Realistic or Modern Back in the Bay (Daz and Elfies 1x1)

[Dazzle]

“Could of fooled me.” He shrugged letting a chuckle escape his lips. He hadn’t seen Magnolia’s smile in a long time. “I’d ask you to smile more, but that would be a fruitless attempt.” He picked his head up off the front counter, taking a sip of his coffee before he continued to speak.

“Plus, I’m sure I’d sound like one of those creepy old men at the dinner if I did.” Clayton always loved Magnolia’s smile, because you always knew it was genuine when she did. There was no fake smiles from her, always knowing where you stood with her. Though the ground that Clayton was standing on right now felt a little shaky, but this was part of getting used to being friends with your ex, wasn’t it?

Clayton looked over his shoulder at the boxes that Mags pointed to, “Yeah, of course.” He said as he rolled up the sleeves of his flannel, it only took Clayton a few minutes to bring them to the back. Now that he was out of sight, he heard Mag’s call over to him. She sounded almost shaky in her voice, almost quiet and not as confident as she usually would come across. “What’s up?” Clay said rather confidently, as he popped his head out from behind one of the bookshelves, but the way his insides were reacting made him feel sick. Did she know? Was she going to ask? Did she want to get back together? She didn’t, she wouldn’t, Clayton wasn’t even sure why he let that thought pass through his head. He was engaged to Chloe, they had been living together for two years. And Mags told him she was no longer in love with him, she had never loved him.

“Oh.” Clayton’s voice dropped. “Its okay. Honestly.”

Clayton furrowed his eyebrows as Magnolia told him that he didn’t belong here. That she didn’t want him here. “My family is here Mags… Anchor Bay…” He thought for a moment, as much as he loved California, Anchor Bay was different, it was special. “It’s my home too.” She was right though, if she never said anything, he never would have left Anchor Bay.

“Mag-“ Clayton went to start, but he was interrupted by the welcoming of customers. “Hi! Welcome!” Claytons voice boomed over the sound of the bell, smiling wildly at the new guests. “Let us know if you need any help.” Clayton elbowed Mag’s lightly, “Don’t you greet your customers?” Clayton looked down at the desk seeing what he recognized as bills, really late bills. “Mags…” He trailed off looking up to meet Magnolia’s soft brown eyes.

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Mags was silent as Clay greeted the customers and he was right she should have smiled and greeted them, but she knew they wouldn’t care, the town could care less about her. She was the outcast and that wasn’t going to change just because Clay was around again. It didn’t change when they were dating and it only got worse after the breakup, not that she would let him know or that he would even notice. She had carefully crafted herself and her life to make sure she never let him know how she was feeling, he wasn’t hers. He never really was. She would never understand exactly what he saw because she was nothing special, she was a loner and he was anything but that.

She was only brought back to the moment when Clay caught sight of the bills. All Mags could do was quickly shuffle them away from his prying eyes. The way he looked at her she could almost melt but she wouldn’t, not this time. Not ever again. It wasn’t like she could even afford to let her emotions out again. Her eyes were hard in comparison to his and her words could cut deep if she let them. Instead, she chose to ignore him and take the bills with her towards the office and placing them in her purse. It wasn’t his problem.

Upon returning to the front of the store, “Please let us know if there’s anything you’re looking for.” Her gaze was avoiding his as she busied herself with wiping up and pretending to do busy work. She couldn’t exactly kick him out of the store like she wanted, he was investing which meant he had a right to be there, against all her better judgements. His gaze was still fixed on her, and she could feel herself getting more and more worked up. Finally, when she had enough, she quickly walked over to him and pulled him aside, “Can you do something with yourself? Or you can go home. This is still under my control, so either help or leave. I can handle this without you. I don’t know why you insist on being here.”

The words stung as they left her mouth, but she couldn’t let him know how much she was drowning, he couldn’t know about her mom. She couldn’t let him pay those bills; she couldn’t let him know just how much of herself she had given up just so her mom could have more time. He couldn’t know and she needed him to leave, “This was a mistake. Go home Clay. Get out of my store, I don’t need you back in my life. I don’t want your money. I don’t want your help. Just go.” Why couldn’t she be honest with him? Why couldn’t she let him in? The only person who ever lied in their relationship was her. One lie that broke her but the lie that was best for Clay’s potential. She couldn’t let him stay in this small town. She would not be the one to ruin his life and his future just because she was failing at being an adult.

 

[Dazzle]

Clayton wanted to be shocked by how Magnolia started to act. Though the smile dropped from his face, even if he wasn't surprised. He was hurt by her words. He just wanted things to be normal, he wanted to feel like he was home. But Anchor Bay no longer felt like he fit. He thought if he had gotten his best friend back, things would be different.

But maybe, those feelings she had during prom were her true feelings. Clayton had just forced her into a friendship and relationship she didn't even want. Clayton swore he felt his heart crack as that thought crossed his mind.

"Okay.." He wasn't going to fight, he didn't have much in him left to. He knew it wasn't worth the energy. Once Magnolia had made up her mind, that was it. "I'll talk to you later." Clayton seemed to fall shorter as he left the building, the bell above the door ringing as the door swung open closing behind him.

Clayton stuck his hands deep into his pockets as he walked down the side walk of Anchor Bay. He tucked his chin down into his jacket, people smiled, waving, everyone had missed the town golden boy. But now he was thinking coming home might have been a mistake. He just wanted to hide away now.

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Why couldn’t she let him in? Why? It was as if everything in her body was on fire, and she couldn’t quite handle it and when she heard the bell jingle, she felt the crack in her heart begin to split open once again. She tried to pretend like she was okay for the patrons that were in the store, but she could barely contain the pain that was breaking her from the inside out. This was the life she had chosen, the pain she had put upon herself and for so long she had made it so she didn’t feel. His face, the look she hated hurting him, but she knew he deserved better than she could ever give. A life she would never be able to give him.

While the hours droned on Mags was slowly suffering, the bills would be the death of her and the store, even with the money given. When the time to close had arrived Mags looked at her phone, her fingers hovering over Clays name as she began to type a message. His face had hurt, and she couldn’t leave it like that even if she wanted to. He wasn’t just some guy; he would always be her Clayton even if she could never have him.

Each word she typed felt like putting the dagger deeper into herself, but she needed him more than she could let him know. Each tap of a letter was going to be another shard of her heart as things inevitably went south but she couldn’t stop herself. This was her hell, and she knew she would never be able to escape it so she decided to indulge in the small moments she could get with the only person she had ever loved.

‘Hey. I shouldn’t have been so harsh with you. I’ve been very stressed, but you are being helpful, and I should be more appreciative. Why don’t I make you some of my mom’s soup and we can have lunch? No rude comments from me, or at least not a lot of them.’

She hit send knowing this would be one of the biggest regrets of her life. Knowing right here was the moment she would have to break her heart again to make sure she never let herself become a burden to someone.