~~ y/n's pov ~~

after the war was finished, i suddenly felt very tired. we had just woken up but the stream took a lot out of me. dream finally ended his stream after lots of teasing, and my face was probably going to be red for the rest of my life.

i tossed my laptop to the side and cracked my back, as the others joined me in the living room.

"i'm starving, you guys wanna get something to eat?" george asked us and we all agreed. we headed down to the car and i plopped down in the backseat, sitting next to nick.

we drove to a old fashioned diner and settled in a booth. i didn't want to get to ahead of myself and my feelings, so i purposely sat on the other side of clay.

it might have been my imagination, but for a second he looked disappointed as i slid in across the way. before i could do a double take, he had moved on and was buried in the menu.

i decided to order french toast, and quickly slid my phone out to check an email i got during the stream.

my eyes scanned the screen, and my heart skipped a beat. it was from my film professor, regarding my finals grade and a very serious offer.

reading further, i discovered i had made almost perfect marks on the final. i silently thanked clay for letting me use his video, and continued on.

"The format of your final was one of the most unique i've seen, and truly showed your ability and comprehension of how to make videos into art. If you are interested, I would be more than happy to recommend you to a scholarship program offered for creative minds like yourself. Please let me know as soon as you can."

i couldn't hold back the gasp that left my mouth, catching the attention of the boys.

"what happened y/n?"

"are you okay?"

i quickly shook my head and dismissed it.

"oh sorry, it was nothing. i just got back final grades and some vague scholarship offer." i answered as i quickly typed out a response and sent it back to him.

georges eyes bugged as i muttered the last part and punched me in the arm.

"what? a isn't nothing, be proud of yourself! that's great news y/n."

i rolled my eyes and sighed.

"i said offer. i don't even know what it consists of, don't make it a big deal."

"no i agree with george y/n, that's a big deal. i was never offered any scholarships... if you won't be proud of yourself then we'll just have to do it for you." nick said leaning on his elbows as he finished his speech and stared at me exaggerated.

"okay fine-" i took a deep breath and felt the grin spread on my face. "-i'm so excited. if it's the one i'm thinking about then it's like- one of the best you could ever get for film production. you're connected with big names, and you get on hand experience in New York, you'd be set for life if you ever actually pursued a career, but like- you'd be stupid not to."

i went on for a bit more about how i'd dreamed about that opportunity, but realized i was talking too much. i finished my thought and sat back, slightly embarrassed. i muttered a 'sorry' and glanced up at clay, sitting across from me.

his eyes were locked on mine, a soft grin settled on his face. as we made eye contact he broke off, looking caught. there was an unusual amount of tension in the air, but luckily the waiter came with our food just in time.

we all tucked in, and the tension melted away. everything felt back to normal, but that email stayed in the back my brain. eventually nick spoke up again and started a conversation with george.

"wait y/n-" my attention was brought to clay, speaking quietly. "-did you want to finish your thought from earlier? it looked like there was more you wanted to say... i'd listen if you did."

the embarrassment started bubbling up again as i realized i had cut off basically mid sentence. it would have been the perfect opportunity to tease me, as i looked at him though i could tell he was being serious.

a soft smile spread on my lips, and i continued from where i left off.

as i finished my thoughts finally, i sighed contently.

"sorry if i rambled or anything, that's why i stopped earlier... i can talk a lot."

"nah, i liked it. it's cute when people talk about their passions." he said confidently and took a sip of his drink.

my mind started racing. was he talking about me, does he think i'm cute? y/n you're a grown woman. stop acting like this is 6th grade, grow some balls and flirt with the man.

"yeah you're pretty cute too. the chocolate chip pancakes shows taste." i say lowly, leaning over to grab a bite of his.

"AHT- watch it!"

he waves his hand at my fork, but it's too late. i triumphantly sat back down and slowly ate my bite, exaggerating every bite.

he scoffed and shook his head, but had a big smile planted on his face.

