I knock on the door just likeI did yesterday. I admire the house while I wait for someone to answer. This house is seriously nice.
Unlike yesterday, Dream is not the one to answer the door. It was Sapnap.
"Hey, come on in," he says as he opens it.
I follow him into the house, "Long time no see,"
"I know right," he jokingly shakes his head, "like a whole twenty four hours." He walks into the kitchen.
"Maybe even less," I lean into the kitchen.
"Do you want a drink or anything? We actually have food today." he asks as he opens the fridge.
I shake my head, "I'm good, we're going to dinner soo.."
"Alright," he closes the fridge with a water in hand. "He should be out soon.. He was getting ready to go like ten minutes ago."
"Sounds good," I nod, "Are you coming to dinner with us?"
"Not today," He frowns a little, "I have this video I need to edit, so Dream thought it'd be good to stay home for that."
I nod, a little sad that he won't be coming with us tonight. I really enjoyed his company.
Clay walks out to the kitchen. "You ready?" he asks.
"I'm just waiting for you," I laugh. He really came out of the room late and asked if I was ready.
"Alright let's go."
We get into his car. We don't talk too much about our lives during the car ride. We save that for our catch up dinner. Instead, we listen to music, only talking to suggest songs we thought the other would like.
"How was dinner last night?" Clay asks as we look over the menus. We used to come here a lot as kids, so I already know what I want.
"It was really good," I nod, closing my menu, "Sapnap is really cool."
He smiles. "I'm glad my two best friends are getting along."
The waitress comes to take our orders.
We catch up on our lives a little bit. We're almost done with our dinner.
"So," Clay says as he finishes chewing his pasta, "have you begun your job search?"
"A little bit," I nod, taking a sip of water, "I don't really like any of my options. There was one receptionist job I might apply for, but other than that I really don't know."
He nods. "Is it full time?"
I try to think of ways to maneuver my way around the question, but it's a simple yes or no. I have to tell the truth.
"Full time," I say nonchalantly, hoping he doesn't catch on to what I've been hiding from him.
"How are you going to do that with school?" he furrows his brow.
A knot forms in my stomach. Of course that's the question he would ask. No matter how casual I answer, he's always going to know my lies. "I can figure it out." I shrug.
He's quiet for a moment as he sets his fork down and looks up to me. He reminds me of a father before giving his kids some sort of life lesson.
"Y/N, be honest with me," he says in a serious tone.
I look up at him for a moment, then set my fork down as well. This seems like it's going to be an important question. I wait for him to ask it before talking.
"Why did you move back to Florida?" he asks.
I swallow once. I knew I was going to have to answer this question eventually. "I'm not sure, I just wanted to come back, and.. and see everyone." My voice is a little shaky.
He can tell I'm lying. I don't think he even needed to ask why I moved back. Deep down he already knows from the way I've been acting.
"y/n, did you drop out?" he asks softly.
I bite my lip. I haven't said the words out loud yet, not even when I told my parents. I sent them a text. I talked to the school via email. Anytime someone asked I just pretended like I was still in school. The words just haven't been able to form in my throat.
But now I have to say them.
"Yes," my voice is quiet, but I know he was able to hear them.
"Why didn't you tell me upfront?" his voice is still soft, like he's talking to a baby kitten.
"I just.. I just didn't want you to be disappointed in me." I can feel my eyes watering as my voice shakes. Now is not the time to cry.
"Do I seem like the kind of person to get mad that you aren't going to school?" he asks, "I mean, look at me. I'm pretty successful without a degree. Pretty much all of my friends are successful without going to college. Why would you think that I would treat you any different?"
I shrug. It seemed pretty pathetic.
College just wasn't for me. I didn't like the routine I had gotten in, even when I tried to break it. I love graphic design, but going to school was making me start to hate it.
"Because.." I sigh for a moment, legitimately unable to find an answer.
"Because what, y/n? I've known you for years," he sinks back a little in his chair, "We should be able to be honest with each other about major moments in our lives."
I sigh, knowing it was time to tell the truth. "I just felt like school was always my thing, just like gaming was yours." I shift in my seat a little. "And you're so successful with your thing that I thought I needed to be too, but school just really wasn't working."
He nods like he understands completely. I'm not sure he entirely does. He might not ever understand how hard it is to grasp the fact that your best friend of almost ten years is famous. It's intimidating at some moments.
"Do you still like graphic design and all those things?" he asks. I almost can see the gears in his brain shifting.
"Of course, that's why I wanted to study it," I say, "School just seemed to ruin that passion for me."
He sits up straighter as some sort of light bulb goes off in his head. "Then I have a proposition for you."
I roll my eyes, wondering what crazy idea he had in his head. "What?"
"Work for me." He puts his hands in the air for a second as if that was the most obvious thing.
I laugh a little. "What?"
He leans in from across the table. "Work for me. You can help with thumbnails for me and maybe some of my other friends if they need someone. You can work with people for my merch. Graphic design is everywhere, especially online. I need someone. I need you."
I lean back in my chair as I try to fully comprehend what he's suggesting.
He wants me to work for him.
"I'd pay you well, and it's flexible hours. You can do what you love with people you love." He smiles, knowing it was a good plan.
Almost too good to be true.
"Aren't friends not supposed to work together?" I ask him, not wanting to put our friendship at jeopardy.
"I work with my best friends. We don't have any problems." He shrugs.
I bite my lip, evaluating each and every detail.
It would be a job. I know Clay would make sure I was taken care of, probably overpay me too. Not that money should have anything to do with it.
I do want to do something with graphic design. This could be my shot at getting somewhere bigger. I could get a job with another content creator or maybe even an actual company.
And Clay knows this.
He's showing it with his big smile on his face. Clay knows exactly what I'm thinking and has already thought it through already.
He thinks fast, and once he's made up his mind, it's final.
I nod slowly. "Okay, I can work for you, but we have to promise it won't affect our friendship."
"Never," he holds out his hand for me to shake. "This is going to be fun," he says as I shake it.
"An absolute blast," I say sarcastically, although I'm already excited to have a job doing something I love.
.author's note.
have a great day :)
.word count.. 1347