This is another story of mine that I also have posted on Wattpad. It takes place the summer before Hannah's suicide, where Clay goes to stay with his grandparents. I decided to name the town Vellindale, and Clay's grandparents' names will be Henry and Loretta. Rating might go up in future chapters.

I got the idea for this story after watching Zach and Hannah's episode. Please review!

Chapter 1

Clay's POV

Clay Jensen was bored.

It had been a week since he'd arrived, and he was already tired of running errands for his grandparents. When his mom had suggested he spent the summer with them, Clay knew he was doomed. If he had stayed in Crestmont, he would be having some quality time with Hannah at the movie theatre right now, not entering a flower shop.

He wandered around the place for a few minutes, horribly confounded by the labels of the flowers. Who knew there was more than one type of pink roses?

"Sorry, I had to go to the bathroom!" A girly voice said, startling Clay. "How can I help you, sweetheart?"

He was taken aback by both the girl's appearance and her usage of the pet name. She couldn't be much older than he was; with dirty blonde hair and light brown eyes. Her smile was wide and he wanted nothing more than to return it.

Instead, he stood there dumbfounded, mentally kicking himself for being so awkward.

"Cat cut your tongue?" She said, licking her front teeth with her tongue.

"N-no." He finally managed to let out. "I-I'm here to pick up a bouquet. The name's Jensen."

"Oh, you're Clay!" The girl exclaimed, looking at him as if he were Santa Claus. "I feel like I know you already, your grandparents talk about you all the time." She held out her hand. "I'm Faith!"

Faith. The name seemed to suit her.

"Nice to meet you." He said, shaking her hand. It was very warm, and he noticed that the yellow nail polish of her nails matched with her dress.

"I have the Jensen bouquet at the back." Faith said, disappearing in a flash.

Clay hoped his grandparents hadn't told Faith any embarrassing stories about him. He just needed to get through this errand without making a fool of himself again.

When Faith returned, she was holding a purple vase filled with flowers that looked bigger than the girl holding them.

"Here it is. Purple roses, white lilies, and purple alstroemerias." She said, giggling. "And they say love is dead!"

Clay nodded, not knowing what to respond. Is she always this cheerful? They are just flowers.

"Your grandma is going to love them." Faith handed him the bouquet. "Please send them my best, okay?"

"Sure." Clay replied, struggling not to let the vase drop. "Thank you."

"How are long are you staying?" Faith suddenly asked.

"Um... the whole summer? Why?"

"No reason." She winked at him, and Clay gulped. "See you around."

He gave her one final nod and walked out of the flower shop. After securing the vase in the trunk of the car, he headed back to the house and gave it to his grandpa.

"Thank you, Clay." Henry said. "Now your grandma will finally stop saying that I don't appreciate her enough."

"When did she ever say that?" Clay wondered, beaming.

"Every single day, boy. You just haven't been around to hear it." Henry told him. "Did Faith give it to you?"

"Yeah. The tall blonde girl who smiles too much, right?" And which happens to be super pretty.

"That's her." The lines of his frown burrowed more deeply into his face. "Poor thing... her mother passed away last year, and her father has never been around. She moved to town a few months ago with her sister, who owns the shop. She's been very kind to your grandma and me."

"Wow." Clay mumbled, suddenly feeling guilty for thinking her enthusiasm over the flowers had been over the top. "I never would have guessed she went through something like that."

"Me neither. She's always so lively. Your grandma showed her a few of your baby pictures the other day."

Clay's eyes widened in horror. "What? Why would she do that?"

"I don't know! Guess she just wanted to brag about you. All those good grades you keep getting... you make us both proud, Clay."

"Thank you, grandpa." He looked down at his feet. "Is there something else you need me to do?" Please say no, please say no...

Henry shook his head. "No, nothing. Go have some fun. We don't want you to be our servant."

Oh, really? Good to know. "I'll go take a walk." He stormed out of the house before his grandpa could change his mind.

In truth, he had no idea where to go. This was the first time he had been in Vellindale since he was a kid, and he didn't have any fun memories of the town. It was pretty much like Crestmont in a way; common places and common people living their common lives.

Clay wondered how Hannah was doing. She had sounded disappointed when she found out he would be gone all summer. He wanted to believe she was currently missing him as much as he missed her. Jeff had told him plenty of times that Hannah was indeed into him, but it was his job to make the first move. If only it were that easy.

Lost in his own bubble, he bumped into someone. "Sorry. I wasn't paying attention and..."

"Don't worry, Clay." It was Faith. "For a second, I thought you were going to give me a hug or something. Not that I would have objected."

Clay blushed, not used to having a girl flirt with him so openly. Is this flirting? I'm sure she just flirted. She was now wearing a jean jacket over her yellow dress.

"My sister told me I could take the rest of the day off." Faith explained. "I suppose that's my reward for being an awesome employee." She eyed him warily, as if she were looking for something. "You mind if I walk with you?"

"N-not at all." He blurted out. "I have no idea where I'm going."

"Well, then let me show you." She said, clapping her hands in glee. "I could be your tour guide, show you some cool places... what do you think?"

"I'd like that." He responded, giving her a smile. This is going to be interesting. Perhaps this summer won't be so boring after all.