y/n: your name

tws: swearing, drinking

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y/n's pov *

"naomi? like your ex naomi?" i asked, stabbing a bite of egg with my fork and dipping it in ketchup.

"that's her," clay responded. he was staring off into the corner of the room, eyes not particularly focused on anything, just lost behind a wall of thoughts.

"i mean.. i'm okay with her staying here," i continued, "unless i'm not picking up on some.. like.. psycho ex-girlfriend vibe."

he didn't respond.

"i'm not, right?

"what? oh— no, no you're not. she's genuinely a cool person. i just wanted to make sure you were okay with it."

"yeah, no, she seemed chill when we met at applebee's. bring on my new york sister from another mister."

he didn't laugh.

i sighed. my fork clinked against the edge of my plate as i set it down and i frowned as i searched clay's face for any telltale sign of what emotions were going on behind those green eyes and freckled cheeks. "are you okay with it though?" i asked.

he scratched the back of his neck and turned to look at me for the first time. "yeah, yeah. it'll be fine. i guess i'm just nervous that it'll be awkward or uncomfortable or something."

i raised my eyebrows. "bud, i think you're the one making it awkward if anything."

"really?"

"really."

"hm." he scrunched his nose into a weird thinking face as he considered my words and then stood up from the bar stool he was sitting on to shake his arms out. a new look of determination took over the dazed expression he had been wearing before and he managed a smile. "okay! fine! this is not going to be awkward. i'm not going to be awkward. it's just my ex-girlfriend that broke up with me because i'm a minecraft youtuber." his smile faltered with the last sentence, but he kept it strong nonetheless.

"that's the spirit." i took another bite of my eggs. "so when does the lady of the hour get here?"

"uh.." he checked his phone for the time. "if i text her now, like twenty minutes. but she speeds like hell, so probably less." he stared at his screen for a moment in quiet thought.

"are you going to text her now?" i prompted, moving my fork in a circular motion to encourage him.

his head snapped up to look at me. "yes, yes i am." his thumbs hovered over the keypad before he quickly typed and sent a text, the little swoosh noise saying that it went through dragging a heavy sigh of relief from his chest. he shoved his phone back in his jean pocket.

"and what wise words did you say to her mr. master of conversation?"

he snorted. "i said "you can come over now" with a little smiley face."

"how eloquent of you."

he narrowed his eyes at me before laughing under his breath. after a moment, he spoke again. "this is gonna be wild."

"yeah, but when are things around here ever not?"

he shrugged and plucked a bite of egg off my plate with his fingers before popping it in his mouth, speaking through the food. "mm, i mean fair enough. i guess the wild is fun though."

"yeah, it is," i calmly replied, wrestling with his hand as he fought for another bite. "hey, get your own eggs fatass!"

"bite me."

we devolved into childish insults from there as clay lunged for my food over and over again. he eventually got scared i was going to stab his hand and so he pulled a fork out of the dishwasher for himself, which only prompted a very civil and mature swordfight with our ketchup covered utensils. it felt like i was in lower school all over again. eventually our fight was broken up by a very urgent knock on the door, which forced me to surrender to my opponent so i could go answer it. i didn't even bother checking the peephole. i knew who it was.

"hey! strawberry dress girl! it's good to see you," naomi said as i let her in, reaching out to give me a quick hug around the shoulders.

"hi! it's good to see you again too!" i said, "i'm so sorry about what happened. i heard—"

"ugh, don't mention it," she said, and pushed her sunglasses up into her hair. her dark brown eyes were a little puffier and a little redder than normal, so i figured she had been crying. "i'm over that asshole," she continued, "i don't know what i expected out of dating a guy named ethan, but i'll be damned if i shed another tear over him!"

"hell yeah, good for you!" i laughed, and popped up the handle on her rolling suitcase to take it in my hand. "okay, so you can stay in my room—"

"no, no, you're not giving up your bed. she'll stay in my room. i'm fine with the couch," clay said as he came into the room, eyes darting from me to his ex. "hi naomi."

