Max P.O.V
     I'd like to tell you that the morning after out first time was nice and peaceful. I'd like to say we woke up slowly and cuddled in a sleepy haze, just happy to share each others warmth and company. I'd like to say all that beautiful story book stuff happened, but it didn't. No, not even in the slightest.

     The bedroom door banged open, ripping me from my sleep, even making Clayton start. Bursting through like a wind storm was Emmy, fire in her ice blue eyes. I was suddenly painfully aware that I was still naked. Clay opened his mouth, to ask her what the hell, when she cut him off with a slice of her hand.

     "No! Don't! Get your ass out of bed, we are going to the hospital. You are getting treatment." She said firmly, her shoulders set and her arms crossed under her breasts. I felt Clay tense and could hear his jaw clench.

     He looked at me, and I couldn't meet his eye. "You have got to be kidding me. Are you fucking kidding me?" He asked, his voice hard, but the hurt still audible.

     "Don't pull that Clay. Don't do that to Max. I can't believe you didn't tell me." Emmy said balling her fists. He ignored her.

     "So, what? You tell on me, then have sex with me to...make up for it?" He was pissed, and I kept my head turned away. I wouldn't regret my decision to tell Emmy.

     "Clay-"

     "I'm not going Emmy. I don't want to and you can't make me." He said getting up and moving away from me, sickened with me, betrayed by me.

     "Can't I?" She asked, her tone challenging. "I can and I will. Put some fucking pants on and get in the truck."

     "No! I'm not fucking doing it! I watched my mother die-"

     "I lost a mother too!! I was there! I remember all of it! I'm not losing my best friend too, so get in the fucking truck!!" She screamed at him, tears suddenly sparkling in her eyes.

    "I said no God damnit!" He screamed right back at her, getting in each other faces, teeth bared. "I will not die in pain and unable to eat and walk! I am going to die like I am right now!"

     "What the hell is going on in here?" Roy asked and he stood in the doorway, looking from naked Clayton to furious Emmy, snarling in each others faces.

     "Your son is going to refuse chemotherapy." Emmy said calmly, keeping scorching eye contact with Clay.

     "You fucking bitch." He breathed, his lip curled as his father looked at him, half angry half scared.

     "How dare you, you petulant child." She spat, her face burning crimson in anger. "When did you become such a coward?"

     "Clayton you can't be serious. Your getting the chemo." Roy said, an awful finality to his voice.

     "Of course you would say that." He fumed at his father. "Don't you gain up on me! It's my life! And whatever is left of it I want to live it the way I want, and both of you be damned!"

     I think the air was sucked out of the room because both Emmy and Roy gasped, identical expressions of anger and hurt appearing.

     "How can you do that! How can you condemn yourself to death! Why don't you fight?! Isn't that what you do, aren't you a fucking boxer for Christ's sake!" Emmy yelled grabbing him by the shoulders and spinning him back around to face her as he made to walk away. "Don't you want to live?! Do you even love us!? Me, dad, Max? Aren't we worth fighting for?"

     "I don't want you to see me like that! Like how mom was. I wish all the time that she never went to chemo because that is how I remember her, sick! I don't want that! Why do I have to suffer to prove that I love you!?!?!" He bellowed. He pushed her away, grabbing a pair of sweats and shoving his way past Roy and out the door.

     "Clayton!" Roy yelled after him following him downstairs, yelling at each other the whole way. The front door slammed and a truck engine revved. Emmy quickly threw me some clothes and hurried out of the room with me close on her heels. We made it down in time to see Roy come back inside, covered in snow like he'd been pushed down and looking angry.

     "He took off!"

     "He what!?" Emmy and I said in unison.

     "He left!" He said gesturing violently at the direction of the door.

     "Then we have to go after him!" Emmy raged, making to move by Roy, but he put a hand on her shoulder and passed her something. She flattened her palm and he put a truck key in her palm. It was snapped in two. Emmy looked like he was fighting, struggling to speak past all the angry words caught in her throat.

     Trembling she jammed her hand into her pocket and pulled out her phone by Roy shook his head and dug in his own pocket before walking away, throwing a dozen shattered bits of plastic and metal on the table. The remains of Clayton's phone.

     "Wa...what do we do?" I asked as Emmy, in stunned disbelief, reached out to turn over a piece of the phone.
This had all gone so horrifyingly wrong. I knew Clay wouldn't be happy, I knew he would fight; but I didn't think he would run off! I had no idea how strongly he felt about this....did I do the right thing?

     "Roy?" I turned to find him. Mama Jill had already gone, I had to ask what he thought.

     "Max, come on we have to look for him. We have to talk some sense into him. He can't just give up." Her voice broke and I turned back to see her angrily whipping tears away with the back of her fist. "If he tries he at least has a chance of beating it, but if he doesn't he..." She took a deep breath and looked at me. "Come on, put your shirt on, let's go." She said taking my wrist and pulling me through the house.

