Nothing in Between

23

Unlike the past few days, Clyde was not woken up with the delightful sound of silence.

Instead, Clyde was woken up by a loud, ear-splitting banging on her bedroom door. She could barely perceive the sound as she attempted to blink her tired eyes open, still stuck in the dreamy, sleepy haze she was in as she struggled to put her glasses on.

"What?" she yelled, her voice raspy.

"There's someone downstairs who's looking for you."

Royce's annoyingly recognizable voice filled Clyde's ears, and she grumbled. There was certainly something about his tone, but Clyde totally couldn't tell as sleep and tiredness completely clouded her mind, and she was barely cognizant of her surroundings.

"They came here for you," Royce added, chuckling.

"I'll head downstairs in a bit."

There was a hum on the other side of the door, and cautious footsteps sounded until they eventually faded from Clyde's vicinity. Clyde didn't react nor move from her spot, enjoying the last moments she had to relax and lie on her very comfortable bed.

She only stared up at the ceiling. Though by doing so, Clyde freed herself from the tight grasp that sleep had around her neck, as she fought back against the tempting need to close her eyes again. Someone was downstairs, and she shouldn't waste their time.

Eventually, Clyde was able to drag herself out of bed. She gently stretched her limbs and sighed, feeling her sleepiness fade as she silently yawned. Clyde didn't bother walking to her suitcase for better clothes, as she was wearing shorts and a loose shirt.

Slowly, she walked to the door and softly rested her hand on the door handle. Clyde took a moment to breathe, and she quickly stepped outside. She didn't waste any time before carefully going down the staircase, anxiously staring at the wooden steps.

Clyde listened to her footsteps as she made her way to the living room, and she finally looked up. Her eyes quickly focused on the five people on the couch, who were now all facing her. She raised an eyebrow, before noticing the wide smile on Taylor's face.

The corners of her lips twitched, and Clyde stopped herself from happily grinning by softly smirking instead. She bravely locked eyes with Taylor, quickly nodding towards her. Clyde fearlessly maintained eye contact with Taylor as she gradually walked closer.

"Morning, everyone."

Clyde immediately sat down on the single space left for her to sit, which was right beside Taylor. A relieved groan escaped Clyde's chest as she got herself fully comfortable in her seat, when she suddenly caught a brief glimpse of food on the center table.

"Oh," Clyde excitedly said, "Cookies!"

"I brought some because you didn't even look at them last night," Taylor mumbled.

"I did!" Clyde defended, already taking a bite out of one.

She just slumped down as Taylor laughed loudly, and the conversation seemed to briefly continue. It certainly wasn't about anything Clyde cared about, but it was something she definitely wanted to listen to, especially while eating a cookie for breakfast.

The cookie was so damned good. Well, Clyde really should've known that it would be this delicious, since Taylor did bake them. It wasn't warm anymore, though the perfect flavors still hit Clyde's tastebuds and made her want to happily bounce in her seat.

"Where's the autographs you promised?" she spoke, looking at Taylor.

Everyone turned to Clyde after she spoke, and she shrugged while finishing the last bite of her cookie. Clyde didn't exactly know why, but everyone's sudden stares were causing her anxiety to spike, and she wondered what warranted their reactions.