"heyo." she threw up her hand in a peace sign. "thanks for letting me stay here."

"no problem. i'm sorry about eth—"

"ah ah!" she scolded, "don't mention him. i feel like if we talk about him too much he'll spawn or some shit."

"okay, okay. noted," clay laughed, the joking relieving some of the tension in the room.

"he who must not be named!" george called from the top of the stairs. he waved to our guest with a welcoming smile.

"hey georgie!" naomi greeted back.

"hello!"

she turned back to me and clay and clapped her hands together. "alright peeps. where can i crash for a couple hours? i'm not letting that douchebag rob me of another second of sleep."

clay chuckled and pointed to his bedroom door. "my room's right there."

"sweet. i'll talk to you guys later. say hi to nick for me when he comes out of his cave!"

"i'm here!" nick called from his room.

"oh, hi nick!"

"hi!"

she giggled and swung in the doorway to clay's room. "thanks again. goodnight!" she saluted us and closed the door. for a brief moment sunlight was still streaming from underneath it, but it quickly turned to blackness as she snapped the blinds shut. there was an audible flopping sound followed by a sigh before the house plunged into silence again.

clay and i exchanged a glance.

"she seems to be coping well," i deadpanned.

he shook his head with a smile and crashed onto the couch.

i followed his lead and chatted with him for a little longer before splitting off to my own room to edit a youtube video. i only planned to work on it for an hour, but an hour quickly turned into several and by the time i was finished the morning sun had long since said goodbye.

i leaned back in my desk chair and ran my hands through my hair. my back cracked at the sudden movement, and i groaned as i slouched into comfort. the stretch felt so good, in fact, that i probably could have fallen asleep right there, but my door swinging open followed by several consecutive snaps quickly brought me back to reality.

"hey. cave girl. you've been in here for hours and i'm tired of waiting. we're going out."

"what?" i spun my desk chair around to see naomi standing in my doorway in a short black spaghetti strap dress. her eyes showed no trace of the crying they showed earlier— only a perfectly flicked out eyeliner wing— and her short black hair had been straightened perfectly, somehow defying the florida air that liked to make mine so frizzy.

"we're going out," she repeated.

"dude, i just went out the other night, i can't go on another rager now."

"well, dude, i really need a drinking buddy. please?"

"i—" i sighed and stared at her and her hands-on-hips stance. "you're gonna turn me into an alcoholic."

"welcome to the club babe."

"okay," i laughed and rolled my eyes. i slapped my hands down on my knees as my resolve crumbled. "fine, fine! we can party. should we invite the boys too?"

"no," she sighed, "definitely not. as much as i love their company, i need a man-free night. sexy ladies only."

"alright," i laughed again.

"yeah. it'll be you, me, and my friend marina too. we'll make a whole thing out of it." she waved her hand in the air as she spoke, texting with her other.

"wait, marina?" i asked, the name sounding familiar, "like the marina that works at applebee's? nick's marina?"

she perked up from her phone. "oh yeah, i guess you guys would have met the other night. ugh, she was in work mode though. you'll get to actually meet her tonight."

"awesome! okay, well i'm ready to go—"

"what? girl, you are not ready to go." she eyed me up and down with a gaze that made me feel obligated to look at my outfit. i was just in mom jeans and an oversized sweatshirt, which was perfectly fine by my standards, but maybe not for a night out with naomi.

"okay, fine, i see what you're saying, but i don't really have a party dress. unless i put on the strawberry dress again?"

"no, i love that thing to death, but you can't wear the same outfit twice in a week."

"i beg to differ."

she clicked her tongue. "i'll lend you a dress. come with me."

before i could protest she took me by the wrist and dragged me into clay's room where her suitcase was popped open on the bed. in a colorful blur of silken fabric and chic patterns, she tossed all her clothes out of the bag until they were strewn across the comforter, and from there she held up various different dresses to my chest. some she would raise her eyebrows at, some she would shake her head to, until one dress finally brought a smile to her lips and and she folded it up in my arms.

