for him | skephalo, fluff

hangout

~Zak's POV~

After the incident, I've been distancing myself from Clay. It was Winter Break so it wasn't like I would need to see him anyways. Though, I still needed to keep him under control. If he killed Scarlett earlier than we planned, he would risk what happened to Vincent and I hoped he knew that.

Because of my distance from Clay, I decided to focus on what mattered to me. I spent more time with friends, more time with Darryl. I finally attended an idot hangout day. The group has one every month, and for the past few months I've always made excuses not to go.

It was a good choice to go, my presence was welcomed. They all were pretty excited that I decided to finally hangout with them, especially since Vincent wouldn't able to join them anymore.

On the day of our hangout, we all gathered at Geo's house. We took turns playing video games, we did random word games, pillow fights, and late night talks. It was a good distraction for me, but anytime I was distracted was a great time for Clay to lurk around.

It was a good thing he didn't though. It felt like he was starting to understand why I put a one month waiting time on Scarlett.

Even better news, Darryl was getting adopted in two months. We were never able to do the stuff we did in George's house like cuddle because my parents wouldn't allow it and the orphanage workers would never let me visit.

Darryl told me that he's starting to think Vincent is dead, which makes him feel even more dangerous. He's scared he might hurt me. He feels like he's being tortured. Everyone around him starting to disappear.

Of course I comforted him through it, but it hurt me knowing that he thinks it's his fault. To lighten the mood, he and George set up a small group party at the mansion. This is bad in multiple ways.

1. Darryl and George were planning it, meaning Clay and I were both getting invited.
2. George was most likely going to invite Scarlett
3. With all these people, this event was probably going to be a train wreck instead of helping Darryl calm down.

It was the day of the hangout and Darryl, Ant and I had just arrived to the mansion. The day prior Darryl and I decided to make the hangout a bit funner, we would buy a bunch of juice boxes and a variety of candies.

Once we arrived, George let us in, revealing people waiting and talking in the family room. There was Clay, Scarlett, Nick, and Karl. Clay seemed to be eyeing Scarlett, watching her every movement. I knew I had to keep an eye on Clay.

"Welcome!" George bubbled, "Glad you brought drinks. You can set your things on the counter over there," he pointed over to a marbled counter in his kitchen, not far from his living room. Darryl and Ant nod and walk over to it, I follow.

"Hi Bad!" I hear Karl shout over to Darryl. Darryl turns his head to smile and wave.

Darryl and Ant set down the candies and the drinks. The counter was filled with an arrangement of food, pizza, sushi, brownies, you name it. I was worried this would get Darryl sick.

Darryl and Ant took a seat with the rest. I did the same. I watched as Clay preyed over Scarlett, furrowing his eyebrows lower every time her and George made an interaction. He seemed to ignore me.

Nick seemed to catch on to Clay's observance on Scarlett and laughed. "This is what happens if you bring over your girlfriend, George," he sticks his thumb outward, pointing it to Clay. Darryl tilted his head in confusion.

This caused Clay to eye Nick with an intimidating look. George forced a laugh, Scarlett seemed confused as well. George decided to break all of the awkwardness with a loud clap. It got the attention of everyone.

All eyes were on George, though it seemed like he didn't have anything planned to say. He laughed awkwardly before beginning to talk. "So." His first word was, he stretched out his word causing tension to loosen. "What are we going to do first?"

A wave of silence hit the room. Nick clicked his and lifted up his hand. "Spin the bottle! Spin the bottle!" He chanted.

George crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow sassily. "There's two couples here. Choose something else,"

"Who's the second couple- oh," Nick realized. He, Clay, George, Sam, Valerie, Scarlett, and my parents were about the only people who knew about our relationship.

"Wait what? Who is the second couple?" Karl brought the question back for someone to answer. Darryl shifted around nervously, waiting for someone to change the topic. George seemed to notice that Darryl and I were getting uncomfortable so he moved o from the topic.

"So spin the bottle is off the chart, so what other ideas do we have,"

Nick didn't leave the idea of spin the bottle so easily. "George, please." He begged, stretching out his vowels. "Just on the cheek. You and Scarlett don't have to play, I'm so touch starved. It's funny! And if it's on the cheek it's not that gay,"

George still refused. "No! You can kiss someone here if you wanted, but we're not making a game out of it,"

Nick pouted. "You're no fun Gogy. No one here would kiss me out of game," he threw a fit.

Clay still focused on Scarlett. Scarlett and George had very little interaction but Clay still clung onto the sight of Scarlett. George seemed to worry but said nothing about it. Clay seemed off, ever since Scarlett, he's been joking less, he's been more observant, and quieter. I took mental notes on all of this.

I wasn't sure if Clay and I would be partnering up again, especially since the incident at the corner store. I sort of just left Clay to discard all of the evidence that it was us, so I hoped he did a good job on it. I didn't do anything except try talking him out of it but if Clay got tracked down, I knew I would too.

Under all of the silence, I notice Darryl, sighing and brushing his bangs out of his face. "I wish Vincent was here," I hear him say under his breath, catching the attention of everyone in the room. I felt myself frown. I divided my attention, half to Darryl and half to Clay. I knew I should've been a good boyfriend and pay attention to Darryl, but the second I take an eye off of Clay he would be gone, alone with Scarlett, killing her.

Darryl noticed all the eyes on him and started to get tense. He started to stand up and walk up to the counter will all of the food. Worried, I follow, even if it risked leaving Clay with no supervision.

He leans against the counter, studying the food. I lean on the counter to, mimicking his moves to get his attention. He notices me and gives me a vulnerable look. The group starts to talk from the family room.

"Look. Just because Vincent is missing, doesn't mean he's dead. Everyone is worried about him, but Vincent's a strong guy. He's tough. He makes his way out of things," I tell Darryl, hoping to make him feel better. I knew Vincent was dead and it was my fault, but I didn't want Darryl to focus on Vincent. It only saddens him.

He starts giving off a soft smile causing me to smile too. I was tempted to give him a kiss on the cheek, but I decided not to knowing that we were in a house full of our friends. He grabs a cookie from a tray and starts to nibble the edges of it. "I love you," I whisper, knowing the group wouldn't be able to hear it.

"I love you too," he whispers back, holding the cookie close to my mouth, allowing me to take a bite if I pleased. I did as he laughed.

"Let's go now, bud," I tell Darryl as I finish up my chewing. He nods and follows me back to the main room.

I looked around the room, that's when I realized. Clay and Scarlett were missing.

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Thank you for reading part 37 :)

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