ACT ONE, CHAPTER 1

'ARE YOU OK?'

CLAY was sure he looked pathetic.

His head hung low while he stared at the phone in his hand, blinking rapidly to get rid of his tears, and the rain that was pouring over Orlando that night.

The name of his ex-girlfriend displayed on the phone, still ringing, but he didn't want to pick up after what he heard.

She had called him without meaning it, but he didn't know that when he picked up, smiling widely while hope filled his chest once again, but then he heard what was happening, and his mood immediately worsened.

He didn't really enjoy hearing his ex girlfriend while she had sex with his new boyfriend.

And here he was, sobbing in the rain while he watched his phone showing the contact of his ex-girlfriend who had now stopped calling him but just sent one text. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to call you. '

He turned his phone off, resisting the urge to throw it on the ground and watch it shattered into a million pieces, he thought it would look like how he felt. Broken, wrong, unwanted, replaceable.

He slowly walked to his car, letting out a sob and threw his head back, moving his hair that was stuck to his forehead.

He tried to take his car keys, but his hands trembled so much that he couldn't even hold them properly and, before he knew it, they made a small splash in the water as they fell in the puddle that was forming under his feet from the pounding rain.

He tried to laugh it off, but his eyes only filled up with more tears.

That's when he felt someone touch his shoulder, and he flinched, turning around with wide eyes.

In front of him there was a girl, who had a concerned look on her face as she stared at him.

"Are you ok?" She asked softly, moving closer so her umbrella covered both her and him.

He tried to play it off, mumbling a quiet 'yeah' while turning around and wiping his cheeks, hoping she didn't notice his tears.

She pursed her lips and took his hand softly, taking notes on how he almost flinched and how much his hands were trembling.

She wrapped his hand around the umbrella while she got down, carefully, and picked up his keys before handing them to him.

Clay only stared at her and her actions, it gave him a slight sense of calm and his breath slowly returned to normal.

"Thank you." He mumbled, taking his keys and making sure to not drop them again.

They made eye contact, and for a moment Clay felt at peace, as if they weren't out after in the pouring rain and Florida was under tornado warning.

He gave her a grateful look, and she smiled softly at him. "Are you sure you're ok to drive home right now? Your, erh, hands. They were shaking." She said softly, trying to not embarrass him too much but when his cheeks colored pink, she understood she failed her task and winced.

He shook his head, looking down on the ground. "I'm- I'll be fine, thank you again." He tried to reassure her and the girl only smiled at him.

"No problem..." she trailed off, not knowing his name.

"Clay, my name is Clay." He replied with a faint smile and held out his hand that slightly trembled but neither he or the girl mentioned it.

"Well Clay, you're welcome." She said, shaking his hand with mischief in her eyes.

He slightly squinted his eyes, a small chuckle leaving his mouth. "No name?" He asked, slightly looking down at her. She wasn't short, Clay thought she was at least 5'7 but he still towered her with his 6'2.

She shook her head, happy she managed to at least make the stranger, who she swore she saw crying, smile and laugh a little.

"Not yet at least." She only replied and Clay gave her a small smile.

"You should go to your car, I'm fine now." He reassured and she nodded slightly.

"Yeah, I'll just cover you with the umbrella until you get inside yours and then I'll go to mine, don't worry." She explained and Clay gave her a somewhat grateful smile.

He tried to open his car, noticing how the rain was getting worse but, probably when they fell in the water and stayed in for so long, they didn't work. The chip inside that should let him open the car probably got soaked.

He cursed under his breath, closing his eyes and for a moment forgetting that the girl was still next to him.

"Everything ok?" She questioned and Clay panicked.

"Umh- no. The... my keys, they aren't working anymore." He mumbled, staring at the car keys while he tried to think of what to do next.

He couldn't call a taxi, they wouldn't be able to get out and get back in time before the tornado was supposed to hit the city.

The girl bit her lip and glanced behind her before looking back at her.

"Listen, I...I have a spare room in my house, if you want, you can stay there for tonight and tomorrow I can take you to... a... a mechanic that could help you right? Does your car have insurance?" She asked, glancing at him and his car.

He nodded, not trusting his voice as he looked at her, shocked about her proposal.

