𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃, dream

thirty six

"we're leaving today." nick said while everyone was eating breakfast.

"what—already?" tubbo looked up at him and stopped eating.

"yeah. it's been two weeks since we got here and our flight leaves at midnight." he continued, spooning a mouthful of cereal into his mouth.

"you fucker, you didn't tell us!" meredith said, shooting both him and clay a dirty look.

"sorry," nick said with his mouth full. "if not today we would've left another day anyway."

"i'm gonna miss you guys. these past two weeks have been amazing." clay said, looking around at all of them before gazing at meredith. "i'm sorry, it slipped my mind. having too much fun, i guess."

"fuck you, dickheads. i'm trying to have a nice meal with my friends and all of a sudden you two drop the bomb?" she shook her head, beginning to laugh. "i'll miss you too."

—

"clay? you in here?" meredith poked her head through the door, looking around in her shared room with her boyfriend.

his head peaked up from behind the bed. "yeah, over here."

she laughed, "what are you doing back here?"

"trying to reach my shoe that somehow got under here, but i can't reach it. can you help me?" he looked up at her, pouting slightly.

"stop whining, yeah, yeah, i'll help. how the hell did you get one shoe stuck under the bed?" she asked as she got down on her knees, leaning down on the ground and reaching for his shoe.

"dunno." he shrugged. "thanks. man, this has felt surreal being here in person with you. i can't believe i'm leaving tonight."

"aw, little baby going to miss me?" she teased, getting back up. she put the back of her hand against his cheek. "it's not like we're never going to see each other again. you can come visit me along with everyone else here in the uk, and i can come visit you in florida and snag a trip up to north carolina to see karl!"

he sighed. "yeah, i guess you're right. okay, help me pack?"

"i will, but promise me that you're going to throw away those nike shoes and get yourself a better wardrobe. i better have influenced your shitty taste in clothes."

clay laughed. "and if i don't?"

"then i might have to just come over to florida personally to kick your ass." she gave him a look with her brows raised, unamused.

"i plan on seeing you at my doorstep soon, then." he smiled, and the corners of his eyes crinkled a little.

"you're annoying." her phone started ringing from the other side of the room, and she went over to see who it was. on the screen read samuel. her face turned confused. her brother almost never called her, let alone around this time of the year.

she picked up her phone, answering the call and putting it against her ear. "sammy?"

"i told you, don't call me that." he replied instantly through the phone, slightly muffled.

"why are you calling me?" she looked at clay, who was watching her equally confused.

"what, i can't call my sister nowadays? who, by the way according to your socials, has a boyfriend and 17 million subscribers?"

"i—listen, those are—ugh! why are you calling me?" she repeated.

"just wanted to see how you were doing. and who this little boyfriend of yours is. dream, was it? does he have an actual name?"

"you're as nosy as ever, still?"

"aha! so you do have a boyfriend! his name, por favor?"

italics = anything spoken in vietnamese

she pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers, sighing. "yes, i have a fucking boyfriend. is this really all you called me about? not a merry christmas, nor a did you get yourself out of bed on new year's?"

his tone seemed to turn serious. "meredith, i wanted to check up on you, i told you. was trying to lighten up the mood a little before delving into that shit. you know how i do things."

"do i? it's been ages since you called, ever since you got into the high and mighty oxford and let me take care of mom all on my own."

he sighed, "i thought we were over this. you're the one with the fucking money, after all! you do what, play video games on youtube and all of a sudden you're a millionaire?"

from clay's perspective, meredith was talking angrily into the phone in a different language, sarcasm dripping off her every word. he continued to pack as he listened to her voice, speaking to what sounded like her brother.

"merri, listen—"

"no! you know what? i don't give a fuck what you have to say to me. if you truly must know about my boyfriend, his name is clay and he's a much more respectable human than you. fuck off, samuel. call me when you're dead." she hung up the phone, huffing sharply and setting it down with a thud on her nightstand.

"i hope you never meet my brother, clay." she finally said, turning around slowly to face him.

"why?" he asked, putting his arms around her when she buried her head in his torso.

"he takes after my father. fucking asshole." she groaned, lifting her head slightly to look up at him. "wasted my time left with you by calling and arguing with me. you know that little shit hasn't called me in over two years? doing whatever and whoever he fucking sees at oxford while i have to take care of our mother by myself. i was the one who helped him get into oxford and pay the tuition in the first place!"

clay was silent for quite a bit, listening to meredith rant. "maybe you'll like my family." he said, leaning down and kissing the top of her head.

"yeah? you think so?"

"well, maya doesn't know what you look like or the fact that you're my girlfriend but she already loves you. and you can be caring and sweet when you want to be, so i think leo will like you too. i know my parents are going to adore you. so will my sister, but she's all the way in california."

meredith hummed. "i hope i get to meet them someday."

"i hope so, too."