Midnight Birdsong [Dreamnotfound AU]

Chapter 10: Late Night Feelings

Clay said goodnight to the others and settled down under the covers on his little sleeping mat. Bad had been nice and given him two blankets so "you can be a warm muffin." Clay smiled at his kindness, but he had a feeling he wouldn't sleep much.

He lay in the darkness for awhile, thoughts swirling in his head. He wished he could just stop thinking and fall asleep.

A sound came from the bed. It was Skeppy.
"Hey Bad. You awake?" His voice was soft; Clay could barely hear it.

"Mhumph, yeah" He didn't sound very awake.

"I wanna ask you something."

"Mhm what is it." Bad shifted a little in the soft blankets.

"Geppy?"

"Nothing." Skeppy was so quiet Clay barely caught it.

"Go to sleep you muffinhead." Bad mumbled.

"K" One of them turned over, maybe Skeppy, but it was impossible to know if he turned to Bad or away from him.

Clay stayed silent and listened to his breathing. He tried to relax.
Sleep is always the hardest to find when it's the only thing you want.

Maybe a few hours or a few years later he decided to get some water.

At this point everyone had to be asleep, right?
Even so, he tried to be as quiet as possible slipping out of the blankets and off the mattress. He crept towards the door.

"Where u going?"

A6d.

Guess not everyone was asleep.

"To get some water. Go back to sleep."

He heard rustling and the figure of a6d separated itself from the darkness.
"I'm thirsty too."

They lounged around the counter with their glasses of water; neither of them really wanted to go back into the heavy silence of Bad's bedroom.
The atmosphere between them was casual as they sipped the water.

"So did I wake you up?" Clay asked Vincent guiltily.

"Nah, I was not asleep, just kinda in-between, you know? I felt the mattress shift and roused."

Vincent never sleeps, Skeppy said.
He was hit with a sudden sympathy for the insomniac. Sleep is really important for functioning properly; maybe that's why he's sort of lethargic all the time. Apathetic.
Then again I'm probably just overthinking.

"Why were you still awake?" Vin asked him.

"I don't know." He answered honestly. "I just can't turn my brain off, I guess."

"I understand that." Vincent took another sip of water. 

Clay suddenly wanted something to do with his hands. He started rummaging in a cupboard for something he could taste.
It was quiet for a second as he moved stuff aside and tried to figure out which foods were which in the dim light of the kitchen.

Then Vincent broke the silence. "It's been kinda hard since moving here."

Clay stopped for half a second, his hand outstretched. Then he continued shuffling through the cabinets, thinking.

It's not normal for Vin to express insecurity. He doesn't really seem like the kind of person to open up.
But that's definitely a statement that asks for more attention.

"How so?" As he spoke Clay finally found what he was looking for and plopped the bag of candy on the counter.
He offered a gummy lifesaver to Vin and raised his eyebrows, telling him to continue.