you promised. dream x reader oneshot

you promised.

snow floated through the air, dancing on the wind and curling with every breath the sky seemed to take. the sky was being to orange under the clouds, even though it was only 6pm. a large group walked on the sidewalk of the bustling city, two people staying ahead of the rest.

"this vacation was so much fun clay! we should convince our family yo take us on more trips together," (y/n) smiled, swinging her gloved hands around wildly while the more reserved boy to her left just smiled at her. the pair of them were bundled up to the teeth, chicago in winter could be brutal, and this year it especially was. "i'm glad we got to spend my birthday together, too," she smiled at him, pushing the hem of her knit hat farther up her forehead to better see him.

two rosy cheeks poked out from under his scarf, a sniffling nose between them. without even seeing, (y/n) knew he was smiling that cute little smile with the dimples. the one she loved. the preteen didn't know when exactly she started crushing on her childhood best friend, but it couldn't have been more cliche if she tried. it was almost like those books her mom always bought her to read that clay would tease her for. he'd always let her talk about them anyways, so it didn't really matter.

"yeah! this was really fun," clay nodded, watching (y/n) bound around in excitement and happiness. they finally approached the hotel and entered, heat slamming into their faces almost like a wall of instant relief from the bitter air outside. "c'mon, we're gonna spend our last day here ordering in room service and reading and- and- and--"

her dad ruffled her hair as he passed by, knocking her out of her daydreams. they were still on a family vacation after all, they couldn't do everything she wanted to do since they weren't adults and on their own. the thought of going on vacations with clay without her parents made (y/n) flush with excitement, maybe by then she would have the courage to tell him about her little crush.

"last one to the room is a rotten egg," clay whispered at (y/n), but to her it was as loud as a canon being shot. immediately, the two 13 year olds raced towards the elevator, laughter bouncing off the lobby walls as they tried to get into the elevator first.

later that night, clay and (y/n) were sitting under the blankets with a flashlight and two books, giggling away. their parents had gone into the other room, so they decided to turn off all the lights and read in the dark together since they couldn't do that here.

"i can't believe you actually like those cheesy love stories," clay stuck out his tongue, blowing a small raspberry at her and peering over the edge of her book to read a couple of lines in upside down english.

"it's actually really cool, plus my mom bought it for me so i kinda have to read it," the girl rolled her eyes and poked clay right between his eyes, "you don't see me complaining whenever you pick action movies that we've seen at least 5 times for movie nights. i like this book though, the main character is about to have her first kiss with a guy, but she has to pick between two! i don't know how she's gonna decide," her hand drifted up to her mouth, nibbling on her nails.

clay was quiet for a moment, thinking. "(y/n), if you had to pick between me and another boy, who would you pick?"

"you, obviously,"

"no, like me and... who's your favorite celebrity again?"

"it would still be you," (y/n) let her book rest on her lap, turning up to look at clay. "why wouldn't i pick you?"

"can you make me a promise?" clay looked her dead in the eye, a very serious look on his face. (y/n) nodded solemnly, ready to hang onto his every word. "if you and i are both single when we're both twenty, then can we date? like, be boyfriend and girlfriend?"

her heart fluttered and she paused. a part of her wanted to say 'why not now?' and another part of her wanted to have her first kiss before the protagonist of her book did. neither of those options she chose, though. instead, she murmured two words.

"i promise."

20 year old (y/n) scoffed at the story her mom brought up at lunch, shaking her head. "we were literally 13, i had just turned 13. it didn't mean anything,"

"didn't mean anything my butt!" her mom tapped at her mouth with her napkin before leaning closer to her daughter, "i still remember the night we got home and how you were so giddy when you told me about it, and i also remember how you didn't stop having a crush on him since then,"

"mom," she groaned, rubbing her face, "what even brought this up? why is this specific embarrass (y/n) with her childhood memories moment right now?" her mom's flicked behind her, the smile on her face growing two times wider. carefully, the girl turned to peak over her shoulder and immediately shot back to facing forward.

clay was at the restaurant they were.

he was sitting down, clearly waiting for someone. he did not look nearly the same as the 13 year old boy she had started to crush on, but that didn't deter (y/n)'s poor heart. all throughout the rest of middle school and even high school, she held onto that childhood crush on her best friend. even while they drifted apart due to the overwhelming work of high school, not to mention that they'd never had any classes together either.

she didn't know he stayed in orlando, she would've guessed he would've bumped towns by now. she did, soon as she graduated (y/n) was long gone, wanting to travel and see new places. eventually, she settled in chicago for college, where she was currently studying to get her degree and wasting all of her money on a stupid piece of paper that jobs seemed to require.

"he stayed y'know," as if her mom read her thoughts, she started to talk. "dropped out of college, found an online job. he's pretty well off last i saw him, living alone with no roommates i believe,"

it's been forever since she's seen him, let alone talk to him.

"you should go say hi," was your mom some sort of psychic or something?

nodding slowly, you pushed your chair out from under the table and stood up. your body felt almost mechanical on your way to his table, as you got closer to him you tried to loosen up a bit. right as you were just about at his table, he perked up and saw someone. he stood-- still as tall as he was in high school-- and made his way over to a girl that he hugged rather tightly and kissed on the cheek.

oh.

so much for a promise, right?