Stay Inside (by my Side) : Gream/DreamNotFound

8. Vulnerability

[a/n: I realized I hated the previous cover so I made a new one and am pretty proud of it :3 let me know if u like it!]
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TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains mentions of self harm and bullying. If you are sensitive to this, please look out for a caution at the beginning of that part. Thank you <3
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Clay could be heard wheezing and oofing from the couch, and George peeked out of the kitchen to see what the commotion was about. The blond was watching something on his phone, the audio just barely carrying over the living room.

"Whatcha doing?" George asked, approaching the sofa.

"My friend sent me this broken bone compilation," Clay said, not looking away from the screen, "I can't stop watching it."

On his phone, an old clip started playing, in which a biker attempted a backflip off a ramp but under-turned and fell on his spine. The next shot was a closeup of the damage, where the poor soul lay on the ground with his leg bent in the completely wrong direction. Both George and Clay sucked air between their teeth as an involuntary shudder passed over them.

"Eugh," George shook his head, but continued watching over Clay's shoulder.

"Let's watch more," Clay suggested as the video ended.

George, surprisingly, agreed. Those videos were like watching car crashes.

They sat through around 8 more compilations, laughing in second-hand pain at the failures of those featured in the videos.

"I think we're discovering something about ourselves here," Clay said as George let out a loud laugh at a child slipping off a swing.

"This is a journey to self-acceptance," George replied, still laughing at the way the camera shook as the child's parents lunged after her.

Some clips in the video were much worse than others, and some were minor compared to the average wound. The lesser ones would leave a gnarly scar nonetheless.

"Were you ever as stupid as this?" Clay asked his friend.

"Not quite," George laughed.

"I kind of was," Clay admitted shyly.

"Do you have any embarrassing scars?"

"Oh yeah, tons," Clay thought out loud as the video on his phone came to an end. He put the phone down and lifted his left leg up to the cushion, "I have this one on my calf from when I fell into a ditch playing hide and seek."

George cringed and leaned in for a closer look.

"And this one is from falling down the stairs during trick or treating," Clay continued, sticking out his forearm.

"Jeez, you really went in for that candy, huh?"

"I couldn't see anything out of my mask," Clay wheezed, "what about you, you got any stories?"

George thought.

"I have tons of paintball bulletholes," he offered.

"That's not embarrassing, that's badass," Clay rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I have this slice from when I ran into a table," he said, lifting his hoodie to show a stitched gash on his side.

"Oh," Clay yelped, "that reminds me of when I fell onto a table," he turned and lifted up his shirt, showcasing a discolored strip of skin across his upper back.