PART SIX- A Clay x Iris (OC) Oneshot

Clay's POV

I leaned against a tree near the front gate, sniffing a little. I sighed and leaned my head back, thinking about what I'd just done.

I felt guilty for shouting at Iris like that. I knew it wasn't her fault that she had some form of amnesia (I'm pretty sure this was the case), but....

Well, I didn't really have an excuse. I missed 'the old Iris'- but I should have kept quiet about it. It wasn't tactful to tell her that.

Especially the way I had.

They are the same person. I had to get that into my head. Helping Iris retrieve memories would bring my best friend- 'the old Iris'- back.

I knew I should go apologise, but every time I stood up I dropped back into a sitting position. My pride kept pushing me down.

Stupid pride.

Iris is probably angry with me, I thought. I'll just wait a few minutes, let her cool down...
I mentally slapped myself. Stop making excuses!  I shouted in my head. You're supposed to be a good person- so get your butt off the ground, go find her and apologise!

I stood up, then sat back down again. I probably- scratch that, definitely- looked ridiculous.
I realised I needed to figure out how I was going to explain my outburst without telling her too much, otherwise I would probably- definitely- end up stuttering like an idiot when I opened my mouth.

I was about to get to my feet, hopefully for the last time, but I found I didn't need to. Iris herself rounded the corner at a brisk pace.

"I was going to find you, I swear!" I gulped, truly believing she was mad.

I thought I saw a small smile flit across her face, but I couldn't be sure. She plopped down next to me, and decided to get straight to the point.

"Why don't you tell me what's going on with you?"

Debating whether or not to tell her everything, I turned to face her and said, "Iris, I'm so, so, so sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that-"

She put a finger to my lips, silencing me as well as a gag would've done. "It's ok. I'll forgive you if you tell me why  you shouted."

I sighed, deciding she deserved to know. "Alright. Where should I start?"

Iris' POV

"Ok.... explain to me how I'm not  your best friend. In more detail."

"Well...." Clay sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. He was cute when he did that....
"You and I share- well, used to share- many memories. I used to always be able to strike up a conversation with you by just saying, 'Remember when...'. I can't do that anymore, because you no longer possess those memories. You didn't even remember who I was. All of a sudden, you seemed like a stranger to me, and I'm guessing vice versa. I thought I could pretend everything was the same, but almost as soon as we left that café earlier, I knew it would be too hard. Helping you regain your memories was, of course, a constant reminder that things had changed."

"Oh," I fidgeted a little before pressing on. "What did you mean when you said I was 'the girl you were going to date'?"

Clay blushed magenta and quickly looked away. I waited a few seconds, but it was clear he was going to need some prompting.

"...Well...?" I coaxed gently.

"Um..." Clay cleared his throat awkwardly. "I've never told anyone this before..."

He fell silent again. "Are you going to tell me or not?"

"Y-yeah, I will," he sighed, then started to speak. "I... uh, had a crush on you. For a long time. It started when we were ten, then it kind of faded. But it came back- stronger- in the third year. Of Knight's Academy, that is. Just before our graduations were held in our final year, I decided to finally confess and ask you out. It was hard, but it was worth it, because you said yes.The next few days were some of the happiest of my life.
"On the night of your graduation, I headed to your house to wait for you to come home. I wanted to congratulate you, and we'd agreed to go out on a late date to celebrate.
"But you never showed up. I waited for hours, even though after the first half hour it was clear you weren't coming."

Clay paused to take a breath. I was about to apologise, but before I could open my mouth Clay started speaking again.

"I never heard from you since that day. I thought.... maybe you just didn't want to see me anymore, for whatever reason. I did try several times to call you, but I always hung up before you answered. I mean, if you didn't want to have anything to do with me, why should I force myself on you? So... um, yeah. That was what I meant."

Silence settled upon us like dust. I chased this new information round and round my head before realising something.

I wouldn't stand up a person like that, especially Clay, who, I realise I (now) have a crush on. It's just not in my nature to do that. So whatever prevented me from meeting up with Clay must have something to do with my memory loss, because I remember sitting in a car, on my way home from graduation... and that's where my memory stops.

"Clay..." I turn towards him. He sighs, and turns to face me.

"I'm sorry for standing you up like that. I would've just told you if I didn't want to see you. But I know that that wasn't why I didn't come home. I think I know the reason for that, though. And I also know why I said yes that day you asked me out."

Clay's eyes widened as I grabbed the collar of his shirt and kissed him.

"Because you.... are great. You're kind, dedicated... and handsome." I said. "I'd definitely date you now. If you wanted that."

Clay sat there, shocked, for a moment. But then, a smile slowly started to spread across his face.

"Are you asking me out?" he asked.

"Yeah, I am."

"Yes. Yes, I do want that."

I smiled, and we kissed again.

"You kiss like the old Iris," Clay grinned.

I grinned back. "Ok, I said I might know the answer as to why I never came home that night, but I still need your help. I still need to work out all the little details. So... will you still help me?"

"Definitely," Clay answered. "Why wouldn't I?"

A/n: Sorry that took so long! I had so much homework- though I don't know why that should be the case, seeing as it's the first day back... Anyway, hope you all enjoyed, and tell me if there are any mistakes I need to correct, or if anything needs changing.

P.S. SoundOfDarknessPL, do you want me to continue the oneshot and have Iris find out how/why she lost her memories, or is it fine as it is? It's totally up to you!