Home For The Summer ~ A DreamNotFound FanFic

- Chapter two

- Just so you know, COVID-19 isn't a thing in this story because fuck that :)

CLAY POV

Clay was sat behind his desk in his office at home, his face in his hands. He was stressed about work but at least summer was close, which means three weeks off of work. Clay had been debating going on vacation, he just didn't know where he'd want to go. That was, until the song Best Song Ever by One Direction began playing in his headphones. A smile spread across his face, he hadn't listened to this song in years and now it's bringing back tons of memories he didn't know he still had. From all of those times Clay and George were singing along to this in the car, to all of their serious talks about life, to all of the times they weren't able to stop laughing because one of the two had said something stupid, to the day Clay had to leave Rye. The smile that had formed on Clay's face slowly began to fade when he realized how long it had been since he thought about George and how much he actually misses talking with him.

*Flashback*

It had been around a year since Clay left Rye to go to America. George and him were still texting every day, talking about how much they miss each other. That was, until a few weeks later when clay was laying in bed, someone knocked on the door. "Yeah?" Clay screamed, signaling that the person behind the door could come in. His mom opened the door and her face appeared from behind it, her eyes red as tears were streaming down her face. Clay sat up straight on his bed as his mom walked over to sit down next to him. "Mom..?" Clay softly spoke. "What's wrong?" He wrapped an arm around his mom to comfort her. 

It was quiet for a while before she finally spoke. "It's your dad.. He.." She couldn't finish her sentence from sobbing so much. "He died." His mom said, her voice breaking. 

Clay's mind was racing, his dad, gone? No way. Clay had a strong bond with both of his parents but his dad was practically his best friend. "How..?" Clay asked, tears forming in his eyes while his body began to tremble. He didn't want to believe it. 

"He had a heart attack.." His mom whispered through the sobs. Clay tried to stay strong for his mother but this was all too much, he broke down in tears and hugged his mother tight, feeling like letting go was not an option.

*Flashback ends*

Clay felt horrible for ignoring George now but after his dad died, he didn't feel like talking to anyone about it, not even to his mother. When Clay finally started to feel happier again after months, he thought George would have already forgotten about him and felt like reaching out wouldn't have changed a thing, so he didn't. 

He shook off those thoughts and went back to thinking about vacation, he wanted to go back to Rye. Maybe George still lives there, maybe he doesn't. Either way, Clay wanted to go back to see if the town he grew up in still looked the same. He brought his attention back to his computer and focused on the work he still had to do. "The sooner I finish, the sooner I can book a flight to England." Clay murmured to himself. He had his mind made up, Clay was going back to his hometown in England.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Clay couldn't help but hope that George still lives there. He wanted to apologize face to face. Explaining exactly why he didn't reach out to George and asking if he might be able to forgive Clay for his actions. Clay realized that the friendship the two of them shared was special and it wasn't something he wanted to lose forever. He was going to make things right and even if George doesn't want to be friends again, Clay hoped he would at least accept his apology. 

As soon as Clay had finished his work, he opened a new tab, searching for flights to England. Luckily there was a flight on the first day of his three weeks off, meaning he could use the full three weeks to search for the guy he was hoping to find, George. 

Clay double checked all his info and then paid for the ticket. It was official, Clay was going back to Rye. The town he grew up in, the town he loved so much as a kid, the town that had brought him to his best friend. Clay was excited but also felt nervous. What would he even say to George? Yeah, he has to apologize, but how? How can he do it in a way that would make George want to forgive him for what he had done? Clay leaned back in his chair and put both of his hands in his hair, slightly panicking. Would George scream in his face for being such an asshole? Would the two end up being friends again? Does George even still live in Rye? So many questions that Clay had no answer to. Not knowing what to expect from this trip scared Clay, but he wasn't going to let these thoughts stop him.

Clay booked himself a Bed and Breakfast in Rye and closed off his computer. 

*Flashback*

George and Clay were laying in the grass together, looking up at the night sky which was filled with stars. The sound of laughter from both of the boys filled the air. One of them said something stupid, which caused them to laugh uncontrollably. Then the other added something even more stupid that made it funnier. This was a continuous loop they had been stuck in for half an hour. The sides of both the boys hurt from laughing so much. 

Eventually the laughter finally died down, at least, they thought, because when they looked at each other they both bursted out into laughter again. 

It was in moments like these that the two friends realized how much they appreciated one another. 

*Flashback ends*

A few days had passed and Clay was packing his suitcase to leave for England. He had planned a trip for the entire three weeks, coming back on the last day of his vacation.

As Clay was packing his stuff it only just now really hit him that he actually had a chance of seeing George again. At first he could barely believe it but now that he's packing his suitcase to leave, it feels more real. 

Even if Clay does manage to find George, he still had no idea what to say to him. Clay tried to put himself in George's shoes. How would he feel if his best friend started ignoring him with no explanation or apology? Angry, Clay would feel angry. He imagined George would probably be furious. And to be fair, Clay didn't blame him. George has every right to be mad at Clay. Clay was even mad at himself for not trying to get back the friendship the two of them lost because of him. All because of him. A wave of guilt hit Clay like a truck when he thought about how he was the one to blame. He stopped doing what he was doing and looked up at the ceiling, trying to force back the tears that were close to falling down his face.

Clay had to make this right. No matter how hard it was going to be, he needed George's forgiveness. 

- Hi! I'm really excited for this book and I HOPE that it will get even remotely close to how much attention my other book is getting. I'm proud of this book and hope that everyone who reads this likes it as much as I do. 

1326 words :)