It was no surprise that Geo, Jethro and Clark's room was hellish. They should have known better from the last time they had shared. Or, well, Geo should have known better.

"Clark, buddy, I think you should let up now. Remember that Jethro can and will knock you out." Geo tried desperately, watching as Clark purposefully soaked his way through any of Jethro's shirts that he could find, using each one to scrub at his wet hair and stomach.

Jethro had gone to the bathroom to shower and Clark had taken that as his chance. He'd even managed to steal his shirts from the bathroom floor, deciding it would be a bit too cruel to steal his bed shorts too. And that Jethro would probably have just sleep in his jeans, the heathen.

"Geo, my darling angel, you don't understand." Clark stated, placing his hands on Geo's shoulders. Jethro's black shirt was still draped over his head. "That is exactly what I'm aiming for." He whispered dramatically.

"Why?!" Geo near shrieked and Clark laughed in return, still working on sobering.

"Have you seen the guys arms?" Clark asked before whistling appreciatively and Geo rolled his eyes. He figured he wouldn't be getting through to Clark any time soon and instead switched on his phone.

He smiled as it opened on his latest conversation; Kiri.

That's what he was going to talk to Clark about before Clark had set his sights on being beat. He remembered him mentioning something about being homoflexible and figured he'd ask more. He'll have to wait until Clark was sober though, the guy was way too fixated on working his way beneath Jethro's skin right now.

"Clark, I'm not doing this with you." Jethro groaned as he closed the door to their room, wearing only a pair of bed shorts. Clark stared at Jethro's chest, face a similar glowing shade to a stoplight, and giggled as he pulled off his damp cropped hoodie.

"Oh no, all of your shirts are wet, looks like you can't wear one, what a shame." Clark drawled as he splayed himself out on one of the two single beds. Geo was quick to hop onto the other one, attention entirely consumed by his phone.

Jethro took a moment to simply glare at Clark, growling lowly to himself, before deciding he was way too tired for this. "At least get into dry jeans, idiot." Clark's face fell in surprise before he scrambled to changed into a pair of comfy joggers.

"Wait, not here!" Geo exclaimed, shielding his eyes as Clark tore down his wet jeans and boxers in one. The man-child had no shame, it would appear.

Eventually, Clark wiggled his way into the joggers and flopped back onto the bed, arms reaching for Jethro. Jethro nudged his side, pink cheeks hidden by the lighting. "Shift." Clark did as he was told, shuffling up to the wall to let Jethro in.

Geo was about to complain about the tension in the air before Jethro finally huffed and wrapped an arm around Clark, dragging him into his chest. "You say a word and you're sleeping in the pool." He growled. Clark just nodded, discreetly readjusting himself to press warmly down Jethro's side.

The next room over, while warm and soft with each other's company, was equally as awake.

"You're taking on other people's problems again, aren't you?" Zak accused sleepily from his spot draped down Darryl's chest. He hadn't managed to sleep all the while Darryl's heart was hammering beneath his ear.

"I'm just worried about Clay. Ophelia seemed more than ready to bring Keres in which I'm really grateful for but I know that same kindness won't be offered to Clay." Darryl began softly, knowing Zak would persist until he talked. He lifted one hand to card through Zak's hair absentmindedly.

"I understand that he hurt George and that they don't know what we know but... well, Nick does know what we know and he still doesn't forgive Clay. What if George is the same? It seems like Clay's better because he has started eating more and talking again but I can tell he's still hurting. I can tell he blames himself for everything that has happened but it's not all his fault." He ranted quietly.

"Clay was exploited by Damien, just the same as we all were. He was emotionally manipulated into believing pulling away from George was the best way to protect him. And the kiss was initiated by Keres and photographed and posted without their consent. The only thing that he did wrong was not talk to George before meeting Keres the first time, but he didn't know that he wouldn't be able to talk to George afterwards to explain. He's taking on all the responsibility when it doesn't belong to him." Darryl's fingers slowed to a stop in Zak's hair and Zak tilted to look up at him blearily.

"I just hope they don't demonise him for his mistake. George is understanding and he loves Clay but he's also hurt." Darryl murmured, looking down into Zak's eyes. "I just want them both happy again."

Zak reached up and softly brushed his thumb beneath Darryl's eye. "I know, and they will be." Zak promised gently. "But you shouldn't sit and worry about something you can't do anything about. They'll work it out, no matter how long it takes." Darryl hummed softly.

"I hope so." He whispered, leaning down to bump his nose to Zak's. Zak smiled sleepily and  pouted to press his lips to Darryl's in a gentle kiss.

The two eventually settled, Darryl's heart calming as he drifted off, allowing Zak to fall asleep too.

Finally came a room that had once been quiet with rest.

George was now wide awake, and almost entirely sober as it reached the early hours, and was desperately regretting ever letting Ophelia and Clark get him drunk.

