— Home

HOME IS WHERE the heart is, and god did she feel awfully at home whenever she was with Clay Jensen. No matter how infuriated he made her, she just couldn't get over how much she felt for him. He made her feel every emotion there is, and that's how she liked it.

She was worried. That was something he was making her feel quite often. She didn't know how to approach him sometimes. There was this wall that had been put up. Not by her.

Clay had been putting up these barriers that made it impossible to penetrate his mind. She couldn't be heard anymore, they blocked out all of the sound.

"Natalia, why were you at the Jensen's this weekend?" Her mother asked making her jump up. She looked back at her with shock. That was a one time thing. Clay was having trouble sleeping and he called her. "Are you having sex with this boy?"

"Ew, mom. Not at all," Natalia said, which was the truth. She continued packing up her bag for school. She looked up and saw her there.

"Well, I want you home tomorrow night. No parties," She said in a warning tone.

"How'd you...?" Natalia trailed off. She stopped packing her bag and seriously stared at her. "I'll see you after school."

•••

THIS APPARENTLY WASN'T just a Natalia problem. Everyone had heard about Breech's cancelled party. Somehow Clay's parents knew about his whereabouts along with Justin's. Something has been going on, and Natalia was all for her and her friends keeping safe.

Justin had been moping around the school, so Natalia made sure to approach him.

"Hello, there," She greeted bubbly. He looked up at her, pleased to see her in a good mood for the first time in forever.

"Hey, Nat," Justin replied, letting her loop her arm in his. It was always just so easy to fall back into old patterns with him. "You're awfully happy today."

"It's called turning over a new leaf. I'm trying to be more vibrant. Plus, my mother has been looking at pamphlets for hotels in Cancun, so I decided I'd be on my best behavior. Especially after she found out I snuck into your guys' house last weekend," Natalia babbled as they walked to their next class together.

"Really? How?" Justin asked and Natalia shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine. So, what's up? You seem to be in a shitty mood?" Natalia quizzed causing the boy to sigh. He wasn't sure if the information could be trusted with her. There was a time things like this were kept safe, but now, he wasn't so sure.

"You can keep a secret still right?" He questioned. She nodded gingerly to get her point across. "Okay, then don't mention it to Clay, but we were both drug tested, and mine came back positive and his came back negative. He tried to accuse me of switching them around."

Natalia stopped in her tracks. Clay did drugs and is actually trying to accuse Justin of relapsing? What the fuck is happening?

"Jesus, that doesn't even sound like him. When do you think he did drugs?" Natalia asked, beginning to walk again.

"Not sure, whenever he's not with me, he's with you," Justin replied as Natalia unlinked their arms.

"This is me," Natalia said motioning toward the classroom behind her. "I'll see you later."

•••

PARTIES HADN'T BEEN Natalia's favorite thing ever, but she wanted to go. She watched as Clay took a rip from a bong, exhaling into the air. She couldn't help but extremely enjoy the view. She'd already taken a hit, her mind already beginning to wander.

Despite the gorgeous view, she did not want him to do it because of what Justin had told her earlier. He didn't like to listen when his mind was set on something.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Justin quizzed from behind him. Natalia sucked in a sharp breath as she seen him. Clay got up and walked over to him. Nat following right behind.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Clay asked, Justin's eyes now on Natalia.

"Looking out for you. What are you doing?" Justin pondered, his eyes flickering back and forth between Natalia and Clay.

"Thanks to you, my parents think I smoke, so why not?" Clay said with a tinge of anger to his tone.

"Look, I'm the last guy to tell you not to do drugs, but what the fuck are you trying to prove?" Justin asked, glancing at Natalia. She took that as her cue to go back with Cyrus and his boys. She really didn't want to get involved.

She looked over and seen a little bit of struggle.

"They're not your fucking parents, so stop pretending they are," Clay snapped making Natalia furrow her eyebrows. She felt sad for Justin hearing those words.

"Clay, don't say anything else you might regret," Natalia scolded from beside Cyrus. She came back to the two boys and tried to tug on his arm.

He gave a quick glance at Justin and let Natalia lead him away.

"What the fuck? What the fuck was that?" Natalia questioned him angrily. He shook his head and shook her arm off of him.

"Leave it alone, Natalia," He spat, walking away. She huffed as he walked off, leaving her alone.

•••

SIPPING HER DRINK she watched as Clay and Zach played piano and sung Tiny Dancer. She liked to watch this side of Clay, the boy looked over at her and smiled that same dorky smile, she always adored. Zach looked up at him and said something. Clay shook his head with embarrassment. Then Zach said something else which Clay nodded.

He patted Zach on the shoulder. Clay sauntered forward and toward Natalia. She smirked up at him as he watched her sip on her vodka soda.

"When you said leave it alone, you didn't mean leave me alone, now did you?" Natalia asked teasingly making Clay roll his eyes. He grabbed her free hand and pulled her up, pressing her body tightly against his. "What's with you tonight?"

"You look so fucking sexy tonight," He whispered in her ear making her laugh. He looked somewhat confused.

"Don't talk game if you can't let it play out," She responded softly, her soft lips grazing his jaw.

"Who said it's not gonna play out?" Clay asked. Natalia smirked at this and downed her drink. She grabbed his hand and led him to the first free room she could find.

Natalia closed the bedroom door behind them. Her back against the door. Clay stood before her watching her carefully. She passed him slowly, grabbing his hand and guiding him over to the bed.

