《roommates》twenty one
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Quinn woke up Christmas morning to the smell of pine, and something sweet. The weather had significantly cooled, so Quinn opened her window taking advantage of the cool air. Tiki walked around her feet, pushing her body against her owner's legs, purring softly.
"Merry Christmas," Quinn smiled at the cat, before grabbing the present that she got for her. It was a leash and some new treats. Quinn had seen a bunch of people saying that they were walking their cat and it was wonderful. She had to try it.
When Quinn pushed open her door, Ellie was singing Christmas music incredibly loudly. Quinn wondered how they hadn't gotten a noise complaint.
"Good morning!" Ellie bubbled brightly. Bruno laid at Ellie's feet, gnawing at a bone that was undoubtedly his Christmas present.
It was the first time in a while that it had been just the girls in the apartment. Both Clay and Nick were back at the house, most likely getting ready for the holiday.
"Are you making muffins right now?" Quinn asked, her mouth agape, Ellie wasn't one for baking.
"I am! Merry Christmas you goon," Ellie handed Quinn a chocolate chip muffin.
"You're nervous, aren't you?" Quinn observed. Ellie was hardly fidgety.
"I'm terrified," Ellie admitted, going completely still, "I care a lot about Nick. My parents, well, you know how they are. It's important that this goes well."
Quinn set the muffin down on the counter and went to comfort Ellie, "It'll go well. Nick is a wonderful guy, and your parents are going to love him. Or at the very least, they'll know how much you love him, and they'll be accepting."
It was strange to have the girls alone like this. Nowadays, Clay or Nick would be hanging around, ready to crack a joke, and diffuse some tension. But now, it made everything feel more real, because soon Ellie would move out with Nick, and Quinn would live here alone.
"I just can't help but worry about something going wrong," Ellie sighed, "I'm sure it'll be fine, but I've been so anxious."
"Take that as a good sign. If you're worried, it means you care enough to want things to go well," Quinn returned to her muffin, trying it, "These are so good," She seemed surprised.
"So, I have something for you," Ellie ignored Quinn's muffin comment.
"Oh right! I have something for you too," Quinn remembered one of the packages on Quinn's dresser. She went to her room to grab it.
The girls exchanged presents, Ellie handed Quinn a small box, not small enough for jewelry, but still small. Out of curiosity she shook it, and there was a clunking noise inside.
Quinn opened it to find a key chain, it was metal, and engraved.
"I know it's gonna be different once I move out and we won't constantly see each other, but I wanted to give you something so you know I'm always here for you," Ellie picked up her own set of car keys on the counter, showing the matching keychain. Quinn cooed quietly.
"Thank you so much," Quinn smiled, "I love it."
Quinn handed Ellie her box. Quinn had settled on something that she knew Ellie had wanted. It was in fact, a certificate this way Ellie and Nick could pick out a kitten together for when they settled in their new apartment. Ellie mentioned how much she was going to miss Tiki, when she left, so Quinn wanted to get her her own cat.
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It took Ellie a second to realize what the piece of paper said, but when she understood, Ellie pulled Quinn into a bone crushing hug.
"Thank you, oh my gosh!" Ellie practically squealed.
"This way, you and Nick can decide on a kitten together. Like your own little family," Quinn felt a burn in her chest, as happy as she was for Ellie, part of her wanted what she had. Having a little family, a place to live, stability, Quinn was on her way to that, but watching Ellie go through all of that, made Quinn crave it more.
"Speaking of boyfriends, what did you get for Clay?" Ellie asked with curiosity.
"I had a hard time picking out a present for him, but I think I got something he'd be interested in," Quinn stared at the floor, smiling from ear to ear, "The second week of January he and I have plane tickets to New York." Quinn had been dying to go back to New York with Clay, and she wanted to see the city with him again.
"He's gonna love that," Ellie smiled excitedly for her friend, "I got Nick a bunch of stuff for the apartment," Ellie chewed on her bottom lip, "I just hope he likes it all."
"He's gonna love it, because it came from you," Quinn reassured, "Speaking of, we should probably get our stuff ready, so that we can head to the house."
The girls had made plans to go get ready for Christmas dinner at the house with the boys, so that they could all exchange gifts before dinner.
