flowers in your hair

Equanimity

Equanimity / E•qua•nim•i•ty
mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation

August 12th // Florida - 11:29pm

Before they left the hospital, Clay's grandma met them there and agreed to arrange the funeral. They figured everything out, and then George drove Clay home. They situated everything and then Clay sat on the couch while George came downstairs.

"I just turned on the shower for you, it's warming up."

No response. Clay was staring at the floor. George sat beside him on the couch and rubbed Clay's back. Clay looked up at George, not knowing what to say. He was in shock of everything that had happened not only these past few days, but in the past year.

George could tell Clay didn't know what to say, so he spoke instead. He talked with a sympathetic smile on his face.

"How about you go and get your shower while I find a movie for us to watch?"

Clay smiled, and then it faded away.

"Can we watch it in my room? I want to go to bed after and I don't know if I'll have the energy to go back upstairs."

"Sure, I'll go pull up Netflix. I put a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie on the bathroom sink for you, too."

Clay stood up and started to head upstairs, but stopped and looked back at George.

"Thank you, George. For everything."

"Always."

George stood up when Clay was gone, and went to the kitchen. He prepared a plate full of cookies he found in the cupboard, and a glass of water. He sat them on the bedside table and found some soft blankets in the closet. He opened Netflix, and found a movie they'd both enjoy.

About fifteen minutes later, Clay came into the room in the clothes George picked out for him. He opened the door to the most comforting setup he'd ever seen. It eased his thoughts, and he already felt better. He searched the room until he found George. He felt even better already.

"Hey- I found some cookies and got you a glass of water. There are blankets if you get cold, and if that doesn't help I can-"

George was cut off by a strong pair of arms wrapped around his neck and the smell of Lavender that was soaked into Clay's skin.

"Thank you, George. I couldn't ask for a better friend. You didn't have to do all of this."

"Of course I did, I would do anything for you. Clay- I love you."

They held each other tight for a moment more, until Clay pulled back to truly look at and admire the perfectly amazing person he had. They sat on the bed, and George hit play on the remote. George had his arm around Clay, and they watched as the movie began.

"George?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you too."

Throughout the movie, they did annoying couple-like things together like holding hands and laughing when the other did.

After they watched the movie, neither of them were tired anymore. Clay wasn't thinking about his mom, and George wasn't thinking about anything else besides wanting to make Clay happy.

"Do you wanna go outside for a walk or anything?"

"Sure, why not haha."

They put on their shoes and went downstairs. George opened the front door to find out that it was raining pretty hard.

"Oh- I guess we can find something inside to do."

"Are you kidding-?"

Clay ran towards George, grabbed his hand, and pulled them both out the front door and into the rain. Clay pulled out his phone and hit shuffle on a playlist he hadn't listened to in a long time.

He ran back over to George, and they danced around like idiots in the middle of the street. The only thing out there were the streetlights, the rain, and them. Nothing else in the world mattered right then. They lost themselves with each movement.

They were out there for what might have been an hour or so. They danced to a variety of different artists they knew: Post Malone, girl in red, The Lumineers, and a mixture of popular songs from the 2010 decade.

They jumped around, kicked puddles of water at each other, and would never stop smiling. That was until George, like an idiot, tried to slide towards Clay on the slippery road and ended up knocking them both to the ground.

George fell on top of him, his face inches from Clay's. Their eyes were locked. As George awkwardly smiled and tried to get up, Clay grabbed his shirt and pulled him down closer for a soft kiss.

The kiss was passionate. It were as if they were trapped in time. They didn't even notice the waterfalls pouring down around them anymore, and didn't really care either.

Heat rose from Clay's stomach to his chest. His entire body tingled as he wrapped one arm around George's neck and the other around his waist. They were so lost in the moment that they forgot they were in the middle of the street. It didn't matter though, there were no cars driving in that area that late at night.

Clay still smelt like lavender. George held himself up with both hands on the ground beside Clay's face. It were as if the kiss was the sun peaking out of the raining skies.

After a minute, they pulled apart, struggling to catch their breath. They moved so that they were both just sitting in the road. They looked at each other, and let out a smiling sigh. Clay stood up, and held out his hand. George took the offer, and Clay helped him stand up.

They held each other's hands, and they continued to dance around on the way towards the house. They opened the front door, and each of them sat on either side of the doorway. They stared out into the rain, occasionally admiring each other.

"So uh- I have about five days left in Florida."

"Way to ruin the moment, George."

"No, I- I was thinking I could stay. As long as you're okay with it."

"You mean like, move in with me?"

"I- I- If you're okay with that.."

"Of course I am!!"

Clay leaped up and tackled George with a hug. They pulled apart, and stared into each other's eyes once more, with the rain in the background making the moment peaceful. After all the chaos, and confusion, and everything in between, they were finally together.

That was all they wanted: each other.

Clay's music was still playing, and a familiar song began to play. They looked at each other, and smiled sweetly, knowing it was the song that had brought them together when they first met all those years ago.

i wanna be your girlfriend - girl in red

Total Word Count: 1142