Clay was about to close the door behind George when Luke walked up the stairs to their apartment, giving George a nod who was on his way down.
"Hey Luke." Clay said, holding the door open for him to walk through.
"Did y'all just like fuck or something?" He asked, pointing his thumb to the door.
Clay's heart dropped. "What?" He tried to play stupid, but he could feel his face heat up.
"His shirt was inside out and backwards." Luke shrugged, heading to the living room and taking his spot on the couch. "Did Mike come through for his re-up?" He asked, now putting his feet up on the coffee table.
"He did, but I didn't have the Vicodin so he threatened me pretty hard on Arch's behalf." Clay responded, joining Luke on the couch.
"Alright we'll just watch the security camera closer at night, and make sure the doors are locked when you're leaving the apartment. That's all." Luke reassured Clay. He pulled a joint out of his pocket and sparked it, offering it to Clay who refused.
Clay's cellphone started to ring in his pocket, the vibrations on his thigh startling him. His heart dropped even further when he realized it was Karl who was calling.
"Shit." He muttered under his breath while standing up from the couch.
"Is it George?" Luke giggled as he watched the fear on Clay's face.
"Shut the fuck up." He said through gritted teeth. He swiped across the screen to answer as he walked into his room, closing the door behind him. "Hello?" He whispered into the phone.
"Hi Clay, it's Karl. Can we talk?" Karl asked, his voice a little shaky. Clay's chest tightened, suddenly feeling guilty for what he had done to Karl earlier that day, and now about George.
"Yea, sure. What's up?" He asked, trying to sound open.
The two boys talked for a long time. Karl apologized profusely to Clay about the pills and said he had the money to give to him. He also told Clay he had the right to beat him up because what he had done was wrong. The guilt hit Clay even harder then. Clay assured him that he was sorry too, and that everything was ok between the two of them.
When they hung up the call, Clay felt better that his and Karl's friendship wasn't ruined. He also felt confident that he wouldn't pull anything like that again.
—
The following Monday at school, Clay and George steered clear of each other. When Clay and Sapnap were walking into the building and down the hallway to their first period class, George was walking the opposite direction towards them. Their eyes locked for a split second before Clay pulled Sapnap down a different hallway.
"Why the hell would we go this way?" Sapnap asked, looking back at the hallway they just came from to see what the issue was.
"AJ was coming towards us." Clay lied, keeping his eyes trained forward.
"I don't have to avoid him you know, it's not going to like trigger me or anything." Sapnap laughed.
"Just to be safe." Clay shrugged. The detour almost made the two late to their English class, but they walked in just as the bell rang. They took their seats at the back of the room as the teacher began talking.
Clay tried to force himself to pay attention to the lecture, but his mind kept going back to George. He eventually gave in and let himself run through the events of that night for about the millionth time. Starting from their acid trip, to the kiss, to the rest.
He thought about the way his body looked in the dark room, the way he felt under his touch, the way he tasted. Clay crossed his leg up and over the other one in his chair to hide his lap.
Sapnap noticed him shifting positions every two seconds, but he ignored it.
At lunch, George and Jess sat a couple of tables away from Clay's group. He positioned his seat in a way to have a direct line of sight at Clay. He couldn't get his mind off of him.
Instead of eating his lunch, George sat and looked at Clay the whole time. When he saw Clay's gaze shift to him, he made sure to look over at Jess instead who was sitting right next to him.
"Where'd you get this chain?" Jess asked, her delicate fingers holding a gold cross chain that George wore around his neck.
"Oh um my sister got it for me." George lied. He held the cross pendant in his own fingers now and looked down at it. The night with Clay replayed in his mind yet again.
The gold chain was Clay's. He had put it on George at the end of their time together. George remembered how Clay carefully clasped the chain around his neck.
He remembered how it had dangled over him a few minutes before that. His heart throbbed, he missed him.
Clay had noticed George looking over at him a few times, but they never made accidental eye contact, which Clay was thankful for. He had the perfect view of him in between Sapnap and Karl's heads.
"Dude I can't believe you got arrested at that party." Sapnap laughed as he chewed his sandwich, making Clay grimace.
"Can you chew with your mouth closed you child." Clay said to Sapnap, who chewed more obnoxiously now.
"It was me and like ten other kids who got unlucky. I was shitting myself it was so bad." Frankie said back. He had gotten to school on time for the first time that day.
"And you had a fake ID on you didn't you?" Alex asked. He was sitting next to Clay on the opposite side of the table as the others.
"Yea, of course they fucking found it too. I got it done for this kid on the football team and was going to give it to him at that party." Clay started to zone out from the conversation to focus on George, who was now laughing with Jess.
"How did you even get bailed out before your court date. Ain't that shit mad expensive?" Sapnap now asked.
"Dude, you're not gonna believe it but that fucking British kid George bailed me out. My bail was 6k too." Frankie smirked at the other boys reactions.
Clay now snapped back into consciousness of the conversation at the mention of George's name.
—
Friday rolled around far too slow for the boys who were awaiting another big party. This time, it was a college party rather than a kid from their own high school. Clay and Sapnap especially were excited to make sales.
Clay, Sapnap and Karl sat in the car outside of Alex's house, waiting for him to come out. He had texted them prior that he wasn't sure if he'd be able to go because he wasn't feeling well.