Quinn got a gift for the boys, and for Patches too. When she talked to George, he had mentioned wanting to look for a place for himself, Quinn imagined that it was hard, seeing your best friends come and go with their girlfriends, no wonder he wanted to live alone. So Quinn settled on giving him some money to help with the cost of moving in. For Nick, she bought him a new headset, seeing as his current one was basically broken. And for Patches, Quinn got a sweater and some treats, knowing how much it tickled Clay when she wore any cat clothes.
"Oh shit, good idea, I told Nick I would bring muffins for breakfast," Ellie picked up the tray.
An hour later, Quinn and Ellie stood at the front door, bags, and presents and muffins in their hands.
"Clay, open your damn door!" Quinn yelled, kicking it with her foot, "Hurry this shit is heavy."
A moment later, Clay wasn't the one opening the door, but George had pulled it open sleepily.
"What? Quinn? Hi," George welcomed them in, all the lights in the house were off, "We're all still sleeping."
"Happy Christmas," Quinn only ever said happy instead of merry to George, because of his English heritage.
"Happy Christmas," He responded, "We'll do presents later, I'm going to bed again."
Quinn and Ellie laughed softly as he rubbed his eyes, and trudged back into his room.
"Can we put our stuff in your old room?" Ellie asked, already making her way to the closed door. Once the girls set their stuff down, they split off, individually going to wake up their boyfriends.
Quinn pushed open Clay's bedroom door, and she nearly melted at the sight. He was holding Patches in his sleep, petting her. He must've been waking up. His blanket settled at his stomach, leaving most of his chest exposed, Quinn could see that his hickeys were mostly gone. Hers were pretty much faded, with the help of Ellie's incredible googling skills.
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Quinn slipped her shoes off before crawling into bed next to Clay. Instantly his arm wrapped around her, pulling her close.
"I was wondering when you would get here," he mumbled sleepily, and Quinn's stomach did a flip. His voice was so nice in the morning.
"Merry Christmas," Quinn said quietly, reaching out to pet Patches.
"Merry Christmas baby," Clay kissed the top of Quinn's head. The nickname gave Quinn butterflies, she loved when he called her that.
"I have something for you," Quinn thought about the box in the other room, she thought about the plane tickets, and nerves sank into her skin, what if he didn't want to go? Or what if it was too soon for them to take a trip together like that?
"I have something for you too, but you didn't have to get me anything Quinn. We've been together for like five days," Clay grumbled, he just hoped that Quinn liked her present.
"Okay yeah, but hear me out, we've been friends for a while, and we kinda got jipped out of Christmas last year," Quinn went to get out of his bed, but Clay wrapped his arms around her tighter, keeping her in place.
"Not yet," Clay whispered, "I just want to lay here with you for a bit." His eyes were closed again. Quinn laid in his arms, and she felt peace. This whole year had felt like a lifetime, but knowing that this is where it led her, made all the tears worth it.
She had begun to doze off when he tossed in bed, waking himself and Patches up.
"Good morning," Clay sat up, stretching, "Big day today!"
Clay was so excited to bring Quinn home, to finally say "Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend, Quinn." He could not wait.
"Mhmm, I have a go bag with me, for when your mom invites us to stay over," Quinn knew that it would happen. Every time she had gone over there with the boys as a group, they had been invited to stay, and had to figure out how to get four people to sleep in one room. It was complicated.
"Oh good," Clay nodded, reminding himself to pack his own bag. He walked over to his desk and picked up a box that wasn't exactly neatly wrapped, but there was definitely an effort that was made.
Quinn got out of his bed and quickly grabbed his present, feeling anxiety in her fingertips. They exchanged the gifts, and Clay laughed when she handed him the light box.
"Thank you for the box, baby, I really appreciate the air you got me," Clay teased.
"Oh just shut up and open it!" Quinn wanted to see how he was going to react. She herself was trying not to freak out over the fact that the box in her hand definitely was a little heavier than she expected. She sat very patiently, watching him tear open the wrapping paper, and then open the box.
"Quinn," Clay gasped, he looked up at her with a shocked expression, but there was excitement behind his eyes, "You didn't."
