Work Text:
Clay hasn't been doing great recently. It's obvious. Teachers constantly pull him aside after class to which Clay decides to lie and say he's fine. His sisters constantly notice it and pick on him for it. But Clay knows that they are genuinely worried. The person who's been the most worried has been Clay’s best friend, Rob.
Not just because Rob knows the reason why Clay has been so down these past few weeks but also because Rob feels like he sort of caused it in a way. He's the one who forced Clay to go to that damned party, he's the one who left Clay alone at said party. Rob believes that all of these actions led up to Clay's addiction. Clay has been trying to convince Rob it's not his fault ever since that night but it hasn't worked.
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Tonight Clay took one of the vodka bottles in his dad's liquor cabinet and was now quietly lying down in his room. After only a few minutes he had finished the quarter-filled bottle. While in a drunken stupor he stumbled into a kitchen and.. he grabbed a bottle of window cleaner and chugged it. About 5 minutes later Clay realized what he did and instead of calling poison control like he should've he instead decided to call Rob. Rob typically doesn't go to bed at normal times since he's a mouse and mice are nocturnal.
So, when his best friend called him at approximately 2AM crying over the phone while quietly (a little too quietly) asking Rob to come over Rob immediately complied. When Rob arrived Clay was rolling around on his bedroom floor obviously having a panic attack. In response to this Rob (having learned from the bathroom incident which happened in my last fic) simply curled up next to him and waited for Clay to calm down. Rob had to try his very best not to hurl as he heard quiet growling coming from Clay.
Once Clay noticed Rob was there it only took about 2 minutes for him to calm down to which Rob turned onto his side and asked Clay what the hell happened. Clay ashamedly told Rob about him chugging a bottle of Windex which Rob responded to with immediate concern and calling poison control. Rob was sitting up against the side of Clay's bed when Clay rested his forehead against his hip, crying a little and holding Rob’s torso with one of his arms. He muttered small concerns about how he thinks he's gonna die and Rob responded by gently petting him to calm him down.
“You're alright, Clay.. I'm gonna go get you some water to help dilute that window cleaner, okay?”
Clay sniffles and rolls over on his back. “Fucking hell.. I feel like I'm gonna die, dude..”
Clay is not a very fun drunk when he's worried. But, Rob already knows this, so he simply stands up and leaves for water. Clay doesn't follow and instead curls up in on himself. After a few minutes Rob comes back with a few bottles of water and lies back down on the floor with Clay.
“I'm back. I got you some water, m’kay?”
Clay lets out a small cough and rests his head in Rob's lap. “Fuck.. my stomach hurts like hell…”
“Yeah, makes sense. You just chugged a bottle of Windex like 20 minutes ago. But, are you like.. Alright? You don't look so great and you haven't told me why you did that.”
Clay chugs a bottle of water before finally sitting up against his bed and explaining that he was extremely fucked up and looking for alcohol when he grabbed a bottle of Windex thinking it would get him drunker and chugged it. Rob nods along to the story, quietly leaning against Clay.
When Clay stops telling the story Rob gently rests his hand on Clay's knee. “That's.. rough. But, as long as we dilute that I think you'll be okay. But.. you seriously need to quit drinking.. if this is the result then you can't keep doing it, okay? I'm worried about you, Clay.”
Clay's eyes get a little watery and he immediately wipes them. “I'm sorry.. I caused you a lot of trouble tonight and throughout this whole damn week..”
Rob frowns. “Dude.. it's alright. If anything it's my fault that you even started drinking alcohol.”
“No, it's not. Even though you left me alone I'm the one who decided to chug that shit. It's not your fault, Rob.”
They sit there and talk a little for a few more minutes, waiting for poison control to come. When they eventually arrive Clay's family wakes up to a car in their driveway and their son/brother being escorted to the hospital to get his stomach pumped. Clay told them a simple I'll tell you when we get there. At the hospital Rob quietly sits in the room with Clay while he explains to his family the whole.. situation. His sisters make fun of him, his mother who drove over from her house, expresses immense concern, and his father cares more that his son is there with a mouse than the fact that his son is a blossoming alcoholic.
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One month after the incident Clay is not allowed within 10 feet of alcohol as deemed by his mother and the doctors. He's been spending most of his time at Rob's house, distracting himself from alcohol by talking to the energetic little mouse who his father intensely disapproves of. In fact, Rob's father also disapproves of Clay but has begun to grow on him. Rob's mother seems to really like Clay since he's one of the only friends Rob's made in about four years. Clay's gotten time off of his job at the movie theater to recover from the incident. So far, so good. But recently his whole no alcohol within 10 feet limit has been lifted. This may or may not have been the best decision. Guess you'll find out next chapter/fic :P