Asshole

6: Dalton

Orlando, FL

Clay didn't leave his bedroom until Henry had gone to sleep. He's pulled his fair share of all-nighters to talk to him, but this was the first time after exchanging so much information. Groggily, he crossed the hall and stepped his bare feet onto the chilled tile of the bathroom. These are the times where he was glad to be a master at not having to pee, since he refrained from going for the past seven hours. That's what road trips will do to a person - seven hours didn't faze him in the slightest at this point.

Clay washed and dried his hands as he took a look at himself in the mirror. His eyes seemed to shine from lack of sleep, dark circles apparent beneath them. His cheeks were just barely rosy and his freckles stood out against his skin. He picked up his phone from the sink, looked at it, back at his reflection, and found himself taking a picture. Despite being shirtless, or maybe because he was shirtless, he sent the picture to Henry through Discord. His face was covered by his phone case, which was orange and adorned with a single word: demigod.

He stared at the picture for over a minute more. He shifted his weight between feet, the corner of his bottom lip between his teeth as he contemplated whether or not that was the right move, and finally flipped the lightswitch downwards as he left the room. The time on the screen read 8:00 AM in big, bold letters. The previous night began after Henry asked if he wanted to play Minecraft. They started at one in the morning, Clay's time, and finally closed out the game around five o'clock. They watched a new Disney movie about sea monsters together over Discord and then texted until Henry bid farewell and went to sleep. The texts were by far the most interesting part of the night. He couldn't recall everything that he'd said, but he knew that he revealed a few things about himself. Leaned against the hallway wall, he unlocked his phone and opened their Discord chat. The ones after the movie started at six-forty-nine. He scrolled until he found the first personal message and slid down to the floor to sit.

SmileS: dalton

Goggles404: dalton?

SmileS: my middle name

SmileS: you can call me dalton

SmileS: or keep calling me asshole if you want

SmileS: i just wanted to tell you

Goggles404: okay dalton

Goggles404: <3

Clay sucked air through his teeth. It could be worse. A little ways further in the messages is yet another exhausted admission.

SmileS: you should move to florida

Goggles404: oh yeah?

SmileS: yeah

SmileS: specifically orlando

Goggles404: i will fly to orlando as soon as i get the chance

SmileS: okay awesome :))

Goggles404: i live in brighton

Below the message was a picture. The perspective from Henry's window looked down over a lamp-lit, mostly vacant motorway. Various other apartment buildings could be seen, some lower-leveled and some towering above. A few people were visible here and there on the sidewalks below. Clay remembered slipping from his bed and going to stand before his own window to take a similar picture. His view was closer to the ground and wasn't as expansive. It showed a couple of his neighbor's houses as well as the street separating them. In the window, his reflection was visible. Parts of his arms were highlighted by the streetlights outside, but details were very vague. His face was hidden behind his phone.