"All the lights are off in his house." Sapnap said while calling Alex again.
"Maybe he's asleep?" Karl suggested. His forehead rested on the window as he looked at Alex's house, his breath fogging up the glass in front of him.
"Let's just go, if he wants to come after he wakes up it's not too far away." Clay said, rolling a joint on the middle seat. He was nervous about running into George at the party, so he was trying to get high early to make it easier on him.
Sapnap finally gave up on the phone calls and drove away towards the party. "It's not gonna be the same without Alex here." He said, disappointed that his friend wouldn't be joining.
"It'll be alright Sap, it's just one party." Karl said, looking over at Sapnap in the driver seat. The street lights illuminated his green eyes in the darkness.
The three boys still went through their entire pregame ritual, listening to the same music and smoking the joint Clay had rolled. It felt eerily empty in the car without Alex there with them.
Meanwhile, George was already inside the house with the party going at full force. He had told Jess he would meet up with her at the party instead of driving there together, but he was having trouble finding her in the crowded house.
He found a quieter area down an empty hallway and pulled out his phone to call her and see where she was. He leaned against the wall behind him while it rang.
—
"Oh shit, George is calling you." Alex said, looking at Jess' phone buzzing next to her head.
"Oh god he's probably looking for me." Jess giggled, turning her head to look at her phone as well. "Keep going, i'll tell him i'm not feeling good." She said, now picking her phone up.
"You want me to keep going? While you're on the phone?" Alex asked, pointing down to his waist. The two were in the middle of hooking up instead of going to the party.
"Yes, keep going Alex." She said, smiling at him. She placed her free hand on Alex's that rested on her abdomen. He obliged and kept going, but slower, while she slid across her screen to answer the phone.
"Hey George." She said into the phone, covering her mouth as soon she she finished talking. "You know, i'm not feeling too good. I have a fever and I think i'll just stay home tonight, i'm sorry."
Alex smirked as he bent down over her to hear what George was saying on the other end. He could hear the music blasting in the background and loud yelling.
"No George you don't have to come by, i'll be ok." Jess said, trying to stifle a laugh. As soon as Alex heard that, he almost burst out laughing too but stopped himself. "Ok yea i'll see you soon, have fun, bye."
She started laughing immediately after hanging up and threw her phone to the side again.
"You're crazy." Alex laughed. He bent down and kissed her then picked up his pace again, now putting both of his hands on her waist.
—
After the three boys finished their pregame, they walked together into the house. It was a smaller house since it was rented out by a few college students, so it was extremely crowded. Clay didn't recognize many people in the crowd except for a few from his high school.
"Let's go find Frankie before he gets arrested again." Sapnap yelled over the music. Clay and Karl smiled and started scanning the room for their friend. Clay's eyes immediately landed on George across the room with Frankie.
Clay's eyes scanned down to George's neck, where his gold chain was dangled over his chest. His heart sank, he looked so good in his chain. Clay had no desire to take it back from him. If he was still wearing it, that meant he didn't hate him.
When Clay broke out of his trance, Sapnap and Karl weren't by his side anymore. They had gotten lost in the crowd while looking for Frankie. He decided to grab himself some alcohol, so he pushed his way through the crowd into the kitchen.
He poured himself a shot and downed it instantly. He then poured himself a mixed drink into a red solo cup before getting interrupted by Sapnap.
"Dude, Mike is here." He said into Clay's ear. Clay instantly started looking around to see if he could spot him.
"The one that I sell to?" He asked, clarifying that they were on the same page.
"Yes, that one. Be careful and steer clear of him." Sapnap said, now pouring himself a drink too. "Let's go dance or something i'm bored."
Clay obliged and followed Sapnap into the living room where a whole DJ booth was set up. A guy who didn't seem much older than the boys had headphones on and was playing the music for the crowd who seemed to like all the songs he was playing.
Karl found the other boys eventually and joined in on the fun. He had grabbed himself a drink and taken a couple of pills beforehand, so he was feeling loose.
After a while, the three boys made their way to the kitchen to refill their drinks and take a breather from the packed living room. Clay refilled his solo cup with the same mixed drink as before.
"Yo Clay!" A voice called from behind him. Clay put his drink down and turned to see Frankie approaching them.
"Yo Frankie let's not get arrested tonight right." Clay laughed as he dapped him up. Sapnap laughed to himself too as he sipped his own drink.
George had been making his way to the kitchen as well but stopped when he realized Clay and Karl were both there. He then noticed another familiar face hovering near the alcohol, but he couldn't decipher where he knew him from.
"I was gonna offer you some of my secret sauce but I already sold it all to some college idiots." Frankie said. Clay sighed in disappointment and picked his drink back up to start drinking it again.
George watched them all talk in the kitchen, attempting to work up the courage to go join in. He stood in the same place for a few minutes before forcing himself to go over to them.
Clay tried to focus on Frankie talking in front of him but his vision started to become blurry. His heart was racing and his hands shook.
"Dude are you ok? Your lips are like turning blue." Sapnap said to Clay. He put his own drink down and grabbed Clay's arm which was ice cold.
"Yea, I just don't feel good." Clay said, feeling wobbly now too. He shivered as his body temperature seemed to drop instantly.
"Why don't we go sit down for a bit." Karl said, holding Clay's shoulder. Clay nodded and began walking towards the living room. As he took his first step, the room went black.