Bashful - A Skephalo Story ❤️

Part 38

The next morning, everyone got their own breakfast. Shoulders hunched, Clay made his way downstairs and to the kitchen to make himself some toast. Sat at the table were Zak and Darryl, heads bent together as they smiled and talked in low voices. They looked up as Clay came to sit at the table, Darryl tensing. Zak took hold of his hand and squeezed it encouragingly.

Clay felt a pang as he glanced at their interlaced fingers. Scowling, he got out his phone and completely ignored them. Darryl sighed quietly and his head snapped up. "Do you have a problem, or are you just going to sit there huffing, simpleton?"

Blushing, Darryl cringed into Zak's chest. "N-no," he stuttered, suddenly fascinated by the wood pattern on the table.

Zak was furious. Clearing his throat pointedly, he wrapped his arms around Darryl's waist protectively and turned his gaze to meet Clay's. "If you speak to my boyfriend like that ever again, your nose will be poking out the back of your skull. We pay the bills for this house, and I don't have a problem with kicking you out of it. You need to learn some basic manners and stop being so childish."

"Kick me out then, see if I care," Clay retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"As much as I'd love to right now..." Zak clenched his fists, "you're supposed to be my friend. This isn't you. I don't know what's going on in your head, but there's obviously something making you like this." He spoke again in a softer voice, "Look, Clay, I care about my friends. And I don't want any of the people close to me to get hurt. That includes both you," he smiled gently, "and Darryl. I want both of you to be happy, and you're hurting me as well by being so horrible to him. Please, can you try and be nice?"

Hugging himself and looking down, Clay started to sniffle quietly. "I'm sorry..." he said shakily, tears leaking from his eyes.

Zak immediately got up and moved around to his side of the table, giving him a big hug. "It's okay, although it's not me you should be apologising to."

Nodding slightly, Clay looked up and met Darryl's anxious gaze. "I'm sorry, Darryl. I'm being so horrible to you for no reason. I just-" his voice cracked and he looked away again, crying harder.

Scooting around to his other side, Darryl patted his back comfortingly. "It's fine, honestly. Let's just move on," he shrugged, "I don't like fights anyway."

"There," Zak said brightly, "you don't need to get upset." Getting up, he grabbed some tissues and handed them to Clay, who blew his nose loudly. Then he added quietly, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Shaking his head, Clay took a deep breath and sat up. "Can we just forget this ever happened?"

"Sure," Darryl replied easily, "you're a good muffin at heart anyways."

Groaning, Zak rolled his eyes. "Why does everything come back to muffins with you?!"

They started to relax, talking and slowly bridging the gap that had formed between them. As the day went on, Clay started to feel happier. He still felt pain whenever Zak and Darryl touched, but he pushed it down and carried on talking and smiling. Whatever these feelings were, he didn't want to cause any more problems - especially after they had forgiven him so readily.

By the time lunch came, the others had wandered downstairs as well and they were all chatting in the living room. Zelk suggested they watch a movie, and everyone agreed.

"I'll go get popcorn and snacks," Darryl announced, disappearing out of the room.

Zak took the armchair by the window, tucking his feet up next to him. Dave, Vincent, Spifey and Zelk grabbed the big beanbags and dragged then over, flopping down two on each. Clay sat on the loveseat, trying to hide his excitement. The only other empty seat was next to him, and Darryl would have to take it. He looked up eagerly as he came in carrying two big trays. They were full of bowls of popcorn, crisps and pretzels.