Pieces |A dreamwastaken x oc PLATONIC fan fiction|

Chapter 9

 Clay knows that I've been thinking about just not doing college, becoming a full time streamer.

"You have this amazing opportunity, Maisy. Don't give it up!" He says one night, crossing his arms.

"I know, I just don't know if I can do it, Clay," I say.

"Of course you can. Don't become a streamer instead of a doctor! You know that you can do so much more."

"But can I?"

"Yes! Look. When I was in high school, I wanted to become a lawyer. I chickened out. Now I'm a Youtuber and streamer."

"And you're doing really, really well, Clay!"

"Doesn't mean I wouldn't have a better life if I had followed my dreams. I still regret it to this day, no matter how far I've gone here. You still have this choice, you can still not regret your choices. So don't!"

He's got a point.

After a while, I have many college applications in front of me. Clay is watching me, sitting on my couch, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah, you were right. Now will you stop being strange?" I say. Clay laughs and rolls his eyes, pulling out his phone and opening up Twitter.

"Only if you stop being stupid, thinking that it would be better to stream than become a doctor." This time, I roll my eyes and scoff. I'm so glad he helped me make a good decision, though.

After I finish the applications, it feels like a large weight has been lifted. I haven't felt this carefree in a while. So, even though it's the middle of Winter, Clay takes his family and I (Nick left before Christmas to be with his family) to the beach. The same beach that Clay and I met on.

Riley brings her swimsuit, even though it's freezing. The water is very, very cold, and after I stick my toe in it for a second, it feels numb. Clay and I sit on a beach towel he brought, just enjoying the scenery. Clay's parents are on the other side of the beach, telling Riley that she'll freeze if she goes into the water.

At one point, Clay stands up abruptly and tells me to stay. So I watch him go over to Riley, scoop the girl up in his arms, and walk over to the ocean. This isn't a good idea. He walks into the water that he is knee deep, and throws the screaming kid. She lands with a splash, and I can hear muffled yells.

"Why would you do that?" Riley snaps, loud enough so that everyone within a mile could hear her clearly.

"'Cause I can," Clay grins.

"I hate you!"

Riley storms out of the water and she is visibly shivering. She runs over to her parents and they greet her with a laugh and a dry towel.

Jacob grabs my arm harshly and leads me over to the edge of the boat.

"I'll give you all my savings if you jump," he sneers.

"And what's that, ten dollars?" I retort, smirking back at him. Suddenly, he puts his hands on my back and pushes hard. I tumble and land in the freezing cold water. My teeth chatter as I struggle to keep my head above the water. I'm not good at swimming. I reach blindly for the ladder and feel metal, pulling myself closer to it. I get myself out of the water, shivering.

"Why would you do that?" I yell angrily.

"'Cause I can,"

"I hate you!" I scream.

I can see Clay walking over to me, smiling mischievously.

"Your poor sister!" I joke, punching him lightly on the arm.

"What did you say? That you want to be thrown into the water as well?" he says.

"NO!"

Clay grabs me and picks me up bridal style, running down to the water. I plead with him, but he keeps going. Once he's waist deep, he throws me, and I plunge all the way underneath. It's so, so freezing. I can feel the goosebumps rise on my arms and legs. My feet don't reach the bottom of where he throws me. I realize that I never learned to swim. My instincts kick in as I move my arms and legs randomly, until my head is out of the water. I gasp for air, ignoring the numbing feeling that is creeping over my body.

"I can't swim!" I gasp, paddling my arms like a dog. Clay's eyes widen in fear and he grabs my arms, pulling me quickly over to the waist deep water.

"Are you okay?" he asks, obviously concerned. I nod, coughing roughly. I can barely feel my body anymore.

"I'm f-freezing," I say, my teeth chattering. He grabs my wrist and pulls me out of the water, running over to his mother to get a towel for me. He comes back, wrapping it around my body. Clay leads me over to our spot at the beach and beckons for me to sit. I drop to the ground, holding the edges of the towel tightly around myself. He wraps his arm around me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you couldn't swim," he says, frowning. "Are you sure you're okay? You scared me there, Maisy."

"Yes, I'm sure. It's okay. I mean, I'm sure most people who live in Florida do. I used to live somewhere without beaches basically anywhere, and I never went to the pool," I am shivering in the cold. He shakes his head.

"Just because I didn't know doesn't mean I should've done it. You could've gotten hypothermia!"

"It sure feels like it," I haven't become warmer. I'm in extreme discomfort.

"Come on, I think I have some dry clothes in the car," Clay says, grabbing my hand and taking me to his car. He opens the back and pulls out a shirt and a sweatshirt, handing them to me, and then finding some pants. "They might be a bit big, but it'll do." I go over to the trees and change, wadding up my drenched attire and squeezing as much water as I can out of it. The garments fit pretty well. They are good enough for me, especially right now. I come back, and Clay smiles. Then he realizes I'm still shivering like crazy. "Get in the car." I step inside the car and shut the door, curling up. Clay turns up the heat. I get a blast of warm air, and I don't feel as uncomfortable. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," I admit, smiling into the mirror at him. He smiles back, looking a bit shaken.

"I should go check on my family. Could you stay here a minute?" I nod my head and he opens the door, leaving the car and jogging over to the beach.

Word Count: 1130