𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃, dream

thirty one

"hey! here come the new couple!" wilbur shouted, clapping his hands together as they came down the stairs. everyone else joined in, whooping and yelling.

"yeah!! clayredith! dreamkin!" george yelled enthusiastically.

"alright, alright. i know i'm a big deal, but i think we have more pressing matters to deal with. such as the wonderful meal clay and i bought, for example." meredith said as she walked down the stairs, gesturing to the array of food they had yet to prepare.

"yeah, food is more important than the happy couple." tommy agreed, shifting uncomfortably in his white button up shirt. "did we really have to wear this?"

"yes!" meredith and wilbur said at the same time. "it's a fancy mansion, so we get a fancy dinner on christmas eve."

he groaned, turning around to the table and began pulling out the food. throughout the entire dinner, both meredith and clay couldn't stop smiling. their hands were intertwined underneath the table as they ate, sneaking little glances and giggled amongst themselves.

after the dinner, they decided to put on some music, clearing out a space in the living room to dance. meredith swayed her hips to the tune, arms around clay's as he leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek. her face started heating up, her hitting his chest lightly and burying her face in it. the rest of the group danced with them, even tommy who refused to do so at first.

"hey, mer, guess what." will whispered as he moved next to her.

"what?" she whispered back. she was standing against the fireplace, taking a small breather as she watched everyone dance. niki and george were resting on the couch, tubbo, tommy, nick, and clay bouncing around on the makeshift dance floor.

"come with me to the kitchen." he took off and made a beeline to the room with the unwashed dishes, prompting meredith to follow him in confusion. when they got there, she could see what he wanted her to see. he had brought a bottle of vodka, his favorite brand, too.

"seriously?" she laughed. "i really will never be wrong about you being an alcoholic, huh?"

"i am not an alcoholic! i'm just some guy who can take his alcohol well and enjoys it, alright? now, you want some or not before i share this information with the rest of them?"

"i—" she shook her head at him in disbelief. "this is what you called me over for? okay, sure, i'll take a little. does this place have shot glasses?" wilbur nodded to the cabinet, meredith reaching up on her tippy toes to try and reach it. she grabbed one in time, but lost her balance and began stumbling backwards.

"woah!" clay exclaimed, catching her carefully with his hands grasping her waist. "what are you trying to do?" he let her go, spinning her around to face him.

wilbur was laughing at her mishap. "vodka." he explained. "i showed her the bottle i brought."

"listen, listen. before either of you start laughing at me for that, i'm not short. and who can blame me for wanting a small drink?" she turned away from clay, moving to open the bottle.

"you should be more careful, dumbass. this is like, the third time i've caught you since we've been here."

"well, i can't be good at everything!" she said, holding out her shot glass in his face. "want some?"

"i don't drink." he replied. "never liked liquor."

"shame." she shrugged, raising her glass up to her lips. clay watched her motions, seeing the liquid slide down her throat with ease. will began realizing that he was the third wheel, quickly grabbing the now closed bottle and bringing it out to the rest of the group. a faint yell from him could be heard, followed by cheers from the others.

"jesus." he breathed. "how did you not flinch at all? you're barely 21!"

"oh, and you've never broken the rules before?" she asked, nudging him with her hand that was still holding the now empty glass.

"fair enough. come on, let's dance." he pulled her away, her quickly setting the shot glass down before she accidentally brought it with her to the living room.

"alright, alright! no need to drag me, daddy."

he stopped, swiveling around to stare at her. "what?? what?!" he yelled, beginning to double over and laugh. "what?!" he repeated.

"what?" she shrugged, leaving him behind to go join the rest of the group.

"me—meredith! you can't just leave after that!" he called after her.

"i can and i will!" she said over her shoulder, whooping with excitement as she met up with the rest of them. clay shook his head, still laughing and followed her.

"alright! vodka!" wilbur yelled, raising his glass in the air.

"can we put our gifts under the tree before you lot get too drunk and forget?" tubbo asked, already concerned for those who could drink among them.

"oh! yeah! i have mine upstairs, let me go get it. clay, where's yours? i can get it too." meredith spoke up.

"oh, no, it's fine, i'll come with you."

"no, where is it?" she insisted.

he sighed, "in the top compartment of my suitcase."

she made her way up the stairs, feeling clay's gaze lingering on the back of her hair. it felt different than usual, but she couldn't describe it. she went and grabbed her gift to tubbo, swirling around in the dark to try and maneuver to his suitcase. even in the dark, she accidentally read the name for whom the present was addressed to. herself.

"so that's why he didn't want me to see it." she mumbled to herself. "i wonder what he got me."

going back down, she passed by clay. "i didn't see anything." she whispered reassuringly, moving to place both gifts down under the tree. he seemed to look lighter in a sense, so she felt like she was, too.

"christmas gifts ready, pog!" tommy yelled. everyone laughed at him, causing him to give them confused looks. "what? a man can't be excited about gifts?"

"you're 16, tommy." clay reminded. "not technically a man."

"i am a man! i'm more of a man than you, i have the balls to show my face to the fucking internet!" he spat.

"what does that make me?" meredith asked, tilting her head to the side with a slight furrowed brow.

"uh—a-a, um, a woman?" he was a little bit scared of her, if he was going to be honest. despite him being five inches short of a foot taller than her, she still managed to intimidate him.

"sure." she replied. tommy backed down, making them all laugh again. "come on, tommy. the whole face thing is a low blow. let's all just have innocent fun with the presents, right?"

"yeah, okay."