     We took a snowmobile and went up and down the road, on all the back roads, into town, down the side streets, at the cemetery; he was nowhere to be found. Emmy called Bradly but he never picked up. We stopped at the station and it was locked and dark.

     "What the fuck is this? An episode of the "Twilight Zone"! Why is there nobody is this town!?!?" In desperation she called two more people; Alistair, Bradly's dad, and Hunter... neither of them had seem him. She looked on the verge of breaking her phone as well. I carefully took it from her.

     We got back the same time as Roy. He hadn't found him either.

     "Nobody's seen him." He said looking worried. "I've called everybody in town!"

     Well, twenty-five people wasn't exactly an army, but hell it was something.

     Roy looked so stressed, I wanted to hug him. "Maybe we should wait it out for a bit. Give him time to get where he is going and call again?" I suggested. They both looked at me and I felt very small. Clay was their family and I... I was practically nothing.

     I was going to mumbled an apologize when they hugged me, both of them. What the fuck?

     "How can you stay so calm." Emmy whispered as Roy pulled away. She let go to. The wait was agonizing. Twenty minutes in and we were all pacing and the clock was moving so freaking slow!

     Where did Clay go? If he wasn't in town was he in the woods? No, he would have had to park Roy's truck, we would have seen. It made me realize how little I knew about him. If I ran away I would go into the city to the park I first meeting Mama Jill. Where would Clayton go?

     I felt better knowing Emmy couldn't think of anything either and thankfully the inching twenty minutes was all we had to suffer through. A truck rumbled into the drive and we all froze. A door creaked and slammed, the crunch of ice and snow underfoot, and...and a knock?

     It wasn't Clay, he wouldn't knock on his own door. Roy answered it and for a moment I thought it was Bradly. Tall, lean, wild red hair and the same face, but a key difference, tattoos many of them. Up his neck and throat, on is hands and what could be seen of his arms; it was plain to see this guy was covered in them.

     "Michael? My god, I thought you were in Amsterdam." Roy said clapping him on the shoulder and moving so he could come inside.

     "I came up for a visit, I got some time off." He said as Emmy ran over to hug him.

     My god his voice was...damn. Did you hear that? It was the sound of millions of panties dropping. It was so smooth and rich, like velvet and chocolate.

     "I stopped by because I have something that belongs to you." He went on to Roy. "Good lord Emmy, you're grown up. No wonder Bradly always talks about you." He said with a kind chuckle. "How are you doing, I'm Michael." He said reaching out an inked hand to grasp mine. Oh, this was one of Bradly's older brothers.

     "I'm Max."

     "Aright, I've heard of you. It's good to meet Clayton's better half." He said with a grin. He was good, he managed to make me and Emmy turn scarlet. "And speaking of which, I need to talk with you about Clay." Michael said to Roy, looking suddenly serious. "He's with me, out at me da's right now with Bradly."

     Roy looked momentarily relieved, but his expression grew hard as Michael continued.

    "I'm worried about him. They way I hear it, when we finally got him round to talking, he has been through hell's ninth circle this week and he's not out yet. Roy you can't make Clay do something he doesn't want to." Michael said slowly, his voice level.

     "He's my child." Roy began stiffly.

     "But he's not a kid."

     "He's not an adult either."

     "He is far more grown than you give him credit for. He been through a lot-"

     "Don't tell me about my son, Michael!" Roy snapped, his eyes flashing dangerously.

     "Well somebody has too because you clearly aren't listening to him. You can't gain up on him. Imagine how he feels." Michael said, keeping his voice low.

     "I know how he feels! You are out of line!"

     "Am I? Look I'm not the fifteenth year old seeking in your daughters window anymore, Roy. Don't dismiss what I have to say. You don't know how he feels, because if you did we wouldn't be in this situation." Michael said, irritably. "I'm asking you to lay off. Just take a breath and step back. Clay needs people on his side and if Bradly, Da and I have to be his people, we are more than willing, but he needs you guys too. He is scared to death. They gave him until new year and the fact that you can't put on a brave face and stand next to him is bullshit! This isn't your wife. This is different." Michael said before Roy could interrupt.

     "Get out. Get the fuck out of my house." Roy said his voice rising. Michael threw his hands in the air and stalked off, banging the door shut behind him.

     Roy took a shaky breath and left, going the opposite way. His eyes shone with unshead tears. He was at his wits end and this threatened to break him, but the only thing I heard was "They gave him until new year."

Clay P.O.V
     Michael and Bradly picked me up coming on their way back from the airport. I didn't know what I was doing to do, I just needed to get away before I did something stupid...er. I just parked on the side of the highway, I knew they wouldn't go that far to look for me. It's not like I could go anywher; I was barefoot and shirtless.

     They'd pulled off thinking I was broken down, but after a minute talking to me they were suspicious and before I knew it Michael pushed me into the passenger seat and started to drive.

     "What? Do you think I'm an idiot? I've run off too, many times dumbass. Parking on the highway only buys you so much time. Tell me what's up." He'd said, following Bradly off the highway towards town.