"this. this is the one," she said.

"the one, huh?" i repeated, holding the dress up to myself again. it was similar to naomi's in the fact that it had spaghetti straps, but the length was much longer besides a high slit up the right leg and the color was a vibrant shade of red. it was way out of my comfort zone if i was honest, but naomi looked really excited to see me wear it, so i took a deep breath and whisked away to the bathroom to change.

when i put it on, i felt like a bad bitch, i had to admit.

"oh hell yes!" naomi shouted when i came out of the bathroom, snapping her fingers together.

"yeah? you like?" i asked, spinning around in a circle to show off the dress.

"i love. we are officially ready." she held open the door and ushered me along with her hand. "to the bar."

"to the bar!"

we strutted out into the living room together, heels clacking against the wooden floors, and presented our outfits to the boys, giving a little spin.

"ooh, you're popping off!" george yelled.

"hell yeah we are. you boys have a lame night playing video games while us girls go live it up," naomi said, a smug smile on her face.

"yeah, yeah. take care of marina for me," nick said.

"we will. i'll call you guys if we need a ride or something later," i said.

"i'll leave my ringer on then."

"wow," a breathless voice from behind me spoke. i turned around to face clay, who shied away from my gaze and brought a nervous hand to the back of his neck. "you.. uh.. you look good. really good," he smiled and nodded.

"thanks," i managed to say. i tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, and in the brief moment that my fingers brushed my skin i could tell my face was red hot. probably as red as my dress.

"alright nerds," naomi said, taking me by the wrist, "i've got a craving for onion rings and alcohol that needs quenching so i'm gonna peace out. we will be back eventually."

"okay, make good choices!" nick called after us.

"we most definitely will not!"

i laughed and closed the front door as we stepped out onto the front porch and bounded towards the car.

naomi took the wheel and it was only then did i fully understand just how fast she drove. before i had been confused as to how she had gotten to our house in half the time that was expected, but now, watching her steer with one knee and well over ten miles over the speed limit, it made perfect sense. i made a promise to myself that i would kiss the pavement once i got out of the car.

despite fearing for my life a little, i was having a blast. we were playing songs on the radio loud enough that the bass shook the car, and every now and then when we came to a more residential area naomi would roll down her window and bark at a walking stranger just for the hell of it. she was wild, but a good kind of wild.

i couldn't believe i was having so much fun with her even though we'd just met. with how easy we got along, you'd think we had been friends for years. it was weird. you know, on one hand, she was probably my platonic soulmate, and on the other, she was my crush's ex-girlfriend. but hey, when worlds collide right?

"mari!" naomi called as we stepped out of the car.

a tall girl in a hip-hugging body-con dress whirled to look at us, and in an instant her smokey eyes lit up with a smile. "hey!" she called, jogging across the parking lot to meet us. "oh, i remember you! you're nick's friend right? y/n?"

"yeah! it's good to see you!" i said. naomi was right about "actually meeting" her tonight. all traces of the customer service voice and work uniform from the last time i saw her had completely vanished and been replaced by somebody who definitely looked like she was down to party. and a party we would give her.

"sorry you couldn't stay at my place nomi. you know how it is with my grandma and stuff—"

"don't sweat it. i made do." she looped her arm through mine with a smile.

"yeah you did. honestly though, i thought it would be more awkward with clay around," i admitted.

"what? oh, no. that's been over for almost two years now. we're good. if anything i thought it might be more awkward for you." she held open the door for marina and i as we stepped into the bar. "sorry i said no to the boys tonight by the way. i love you guys but i'm at the point where if i had to see two happy couples together i might grow a sudden urge to stab myself."

"two happy couples?" i furrowed my brows.

"yeah. you and clay and mari and nick."

"oh, oh my god," i laughed, sliding onto a barstool. "wow, i should probably say this now instead of when i'm several drinks in, but clay and i aren't.. actually a couple."

"what? but you said— you look— what?" she sputtered. "you at least like him though right?"

"no," i lied, "we're just friends. roomates."

