Nothing in Between

32

Time always seems to go by extremely, almost painfully, fast.

It seems to go by in ways that make Clyde forget how long she has been focusing on a single task. And Clyde has always never been good at knowing how much time she has devoted to her personal projects, so it makes it much harder for Clyde to tell.

But since Clyde has nothing to do for the first days of winter break, she has been crafting a gift for Taylor. She has decided to make a gift instead of buying one, because she really does think that a handmade gift feels slightly more personal and thoughtful.

She has been working on the gift for days, and she has even asked her mother for some needed help. Clyde has probably stayed up incredibly late to finish it in time, but she will obviously never regret doing so. She has plenty of time to sleep during the day.

It really isn't the most best-looking thing in the world, but Clyde thinks that Taylor will like it. Well, Clyde also hopes so, because hearing anything else from Taylor will quite literally break her heart and stop her from giving any handmade gifts ever again.

Clyde honestly can't believe that it is already Christmas day.

While it isn't so different from any other days of the year, at least her brother is here and she gets to open gifts. Clyde doesn't even honestly know what she is most excited about; finally being able to hang out with her older brother, or receiving presents.

Shaking her head clear of any thoughts, Clyde gently picks the gift up from her desk and runs downstairs, heading to the living room. She places the wrapped box underneath the tree, with the other ones, and carefully backs away to take in the sight.

The pine tree is beautifully decorated with different, colorful ornaments, but Clyde's gaze keeps redirecting itself to the small stack of gifts. Her hands itch to grab a few boxes and briefly check if they are hers, but she truly doesn't want to test her luck.

"I thought you were still sleeping."

Clyde turns around and finds her brother. "Why would I sleep in on Christmas?"

"I just thought you were."

Clyde hums silently and walks away, sitting down on the couch. While it isn't so early, she still has plenty of time to waste completely before she can leave and go to Taylor's house for dinner. Good thing Clyde is insanely good at wasting precious time.

The couch slightly dips down by Clyde's feet, and she raises her head up to glare at the person disturbing her peace. Clyde watches her brother yawn, and she gently kicks him with her feet, repeatedly trying to force him to find some other place to sit.

"Royce, go sit somewhere else," she groans.

"Where?"

"The floor? There's plenty of space there."

Royce doesn't move, and Clyde groans again. Clyde exasperatedly flips herself over and lies on her stomach, trying to get fully comfortable. She literally only stays that way for a minute, before angrily flipping herself over again and rolling her eyes.

Clyde opens her mouth to speak, when her parents finally walk out from the kitchen. She rapidly sits up and angrily glares at Royce, but she perfectly acts like they aren't fighting over space on the couch. And as Clyde does so, she feels Royce stare in return.

"Can I open gifts now?" Clyde asks.

Her parents agree, making Clyde speed over to the presents. She searches for boxes with tags with her name on it, slowly taking them to the middle of the living room. Clyde makes complete sure that she has found everything before sitting on the floor.