Clay pov

I had found George pacing back and forth in the science lab, seemingly terrified at the sounds of a raging storm outside.

I had felt the pull to wrap my arms around his shoulder and pull him close, to whisper comforting words that hadn't yet formulated in my mind in his ear as I led him back to safety.

The idea passed by fleetingly, filling my chest with warmth and my heart with purpose, but I pushed it away.

Any desire of closeness I had for George needed to be out on standby until I figured out what it meant, and I definitely didn't have time to do that when he was cowering and afraid.

With the thought of holding the brunette in my arms lingering in my mind, I walked towards the boy, reaching my hand out towards him.

His breathing was unsteady; he was attempting deep breaths but it was still shallow, not allowing him to retain much oxygen.

Instead of wrapping my arms around his shoulders and pulling him close like I so wanted to do, I placed my hand on his arm, squeezing it reassuringly as I began to speak.

"George..." I called, hoping he could hear me. "Hey, I'm here, there's nothing to be afraid of. You'll be fine."

He looked up at me with those big brown eyes, widened in his terror, in his uncertainty towards the storm. But he was looking at me anyway, responding to the sound of my voice.

There was silence, nothing but the distant sounds of the storm that always comforted me, but left George trembling in fright.

The now gentle pattering of the rain, the sounds of swaying palm and oak trees, it had soothed me through some of my worse nights, durring the worst times of missing my sister, but in an instant, the calmness of the atmosphere was shattered with a crash of thunder and violent abuse of hail upon the building.

George jumped, moving instantly towards me, arms flailing out and grasping at the space around me.

He was frightened, breath's now coming in frantic gasps, eyes wide and terrified.

He flung his arms around me, pulling himself close, almost sitting in my lap as he held me tightly.

My arms were quick to wrap around his waist, holding him protectively, small hushes escaping my lips.

His hair was in my face, tickling my nose, but I couldn't bring myself to care when his body was trembling in my grasp.

"George..." I say, my voice more empathetic than I've ever heard it sound. "It's alright."

My poor attempt at comforting was only met with a head of brunette hair snuggling further into the crook of my neck against the booming thunder outside.

I sigh, unsure of what to do.

I didn't know why my chest was warm again, or why my heart was fluttering instead of beating, but it made me smile, despite my unease with George's fear.

What was going on?

The boy was barely my friend, and yet I still felt the inclination to be close to him, to hold him through his fright.

I didn't think it was normal, but then again, what did I know about having friends? It had been so long since I last had one.

"Do you want to go back to the teachers lounge, maybe?" I asked tentatively, tilting my head downward towards the shaking boy who looked up at me with a scowl I knew he only wore to conceal his terror.

He nodded, making me sigh with relief.

I was never the best at comforting people. My sister was always too strong to even need or want my poor attempts and I wasn't trusted in my friend group enough to have things shared that were worth condolence.

George was the first, for a lot of things I never thought I'd find myself providing for another person.

Comfort, solidarity, safety, friendship... I didn't expect to be a beacon for it all, but it was nice to be able to give it to someone why truly needed kt, and have the deed returned in my times of distress.

I tried to stand up, ready to lead the small boy back to our 'camp', but found that he wasn't too keen on letting me go, his arms wrapped defiantly around my neck still.

"George, you have to let go. We have to walk back to the teachers lounge. It's not that far; I promise you'll be okay!"

Again, the only response my attempted compromise earned was him burrowing his face further into my shoulder.

I let out yet another sigh, making a decision quickly, based solely off of yet another one of my fleeting ideas built from pure desire.

Retracting my arms from where they were wrapped loosely around George's waist, I positioned them underneath his knees and on his back, lifting him up in bridal position, still holding him close to my chest.

For a second, I only stared down at his face, his eyelids that concealed the striking brown eyes I found myself longing to see, his hair disheveled yet still managing to fall over his ungodly pale skin perfectly.

He looked so small, laying in my arms, pressing himself closer to where he felt me, his fingers playing with each other anxiously as they rested on his stomach.

I felt myself smiling again as I stood up with a grunt.

I had always known that he was pretty, but I had never been this close to his beauty, and the weight of his flawless physique was enough to make my cheeks burn with fluster.

It wasn't difficult, walking back to the teachers lounge; it hadn't been too far.

George had fallen asleep in the time it took me to bring him there, and I attempted to set him down gently without waking him.

Yet again, my plan failed, but the way it did shocked me, and didn't leave me feeling at a loss for the result I expected.

The small boy, seemingly feeling my hold slacken as I set him down, opened his eyes slowly, then closed them, slipping closer to me.

George sat sideways in my lap, his head on my chest, his hands tucked into the small space between us, his legs curled up into his figure.

I once more wrapped my arms around him, holding him close as he signed one more word before falling back into his easy slumber.

Stay.

Was that shit? Was that good?

I sorta regret not updating this in such a long time, but at the same time, I'm glad that I waited for proper inspiration. I care abt the quality in the chapters for you guys, and all my previous ideas were shit and horribly executed.

Hope you guys enjoyed.

Much luv 🫶 and thank you for your seemingly undying patience.

And for those who were singing heatwaves in the comments on the last chapter, pls just finish the song. Every time you comment another lyric the song sticks in my head for the rest of the day.

Oh, also 1187 words