"Clay? Is it ok? I could give you a ride to your house but I don't know if we could make it and I only live like- five minutes away from here so-" She started to explain, moving some of her hair away from her face as she gripped the umbrella tighter when the wind started to get stronger.

He nodded, giving her a grateful look. "Y-Yeah, it's ok for me. Are you sure you- you're ok with it? I don't want you to feel obligated to do it. " He asked but she only shrugged her shoulders.

"No worries. Now come on, let's go before it's too late."

He followed her to her car, and they both rushed inside when she closed the umbrella, trying to be as quick as possible.

She immediately turned the heater on and Clay let out a content sigh as he started to warm up.

He took out his phone and mentally cheered as it was still working and let out a relieved sigh as he remembered Patches, his cat, was at his mother's since she took her to the vet the afternoon because he couldn't.

He turned around, glancing at the girl who was concentrating on the road ahead of them.

"So... Do I get to know your name?" He asked and, much to his surprise she chuckled, but nodded.

"Since you're going to be my roommate for tonight I guess you kinda need to know it." She glanced at him, a small smile on her face before she looked back at the road.

"It's Lexi," She said as the car started to slow down in front of a house.

It was fairly big, and Clay wondered what she did for a living to be able to get it at such a young age.

"Lexi, I like it." He said, referring to her name and without even realizing he said it out loud and not on his head.

He blushed and shook his head, "Yo-your house is pretty too." He said, noticing her staring at him with raised eyebrows, she just chuckled and smiled at him. "I'm glad you like both." She only said as she started to drive in her garage.

When they were safely inside, she unclipped her belt and motioned for Clay to follow her. She turned around and took from the seats in the back a bag before getting out of the car.

When they were both out of the car, she opened a door that led them to what seemed to be a second entrance. She took off her jacket and shoes and instructed him to do the same.

Then he heard a bark, and he turned around just in time to see a beautiful Husky that immediately went over Lexi, starting to lick her hands while it's tail flickered back and forth.

She slightly petted him before the husky noticed Clay, and started to sniff him as he let out a low growl.

"Come on buddy, leave Clay alone, we're gonna be roomies for today." Lexi said, slightly pushing the dog away that listened to her and, with a last glance at Clay, walked away.

"That's my Husky, his name is Loki." She said, smiling slightly at him and he just nodded. "And don't worry, he's a sweetheart, really." She reassured him, pushing behind her ear a stray of wet hair.

"Right! I'll show you the room and the bathroom so you can shower if you want." She motioned with her hand to follow him.

Instead of walking up the stairs as Clay thought they were going to do, they turned left and walked down the hallway. She stopped in front of two doors and turned to look at him as she opened one.

Getting inside, Clay noticed immediately that the room was probably the room of a teenager who seemed to enjoy things like Stat Wars, The Hobbit and much to Clay's surprise...Minecraft.

Lexi smiled at him with an almost embarrassed smile, "Sorry for all the posters on the wall, sometimes my little brother stays here when he comes to visit so I just let him decorate how he wants his room. Oh and don't worry, everything is clean and in the bathroom there should be everything." She explained, pointing to a door in front of the bed when she mentioned the bathroom.

"So...yeah, I'll see if I can find any spare clothes to wear, yours are drenched." She frowned but still smiled at him.

Clay gave her a thankful, small smile and nodded. "That would be awesome, thank you." He replied and she smiled at him one last time before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

He quickly pulled out his phone and immediately called Sapnap. His best friend answered almost immediately.

"Yo what's up man." Sapnap greeted him and Clay groaned as he heard the boy chewing his food.

"Are you eating right now?" He asked, confused. If he wasn't wrong it was around 4pm in Texas, so he couldn't understand why he was eating.

"Yeah, I got hungry while doing my homeworks so..." He only said.

"Ok, well umh... I can't be in your stream today dude. I'm not home." He explained to his best friend who made a sound.

"Weren't you the one that made me stream? Dude we talked about it yesterday!" Sapnap said, laughing at the end. "Wait where are you? Isn't Florida under tornado warning?" He continued, his tone becoming more worried and urgent

"I'm fine, I promise. My...car keys broke and this girl offered me to stay in one of her spare rooms for the night, and Patches is at my mom's so it's all good." He explained.

