Juliet

Flower

TW// MENTIONS of PAST physical & mental abuse

After arriving home from school, all Clay could think about was sleep, though he never got any. The stars had always been placed above sleep. The satisfactory feeling of telling them everything and anything made his night; every night. Once the clock hit 12, he was out of his bedroom window and onto the rooftop. It felt tranquil up there like you could just die happy.

The slight gust of wind felt incredible while the dew in the air filled his nose. It smelt peaceful. It had rained that morning, leaving a pleasant scent behind.
He had a lot to tell tonight. It was the end of the school year with only two days left, they had one last exam to pass before the year ended which was 15% of his grade, his mom and dad never stopped fighting, Drista was having trouble with her friends at school and Clay was supposed to help her, but he didn't know-how. Everything felt so heavy.

He laid down on the roof, back against the house panels, fingernails dug under the shingles to keep from falling. Clay's mind raced around as he spoke his truths to the stars. Absences of tears pricked his eyes as he spoke, he didn't want the stars to think he was weak, so he brushed them off like nothing. He bathed in the cool blue tint of the moon, it was almost as if he was glowing. Basking in the cool July air.

" Why does it all have to happen to me, why do I have to deal with it, I'm not strong enough for this!" By now, everything around him stopped and he let go of his tears, letting them pour. " Why can't I just have a normal life, it's so-" His rant got abruptly stopped when he saw the next-door neighbor boy staring at him from his window. Clay quickly wiped his tears, trying to figure out what he was doing. They had only talked maybe 3 or 4 times before since he was fairly new to the neighborhood.

The boy climbed out his window, sitting on his windowsill. " You alright?" He said, he spoke loud and with concern.
Clay nodded his head, knowing full well the pain would arise in his voice if he spoke.
The boy looked from side to side, starting to jump down from his roof. Clay got a bit nervous, pushing himself closer to the wall. Once he'd gotten over Clay's fence, he used multiple garden rocks to help him get onto the roof where Clay was staying. " What are you doing?" He pondered, giving him a hand. " I saw you crying." He pulled himself up, trying his best to stay balanced while getting up to Clay.

The two sat for a while, talking about whatever came to their minds first.
Clay had learned that the boy's name was Nick and that he'd gone to school with Clay, but was in advanced lessons.
Nick was also originally from somewhere in Texas, his voice still held onto a bit of a southern accent, which Clay thought was quite nice. His brunette hair was puffy and ruffled, eyes burnt umber and sparkling. They had a nice soft blue glaze on them from the moon and the crescent shape reflected.

The two talked about the stars, and how therapeutic they were. Cold midnight gust felt nice on their bare arms, but Nick couldn't handle the cold that well. " Jesus it's cold tonight." He said, leaning into Clay a bit. The blonde let it happen, not knowing anything else to do. " Mhm." He responded, resisting the urge to put his arm around the brunette. He'd finally worked up the confidence to form words, though, they weren't very easy to hear. " Do you wanna sleep here tonight, " he paused, trying to make it seem like he wasn't too excited. " Y'know, so you don't have to jump the fence again." Clay lied, all he wanted was to be able to talk to George more. Every part of him made Clay's heart leap with some sort of magnetic feeling that drew him to Nick.

He'd agreed, rather quick. Which, made Clay burst with excitement.
He didn't know why or how but this boy had just enamored him. Everything about him was darling. Nick had this sweet look of care and contentment plastered on his face at all times. The way his hair was messily strewn out all over slightly covering his deep burnt umber eyes. His pyjama pants had small yellowish cotton stars sewn on them with a blue and purple gradient background. Everything about him made Clay's heart flutter in every sort of way.