this love ☼ dreamnotfound

{ 33 }

( cw // mentions of drinking + light drinking )

george couldn't take his eyes off of clay. he didn't look like he was doing well, and concern was rushing through george's body. he cared about him so much, and whether they were on break, upset with each other, or even broken up, that would never change.

"ow- george," stas expressed as george shifted on her lap. she asked as he grabbed the door handle, "what are you doing?"

"i'll be right back," george told vaguely, not taking his eyes off of clay once as he exited the car. he felt everyone's eyes on him, but he knew they would move on and get distracted by something else in approximately five seconds.

he felt anxiety rushing through his veins as he walked through the gate to enter the field. he could see clay walking around facing away from him with punz by his side. punz turned around for a split second and his eyes landed on george. george could've sworn his heart stopped when punz tapped clay on the shoulder and started whispering to him.

"george is here," he spoke in a teasing tone.

clay responded, "i know." he added with a sour tone, "i saw him with karl and alex and some other random people in the parking lot." he had no idea who stas and sage were, so seeing them had made him curious.

"no, i mean like- he's right back there," punz elaborated, pointing behind them.

"what?" clay jumped at punz's words. he nervously turned to look over his shoulder, seeing none other than george. they both froze when their eyes met.

clay quickly turned back around and punz elbowed him in the side. "go talk to him, he's your boyfriend," he encouraged, knowing nothing about their current situation.

"i will," clay promised. he changed the topic, "let's just... finish planning for tomorrow first."

"dude, he's literally right back there. i can just call you later," punz suggested, not wanting to keep george waiting.

clay continued to stay off of the topic of george, "you think we can get the weight room tomorrow?"

"clay." punz's expression changed. he asked with concern, "what the hell is going on with you?"

"nothing," clay answered quickly. "i'm gonna go... talk to george." he made an excuse to get away without realizing that he was leaving one awkward situation for another one.

punz's eyebrows pinched together as he watched clay walk away, "...okay?"

george felt weird just standing around on the field, so he had relocated to the bleachers and sat down. it felt odd to be alone on a set of bleachers that was usually overflowing with people.

he happened to look up from his phone right as clay was walking up the stairs.

"oh," george acted surprised as if he hadn't intended to talk to clay. he greeted quietly and timidly, "hey."

"hey," clay echoed, not really knowing what to say. he sat down next to george, leaving a few inches between them. he rested his elbows on his knees and leaned over, thinking for a moment. after a few seconds, he asked, "what are you doing here?"

george told him, "we were picking up alex, but then i saw you and i just..." he trailed off. he continued, "i couldn't just not talk to you."

clay felt the same way, but he didn't want to say it. he was supposed to be the one who needed space. "is there anything specific you wanted to talk about?" clay wondered.

he sounded so serious- it was like they hadn't spent almost everyday of the past six months joking around with each other. "i just wanted to know how you're doing," george revealed. there was so much more he wanted to say, but he couldn't do it. not here. not now.