- angel's pov -
"okay... so here's the hard part. how are we going to split the rooms?" clay inquired with his eyebrow slightly raised.
the dirty blond boy finally brought up the topic that everyone was dreading. as the airbnb we rented out had three big bedrooms, our friend group of five had to work out roommate arrangements for the next two weeks. while dream's sudden question bombed the five of us, we all looked around the room in curiosity for how each one of us would respond. moreover, as all five of us filled up the three couches in the lounge, our group sat in an awkward silence as the christmas tree we all just decorated brightly shined at the corner of the room.
with george beside me, i felt him slouch into the couch cushion before he wrapped his arm around me. "easy! angel and i will share one. sapnap and kate can have the other room. and dream can have a room to himself," my boyfriend proposed as he broke the silence and flashed a smile toward the group.
"woah! h- hey there. i- i'm not tryna-" nick fumbled as he sat upright on the arm chair. i watched his face turn a blush pink color before he swiftly turned his head toward kate, who sat beside him. nick's thoughtful facial expression conveyed almost as if he was asking kate for permission to share a room with her.
"i- it's okay. i'll just take the couch, guys," kate meekly said before she swallowed a big gulp and avoided eye contact with sapnap. i could tell she was nervous to be here, she didn't know the three boys as well as i did; so i didn't blame her flusteredness toward the sudden nerve-racking room sharing topic.
"no, i won't let you do that," clay objected before he furrowed his eyebrows. "we have three bedrooms. how about sapnap and kate take the remaining two rooms and i'll take the couch? i don't sleep well in super soft mattresses anyway," the flordian concluded before he threw his shoulders up in a shrug.
"are you sure, clay?" i quipped before laying on george's chest and placing my palm on my boyfriend's heart. as i felt george's heart beat against my hand, i looked up at him to place a quick peck along his lips; which left my handsome boy in a grin.
"i'm sure. and i'm also pretty confident that these sleeping arrangements will only be temporary," clay snickered as he performed a slight smirk and winked toward his texan friend across the room.
"oh! i'll show you what's temporary!" nick hollered as he began to sit up from the armchair with his hands in a fist; it was imminent that sapnap's pure texan roots were showing as he began confronting the floridan.
"oh yeah? show me what you got, cowboy!" clay snapped in response as he aggressively threw his arms on the side of the couch to hoist his body off of the chair.
"it's always going to be me versus you, dream!" nick chanted with a smirk plastered across his face as he raised his fist.
"hey, you two! this isn't manhunt in real life! sit both of your asses down while we set some ground rules!" george hooted. i giggled at my boyfriend's sudden peace offering. george did portray as the mediator when things got out of hand between the americans.
"ground rules suck," clay complained before slouching back into his side of the couch out of defeat.
"honestly, can we set some ground rules later?" kate theorized as she propped her elbow on her knee. as my best friend opened her palm to slump the side of her cheek in, she lamented, "i'm starving. i bet none of us have eaten a proper breakfast this morning."
i scanned the room and watched the boys all nod their heads in response, indicating that none of us had really eaten today. out of curiosity, i took my phone out of my leggings side pocket to check the time. as i pressed the side button of my device to turn it on, i looked down on my phone to read the clock [14:15/2:15PM].
"it's already 2 o'clock, so why don't we all head out for lunch? then after grubbing, we can get groceries so that we can have the refrigerator stocked for the next few days," i added as i observed the faces of my friends around me.
i received immediate, various mumbles and comments in agreement around the room. "it's settled then, everyone get ready. we're heading out," kate jabbered with a smile. after our plans were sorted out, we all stood up from the sitting room and parted our separate ways.
"why are all of you so slow?" nick groaned from across the upstairs hallway. all of us have been getting dressed for about 30 minutes now, yet kate and i were the only ones that were still getting ready.
"don't rush me!" kate spat back playfully before combing out her long, black hair once more. as i stood in the bathroom alongside my best friend, i was swiping one last coat of mascara on my top eyelashes. the huge airbnb we rented out had four bathrooms, so kate and i claimed one to save the boys from drowning in our girl products.
after hearing kate nearly scream in my ear, her sudden loudness made me jolt, causing me to smear my mascara wand all over my eyelid. "ugh! kate! you messed me up," i whined before reaching over the bathroom counter top to grab a makeup wipe.
"why do girls always take so long to get ready? it's not like we're going to the red carpet," clay snickered from the bathroom door way. clay walked up to kate and i to join us at the bathroom. as the floridian began to rest against the wood door frame, another american appeared beside him.
"you ladies ready yet? my stomach isn't growling any quieter!" nick chimed as he propped his elbow up on clay's shoulder, leaning his body weight onto his friend.
"yeah, yeah. you better stop running your mouth before i shut it for you," kate foretold with her eyes fixated on herself in the bathroom mirror.
"oh, really? how so?" the texan inquired with a smirk whilst taking his elbow off of his friend. nick began to stand upright and lean forward, eager to hear kate's response.
i heard clay groan next to his friend before i began whining. "ugh! stop the flirting. get a room, you two!" i snarked before moving around kate in the bathroom. after hand motioning, "shoo" toward the boys; i implied that they were crowding the door frame.
