UNEXPECTED

Chapter 111

"Hey, Hannah." The blue-eyed man answered after placing his phone up to his ear. "Hey, Helmet. Are you ok? Why didn't you call me last night?" The young woman questioned almost instantly from the other end. The Baker girl didn't sound all that worried because she had assumed that he got caught up with homework or something related to college. Little did she know how wrong she was about the reason behind her boyfriend not calling her the night before.

"Yeah, no, I'm ok. I'm sorry I didn't call you last night. I guess I kind of got distracted with some things." The young man said, not telling the whole truth just yet. "Are you sure you're ok? You sound a little off." Hannah said, picking up on the exhaustion in her boyfriend's voice, as well as even the slightest change - like Clay talking the slightest bit slower due to still being a bit hungover from last night's events. The man sighed to himself, knowing he couldn't lie to the woman he loved more than anything in this whole world. "I might have gotten a little distracted and carried away last night after something that happened earlier in the day." He confessed. "Why? What happened, Helmet?" Hannah asked, becoming worried for her boyfriend yet curious to know what all had gone on yesterday.

"I saw Chloe yesterday." Clay said after taking a breath. "She came up to me, and she wanted to apologize for what she did to me. But, rather than hearing what she had to say, I got all defensive and pushed her away, basically saying that an apology wouldn't change anything." The male said, giving a small explanation of their run-in. "Last night, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. And seeing her again brought back memories I've tried so hard to forget. I ended up at a bar alone last night, desperate to forget about everything. I was there for forever, it seemed like, drowning in my thoughts, and I guess I managed to get myself drunk in the process." The 21-year-old explained, going quiet afterwards as he waited for his girlfriend to say something, anything.

The line stayed quiet for a few seconds before an almost inaudible sigh was heard. "I wish I was there in person so I could hug you and just hold you in my arms to comfort you, Helmet." She said softly. Hearing her tone, Clay could detect sadness, and maybe even a small inkling of guilt, that Hannah wasn't there in person to talk to him about recent events. "I just have to ask." Hannah began after another second or two. "Was last night the first time you actually got drunk?" The young woman couldn't help but ask as worry seemed to leak into her tone now. Clay nodded to himself before answering.

"Yeah. Last night was the first time I managed to get myself drunk." He replied. "Can it be the only time?" Hannah asks, slightly confusing her boyfriend with the question. "What?" Clay replied back with a question, voicing the confusion he suddenly felt. The woman sighed to herself again. "It's just, bad things happen around me whenever someone's drunk. Jessica was drunk the night of her party - I'm pretty sure Bryce was too, for that matter - and she got raped that night. Everyone assumed Jeff was drunk driving when he died in that wreck the same night. And Bryce was most likely drunk when he did what he did to me." The young woman spoke, trailing off at the end when she referred to the night Bryce Walker managed to singlehandedly break her soul.

Clay let out a breath once he realized that Hannah was getting at. She was afraid that, if he was drunk, something bad would happen between them. Either that, or she was thinking about him possibly becoming like Bryce when it came to consuming alcohol. All those horrible times were burned in the back of her mind, never to be forgotten, and the young woman couldn't help but worry that her boyfriend would fall in line with one of the scenarios if he ever got drunk around her.

"I'm usually pretty good about my drinking, though. And, besides. It's like I've said before. I'm not him, Babe. And I'm nothing like him in the slightest. I'd never do anything to hurt you like he did. That's not my intention at all. I love you more than anything, and it would kill me if I were to ever lose you. I don't think I could survive that kind of loss. You've made my life so much better than what it used to be, simply by being in it, and I'm extremely grateful for that, Hannah. I'd never do anything to jeopardize that. I love you too much to ever even think about a life without you by my side." Clay said, and Hannah could tell that his words were nothing but sincere.

"That goes both ways, Helmet." The young woman spoke. "You mean more to me than you'll ever know. You've saved my life on a couple of occasions, and you've always been there for me when I needed you most. It's like I'm a ship heading towards the shore in the dead of night. But you're the lighthouse that's giving me a beacon to guide me away from the rocky and dangerous part of the shore. It's always been like that, Clay. Even back in high school, when I kept pushing you away, you were always like this beacon of light and hope that I always longed for. You're my Superman." Hannah said. Even though the woman couldn't tell, her words had brought a red tint to her boyfriend's cheeks.

"I will always be your Superman, Hannah. I will always fight to protect you and keep you safe from any demons you may face in your lifetime, no matter what." He said with a small, caring smile coming to his face. "I know you will, Clay. And I love you more than you can ever imagine because of that." She said, a smile detectable through her words. "Well, I love you, too." The young man replied happily. "Oh, shit." The 21-year-old soon muttered to himself once he caught sight of the time.

"What? What's wrong, Clay?" Hannah asked worriedly after barely hearing her boyfriend mutter to himself. "Nothing. I just kind of lost track of time. I need to finish getting dressed and leave for class soon." The boy said, reassuring his girlfriend that it was nothing drastic. Hannah chuckled to herself. "I'll let you go then so you can get to class on time, Superman." She said. "Alright. Talk again later?" The blue-eyed man asked hopefully. "I'll be looking forward to it." Hannah replied. The two then said one more "I love you" to each other before ending the call. Clay quickly grabbed a tricolored shirt and threw it on. The shirt was a shortsleeved shirt with the top being dark blue, the middle being a light blue, and the bottom being white. The three stripes were faded together, kind of like how a tie-dyed shirt would be. Smiling to himself after seeing how he looked in his chosen outfit for the day, Clay grabbed his backpack before leaving the apartment to head to his first class of the long day he had.

Throughout the day, Clay couldn't help but smile to himself. Hannah Baker thought of him as her Superman. That was a title he wouldn't trade for the world. If we're talking about DC superheros here, Clay secretly viewed Hannah as his personal Wonder Woman, because she had saved his life as well. Both Hannah and Clay had saved each other from their dark pasts, and they were continuing to keep each other afloat as they navigated the obstacles that life has to offer with each new day. Hannah and Clay were in this together for the long run, because they were a team - an unbreakable force. These two stuck by each other through thick and thin, and they would continue to do that until their dying breaths.