like real people do | dreamnotfound

17

17 - you weren't supposed to have that, why do you have that?

~

"clay! come on! you're taking too long, for fuck's sake." sapnap yelled from downstairs. they were going to the fast food place they frequented in; clay, sapnap, techno, wilbur, tommy and tubbo plus an additional person that clay hasn't met yet - niki. clay was a little nervous, he was a people person but meeting new people never failed to make him a tiny bit nervous.

"calm your man tits, wait a minute!" clay replied, smoothing down his clothes and placing the ear cuff on his ear - he liked it, and it made him feel like he's with george, it temporarily numbs down the deafening emptiness he feels when he thinks about the brown haired beauty. sometimes, clay can still feel george's hand ghosting over his hand from when they slow danced inside the latter's home. clay remembers the way the corner of george's lips quirk up when clay messes up on his step, and then correcting him and guiding him towards the right path. their body close together, an small, yet infinite space between their lips. walking downstairs, nick smiled at the blond, "looking snazzy my dude, not as snazzy as me but snazzy nonetheless." sapnap remarked, aiming finger guns at clay.

"you don't look 'snazzy', but, alright - whatever makes you happy, pandas." clay smirked. they exited the house, bidding phil goodbye and walking with wil, techno, and the twins. entering the fast food place, the cashier paled upon seeing them - murmuring a silent prayer that they don't cause any sort of chaos. the group laughed among themselves, they don't plan on doing weird shit anyways, for now.

they sat on a corner booth, it was big enough for all of them - although, there is a space saved for wilbur's friend. niki hasn't arrived yet, but they already ordered large pizzas and bowls of fries - they're all going to share it anyways, plus, they can just order individual drinks when niki comes. "so, how's college, clay?" wilbur asked, techno jabbed the curly haired boy in the ribs, wilbur groaning and glaring at techno - but panicking once he realises why the pink haired boy did it. "oh shit, you don't have to answer that."

"no, it's all good." clay reassured them, he appreciated the concern but he didn't want his friends to feel like they were walking on eggshells around clay, "i'm just losing a little bit of passion for my course, 's all. i'm all good now." he mumbled.

"if you aren't good yet, tubbo and i can beat up the professors that make you feel bad! we're very strong together, right tubbo? we are, right?" tommy injected himself into the conversation, warming clay's heart, mouthing a 'thank you' to the child.

"yes, toms. we're very strong, but contrary to what tommy said; i probably won't fight, but i will tell techno so he can fight in my place." tubbo smiled, showing off his missing tooth. "you'll fight the bad guys for clay, right techno?" tubbo asked, warming clay's heart even further.

"hey, why am i the one committing violence?" techno asked, feigning hurt and fighting a smile from creeping onto his face. "you don't think highly of me, and it hurts my feelings."

"you're the only one here who shows enthusiasm when proposing violence as a solution to a problem." wilbur deadpanned, eyes glued onto his phone, assumably texting niki.

"well, i can vouch for wil." clay said, looking at wilbur when he stood up to fetch his friend - nodding and moving slightly when the curly haired boy mumbled a small 'excuse me'.

they all dissolved into empty conversations about how they've been so far, teasing tommy and listening to tubbo intently whenever he rambled on and on about something he was genuinely passionate about (they didn't interrupt him, especially techno and clay - they knew how it felt to be shut down whenever they talked about something they genuinely liked, and they didn't want to do that to tubbo. plus, tommy would yell at the hypothetical person that dared to stop tubbo.). "guys!" wilbur called out, they all looked at their friend and the petite girl he brought over, "this is niki, and niki - these are my dumbass friends since childhood." wilbur gestured over to nick and clay.

"hi everyone!" niki smiled sweetly, everyone else replying to her greeting with enthusiasm (clay recognized her, but he wasn't going to acknowledge it, because it might make things awkward. and clay would rather eat a cactus while teaching a piece of stone how to breathe rather than cause awkwardness for him and his friends.). tommy and tubbo buzzed, flocking around the girl, and niki didn't seem to mind, listening to the twins tell her about their days and weeks. it was obvious tommy and tubbo were fond of the blonde haired girl.

"do you want a drink?" wilbur asked, niki sat down beside wilbur and tommy - the tiny blond boy prepared to talk niki's ear off (but, niki didn't mind. she was happy conversing with tommy and tubbo.), the blonde girl smiled and nodded.

"i'll have a coke please, thank you." niki mumbled, smiling softly at wilbur and the others.

"yes, coke! the superior drink!" tommy cheered, niki laughed lightly and ruffled the child's hair, ignoring his protests as to how a big man shouldn't get his hair ruffled and messed up.

"oh, right, we've met before - but niki, these are our friendos from america, well one of them is technically my brother but, yeah. the blond is clay, and the black haired dude is sapnap." techno said, niki smiled and muttered a small 'it's nice to meet you'. however, her eyes trailed over to clay's - it was the pizza cashier guy from when she visited minx, but, what specifically caught her eye was the golden, elf ear cuff resting on his ear.

how peculiar, it was the other half of the pair of ear cuffs she made for her brother.

-

03/26/21