George frantically awoke, to the sound of an angry driver pressing down on his car horn directly in front of him. He hadn't realised the night before, but the brick wall he had fallen asleep against was actually part of a parking spot. Not figuring out how cold, delicate and weak he was until he stood, George threw himself onto his feet and repeatedly apologised to the miserable man- who didn't look as though he accepted his sincere apology.

"Fucking grumpy dickhead." George cursed quietly to himself.

He stumbled against a tall structure, not really looking to see what it was, and slid down the side of it until he thumped to the ground. He was so incredibly weak. He hadn't eaten in hours, almost a whole day, and had only gotten about three hours sleep- waking up every twenty minutes or so. His whole body was completely shivering; he was absolutely freezing. His toes and fingers, especially, felt like they were going to snap off if any pressure was applied to them. He felt ill...unhealthy.

George held his stomach as he felt and heard it growl aggressively. As his head flopped down, trying to hold back prickling tears, the chilly breeze picked up the light scent of lavender from Clay's hoodie he was wearing. It brought George so much comfort.

George nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Any touch that wasn't from Clay triggered him because of how he had been treated by his step dad.

He lifted his head, and met eyes with an elderly woman. She was holding a bottle of water. She gave him a genuine, sweet smile and laid the drink next to him.

George was shocked, but so grateful, "oh my- thank you so much," he said to the kind stranger.

"It's not a lot, it's all I had. But I hope it helps," she said sincerely.

"Yes- it's amazing, thank you so much." George repeated himself.

The elderly woman walked away, swinging her purse in a jolly manner and heading towards her car. George was slightly disappointed he had no food, but water was even more important right now, and he couldn't be more thankful for the lady. He downed the whole bottle, and the feeling of it flowing down his sore throat was extremely satisfying and very much needed.

George threw the (now empty) bottle into a trash can that sat next to him, before leaning his head against whatever was behind him. He begun to drift back to sleep, before a door flung open, almost whacking him in the head.

A tall, stubborn woman walked out and threw a disgusted look towards George.

"Watch it, scumbag!" She exclaimed, throwing her vibrant red hair over her shoulder and walking away- the sounds of her high heels clicking like a horse's hooves.

George didn't have the energy to fight back, but he did want to see what was behind him. And when he turned around to see what it was, he wished he would have realised sooner.

A payphone.

(for anyone from the uk reading, a payphone is like a phone booth if you didn't know lol)

George jumped up, and opened the door to the bright red, tall structure. He shut the heavy door behind him and reached into his pockets. It was quite small and tight in there, but that wasn't really his biggest concern right now. George searched his pockets until he pulled out fifty cents.

A smile appeared on his face, and he popped the coin into the payphone. He picked up the old telephone and put it to his ear, before very carefully typing in Clay's number, which he had luckily memorised.

It rung four times, before he picked up.

"Hello? Who is this?" Clay's voice sounded fragile and frail.

"Clay! It's me, George. Oh my God it feels so amazing to hear your voice again," George blurted out.

The call was silent for a second or two as Clay tried to comprehend what was happening.

"George? GEORGE! George what the fuck? How? What? Where are you?!" Clay had so many questions, and he wanted George to give him all the answers, "I miss you so much." He added.

"Is Nick with you?"

"Yes."

"Put me on speaker."

There was a short pause.

"Done."

"Okay, so, I ran away again. I have no idea where the fuck I am, but I'm so hungry and cold and tired. My mom knows I ran, and my step dad has probably noticed by now but neither know where I am," George took a quick breath, "I'm calling you off a payphone. Please come, I need to see you. Both of you." George's voice trailed off.

"Okay, okay. I'll track the location of where you're calling me from, and we'll be as quick as we can George. It will take us at least an hour to get there, maybe nearly two, so hang in there okay? I love you so much." Clay's voice was nervous- but he was relived to know that George was safe.

George heard Nick laughing with joy in the background, and it made him smile for the first time in way too long.

"Be as quick as you can, please. I need to see you, Clay. I love y-"

His time ran out.

The call ended, and George immediately stepped out of the claustrophobic structure. He sat on the low brick wall that was next to the payphone, and twiddled his thumbs. He knew that the next couple of hours or so was going to feel like a couple of days. But, he kept reminding himself that he was finally going to be reunited with his two best friends- one being his soulmate.

Throughout his wait, many rude and arrogant groups of people walked passed George. Cigarettes hanging out of their dirty mouths, and cans of energy drinks glued to their hands. Many people said horrid things to him, thinking he was homeless or some shit, but he tried to ignore it.

All he could think about was the fact that he was going to hear and feel Clay again soon. It was the most amazing feeling in the world.

—————————————————-

"Fuck, nearly out of gas." Clay cursed. He quickly took a left turn into a gas station, and Nick had never seen him get out of the car this quickly before. Instead of just paying for the gas and leaving, Clay walked back to the car with many packets of chips, bottles and cans of water and soda, chocolate and so much more. He climbed into the driver's seat and threw the snacks into the back.

Nick was laughing to himself. They hadn't laughed in so long, it was so nice to see each other smile.

"For the boyfriend, he's hungry," Clay winked.

They continued the journey, and Nick checked the GPS to see that they were about twenty-five minutes away from George. Clay was filled with hope and excitement...he couldn't wait to see the little brunette's pretty face, even if he did look like he'd been dragged through a bush backwards.

*

The GPS beeped, telling the two of them that they had reached their destination. Both Clay and Nick's stomachs tightened as they took the last left turn, entering a busy parking lot. They didn't know exactly where to look for George- but the parking lot wasn't exactly huge, so it shouldn't take them long.

Clay recklessly parked the car, not parallel at all and the two best friends hopped out. They stuck by each others' sides, and frantically searched the parking lot for a familiar boy with chocolate-coloured hair.

They'd been looking for about ten minutes, and begun to worry. Clay started to wonder whether they had come to the right place- or if something bad had happened to George. What if his step dad had-

"Clay?" A weak voice came from behind him.

AHHHHHHH SORRY FOR THE CLIFFHANGER BESTIES!
but i hope you liked this chapter, i really like it :)
next chapter will be out as soon as i'm happy with it!

remember to eat something, drink water and take care of yourself, love you bestie <3

1377 words.