family friends

10 - wake up

CLAY'S POV

When I wake up, I immediately know it's late. Too late. Nick is gone from beside me and the television is turned off, but Y/n is still here, head resting on my lap, fast asleep. I strain to see the clock in the dark, but it's pointless. I know my phone is on the table in front of me, but there's no way I can reach it without waking her up. Which honestly, I probably need to do anyway.

I decide to take a shot in the dark (literally,) and whisper Nick's name as loudly as I can without waking the girl in my lap. To my surprise, he peaks his head around the doorway a moment later. "What time is it?" I whisper, watching him roll his eyes as he takes out his phone.

"Three. I'm going to bed." He disappears immediately.

"Nick, come back here!" I whisper shout. Y/n shifts slightly, but shows no signs of actually waking up. The annoyed expression on Nick's face as he appears in the doorway again is unmistakable even in the dark. "What the fuck do I do?"

"Can't she just stay there? What, do you have to pee or something?"

"No, idiot. She has to work tomorrow. She was supposed to go home before midnight."

Nick laughs a little before saying, "Just wake her up and tell her what time it is."

"This is why you're single, dude." He shrugs. "She can't drive home like this. She's gonna be so groggy when she wakes up. I'll just drive her car over there and stay at my mom's. It's okay." He gives me a thumbs up and walks off. I hear his bedroom door shut a moment later. I'm honestly surprised he's even awake right now.

Now is the real thing I'm dreading. How do I wake her up without freaking her out? I resolve to try to rest her head on a pillow instead of on me so that I can get ready to go and then wake her up. She seems to wake up for a moment when I move out from under her, but she settles back in as soon as I put the pillow under her head. Heavy sleeper.

I grab my phone and head to the bathroom where I splash cold water on my face until I'm completely awake and alert. I'm not gonna risk it if I'm driving her home. I silently say a prayer that her keys are still on the floor where she sorted through my fanmail because without them I won't be able to drive her car or unlock her front door.

Maisie's sleep schedule on break is often as bad as mine, so I send her a text, hoping she sees it. She messages back immediately that she'll unlock the front door so that I can get in. My parents are definitely asleep already, so hopefully they don't mind. Thankfully, I find Y/n's keys right where she had them earlier, so I don't have to try to ask her to find them.

I have everything I might need at my parent's house already, so I just grab my wallet and keys and head back to the living room. Y/n has turned over onto her side now and she looks so peaceful that it physically pains me to wake her, but I have to. I gentle place my hand on her shoulder and she stirs for a moment before going still again. "Y/n," I whisper. "I'm going to take you home, okay?" She hums some sort of noise and I can't tell if she really heard me or not.

I take a deep breath. This isn't ideal, but I really need to get her home, so I scoop her into my arms and carry her to the front door. Her eyes flutter open for a moment when I open the door and bring her out into the crisp night air, but she just cuddles into my chest and goes back to sleep. I chuckle a little and unlock her car.

The transfer from my arms to the car is more difficult than I expect since she's gone almost completely limp. Somehow I get her in and buckle her seatbelt. As I start the car, she wakes up a little more, blinking her eyes rapidly to adjust to the change in lighting. She takes a deep breath and although she appears to be completely awake, I can tell she isn't.