     "Michael it's nothing. I just need to cool off." I said, my voice sounding horribly false. I couldn't even convince myself there was nothing wrong, why did I think I could fool nobody else? Long story short I was in Bradly's house wearing a borrowed shirt when Emmy called Bradly at the same time my dad called Alistair.

     "Are you here?" Alistair asked, covering the mouth peice on the phone while my father continued to talk on the other end.

     "No I'm not." I said moodily and Bradly tossed his phone away and just let it ring.
  
     "No Roy, I haven't seen him. I'll keep my eye out," Alistair said as he walked away up the stairs.
    
     "Trouble in paradise?" Michael asked rolling a joint smartly against the coffee table with his palms.
    
     I watched him light the toke, a sticky sweet smelling smoke filling the air, then looked at Brady, who was in turn watching me. I didn't want to tell them, I didn't want to hear what they were going to say, but God damnit I just wanted someone on my side!
    
     "I have cancer and they told me I might not make it to new year."
   
    The silence sprialed horribly. I looked up to find them both staring at me, identical expressions of stunned disbelief painting their faces. Michael unstuck the joint from his parted lip and handed it to me.
    
     A haze of blue smoke filed the basement room, curing up from the ashtray, half a bottle of black rum next to it. Somewhere between the joint and the rum I'd told them what happened over the past week. I was laying with my head in Bradly's lap and Michael was rolling another joint against my thigh. I swear he could roll a joint on the air if he wanted too.
    
     "Clay." He said seriously, lighting it and taking a drag. "You don't have to do a fucking thing if you don't want to." He said as he held his breath before blowing the smoke out of his nostrils. "Chemo can be just as destructive."

     I can't begin to explain the relief I felt when I heard those words. It broke over me like a wave, the warmth of it felt like sinking into a hot bath. It must have shown on my face cause Michael gave my leg a comforting squeeze and a light slap and Bradly ruffled my hair.

     "Don't looked so shocked." Bradly said mildly, tracing the hickey that was visible above my collar. He was not a functional pot head. "What did you think we were gonna say?" He asked, slowly stringing the words together.

     "Oh, I have no fucking clue, but it wasn't that." I sighed rolling onto my back and rubbing my face with my hands.

     "Well, it's bullshit! This isn't their decision. I understand being concerned, but fuck man." Michael said shaking his head. "I'm gonna fucking talk to your dad." He said with a definitive nod.
 
     "Good luck." I mumbled. "Isn't the last time you were at my house dad dragged out out by your pants 'cause he caught you fooling around with Amanda?" I was pretty sure that was right. I vaguely remember Michael getting thrown out the front door into the grass.

     "Something like that." He shrugged. "I got my ass beat over it whatever the hell it was."

     "Michael!"
 
     All three of us jumped. When their dad had got there I don't know. Michael craned his neck back and Alistair took the joint out of his mouth. Uh-oh.

     "I don't care that you own a hash bar in Amsterdam, but this," He snubbed the end out between his fingers. "Is illegal in Norway."

     "Uh...I forgot." He said sheepishly. "They talked me into it." He said standing up and nodding get towards us.

     "Fucker!" We said in unison. He grinned at us. Alistair just shook his head.

     "I'm sure.  Look, if your mother comes down here, don't talk; and for God's sake turn on a fan and crack a window or we'll all be high." He said taking to the stairs behind Michael. Bradly looked around the room slowly, kind of like he had never seen his room properly before.

     "You tripping?" I asked. He nodded and slumped back into the couch then wiggled so he way laying beside me, trying not to bump his crotch to my ass and failing. He wrapped me in a bear hug, his hands pressing against my chest.

     Words went easy for Bradly he always fucked them up and being high wasn't going to help that, but I knew what his hug meant. I had half a mind to roll over and return it, but that might get weird.

     "You're going to be okay, you've made it though worse. Remember when the town was buried under eighteen feet of snow, or when we were playing with the bear cubs? Emmy's dad sure beat our ass then; or when I bailed you out of jail so your dad wouldn't find out, that was pretty fucked up and brutal." He mumbled into my shoulder.
    
     I turned my head to kiss him on the brow and felt his turn red through the shirt fabric. "Don't get sappy on me wolf pup." I teased, but his words, as inelegant as they undoubtedly were; they were touching and meant a lot to me.

     "Shut up. I can't believe you didn't think I'd be on your side." He muttered, not letting go. "I fucking helped you figure out you were gay, give me credit. I've got you back. Emmy and Max will come around Clay. They just care differently. They need to take a step back, they are gonna hurt themselves trying to look so close."

     Maybe it was the hash, but that nonsensical stoner talk made me feel better about everything...somehow.

***sup broski...ies? Well whatever the plural for broski is. I was trying to study for my American History exam in the morning, but...meh I wrote this instead. T^T I'm gonna fail, and have nobody to blame except for myself. But in my defense it's hard to study when story inspiration is in the way and cluttering up your brain. I hope you enjoy the latest of Clayton, Max and co. Vote, comment, Study! \^~^/ night!