"and they were roomates," marina hummed and then took a long sip with her straw as the bartender passed her the drink she had ordered. from the look she was giving me, i had a sneaky suspicion that nick had been sharing some secrets. i glared back at her, which caused a small mischievous smile to tug at the corner of her lips.

my suspicions were immediately confirmed. that little snitch.

naomi and i ordered our drinks alongside marina and a basket of onions rings which we devoured in record time. soon there were a few empty glasses piled up and our voices were high with bubbling laughter. thoughts were getting to that point where they just slipped out of my mouth before i could reconsider them, and so i turned to my new friend with a curious question mark forming above my head.

"so why did you and clay break up?" i asked, biting into a lime as i finished off my margarita, "you guys seem like you would get along."

"hm— well, that's the thing. we did, and we probably could again. but— ugh—" naomi set her drink down on the bartop and sighed— "okay, i'm gonna be philosophical for about ten seconds." she held up ten fingers and started counting down with them. "i don't believe in soulmates, but i believe in people that just click. clay and i never really.. clicked.. i guess.. and that's why we didn't work out. we got along just fine but i didn't think we were ever meant to be together in the long run, and that is why i broke up with him. it might as well have been a mutual thing. we just weren't right for each other." she finished counting down and closed her two fists.

"if you were close to finding the one with clay, nomi, you really took five hundred steps backwards with ethan," marina joked.

"i know, i know! but we're both going to be doctors and he's handsome and he comes from a good family." she sighed. "you'd think that'd be the perfect formula for love but it isn't."

"but a click is, huh?" i repeated naomi's words back to her.

"yeah. it's like a.. spark. i don't know, i really just think that some people meet each other and are meant to be in each other's lives, whether that means kissy kissy or not. but enough of that," she turned my head with her finger, "there is a cute guy over there totally checking you out and i think you should make a move."

"make a move?" i sputtered, choking on my drink.

"oh— naomi—" marina scolded.

"what? he's cute! and we're on the topic of love anyway, so i'm playing cupid!"

"okay— i'm— i'm not interested," i stumbled, "and if anything he's checking you out. like look at you!" i waved my hand at her dress to try and focus the attention off of me and back to her.

"ugh, that's great but pass. the only way i would ever consider hitting a rebound is if some tall sexy woman walked in here and swept me off my feet."

"seems like you're out of luck in that department tonight," marina chuckled, looking at all the male bar patrons.

"don't remind me." she set her drink down and fake-sobbed. "man— with you seeing nick and y/n apparently "not interested," i can't play matchmaker anymore! what's my purpose supposed to be now?"

"to drink." marina raised her cup.

"to drink," i agreed, and we all clinked our glasses together.

naomi sighed and then smiled. "amen to that. cheers babes. you guys are the best."

the night quickly escalated into chaos and partying, and it wasn't long before we were stumbling out of the bar with the contents of our third basket of onion rings wrapped around our wrists like bracelets and laughing up a storm. we considered calling a cab to get home, but naomi was insistent that it would be too easy for the driver to kidnap us, and after literally restraining her from chasing a man that spared us one apparently suspicious glance, i decided it was about time to tell a friend that we needed a lift.

i opened up my text conversation with clay.

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clay's pov *

i lunged across the couch to grab my phone when it dinged. for the past few hours i had been lying restless in the living room unable to sleep, back to the cushions and eyes to the ceiling, so the notification had been heaven sent. it was currently almost three in the morning and i had been worrying about not having heard anything from y/n yet, but i hadn't wanted to bother her while she was probably just out having fun.

so i waited. and waited. and i didn't regret it, but my body was hating me for not sleeping sooner.

i knocked my headphones down around my neck and fumbled to open my text chat with y/n, already making my way out the front door.

hey u

get you're tall sexy ass over here and pick us up please

okay so you're very drunk cool

nah just veryy observant

i see whatchu workin with under that baggy ass hoodie 👀 👀

i'm gonna pretend i'm not reading this right now

read it bitch