"I did," She responded, "I think it would be fun to go back together, see snow, to do touristy things, just to get away for a bit." Her heart was thumping in her chest.
"It's too much," Clay stated, and Quinn gave him a pointed look. She obviously wasn't going to take the tickets back so he sighed, "it's wonderful, Quinn, thank you." He kissed her, making Quinn get excited, they were going to New York together.
She anxiously opened her gift, worried that she wasn't going to react correctly. Quinn wasn't a big fan of gifts, and she had always hated opening gifts in front of people. But when she opened the box, she was surprised to see that it was a few different things in one box. There was a 1,000 piece puzzle, a scented candle called 'sweet rain,' and a small box that looked like it had jewelry in it.
"I know at a glance this makes no sense," Clay explained, noticing that Quinn just looked confused, "I can explain."
"Please do," Quinn laughed, pulling the puzzle out of the box, she didn't want to see the jewelry yet. She noticed that there was a piece of paper that was under the puzzle, she picked it up carefully.
"So the puzzle is something for you to do, because I know how easily you get bored, and with Ellie moving out, you're gonna be bored a lot. Plus it's 1,000 pieces, so it'll take you a while," Clay couldn't really explain why he bought it, but when he passed it in the store, something about it reminded him of Quinn.
"What's this?" Quinn held up the paper curiously.
Clay blushed a little, he had forgotten that he put that in there, "It's a letter, or a note, I guess. I wrote it to you, like the day I realized that I cared about you, it was how I wanted to tell you."
"When is it from?" Quinn asked.
"Like a year and a half ago. The night I asked you to move in," Clay felt like a teenager talking about the love letter he wrote her.
"You knew for that long?" Quinn hadn't realised that she liked Clay until about a month after she moved in.
"I knew from the moment I met you," Clay answered honestly, he wasn't trying to be cheesy.
"Clay..." Quinn smiled.
"Sorry, sorry, anyways I got you a candle, because I know you can't stand the fruity ones that Ellie likes," He had moved on quickly, he didn't want to have that conversation with Quinn yet. He sat, waiting for Quinn to open the small box, he could see that she was nervous. "Don't worry, it's nothing crazy."
Quinn flipped the lid up to see a small necklace on display. It was silver, and there was a little heart charm. It was very simple, Quinn liked simple.
"It's pretty," she took it out of the box and asked Clay to help her put it on.
"I got it, because, well, I haven't been the best friend this past year. And I know that, and I still can't believe that you would even give me a chance to be your boyfriend. And well, I got this for you, because... Because I wanted you to know that I'm yours. Completely," Clay tried to smile, but it came off very nervous, "I need you to know, that no matter what happens from this point forward, it's me and you, against everything. I'm all yours, Quinn. I promise."
Quinn instinctively reached out to her boyfriend's face, pulling him closer. It was such an unbelievably sweet gesture.
"I'm yours, too, y'know," Quinn said quietly, her eyes looking back and forth between his mouth and his eyes.
"Thank God for that," Clay said, closing the remaining distance between them. When they kissed this time, it was a promise kind of kiss. It was so gentle and intimate but there was heavy passion behind the way they moved together, "You're so incredible, in case I don't tell you enough."
Quinn playfully pushed his chest away, this was too much fluff for the morning, "thank you Clay, I love your gifts. Now, let's go, Ellie made muffins."
"And they're edible?" Clay joked, grabbing a shirt from his closet.
"You sound as surprised as I was," Quinn didn't want to read the letter from Clay yet. She was scared that if she did, she might convince him to get back in bed with her, and never leave.
After everyone ate breakfast and exchanged gifts, something settled into Quinn as her and Ellie started getting ready.
"Wait," Quinn paused, brushing her hair, "If Nick and George both move out, that means Clay will be here all on his own."
"Mhm," Ellie nodded, "Unless someone else moves in..." Ellie was wearing a sweater that she tucked into a pair of her favorite jeans. As much as she loved wearing skirts and dresses, Ellie liked staying warm even more.
"Who else would move in?" Quinn asked, stupidly, "It's not like anyone else wants to." Quinn was wearing a red dress that she promised herself that she would wear, she bought it forever ago, and its sat in her closet since then.
"Oh wow," Ellie chuckled, "I see we aren't using our brain yet. Quinn, what if you moved in?"