Her half lidded eyes gazed up at him with a hunger she's felt for so long. She craved his touch, and tonight, she felt like she was going to finally be satisfied. She reached out to touch his face, tracing his jaw, then grabbing him by the back of his neck.

Their lips met in unison, her plump ones eager to explore him more than anything. Clay was the one who had pushed her onto the bed. He was never one to take control, or be bold. Tonight was different.

He took off his shirt leaving Natalia to gawk for a moment. She smirked up at him and decided to remove her top. Then slowly, she peeled off her bra.

"You're still sure?" Natalia quizzed innocently. Clay nodded wordlessly, leaning down to kiss her again. His hands roamed her body. She reached into her skirt pocket, and pulled out a condom waving it in Clay's face. His eyes crinkled as Natalie flipped them over so she was on top.

She slipped off her underwear, discarding them, landing somewhere on the floor. She began to undo Clay's jeans and then pulled down his boxers. Her stomach lurched at the look Clay gave her. She caressed his face with her hand, and slowly put the condom on.

Natalia slowly got into position which was the same amount of time it took for Clay to finish. He grunted from underneath her making her chuckle at him. She  figured this would be the outcome.

"We'll work on that, but we're not done yet," Natalia said breathily. She got off of him and guided his hand up her thigh. Clay let her do the controlling because he had no idea what to do.

He sat up and let her hand guide him. She let out a small sigh of relief as she helped him figure out what to do since their little endeavor didn't really go anywhere. It was Natalia's turn.

"Am I doing it?" Clay asked and Natalia nodded with her lips agape. She pressed her lips to his and let out a small moan. She removed her hand when Clay finally got an understanding on what to do. She moved her hips to the rhythm of Clay's hand.

Her heart pounded out of her chest as she felt both Clay's movements and his mouth leaving kisses against her neck.

"Fuck," Natalia panted. Clay watched her reaction as he continued. He could tell she was almost done because of the panting and the squirming she'd been doing. He looked her in her eyes as she finally came undone, riding out her high.

"Holy shit," Clay whispered. Natalia rolled her eyes and pulled his face to hers, kissing him once again.

That was a whole lot of firsts for the couple and it wasn't going to be a last.

•••

NATALIA GUIDED CLAY down the hall. Her drunkenness along with her high had worn off from the drugs and alcohol, but now she was an entirely new high. She looked back at him like she was in a daze.

"Thirsty?" Natalia asked and Clay blushed at her words. She laughed in his face at how flustered he was. "For a drink, asshole."

"Oh, yeah. Sure," He responded bashfully.

Natalia looked at all the different booze and had a hard time deciding which she wanted to choose.

"Nice tits," Some guy whispered in her ear in passing. Clay caught wind of this and grabbed the guys shoulder whipping him around.

"Who's this?" The guy asked Natalia.

"Her boyfriend. Who the fuck are you?" Clay asked making Natalia raise her eyebrows. Okay, we'll go with that.

"Her next boyfriend, you scrawny piece of shit," The guy spat causing Clay to punch him in the face. Natalia gasped at the scene before her, slightly flattered. "Are you kidding me?"

The guy punched Clay back making Natalia stand back. Clay immediately lunged into him making her pinch the bridge of her nose. He just kept going, Clay wouldn't get off until Zach picked him up.

"Clay! What the fuck? Come on!"

"Get off!" Clay yelled. "Who's next? Who wants it, huh? Come on! Come on!"

Natalia widened her eyes. How did it go from so good to this so quick?

"Clay!" Justin scolded. Clay shoved him in response making Natalia swallow.

"Clay enough!" She yelled, still by the alcohol. He looked over at her with a shed of empathy in his eyes.

"What the hell's going on?" Justin asked with no response, Clay looked over at Winston.

"I will end you," Clay said in a cold, serious tone. Natalia backed away from this whole situation. She made eye contact with Jessica and exited the house, being followed by her.

"What's his problem, Nat?" Jessica quizzed and Natalia shook her head. She couldn't take it.

"I have sex with him and he acts like a fucking lunatic!" Natalia shouts out of nowhere.

"Oh, Jesus, you took his virginity?" Jessica asked.

"He's been a dick, I basically just rewarded shitty behavior. What do I do? What the fuck am I doing with him, Jess?" Natalia panicked and Jessica came to her side immediately.

"Calm down, Natalia. It'll be ok. It's Clay. He's just going through something right now, okay?" Jessica said trying to calm the blonde down, but it didn't seem to work. "Why'd he get in that fight?"

"Someone said something to me and he went to defend me," Natalia said, tears welled in her eyes.

"It isn't your fault. You were just standing there, existing. Where's Clay?" Jessica asked and Natalia just shrugged. She didn't care at this point.

"I don't know nor do I care. He needs to get his shit together. He can't keep doing this to me," Natalia almost whispered. Jessica still heard it loud and clear.

"So, you guys hooked up?" Jessica asked quite intrigued.

"Yeah," Natalia responded with a bashful look on her face.

"Was he any good?" Jessica questioned. Natalia ran her hands over her face and chuckled.

"All five seconds were pretty good, yeah," Natalia joked making Jessica laugh.

"Did you finish?"

"Oh, my God," Natalia squealed from embarrassment. "Not from the sex, no."

Jessica laughed with Natalia about her time with Clay. It's just what happens sometimes with girls. Everything can cool down in matter of seconds if you have a good friend to talk to.

Tonight would be one to remember for a multitude of reasons.