I muttered a
‘what?’ unsure of what he was upset about. “You didn’t have to pay for me.” He continued. “I was going to pay for you.”
“Maybe next time.” I reassured him with a smile, and he smiled back.

“Yeah.” His voice was soft yet happy. “Next time.”
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1235 words

Just kidding, George isn't dying (at least not yet). Imagine if he was though, that would be funny.