Nothing in Between

38

Clyde was awfully conflicted about everything that was going on around her.

January was coming in a few hours, which meant that she needed to watch the ball drop with her best friends. It was a tradition they had started many years ago, so it was totally important for Clyde to suck it up and simply go with them to Times Square.

But Taylor had invited Clyde to her New Year's party.

She obviously accepted the invitation. There was absolutely no way that Clyde would miss something like that, when her friends would probably do the same. Sure, they all loved each other, but hanging out with Taylor Swift was an offer no one could refuse.

Clyde couldn't, but it was obviously for a completely different reason.

There was nothing Clyde could do but say yes, especially when her body was drawn to Taylor's presence. It was Clyde's entire being at this point; her heart, her soul, her eyes, everything. Clyde just wanted and needed to be in such close proximity with Taylor.

Honestly, there was no reason for Clyde's body to be yearning for Taylor's presence. She was practically with Taylor every night, and she would wake up with Taylor cuddled up to her. They were literally only away from one another during Clyde's shift.

"Clyde!"

Kate's loud shout made Clyde turn around, away from the bag she was stuffing full of clothes. Clyde scowled at her friend, who was standing in the doorway to her bedroom, and let out a grumble. She watched Kate walk inside, getting progressively annoyed.

"What the fuck do you want?" Clyde raised her voice.

"You're mad at us when you're the one not coming to Times Square?"

"I have plans!" was Clyde's exasperated response.

Clyde wondered why they wouldn't believe her. She had literally told them days prior, yet they still kept asking. It was definitely getting annoying and frustrating, especially because she didn't know how much longer she could keep giving believable lies.

"Can't you just reschedule?"

"Not really," Clyde said, "This is really important. I can't miss this, Kate."

"Wow, okay," Kate replied, walking out.

Another rush of anger ran through Clyde, but she tried to brush it off and simply looked for a pair of shoes that would properly match her outfit. Silence was the only thing that filled Clyde's ears as she paced around her room for a few lengthy minutes.

Once Clyde had her shoes in her hands, she softly sat on her bed with a sigh. Clyde put her shoes on, cursing and mumbling to herself as she weighed the pros and cons of not being with her closest friends during New Year's Eve for the first time in years.

There was only one, and it was literally just not being with them.

If Clyde was going to be straightforward, she would say that wasn't the most important thing in the world. Clyde was with her friends nearly every day, ever since they had met in college. What would be so wrong if Clyde missed a day to be with someone else?

Clyde couldn't figure it out. It wasn't like they couldn't have fun without her around. She didn't know what they, especially Kate, were mad about. It was only a single night, Clyde was going to return to her apartment after spending the night at Taylor's.

And so, Clyde picked her backpack up. She walked towards her desk and reached for her vintage camera, smiling as she looked at it in her hands. Clyde literally had to dig through her boxes of things to find the damned camera and the packs of instant film.