HER | ✓

⍣Fourteen⍣

"Well, I can't deny that."

After a few beats of silence Clayton said, "Matthew said hello." 

George's eyebrows shot up. "M-Matthew?"

"Yes, unless you know many Matthews." 

"No." He coughed. "Where'd you run into him?"

"At the bar. He works there you know." 

"Oh... well, tell him I said hello, I guess."

Not many words were shared the rest of the way to the bar. Clayton thanked him for the lift and climbed into his own ride.

Clayton sat in his truck, staring as the water dripped from the roof of the bar and collected in a puddle of slosh. The first night he met Farah played in his mind. The vision came so clearly he felt like he was reliving it all over again. 

Clayton's first night at the resort he met a guy who invited him to a lakeside party. "To kick off the summer, man," the guy said. His accent was thickly British. "It'll be loads of fun." 

He accepted. It sounded like a good idea and he wanted to make friends anyways. What better way to do that, than at a party? 

The path to their hideout was dark. Sticks and vines made it hard to walk the path and he took large steps to avoid falling. He wondered who decided to make the party this exclusive. Or maybe there wasn't a party at all and this was a huge prank the guy pulled on him. Despite the nagging thought he kept going, he kept believing the guy didn't pull a prank, that there really was a party at the end of this path. It was going to be fulfilling, he kept telling himself. He would have the time of his life.

He kept going, snapping twigs and crunching leaves beneath his feet. He heard a distant laugh and his shoulders sagged in relief. Moments later the faint glow of a bonfire peeked through the thick brush and the woody rustic scent of smoke filtered the air. He urged forward a little faster, eager to meet new people.

Breaking through the trees, he was greeted by a group of people sitting around a medium sized fire. They passed a bottle and laughed at jokes a blonde boy was spewing.

"Have you ever wondered why you don't see dead birds on the side of the road?" he asked. His voice was a little nasally, but one girl replied, "No, not really. Why?"

"Because one bird is always keeping watch and yells 'Caw! Caw! Caw!'"

The group fell into a fit of laughter and Clayton laughed too. The guy who invited him said, "Your jokes are classic man! I love them."

He walked forward still laughing. "Yeah that was a good one."

"Hey! You made it!" The guy jumped up, wrapped and arm over his shoulders, and tugged him closer to the fire. "Come meet the gang." 

"Guys meet..." He looked at Clayton. "Shit man... I can't believe I didn't get your name."

Clayton scratched the back of his neck. Well isn't this convenient, he thought.

"Clayton."

"Right! Meet Clayton!" He exclaims. "Clayton meet Danny..." Clayton still didn't know his name, but the guy rattled off a list of other names that weren't his and pointed at everyone who introduced themselves, but Clayton didn't pay any mind to him. His eyes were glued to the girl with the red lips and long soft brown hair. She smiled at him and waved. Then finally the guy got to her. "And this is Farah. She's the wildfire of the group. Don't let her innocent looks deceive you bro."

"Oh shove it Jim will you?" She fired back.

"Only if you do the shoving for me, babe." He smirked.

"You're a pig. You know that?"

Jim looked at him. "Enjoy yourself mate." He picked up a beer bottle and shoved it in his hand. He tried to refuse. He'd never drank a beer in his life and he didn't plan on starting then. He knew the consequences that drinking could bring.

He settled in next to his new groups of friends. It felt weird calling them his friends, he didn't know the first thing about any of them, but it also felt comforting, like he belonged somewhere miles away from the place where he grew up. He didn't think it was possible.

Farah shimmied up next to him. "So how long have you been here?"

Clayton looked at her then looked away before looking at her again. He gulped. "My first day here."

"Fresh bait," she whispered, smiling.

"I guess you could say that." He felt out of his element, not knowing what to talk about.

"You gonna drink that beer?" She pointed at the bottle still in his hand.

He stared at it for a moment. He wanted to say no but he didn't want to look like a wimp in front of the groups cutest girl. Especially the one girl who was showing him attention. He brought it to his lips and took a massive drink. He choked. She laughed. It was the most repulsive thing he had ever drank.

"You don't drink often do you?" She was still smiling.

"Umm... No, not really."

"Don't worry, we all start somewhere." She bumped her shoulder into his. 

She kept him entertained with small talk. He didn't have a chance to converse with anyone else. He enjoyed the feeling. His chest swelling with pride. His throat daring to close. She made him feel alive just by talking to him. He knows now, that was the night he fell for her. He just didn't realize how hard he had fallen until he had to pick himself up. 

He was still picking himself up.

He broke from his memory induced haze, feeling numb. He pulled out his keys, plugged them into the ignition and drove. He drove with no place in sight. No place in mind. And he followed his heart, driving wherever it told him to go.

______________________
AN: We can thank my dear partner for the ridiculous joke depicted in this chapter, haha, I hope you enjoyed this chapter though :) 

Thanks for reading!