Chapter Nine

"We dream about the things we love the most."

LUCY

The sun was so bright that weekend. Relentless and sweltering, I was close to believing it was summer all over again - which was fine with me and my indoor preference. I was not one of the foolish people in the backyard at the hottest time of the day working to mend the broken fence. Instead I was the person in charge of twisting lemons over a juicer with a cool, calm smile.

My dad was never the handyman and he was fully aware of that; but while his new bromance with Mr. Hugh came with questionable situations, it also had its perks. One of those being Mr. Hugh and him working hard to fix up the mess hurricane Sandy left a couple years back.

"Jacob can you hand me the mint leaves please?" I motioned towards the necessity in clear sight across the kitchen. The boy had the nerve to think it over. Then he shook his head. "Seriously? Are you being for real right now?" Would it be wrong to admit I wanted to watch him tumble to the ground? "You are so annoying --"

To my astonishment Clayton appeared from behind him, the smirk on Jacob not faltering a moment.

No one told me Clayton had arrived. Hell, he did not even tell me he was coming over; and by the look on my brother's face, he knew he was.

My lemon juice covered hands instantly flew to my hair in full regret of lazily throwing it up in a bun. Without a doubt my baby hairs were sticking up in every direction, standing up in a cheery response to Clayton's sudden appearance.

Was that why Jacob wanted to take a breather outside on the patio? He was wanting to catch Clayton before he knocked or rang the doorbell so I could be completely blindsided.

That little. . .

"Hey, Lucy." Clayton gave me a smile I did not deserve. It was so beautiful. He was beautiful. "I overheard you needed some mint?" He reached out to hand it to me.

I had to gulp down my anger towards Jacob right then and focus on Clayton. He was wearing work out clothes: a muscle tank that showed off everything I needed in life and black basketball shorts. His hair disheveled and messy already, he pressed his fingers through the small blonde curls out of habit.

"Thanks." My heartbeat sounded louder than that, so I had to repeat myself. "Thanks, Clayton. You're helpful unlike that. . . Eh." It was so hard not staring at the sliver of rib cage I could see from that angle. A few inches to the left and I could practically make out his abs. . . "Anyways!" I blurted out, taking in a quick breath. "What's up? I didn't know you were coming."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. My dad texted me after I was finished working out with the guys that he was here and could need the extra help. Your dad gave me the okay, too, so..." He did jazz hands. "Here I am!"

I chuckled briefly before peering out the window. There was still a lot of work to be done and plenty of lemonade to drink; and if Clayton was going to wear that and work hard out there, then I could make as much lemonade as they wanted. The reward of watching him was enough.

"Well, you made it just in time I guess. I am nearly done with the lemonade." I poured the lemon juice into a small cooler filled with ice. Clayton cheered at that. "If you wanna head out back then you can, I'll bring out some cups once I'm finished."

He put up cheery thumbs up then flipped around, shaking Jacob's hand. "It was nice meeting you, by the way."

"Yes," Jacob bowed his head with a sardonic smile. "It was nice meeting you too, Clinton."

"It's Clayton--"

"It's Clayton--"

We both had corrected him, but mine held a lot more snap.

"Right.." Jacob eyed me knowingly. "Sorry, Clayton."

The second Clayton exited through the back door and was out of hear shot I wasted no time in reprimanding Jacob with a hard smack to the chest.

"What?!" he yelled out, still gripping on to his innocence. "Slip of the tongue, that's all."

He was smart in walking out of the room. If I had to stay one more second with him there, he might have actually been on the floor in a matter of milliseconds. I had virtually forgotten how hard it was living with Jacob, but at the same time I enjoyed his presence. It gave me peace of mind knowing he was right there across the hall; either playing his stupid video games, studying, or maybe plotting his next plan to embarrass me in front of Clayton.

I gave myself a split second to recuperate before diving back into the lemonade. I carefully pulled out the sugar container from the cabinet and then went to town. As Aunt May told me growing up, the more sugar you had in your body, the happier you are.

Maybe I could make Clayton so happy with my sugar high lemonade that he would grab me in one of those spontaneous ecstatic kisses.

The thought made me laugh aloud. I could only wish.

I poured in tons of sugar, no measuring cups needed, until I was satisfied with the taste. After a good amount of stirring I added the finishing touch: my dad's precious mint leaves he grew his garden.

He might have been acting like a big, macho man around Mr. Hugh, but I knew the real Andrew Walker. He was the gardener who loved watching romantic comedies over most action movies. He was quirky; which was a reason my mom fell for him. He was clumsy too, but not near as much as my mom.

I filled up three cups and even dolloped an umbrella on the top. After examining them - more like scrutinizing - I placed them on a platter and then headed outside with a start. I could only imagine the beauty before my eyes. I figured Clayton would be glistening under the sun, defining his lean physique, which made my mouth grow dry. Thank goodness I made plenty of lemonade, because I was thirsty.

"Hey, guys. I finished the lemona--" Okay, I took all of that back. I was not thirsty anymore. In fact, my stomach couldn't handle anything.

There, in the blistering sunlight, was my dad and Mr. Hugh, shirtless. They weren't exactly the fittest apples in the tree, and my dad had the most disgusting body hair. It made me cringe back into the door, the drinks buckling to keep balance. Thankfully they stayed up, but my eyes couldn't do the same. The concrete was a lot more appealing.

"Aw, yes," Clayton's voice shook me, but the drinks remained intact. My eyes flew towards the storage unit and did not hesitate to widen.

Nope, I needed a drink. Did it just grow twenty degrees hotter outside?

