(Clay's POV)
This was probably the most nervous Clay has been in his whole life. He was torn between rushing towards the waiting area where he knew his mom was waiting for him and running back to an airplane that would take him back to London, where he was comfortable and well, at home. But he shook the feeling off and kept walking. He's been waiting for this moment before he even knew that is was possible and now that it was here, he wouldn't allow himself to ruin it.
When Clay finally arrived at the waiting area, he looked around for his mom. He suddenly heard someone yell his name. Well, Nathan's name. He turned around and he couldn't believe his eyes. It was his mom.
"Nathan! Over here, honey!" Caroline waved at him frantically.
Clay grinned and tried his best not to completely abandon his suitcase and run towards her. Before he knew it, he was pulled into a tight hug.
"Oh, sweetie I missed you so much!" Caroline exclaimed.
Clay hugged her back as hard, closing his eyes. "I can't believe you're finally here, mom."
Then he immediately opened his eyes. Damn it, he should really keep his emotions in check if this was ever going to work. Its only been a few minutes. He might as well have told her, "Surprise mum! It's me, Clay!"
He stepped back from the hug and tried to adapt a nonchalant expression. It didn't seem to work though because Caroline was looking at him with intently.
Clay tried to look away but Caroline cupped his face and gave him a surprised look. "Nathan? Are you crying?"
Clay shook his head, not trusting himself to speak this time.
Caroline's eyes widened. "You are!" Then she hugged him again, "My big baby!"
Clay pulled away from the hug and pretented to fix his hair to wipe at his eyes. "Who's crying? I'm not crying. It's probably just dust or something."
His mom seemed like she wasn't having any of it though, she just batted his hands away and cupped his face again. She was looking at him with an expression that made Clay feel like she knew something he didn't before she finally released him and shook her head.
"Alright. Let's go home, and you can tell me all about camp." Caroline said cheerfully and linked her arm through his as they walked towards the exit gates. "It better be horrible because I'm never allowing you to go back."
Clay laughed, trying to figure out how Nathan would respond to that. "Don't worry mom, it was shit."
"Language, mister!" Caroline scolded him but she was laughing.
*Meanwhile at the London Heathrow Airport*
(Nathan's POV)
From: Dad
Son, I wouldn't be able to pick you up. I'm still at a meeting. Will probably go on until the end of the day. Adrian will be waiting for you at the airport.
Nathan tried to hide his disappointment upon reading the text he's just recieved from his father. He was really looking forward to seeing his dad and what he gets is a clipped message about him being in a meeting.
Will this be the same scenario if he was Clay?
Then he shook his head. There was no way anyone aside from Clay and himself knew that they've switched places. He knew he was being sensitive and acting like a whiny child. He was sixteen, for God's sake. Yet here he was, acting like he was ten.
He schooled his features and started walking towards the exit doors of the terminal. He craned his neck to look for Adrian, an intern at his dad's company (Clay showed him pictures).
"Clay!"
Nathan turned and saw a boy a few years older than him walking towards him.
"How was camp?"
"It was alright." He shrugged, before remembering who he should be. Shit. "I mean. It was great! Had a lot of time to work on my art."
Adrian gave him a weird look. "Nice American accent. Been practicing?"
He decided to go with the flow. "Yeah. My cabinmate's been teaching me."
"Ha! Almost got me fooled for a moment there. Lets get going, yeah?" Adrian helped him with his other bag and they made their way towards a black SUV that's parked in front.
"So.. dad told me he was in a meeting?"
Adrian nodded. "Yeah.. Probably gonna end till late. Wouldn't wait up if I were you."
That's strange. Clay told him that his dad usually arrives home in time for dinner. Like him and his mom, that was their bonding time during weekdays. This is probably a really important meeting, then.
Nathan just nodded instead and decided to listen to music on his ipod.
Throughout the ride, Adrian would shoot him suspicious looks but Nathan decided to ignore it. Nathan figured he could just reason later on that he was jetlagged. Which was half true. The other reason is that now that he's here, its like all those weeks of practicing with Clay flew out the window. He was overwhelmed. He's so conscious of how he acts that it almost seems so unnatural. Well, at least to him. So it was really a blessing in disguise that his dad would be arriving home late. Nathan felt like he needed a few moments to himself.
He must've dozed off because the next thing he knew, someone was shaking him.
"Clay. Wake up. We're here."
Nathan slowly opened his eyes and looked out the window. There it was. The house he's only seen through pictures until now.
House..More like a mansion, Nathan thought with a snicker. Pictures didn't do it justice. He knew that it was home to Clay but now, it just looked empty to him. A bit haunted, even. He suddenly wished he could run back home where his house looked homey and welcoming.
Well, too late for that.
They walked up the steps to the front porch and Adrian didn't even bother with the doorbell and went to open the door. Was he even really an intern? What kind of intern does house visits and picks up their boss' son from the airport?
He took a step inside and he suddenly felt chills. He can barely see a thing. It was eerily quiet, as well. Is it always like this in here?
"Where are all the lights? Is it-"
"SURPRISE!"
Nathan blinked in surprise as all the lights suddenly turned on and he was suddenly pulled into a hug before he can even absorb what was going on.
"I've missed you so much!" Someone more or less shrieked while basically suffocating him in a tight hug. This was probably his Aunt Bekah.
Nathan awkwardly patted her back. He did not do physical contact. Thankfully, she didn't notice his reaction because she was busy fussing about and declaring that she won't ever allow Nik to ship him off to the middle of nowhere ever again.