Clay was here, under the same roof as him, right now. That was one of the things George couldn't forget no matter how hard he tried, along with the fact that he must have been sick at some point and been in the pool fully clothed as his clothes reeked of the two mingling scents. It wasn't a pleasant smell.

He hadn't intended to stay awake. He had intended on making his way to the kitchen, downing a glass of water and whatever he could find to quell his pounding headache and then going straight back to bed, where he planned to never emerge again.

He had completed step one, somewhat awkwardly without his phone as a torch, but hadn't made it much further than that. Because there, stood by the sink, was Clay. And George couldn't handle that.

Every time he closed his eyes, Clay was there. He had looked a wreck, to put it nicely. Now that George was sober, he could see it. His hair was greasy and knotted; his eyes were drooping with exhaustion; his hoodie was rumpled and his foundation was a patchwork at best. He looked nothing like George remembered him. He looked broken.

Why had he looked broken? What had happened? Had something gone wrong with Keres? And why was he here, of all places? To pick up his necklace and hoodies from George? It seemed a long way to travel for something so menial, especially since he had offered to bring them to him.

George couldn't shake the feeling that something was very horribly wrong. And he knew that Clay had broken him, that Clay had broken his heart, but that didn't stop him from worrying. Didn't stop him from caring.

But he couldn't bear being near Clay at the moment. For the first time since they had met, being around Clay was hard. So, George did the only logical thing he could think of.

He stood from his bed, changed from his stiff, rank clothes into a pair of pyjamas and slipped out of the room.

Ophelia's room was a mess. Looking at the clothes and various items strewn over the floor, George wondered how in the hell he was going to find his phone without waking her up. He crept in, eyes on the lump on the bed, only to realise Ophelia wasn't alone. He decided against thinking about that for now and focussed on the task at hand instead.

It took embarrassingly long but, finally, George managed to locate his phone, tucked into the middle draw of the bedside table. He made quick work of creeping back out towards his room, plugging his phone in as soon as he was safely back. George could see he had a few unread messages and his twitter was on the verge of crashing but he disregarded them quickly for a more important matter.

////:\\\\
7/10/20

@Wish_I_Was_The_Disco
I am not George and you are not Clay
4:12am
Now tell me what's eating you
4:12am

@Dreamishot
George
4:24am

@Wish_I_Was_The_Disco
No
4:24am
I am not George and you are not Clay
4:24am
Talk to me
4:24am

@Dreamishot
You have your own problems, I shouldn't dump mine on you too
4:27am
I don't deserve to complain to you on top of everything I've done
4:27am

@Wish_I_Was_The_Disco
[a screenshot of a text exchange between Clay and George. It was from early on in their friendship and two of the messages were circled, one from Clay and one from George. They read "promise me that, no matter what is going on between us, we will always be there for each other." And "I promise."]
4:29am

@Dreamishot
Fine
4:34am
I am not Clay and you are not George
4:34am
What's eating me? Guilt mostly
4:34am

@Wish_I_Was_The_Disco
What are you feeling guilty about?
4:34am

@Dreamishot
Mistakes I wish I never made
4:36am
I hurt the best thing in my life and now I think I've lost him too
4:36am
Because I was a coward
4:36am
I'm somewhere I don't belong right now because I want to explain myself and apologise
4:36am
But I'm beginning to think I don't deserve even that
4:36am

@Wish_I_Was_The_Disco
But maybe he needs to hear it
4:36am
You do deserve the chance to explain yourself but even if you didn't, maybe he deserves the chance to hear your explanation.
4:36am
If not to forgive you, then to give you both closure
4:36am

@Dreamishot
I just wish I could go back and fix it all
4:36am
I wish I never left that car that morning
4:36am
I wish I had just stayed
4:36am
I could have worked with the band online and only left for shows and tours
4:36am
They wouldn't have minded
4:36am
Then he would have been by my side when Damien eventually found me
4:36am
And he'd find a way to make things work because he's so logical and so so fucking smart
4:36am
But I can't go back
4:36am

@Wish_I_Was_The_Disco
So go forward instead
4:39am
Start by explaining yourself and apologising
4:39am
If he's as smart as you think he is then he'll listen
4:39am
Maybe he wishes he could go back too
4:39am
Maybe he wishes you had stayed in that car too
4:39am
Maybe he'd be willing to fix things if you talked to him
4:39am

@Dreamishot
I really hope so
4:41am
I love him so much it's going to kill me
4:48am

@Wish_I_Was_The_Disco
Maybe a part of him still loves you too
5:14am
Seen

////:\\\\

George didn't need to sleep anyways. He needed all the time he could get in order to prepare himself for talking to Clay later that morning.

————————————
2k words

I would like to confess something:

I am an Inniter

That is all, thank you.

Feedback is welcome and appreciated!!!

Yours, Dandelion.