"i agree," clay acknowledged as he stepped to the side and made room for me to walk by. then he lowered his tone, "it's not like they won't get a room later tonight," the floridian theorized to me in a hushed tone.
i giggled at his comment while clay and i walked through the upstairs hallway and began stepping down the stairs. then, i heard kate proclaim, "hey! i heard that, you guys!"
"good! was clay lying?" i exclaimed back. i heard the floridian wheeze at my side before we both stomped down the steps.
"they are definitely getting together by the end of this trip," clay commented as his green eyes looked into my brown ones.
"oh, you don't have to tell me twice-" i began with a giggle before i felt an arm snake around my waist.
"there you are, my love," george softly cooed as he placed a kiss on my forehead. i smiled to his touch before george queried, "so who's getting together?"
"kate and sapnap," clay replied with a smirk. i heard both of the boys fill the room with laughter as more footsteps stormed down the staircase.
"what's so funny?" nick puzzled with his eyebrows knit together as he joined the three of us. kate was standing alongside the texan as she had a similar confused expression spread across her face.
"your mom," my boyfriend jeered, which received a heavy wheeze from clay.
with a playfully rolling of eyes from nick and a small smile plastered amongst kate's face, i enunciated, "yeah, yeah. very funny, love. now let's eat!"
as everyone nodded in response, we all left the house we were staying at. as nick locked up the airbnb, we all dispersed into one big suv. "who's car is this?" kate quizzed as she hopped into the back seat to sit in the middle row between nick and i.
"none of ours, to be honest," clay responded from the drivers seat. "i just rented it for the trip," the floridian added with a chuckle.
"i don't know why you rented a car when uber exists," george extolled from the passenger seat.
"do you really want all five of us to be cooped up in an uber's backseat every time we go out?" nick sarcastically commented with his eyebrow raised. "george... you're so stupid."
"i am not! i'm just saying that i feel bad for dream having to purchase a whole car for two weeks!" my boyfriend thundered as he flailed his arms up.
"it's okay, georgie. i don't mind it... except for the fact that i'm driving on the right side. why the hell is the steering wheel on the right? anyway, now where am i going?" clay questioned as he furrowed his eyebrows toward kate and i through the rear view mirror.
i handed my phone over to our floridian driver, which had the address of the restaurant we were heading to, and then we were on our way. after driving for roughly 30 minutes, i felt as if all of the uneasy and nerve racking tension between all five of us had faded away. we all walked into this trip with some jitters, wondering if we all would get along for the next two weeks. but after a lively car ride, we all seemed to connect just fine.
as the entire drive was filled with various songs since nearly everyone took aux, the five of us listened to a variety of music such as nick's preferred song "i wanna see some ass" by jack harlow all the way to kate's music taste with songs such as "hayloft" by mother mother. in addition, the five of us sparked hilarious conversations that left all of us nearly wheezing for air like dream's infamous laugh. being around this group did not only provide me immense amounts of serotonin, but it made me feel at home - almost as if i have known all of them for a lifetime.
"okay! we're here!" clay chimed as he pulled the suv into a parking space.
we had just arrived at a small italian restaurant that kate and i used to go to as kids. it was a small restaurant, that had a sage green exterior and a dark brown shingled roof top. the italian restaurant wasn't well known, since it was a small mom and pop kind of place; but that's what added to the experience. in addition, not only did the restaurant hold nostalgic factors for my best friend and i since we have been eating here forever, but it was just a good restaurant in general.
"i hope their breadsticks are as good as olive garden's," nick commented with his eyes widened.
kate turned toward the texan and pursed her lips together before asking, "what's an olive garden?"
"only the best italian restaurant ever!" clay chimed with a grin from the driver's seat. "you ladies have a big reputation to own up to. olive garden is really good and i don't know if this place can top it," the floridian concluded.
"trust me. i bet it will," george added as he looked over to his friend from the passenger seat.
we all began to shuffle outside of the vehicle, and put on our face masks as a roaring pandemic was still around. the virus was not as prominent in europe compared to the states, according to clay; but we all wore masks accordingly just in case. as the five of us shoved one another through the restaurant doors, we were all greeted by a platinum blonde, blue eyed waitress in front of us.
"can i help you?" the bright eyed employee sang. i watched her eyes crinkle over her black face mask, which made me assume she was flashing us a smile - she was pretty.
"a table for 5, please," nick replied as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
"okay! this way," the blonde lady chirped before hand motioning for us to follow her.
after we were all seated, we all settled down. while george and i sat on one side of the table, our remaining three friends sat across from us; with clay on the far left, nick in the middle, and kate to the right. once given our menus, the five of us scanned our options for possible choices to eat for lunch. as the restaurant was notorious for their authentic italian food, almost everyone settled on some type of pasta to enjoy. while we all ate and filled the table with striking conversation, the five of us continued eating until our hungry stomachs were satisfied. after about roughly an hour and a half of pasta devouring and loud small talk, we all came to the consecutive decision to ask for the check.