"Oh," Quinn didn't know why she hadn't considered that, "I don't know yet. It would be nice but-"
"But you're scared." Ellie pointed out.
"Oh I'm very scared, but that's not the point," Quinn laughed, "Of course, I want to, but what if something happens, like if everything goes too fast and falls apart, I don't know what I'll do."
"Oh Quinn..." Ellie comforted, "I know it's overwhelming, and moving in with him, just you guys, would be scary, but Clay really cares about you, and I doubt he would let you guys fall apart that quickly."
Quinn seemed satisfied with Ellie's answer because she went back to getting ready. She hadn't gotten nervous yet, but she tried not to think about dinner tonight. She just hoped she was dressed well enough.
"Quinn, are you almost ready?" Clay yelled from behind the bedroom door.
Quinn took a final look at her appearance before opening the door to Clay, who's mouth fell open upon seeing her.
"Holy shit," Clay breathed out. Quinn was never not beautiful, but there was something about seeing her so put together, dressed up with her hair and makeup done, that really just took his breath away. He did the only reasonable thing that he could think to do, and that was to kiss her as if she was the only girl to exist, because in Clay's mind, she was.
"Umm... hi?" Quinn said he had kissed her completely unprompted, she wasn't complaining, just wasn't expecting it.
"You look beautiful," Clay blushed, "I am so lucky."
"Stop it," Quinn teased, "You look nice too," She dropped a kiss on his cheek.
"Are you ready to go to my parents?" He asked, and something about the way he said it, set Quinn's nerves into motion. Still she swallowed it and nodded.
"Have fun," Ellie called after them as Quinn grabbed her bag and then followed Clay out of the house and to his car.
The sun was setting as he backed out of the driveway, and Quinn realised how cold it was gonna get when the sun went down. She would deal with that problem later.
"Here," Clay tossed her his phone, "You are in charge of music."
Quinn opened his spotify, scrolling through the playlists he had, "Can we listen to Christmas music?"
"Of course," Clay said in an obvious tone.
Quinn scrolled through until she found a Christmas song that she listened to every year, it was a classic.
Immediately, Clay whined, "Not this one," He urged her to choose a different song. Quinn refused, and instead began to sing, more like yell, the song loudly.
Clay glanced at his girlfriend in the passenger seat. She was so naturally perfect, even when she yelled Winter Wonderland out of key, Clay couldn't help but to feel himself falling for her even more.
"Don't look at me like that," Quinn stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend, who just smirked and offered her his hand.
"Look at you like what?" Clay smirked.
"Like you're enjoying this," when Quinn got nervous, she tried to turn her nerves into energy, so she was practically bouncing in her seat.
"Oh, I am loving this, Quinn you're adorable." Clay took Quinn's hand, and brought it to his mouth, using it like a microphone. He was being goofy, singing the words in a random key, not even trying to stay on tempo, and it made Quinn laugh like a child. She picked up the phone quickly, choosing a random song on one of Clay's playlists, thinking how he might've just ruined Christmas music for Quinn this year.
Of course, because this was just the way the world worked, Hey There Delilah started playing through the car's speakers. Clay dropped his goofy smile, resting his and Quinn's intertwined hands on the center console. He looked more focused on the roads, but Quinn swore she could hear him humming.
There was something so incredibly attractive about Clay humming Hey There Delilah while driving with one hand, in his red button up and jeans on the way to Christmas family dinner, that made Quinn fall for him incredibly hard.
When it got to the bridge of the song, Clay was audibly singing, and sending chills up and down Quinn's spine.
Delilah, I can promise you, that by the time we get through, the world will never ever be the same. And you're to blame.
Quinn was definitely a shade of pink, and she was sitting with her legs crossed very tightly. His voice was so low and soothing, and it was only for her ears right now, that made Quinn want to scream.
As the song kept playing Quinn resonated with the lyrics, Oh it's what you do to me, because if only Clay knew the effect he had on Quinn's life.
They had reached his parents house by the end of the song, and all of the nerves Quinn had been holding back, came crashing down at once.
"Oh my god," She whispered, staring at the floor of Clay's car. She watched as he turned his attention to her, understandingly, "This is real."
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