Author's Notes

BRAND SPANKIN' NEW CHAPTER!!! WHOOT!

ahem. Enjoy.

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It had taken Raimundo forty minutes to hike to Chase's place. It took him less than twenty to run back to the temple and stop outside Clay's room. He nearly broke the sliding door in half with his frantic knocking. It slid open reluctantly.

"Rai... hey... what's... what's up? Ya'll look like ya just raced Armstrong... and beat 'im."

Felt like that too. Lungs burning, Rai could barely speak.

"We... oh god... can't... breathe... We gotta *gasp* talk."

Clay was a good guy. He always knew when something was important, when you didn't joke around. If it were Clay telling Rai that they had to talk, Raimundo would say something snarky like, 'Aren't we talking already', just to bother him. But Clay just opened his door all the way, letting Rai inside with no further questions.

"So. What's up?"

Rai collapsed on the floor and took a minute to collect himself. When he could string two sentences together without feeling dizzy, he managed,

"Jack's sleeping with Chase."

Clay's face twisted. "Yeah... thanks buddy. Ya'll ready told be that. Didn't really need the reminder."

"But he wasn't!"

"Well I'm sure there was a time when I was with Jack that he wasn't a no good cheatin' varmint, but-"

"He was never a cheating varmint! God, don't you get it?"

"Absolutely not."

Rai threw his hands over his face to avoid the piercing look Clay was giving him. The Texan wasn't stupid. A little socially awkward, sure, he'd probably die in a city environment, but Raimundo was ninety-five percent positive that Clay knew exactly what Rai was trying to tell him. He was just... well... a good guy. He didn't want to believe that his best friend lied to him and caused him to loose his lover.

"I... you... I hated you for a while, you know? When I found out you were with Jack. When I found out you were in a relationship with another man. Not that I have any problem with your sexual orientation, believe me, but... it was who you were with that made me hate you. And you know what, if it had been anyone else... even if it weren't someone we've always classified as evil I'd hate you for loving another man... at least... another man that wasn't me."

There. He had said it. It wasn't a heartfelt, 'I love you! Kiss me!' movie moment... but it was all he had. He waited for Clay to say something. Anything.

He didn't. So Rai continued just to fill the silence.

"Clay... God this is hard... I was so attracted to you. I still am! but I didn't say anything because you were always unattainable. Always on the other side of the locked, barbed wire fence, always playing for the rival team. And I was... well... I wasn't happy, because I couldn't be with you, but I was content, you know? We're friends. Best friends. I could spend time with you and really enjoy myself. Sure it killed me a little on the inside that you had stuck me in the friend zone, but really what else could I do? You weren't... I mean I didn't think you would ever be attracted to anyone without breasts. And then... all of the sudden, out of nowhere, you're in a clover field eating Jack Spicer's face off, and obviously enjoying doing so. And then, every weekend, every free moment, you're with him. So I hated you. But I couldn't hate you. So I hated Jack. You were finally obtainable... but you weren't. I never gave up though... I never stopped hoping that maybe you would get tired of Jack, or he would get tired of you. And I'd be there, you know. For you. It... it never happened though. Three months, and it seemed like you two were just getting closer together... you'd never even had a fight! And then you did! And you were angry, and upset, but not upset enough to leave him, because you never would be... so I-"

"You lied."

Clay's voice reminded Raimundo horribly of Antarctica in January. Of Icicles and frost... a cracking, freezing temperature that made your teeth hurt and your fingers go numb the instant you let them out of your gloves. To say that the Earth Dragon was mad... to say that he was furious... was the largest understatement Rai had ever even thought to use. He didn't take his hand off his face, but his shoulders stiffened and he hoped he wasn't shaking. Raimundo wasn't stupid either. He knew Clay could hurt him if he really wanted to. Hurt him badly.

"...yeah. I lied. Jack had never slept with Chase... at least... not that I knew of. But... but it fit." He swallowed, braced himself, and took his hand away and sat up, looking Clay dead in the eye. It was the hardest, bravest thing he'd ever done. The instant he looked at Clay, he wanted to look away... he wanted the earth to swallow him up and spit him somewhere far far away. But not until after he told Clay... not until after he said,

"But they're together now. Really. I... I went to Chase's house, and Jack was there and he was... well it was abundantly clear what Chase had been doing before he answered the door."

"Why were ya'll at Chase's house? Why did ya'll go there to begin with?"

Rai's mouth went dry and his eyes darted to the floor. "That's not important. It doesn't matter. The point is Jack-"

"You were, weren't you? It was you. I... I broke up with the love o' my life, because you were havin' sex with Chase Young, and you lied about it."

Clay stood up and he loomed over Rai with an intensity that make Raimundo shiver.

"L-look... I'm... I'm not proud of what I did, but I thought... I thought maybe we-"

"Ya'll didn't think of 'we' Rai. You thought of you. There's a difference."

"But I saw him, Clay! I saw Jack half-naked, standing outside of Chase's bedroom!"

"When?"

"Like thirty minutes ago man!"

"Thirty minutes ago, he was single. I'd already dumped 'im. He's perfectly able ta sleep with anyone he wants ta."

Rai's mouth fell open. "You're... just going to forgive him. Just like that."

"He didn't do anythin' wrong, way I see it. Unlike someone I have the displeasure of knowin'." And without saying anything else, Clay turned on his heel, walked out of his room, and left Rai kneeling pathetically on his floor.