"i'll take that!" clay effused. once our kind waitress placed the bill on our dining table, the floridian snatched it before any of us could react.
"hey! what? who said you were paying!" george yelped as he pulled his arm out to grab the check from his best friend.
before clay could object, we all watched his eyes widen to the bill. "what is it clay? is the check too much?" i puzzled with my eyebrows raised.
with nick sitting alongside clay, he picked up the plastic tray that held our receipt, snatching it from clay's grasp. once nick laid his eyes on the check, he did nothing but smirk. "oh no... it's not the amount dream is worried about, it's what's written on it!" the texan shouted. i watched as the majority of the table had confused facial expressions plastered amongst themselves, myself included.
"what is it?" kate questioned with her eyebrows furrowed.
"the pretty little waitress wrote down her number for mr. dream over here. what a ladies man!" the texan bubbled before letting out a hearty laugh. george and i began to giggle with him, this wasn't a situation we saw clay in everyday.
clay still stood there dumbfounded, almost as if he was never given someone's number before. we all continued to laugh at him while his cheeks emerged a bright red color, nearly resembling a tomato. once nick dropped the check on the table, i picked it up to read the ruckus. on a small piece of paper that was separate from the bill receipt, a handwritten note was paper clipped amongst our check and read:
send the green eyed boy my way <3
+1 (xxx) xxx-xxxx
-catherine
after reading the love note addressed to dream, i began to hold my stomach as my laughter started getting out of hand. as i continued giggling, i felt george slump his head into my shoulder while laughing as well. while i felt george's body rise and fall due to his cackling, i looked in front of me to see that kate was squinting her eyes while chuckling next to nick; who was laughing so hard that he was on the verge of tears. the four of us continued to chortle until clay decided he had enough.
"okay, guys. shut it," clay grumbled before he took the check away from me and stuck the handwritten note into his pants pocket.
"d- dream. th- this is the f- funniest thing!" my boyfriend teased through his chuckles.
"so what? are you going to call her?" nick teased as he began to compose himself. once his laughter settled down, the texan used the palm of his hand to swipe tears of laughter off from his under eyes.
"shut up," the flordian grunted once again without looking up at us. it was apparent that he was embarrassed after all of our abrupt laughter.
"okay guys. we've teased him enough. let's go grocery shopping before sundown! we can have a movie night later," kate remarked as she tossed the napkin she previously had on her lap onto the table.
"yeah, let's go before internet sensation, dream, over here turns red again after seeing his secret admirer," i added before flashing a warm smile to clay from across the dining table. the dirty blond boy just playfully rolled his eyes back to me in response.
the five of us all decided it was best to pitch in individually for the lunch bill, which was fair. once we all began to exit the italian restaurant, george's hand was intertwined with mine and our friends tagged along behind us. next thing i knew, all five of us started to enter the large suv clay had rented out for us. with george in the driver's seat this time, i joined him in the front and sat on the passenger seat alongside him. with nick, clay, and kate sitting behind us, we were off to our next destination - to the nearest tesco.
after about a short 10 minute drive, george made a sharp left turn to pull into the tesco grocer's parking lot. as my boyfriend still hand his in mine, he articulated, "alright, losers. we're here!"
the five of us excitedly jumped out of the vehicle. yes - we were only going grocery shopping, but any deed you did with your best friends was a blast. once george performed a slight jog to open the passenger car door for me, he held his hand out. as i grabbed his hand and my boyfriend gently escorted me out of the car, we heard whistling and hooting come from our friends; clearly they didn't understand the basic mannerisms of a gentleman. as our friend group stood in front of the tesco, george has his arm slung around my shoulders.
"alright, let's make this errand run fun," kate trilled with a huge grin on her face.
"fun?" nick pondered with his eyebrows furrowed as he looked over to his crush.
"how can we make grocery shopping fun?" clay chattered, expressing the same amount of confusion.
"we'll make it a game. everyone spreads out and picks up crucial items that we need at the house. however, we all have a time limit... each of us have fifteen minutes to not only pick out essential things, but also fifteen minutes to pay at checkout and be back here in front of the car. do we have a deal?" my best friend proposed as her grin never left her face.
"how many items items, huh?" nick inquired toward my best friend while he dug his hands into his sweatpants pockets.
"as many crucial items as you can get. honestly, just grab anything that we really need at the house. like don't waste your fifteen minutes picking up chocolate bars..." kate joked as she took out her phone from her small backpack.
"well, does the game sound like a plan?" i questioned as i raised my eyebrows toward the three boys.
"why not?" george chimed with a shrug from his shoulders.
"consider it game on," clay phonated with his lips curling upward into a smirk; the floridan's competitive leo nature was showing.
"fifteen minutes... ready? set... go!" my best friend announced as she held out her phone in front of the four of us, showing off that the timer had started.
a/n:
holy holy holy, we just hit 20k reads, like what... but i hope you guys enjoyed this lowk filler chapter. i just wanted to build the friendship between our five characters and i highkey rlly rlly like this chapter a lot. but i hope you all are doing well and taking care of urselves!
-a<33