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THE SAME QUIET ENCASED THEM, ONLY THIS TIME IT WAS BITTER, AND RAW.
"Clay, this needs to stop. So either you tell me your side of all of our arguing, or we continue this idiotic war of ours," she demanded, seeing as he wasn't speaking up.
A tear rolled down his cheek, and on the other side of the call, his anxiety was rising more than ever. He was an emotional guy, no shame about it, and Winnie always knew exactly how to access those emotions.
"You want me to tell you?" he paused, but didn't give her time to respond. "Fine. I'll tell you. I was in love with you. The second we met Freshmen year, I just...I had such an attraction to you, and I didn't even know why.
"But while I was head over heels, you didn't have a single care for me. I was far beyond just your second choice, and yet you were my first. So as time went on, and you loved other people, and you cared for other people, it hurt. You never put effort into our friendship. That's why I was so competitive. That's why I always did the things you did. Because even if meant you hated me, I was still at least getting close to you."
Her mouth hung agape. It explained so much. It gave an answer to every question. How could she of been so oblivious? So hurtful?
"Clay, I—"
"Nope. Don't. Don't pity me. I don't want it." He tried to sound nonchalant, but she could tell there was a pain behind it.
"No, I wasn't going to pity you. I'm going to be straight with you. I'm sorry. I didn't really have any idea about that, I just thought we were really close. And that was my mistake, and I should've paid more attention. But now that I know that, maybe that means we can restart. Now that, you know, you're not in love with...me," she trailed off, realizing she had sounded unbelievably conceited.
God, it was awkward. So, so awkward.
"That came out wrong, didn't it?"
"Yeah," he breathed out, wiping his eyes.
"Ok, what I meant to say is this. I'm sorry. Really, really sorry. But now that you don't feel like that, can we put it behind us? Be friends? This time I won't be a bitch and ignore you," she joked, causing a forced chuckle out of him.
"Ok, Winnie. Sounds good. As long as you tell George your first name. He's dying to know," Clay replied. Dare he say it, a small smile dwelled on his face.
"Fine, ring him." She rolled her eyes.
Clay exhaled and did so, and within seconds, the British man was on the voice channel with them.
"What is it?" George asked, expecting an argument. Instead, Winnie spoke up gleefully.
"My first name is Arwen. In case you were wondering."
George gasped, "ARWEN?! As in Arwen Evenstar? My favorite Lord of the Rings character?!"
"Yep. My parents have always been huge fans."
George started screaming with excitement. Both Clay and Winnie began laughing at how excited the 23 year old man was getting.
For the first time since Freshmen year, Winnie finally felt at peace with her relationship with Clay.
Instagram, 12:34 A.M.
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liked by colonelteigan, mxmtoon and 183,071 others on today's episode of impulsive decisions winnie makes we have a temporary tattoo!!! (or is it temporary???)
comments . . .
colonelteigan ur hot ig LIKED by winister
dreamteamfan1 not you becoming friends with everyone you meet😃 jk how do u do it teach me ur ways
mxmtoon so when george told me he made a new friend i didn't realize he meant you and all your beauty —winister STOP IT IM BLUSHING WIFJWKFJ PLS DM ME
tommyinnitt either way you're still a woman so...does it matter —winister 🚨🚨FUNNY GUY ALERT!! WATCH OUT, THIS MAN HAS GOT MAJOR JOKES🚨🚨
winniesimp1 YOU LOOK SO HOT IM KWJDJWJD
winniefan1 wait so her n dream are friends now? y'all confuse me more and more everyday💀
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— real life —
Satisfied, Winnie got off of her phone.
For some reason, as she glanced around her room in boredom, a box on the top shelf of her closet stuck out to her.
So, she got up, grabbed a step stool, and got it down. It was dusty, but she wiped it down, and opened it up.
When she opened it, a wave of emotions hit her she hadn't felt in awhile. She missed her youth. It was her freshmen year memory box.
Polaroids, a lei from the first football game, the deflated dodgeball from a field trip, and even the mystery teddy bear she received on Valentine's Day.
She glanced over the many polaroids, and stopped as she reached one. It was taken by her friend from the time (Winnie believed his name was Ryan, but she couldn't remember) of her and a young Clay playing a board game. She couldn't decipher what game it was, but that wasn't what mattered.
In the photograph, Winnie was looking down at her cards, very focused. Meanwhile, Clay's gaze wasn't focused on the game at all. His eyes were rested on her, a hopelessly romantic look on his face while he watched her.
It made her heart ache a bit as she looked at the polaroid. She had hurt him, and didn't even know she was doing it. Yet, she knew she could not change the past, so there was no reason to dwell on it.
Thinking about other things, Winnie wondered about how he looked now. In high school, Clay's physical features were always slightly odd. Not bad, just...odd.
He had a tall frame, about six foot, with shoulders that looked too broad for his lanky frame. He never could decide on a haircut, so his blonde hair was always awkwardly swooshed into a different shape. His cheekbones were so sharp they seemed inhuman, and his face was slim, so slim it looked like it had been stretched out.
It's what caused her to befriend him in the first place; he always stood out to her.
And he still did.
But now her mind wandered, and for the first time in years, Winnie found herself imagining what he was like now. Imagining what it would be like if they met in real life. She pushed the thoughts to the side, just focusing on the fact that they had seemed to make up.
