Mindscape // DreamNotFound

Chapter 1

     George sighed as he stalked down the hall into his bedroom, collapsing onto the bed. He ran a hand through his hair. Thoughts of his last day of school played through his mind again when he pulled out his phone, as it had a million times before. It'd been a few months since the school had shut down, and the SDC had moved in, and it had given him plenty of time to regret his past choices.

     The last day of school had been relatively normal. Most of the professors spent their periods telling their students what to expect for their online classes, and that was really it. George went from class to class immediately, not bothering to spend his break between periods to chat with the friends he didn't have.

     When he went to classes early, usually they'd be empty, as even the professors liked to take their time. However, he had one english class that was never entirely empty. Throughout the year, every time he stepped into the class, there was always another boy there. Always the same boy, and he was always there before George, no matter how early he was.

     The boy sat there, in his seat at the very back of the classroom, with his blonde hair looking messy and his eyes following George all the way to his seat. To his knowledge, that boy's name was Clay. He was fairly loud during class, always talking to his seat mates or answering the professor's question.

     At first, Clay's presence hadn't phased him. Just another kid who had nothing better to do than sit and wait for class to start, George had told himself. But as the days passed, George could always find Clay around campus between classes, always laughing with his friends. So then, why would someone who did have something better to do stay in that empty classroom, silently staring at the back of George's head.

     And that was another thing! George could feel him staring, and if he looked over his shoulder, Clay would jerk his head away quickly, as if he hadn't been. They'd never spoken, not once. George didn't have the confidence to start a conversation, though he wasn't sure why someone as loud and cheery as Clay didn't try either. So there they would sit, for twenty minutes in silence before the rest of the class would shuffle in.

     Sometimes George would wonder to himself what went on in Clay's head. The blonde didn't particularly catch his eye at first, but sitting in a room with one person and no one else would make you fairly used to their presence. He caught himself accidentally finding Clay in a crowded hallway. He was always smiling, always happy, but it was never directed a George. When they sat there for those twenty minutes, three times a week for four weeks, Clay didn't display any of his extroverted personality. Not even once.

     That's why, on that last day of school, when George walked through the door, and Clay wasn't there, he was surprised. He sat down at his seat, silently pulling his laptop out of his bag. His eyes kept drifting, looking to where the blonde was supposed to be. It was strange, almost, to see the seat vacant. He'd never been earlier than Clay, and Clay had never been absent from class.

     After roughly five minutes, the door pushed open, and George looked up. His eyes were met with a familiar pair, though he couldn't really tell because of his colorblindness, looking like a deer in headlights. Clay froze, standing there with his gaze locked on George. Slowly, and almost shyly, Clay raised a hand and cracked a sheepish smile. For the first time in four weeks, he spoke, " Hey."

     " Hey," George responded, trying to hide his shocked tone. He winced, hearing how sharp his accent was in comparison to Clay's American one. He panicked for a moment, and a beat went by where they were just staring at each other silently. Finally, he choked out a quick, " You're late today."

     " Technically, I've still got fifteen minutes before I'm late," the other boy chuckled, and George relaxed a bit. This was good, this was the kind of conversation friends had, he told himself. " I'm sorry I couldn't beat you like I usually do."