Then suddenly, the father he's only known through pictures was in front of him and Nathan didn't know how to react.
"You really think I'd miss your homecoming?" Klaus laughed while pulling him into a hug as well. These people and their hugging.. his mom belonged here.
Well, she did once.
"Yeah.." Nathan scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Like your dad would miss this." Elijah laughed, placing one hand on Nathan's shoulder while sporting a glass of champagne on his other hand.
It was like there was no time to even speak because he was being pulled into different groups of small talk. How many people were even here?
His Aunt Rebekah suddenly looped her arm through his and was ushering him further into the house. "So, you must tell me all about camp later okay?"
Nathan nodded, still feeling overwhelmed. It was only as they were walking towards the kitchen that he noticed how the house was actually really cozy and not imposing at all. The interior did not match the impression that exterior did.
Since when did he even focus on interior design? He blamed his mom.
"Are you hungry?" Aunt Bekah asked as they reached the kitchen table which was filled with all sorts of pastries, pasta, pies, and cakes. "I made all your favorites! Well, bought them."
"Thanks but I'm not really that hungry.." Nathan trailed off while walking around the vast modern kitchen. What got his attention was the white board on one side of the counter beside the door with a calendar of events and an empty side for notes and stuff. They had the same one back home. He looked at the date today and "Clay arrives home from camp" was scribbled neatly in what he assumes to be Klaus' handwriting.
"He's been counting the days." Rebekah said, looking at the white board fondly. "But I can't blame him, its the first time you've been away for so long! He's been paranoid. And he can't even call whenever he wanted to."
It was true. The camp banned the use of cellphones. All phones were placed in a safe and one can only use it during the weekends unless there were any emergencies from home or at camp. If the use of phones were allowed, Nathan didn't think that he'd be doing anything there but talking to his mom. She'd call every thirty minutes. He wondered how she was doing now. And Clay. Nathan reminded himself to call him once he gets some time to himself.
"You sure you're not hungry?" His Aunt Bekah called his attention back to rows of food placed on the table.
"Not really." Nathan shrugged, taking a seat on one of the chairs.
"You're always in the mood for chicken pot pie." Rebekah narrowed her eyes "Clay, you're not sick are you?" She placed a hand over Nathan's forehead.
Nathan took a step back and waved her hand away. "No, no. I'm fine. I'm just jet lagged I guess."
"Oh right. I keep forgetting about that. Why don't you go ahead and take a nap? I'll tell the rest of the family that you're tired."
"Okay. Thanks, Aunt Rebekah." Nathan can feel his aunt staring at him intently, so he jumped off the stool and quickly left the kitchen.
He took a left turn and went up the huge spiral staircase that led to the second floor.
Ok, now what? He looked left and right. Damn. He should've paid more attention when Clay was illustrating the interiors of the house cause now he had no idea where his, well, Clay's room was. He took a deep breath and decided to just open every door he passes. Surely he wouldn't reprimanded for entering any room here right?
"Right. Ok. Let's do this." He opened the door nearest to where he stood and saw..well, an empty room with a single bed, a flat screen, a small round table with two chairs to the far left. There were no personal touches whatsoever. A guest room, then. The next room looked exactly the same. How many guest rooms exactly does one house need?
He was about to open the next door when his phone suddenly rang. He looked at who was calling and almost exclaimed in relief when he saw that is was Clay.
Clay cackled. "Where are you?"
"I'm at the second floor. Just passed a second guest room."
"Oh! Alright. Second to the last room, to your right. This is why you should listen when I explain things. How long were you lost?"
"Not long." Nathan said distractedly while following his brother's instructions. He finally reached the door and pushed it open. The room was white with blue and green accents. There was a king sized bed, a flat screen, a sofa right near the foot of the bed, an extensive book shelf to the right, huge sliding glass doors that lead to a balcony that overlooked the pool area. And of course, there was an area in the balcony for Clay's art. He walked towards the study table and was fascinated by the polaroid shorts, post-its and other various things posed on the cork board. It was neat and organized. A far cry from his room back at home.
"Nath? Are you still there?"
So he kinda forgot that Clay was still on the other line. "Sorry. Anyway, I found your room."
"And I'm in your telly room."
Telly room. For a moment, Nathan thought about what Clay meant. "Oh you mean the entertainment room?"
"Same thing. Although why your tv needs its own room, I've no clue."
It took a lot of persuading, but when they had their house renovated last year, Nathan was able to convince his mom to have his room designed like some sort of suite. So now he had an entertainment room for when his friends visit.
"I'm actually supposed to be getting ready now. Mum said we're going to meet up with your Aunt Katherine."
"She's your aunt as well." Nathan said, suddenly missing everyone back home. But that didn't mean that he wasn't happy to be here. He was. He just needed some time to adjust.
"So, what's been happening there?"
Nathan told Clay all about what happened from the airport until he arrived home. "Then it turns out that they were all waiting for me here to surprise me."
"Yeah, sounds like something dad and Aunt Beks would come up with."
"Nathan? Are you ready to leave?"
Nathan heard his mom from the other line. Although he won't admit it, he misses her so much.
"Yes mom! Almost done!" Clay answered back. "Listen. I gotta go. But we'll talk soon, yeah?"
Nathan had to hand it to Clay. They way he could smoothy transition from a British to an American accent was impressive.
"Okay. Talk to you soon. Bye."
Nathan sighed and looked around. This was going to be a long two months if he doesn't get his shit together.