There Clayton was, shirtless much like his father, but boy was he a feast to look at. The last time I saw him shirtless I was scared out of my mind, but then was different. Oh so different.

A very big difference was him holding a phone in one hand, and supplies in another. He looked over at me to send me a gracious grin before putting his focus back at the screen.

Was he taking one of those shirtless yard selfies I drooled over every time they appeared on J.K.'s Instagram timeline?

After a few snaps he threw his phone down on the grass. "Sorry about that. I'm not as egotistical as I seemed just then. Promise. It is an inside thing I do with an old friend in Norway." I didn't find myself questioning him. If anything I would have gleefully cheered him on.

"Thanks, Lucy." He threw down the wood in his hand and made his way towards me. "You're a lifesaver," he exasperated.

I managed to squeak out a laugh. "Lifesaver? You have barely been out here for five minutes!" He grabbed a cup and wasted no time in drinking it. "But, yeah, what are friends for?"

Friends, friends, friends.

Friends did not stare at each other like they were a piece of cooked meat, I had to remind myself.

So I settled on a friendly smile to Clayton then handed the cups to my dad and Mr. Hugh.

- - - - - - -

The idea of not sleepwalking at night was practically taboo to me. I couldn't even remember the nights I slept soundly in my bed, no movement whatsoever. What I do remember were the night terrors I had the first few times. Those lasted weeks - months, actually, which made my parents' "cute little sleepwalker" a lot more serious of a subject.

That was when I was introduced to Dr. Elver. At the beginning he ran lots of tests and even tried to get me on this drug on trial. My parents denied that immediately and it was good they did. The drug had tons of side effects and actually worsened other kids' conditions. I thought my night terrors were bad; theirs were probably worse. It wasn't until a verified drug came along that my parents allowed him to prescribe me them. Soon enough I was normal again.

Well, if normal meant walking around in my sleep.

And years later sleepwalking was normal to me. It became apart of my schedule; which made me bite my nails at the idea of stopping.

I admired Clayton's determination in the situation, but the likeliness of actually getting anywhere was close to zero. What could he do that Dr. Elver did not do already?

By the time the guys had finished the fence my mom had come home from work and offered to cook them dinner. She even invited Mrs. Hugh, but she was busy with her own work at the hospital. She had no idea about Norwegian food, but everyone was over the moon to eat her famous enchiladas.

Which was exactly why Clayton and I were chilling in my room scrolling through my laptop in answers for a "sleepwalking cure". That was what Clayton called it. Of course the door was completely open thanks to my dad, which filled the quiet with laughing and snarky comments towards the T.V..

"This sounds pretty plausible." He pointed at the screen so I stopped scrolling down.

Change the sleeping environment for the individual. Whether it be as small as another bedroom or another house entirely, there have been multiple cases where the sleeping quarters left the individuals stressed.

He was right. It also was something I had never tried before; of course not counting the different areas in the house I slept in.

My parents prefer me not to sleep over at peoples' houses, but not many of my friends ask either. My sleepwalking was not the best kept secret, but it was no where close to being juicy gossip. Most of the people I associate with knew about it, but they never talked about it. Maybe they thought it was a sensitive subject, I had no clue.

"It is worth a try, right?" Clayton added, optimism stressing his features. "Unless you have already done this..."

Then I remembered.

"I've stayed at hotels before, so I guess my environment isn't the problem." I shook my head.

His frown was disheartening, but he did not give up. "Okay, how about this - don't freak out on me now - you eat mostly cherries, passion fruit--" he peeked down at the notes he scribbled down on his hand from the other websites "-- bananas and peanuts for a whole day?"

I wanted to gag. "That seems so... nutritious." The shiver that occurred next made us both laugh.

"Then what do you want to try for the first trial run?" Clayton asked, walking across my room to flop onto the beanbag. He stretched out his limbs, making all of his visible muscles flex.

Dear lord.

"Um!" I yelped. He needed to warn me before doing something like that again. "You know what, I think I can try the food stuff. Cherries are the next chips, right?" My laugh was strained.

Gratefully my mom called out that the food was finished because I expected to be sitting in yet another awkward silence with Clayton. I could not speak for him, but I felt that new blooming friendship was off; whether it be because I have adored him since the first time I saw him or due to our drastically different popularity spectrum, but it was.

I wondered if he felt the same way.

"Enjoy your last real meal for the next twenty-four hours, Lucy." He grinned wickedly. "I'll make sure to stop by your lunch table and see if you're abiding by the doctor's rules."

He left me smiling way too hard for my liking.

Why did he have to make this so difficult?

Guyssssssssss! This book is number #11 in Teen Fiction!! I can't believe it. That is the highest ranking I have ever gotten in all of my time spent on Wattpad (five years this month). I can't thank you all enough for every read, vote, and comment. You make writing an absolute joy. :)

So, what do you guys think of this chapter? I am so much happier with the writing aspect of this one. It wasn't as bland as the last chapter, in my opinion. AND CAN WE TAKE A MOMENT AND APPRECIATE CLAYTON SHIRTLESS?

Guys in muscle tanks are my weakness btw....

Dedicated to Mikkie_has_oreos for her fabulous motivation comment, haha! Thanks for the support <3

The next chapter should be up this weekend. Who knows, I might pull another chapter out of my pocket with the way inspiration is hitting me. (;

AND LOL LUCY IS ME IN THE GIF. Btw I have gotten a lot of questions about how I make the gifs, so would you guys want me to a tutorial and post it on Youtube??