Chapter Text
Tuesday 10th November
It was cold. Well, it wasn't THAT cold, but it was still one of those chilly autumn mornings. George was fast asleep until the call of a mother bird woke him up from his deep slumber, groaning and stretching, he slowly but surely made his way out of bed.
It was a Tuesday, so that meant that George had to go to work, he worked at the library on the edge of town.
It was an old building, and was built well, for it didn't look as if it had been worn by the weather at all. George liked his job, although, when it was quiet, it was a tad boring, but it was ok as he could get on with reading whatever he wanted to.
George got showered and dressed then sat down to eat his breakfast, toast with peanut butter, while he thought about the coming holiday, Christmas.
Christmas was a big deal to his family, they always had to have the perfect tree, perfect presents, perfect decorations and perfect food. Everything had to be perfect. George had grown up with this yearly chore of routine and tradition, so he always felt it should be perfect too. This is why he decide that today, he was going to take a trip into the town centre on his lunch break.
It was around 12:30, George's break time. He hopped on the bus after waiting an almost unbearably cold 10 minutes at the bus stop, but it was worth it, as he would have missed the bus otherwise. The bus only took a couple minutes to reach his destination, but George had decided earlier that he'd have more time than if he'd walked there.
Today, he was going to get his mother's present, so he would get his father's tomorrow and then his little sister Katie, one on Thursday. He didn't really talk to his grandpa, so he wasn't going to get him a gift his year, and he didn't have any other relatives that he knew of.
His mother liked antiques, he remembered. George strolled into the shopping centre and had a look around. There seemed to be a new shop. He had a better look at it and the sign read: 'Clay's Collectables and Antiques'. What luck! He could most definitely find his picky mother something in there!
George peered through the shop window, and he spotted something that took his fancy, a floral vase. In his opinion, it was absolutely hideous but it was exactly what his mother liked. He entered the shop, and heard a little dingle of a bell. He crouched in the window and looked at the price tag. Two hundred pounds. It was expensive but this would mean that his mother would not be disappointed in him, as she was last year.
George very carefully picked up the vase and took it to the till. He looked up at the person, who he assumed would be the shop owner, and what he saw, stunned him so much that the vase nearly slid out of his hands.
This man had to be THE most beautiful man that George had ever layed his eyes on.
He had dirty blonde hair, that was ever so slightly curly and Oh. My. God. His eyes. They glittered like nothing he'd seen before, and they were the darkest, prettiest shade of green that you could imagine.
The shop keeper broke the silence with a small cough, "you alright there?" he asked.
George blinked for the first time in about a minute and said, "yes, just ..errm.. calculating something..?"
He was calculating something alright, how to get this man to become his friend, if not more.
"So, are you buying this vase as a gift or for yourself?"
"No, no. It's not for me, it's my mother's Christmas present, I thought I'd start buying early this year," George explained.
He then handed over the correct amount of money, and was about to leave when he heard a voice behind him.
"My names Clay, what's yours, I forgot to ask"
"George." He thought to himself, 'this might be my only chance!', "soo.., just wondering, would you like to meet up for a coffee sometime..?"
Clay's eyes seemed to light up even more at this simple question. "Sure!"
They chatted for a while longer, and finally settled on a place and time to meet. Leila's Tea-shop at 2 o'clock this Saturday.
For the rest of the day, all George could think about was Clay. he could not wait until the weekend, so much so, that he barely slept a wink, for the only thing he could think about were those glittering emerald eyes.