daydreaming, dreamwastaken x oc

24, epilogue

24, 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

CLAY TAKES ASPEN TO FLORIDA

- Aspen seems nervous when she gets there — but not purely because of how Clay paid for her flight or how this is the next step in their relationship.

FATHER-DAUGHTER

- A stream later, Aspen gets a call from her dad. He's just saying hello. 

- He is a paediatrician who found out she was in the US from a young client of his who was watching her stream. 

- He asks her to come visit him as she's in Florida; she says she's busy and hangs up. Their relationship is clearly strained. 

FIRST DATE

- They have their first official date on the rooftop — Clay has a really tall flat that she admires idly

- She admires the fanart he has in his 'secret room', joking that she thought it would be a sex dungeon. 

- They watch a movie. They cuddle with Patches; it's really cute.

THE NEXT MORNING

- Aspen stumbles downstairs in only Clay's shirt to find a thirteen-year-old girl sitting around the dining table. His sister. 

- Clay rushes down and the girl smirks at the two of them, knowing fully well what's going on.

...

"I predicted it," Female Little Dream says.

ASPEN AND CLAY'S SISTER BOND.

- Female Little Dream explains that she ran away from home because she didn't want to do an elective and decided to come to Clay's. Aspen tells her how selfish that is to her mum, feeling personal about it.

...

"Clay was supposed to end up doing nothing with his life. I mean, he skipped school all the time and he only liked being on his computer. He never really talked to anyone. He was supposed to be the weird one," Female Little Dream mutters. "Now that he's famous, I'm suddenly untalented."

"I don't think that's true."

"I can sing. Kinda. And sometimes I can spell," she says, amused with herself. Her expression slowly drops. "It's not like I'm jealous, though. I just feel kinda useless."

"You're not."

"Of course you can say that. You're, like, perfect. You're pretty, fashionable, famous, funny, and, like, you probably have a car."

"First of all I'm not. Second of all, you're so sweet and I'm planning on dumping your brother for you."

"Good."

"But also," I say. "Your mom loves you."

"I know that. She just doesn't have to put all this pressure on me."

"Think of it this way. She sees her streetsmart thirteen-year-old daughter skipping class to go who-knows-where. That's not a trip for discovery. It's a mother's heart attack. Doing stuff like this won't help you figure out what you want to do. It only makes people worry. Be grateful that your mum cares enough to go running all over town to find you."