"low blow y/n, going for the food. i'm a growing boy, my mommy says i need my nutrition."

i held back a laugh as he started pouting.

"if you grow any more you'll become that tower weve got in the living room. maybe it's good that i'm stunting your growth."

i wasn't kidding, he did tower over me already. id always been somewhat tall growing up but next to him i might as well be an ant.

george and nick turned to ask clay his opinion on a pretty streamer, and i ducked my head to my phone; realizing i really did not want to know his answer.

to my surprise i had received another email regarding the scholarship offer. i started to feel a bit overwhelmed at how quick this all was happening, but i guess i was getting more used to quick changes.

i read the details of the application as clay paid for our meal and we started back to the car. i fell behind the boys nose still stuffed in my phone, as ideas started swirling in my brain.

"y/n! you coming?" clay slowed down and waited for me to catch up with him as i was now a noticeable distance away from them.

"yeah.. just... scholarship... hold on.... and... ok! all good." i muttered then replied cheerily as i finished the email and shoved my phone away.

"ah i'm glad you're going for it. seems like it'll be good for you." he said with a smile and we fell into a comfortable silence as we walked to the car.

"hey umm-" as we started getting closer to the car, he spoke up again. "-what you said in there, did you mean it?"

"what, that i think you're cute?" i asked him, thumbs starting to fidget. he nodded and i thought for a second.

"well, yeah. why do you ask?" i cheerily responded once more, feeling slightly proud that i wasn't getting shy.

i studied his face and he seemed... very surprised.

"eh, no reason. just confirming a suspicion i had." he said with a laugh and now it was my turn to be surprised.

that surprise quickly turned mortified as i noticed he had not said anything else.

'the i decide to be bold and this is what we get. we're going back to silently screaming in a corner, it was fun while it lasted.'

"and for the record y/n?" he asked a bit louder as we finally reached the car and he opened the drivers door.

"same for me."

girl you are so good at this we need to do this more often.'

i stood at the door slightly dumbfounded until i snapped out of it and sat back down.

"what in the world are you two blathering on about?" george asked as clay started the car and pulled away.

i looked into the rear view mirror, making eye contact with clay. before i could answer, a quiet snort left me as i stifled a laugh.

my hand flew to my mouth, trying to hide the sound i made but clay clearly heard it, and started dying from laughter.

"OH COME ON! clay- clay shut - you can't be talking! oh my- shut up!" i tried making out a sentence but just couldn't hold back my laughter.

he wheezed, sending me into another round of hysterics. little to no sound was coming out of me, just silently wheezing and laughing, as my head threw back and hit the head rest.

of course, that only made him laugh harder, he nearly swerved off the road, making me scream.

this whole time george sat confused, and nick had joined in my fit of laughter after clays wheeze.

i took a couple deep breaths and regained my composure.

"what- what- shut it- what we're you saying george?" i managed to make out, as giggles tried bubbling through again.

"nevermind." he muttered, dramatically looking out the window.

i leaned forward and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"sorry georgie." i said in a pouty voice and patted my hand before pulling back. i slapped nick in the arm as we both tried not to let any laughter loose, until george spoke up again.

"you know clay, i don't appreciate you stealing y/n from me. i was her friend first and now all she does is laugh at me." he said through fake tears and clay started wheezing again.

he eventually dropped the convo and they started talking about the pretty streamer again.

i distracted myself by staring out the window, but kept an ear out for what they were saying.

"well what do you think clay?"

"hmm i don't know. not really my type."

"george why would you even ask him you kn-"

"AHT! don't finish that."

finally knowing what he really meant by that, a stupidly happy smile formed on my lips and i bit the back of my lip.

'same for me.' rang in my ears the rest of the ride home.

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a/n: i am so sorry this was so late! school is finally in full swing and i really do enjoy writing but i'm going to prioritize my school first. thank you all for always being so kind and patient with us, we love you all