"Yeah your car won't be that good if the tornado passes for Orlando." Sapnap laughed. "And a girl you say? You sure you just don't want to share a room with her tonight?" He teased him, but Clay felt his throat go dry at his words.

He was spending the night at a girl's house, a very attractive girl, but all he could think about was his feelings for his ex.

Was he moving on too fast? What if she called him again and asked to meet? Would she be mad if he told he slept at another girl's house?

He couldn't stop thinking but, shaking his head, Clay reminded himself that she was more than happy with her new boyfriend, that there would be no meetup or another screaming match where he would've taken all the blame. They weren't together anymore.

"I won't sleep with her Sap, I don't even know her last name, or her age." Clay castiged the boy with his tone before he passed a hand over his face. "I have to go and take a shower now, I'll call you tomorrow when I get home." He said and Sapnap hummed and, after they said their goodbyes Clay ended the call, dropping his phone on the bed before he went to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

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LEXI cursed loudly as she searched in the drawers. "God, you just had to ask a stranger if he wanted to come to your house huh?" She scolded herself, feeling as if she was in one of those criminal shows that she watched where a girl invited a boy at her place, and the boy would end up killing the girl.

She finally found an old pair of shorts that belonged to her brother ( who seemed to be taller but skinnier than Clay, so she thought they would still fit him ) and smiled sarcastically. "Nice, now he also has a new outfit."

She slapped a hand over her face before she took the shirt she had placed over her bed and, with the shorts in hand, she walked back down the stairs and towards her brother's old room.

She opened the door without caring as she still heard the shower going and placed the clothes over the bed, and then the door of the bathroom opened.

Lexi automatically turned around, before she covered her eyes with her hands and turned back around.

"Shit! Sorry! I-i didn't mean to barge in, I was just leaving the dry clothes on the bed." She apologised, her eyes still covered.

Clay cleared his throat as he held tight the towel that was now hanging low around his waist. "Nono, it's fine, don't worry." He reassured, shaking his head to get rid of the blush that was coating his cheeks.

"Good. I'm...I'm gonna go and cook dinner now so...when you're hungry just go down this hallway and turn right. The kitchen is there." She explained, taking one hand off of her face and held it out in front of her as she moved towards the door, making sure to not bump into anything.

When she was out, she closed the door and immediately ran away, her cheeks red from embarrassment as she shook her head.

"Now I'm the one that would look like the killer." She mumbled, taking the remote of her TV and turning it on and choosing a random channel.

Clay stared at the clothes she left on the bed, wondering if maybe they were of some ex boyfriend, or maybe of her brother, or even her father. He knew they weren't hers, they were almost big on him, but he shook his head and just walked out of the door and following her instructions, he found the kitchen.

Lexi sat at the table eating and watching the tv, her dog, Loki, sat on the ground right next to her and with his face on her thigh. Clay watched for a brief moment as she pet him softly, not even looking down, and he understood that this was usual for them.

He cleared his throat, not wanting to scare her if he walked inside the kitchen without warning.

Lexi turned around pretty quickly, smiled at him and got up to take his plate but he stopped her.

"Oh nono, don't worry, I can serve myself." He said, taking the plate from her hands and moving towards the stove where there was a pan with a cooked steak. He placed it on his plate before sitting down across the girl who only smiled at him.

As she started to eat again, Clay took his time to think about what he wanted to say as he slightly moved the fried chicken on his plate with his fork.

"Umh...Lexi?" He said softly, taking her attention back on him as she raised her eyebrow at him in a questioning motion.

"T-Thank you for everything you're doing for me." He stated, his cheeks coloring of a soft pink as she shook her head and smiled at him. "It's not a problem Clay, don't worry." She reassured him, and Clay felt as if he could finally breathe.

There was no screaming, no yelling, just Lexi and him smiling at each other with the background of the tv, the news talking about the state Florida was in right now.

Strong wind, better if everyone stayed inside, warning of a possible tornado... Clay knew it all, and just decided to ignore it and smiled again at the girl in front of him before starting to eat, the smile still plastered on his face.

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imagine being that big of a simp for dream that you have 8 drafts that you plan to publish, all with him as love interest ahahah

its me, I'm simp

ok it's 4am here I'm going to sleep, bye besties ily