It's safe to say that Ellie was not expecting to be thrown into the middle of this. 

 In Ellie's brain, her best friend was finally coming to stay with her for a bit, and they were going to get drunk and party. But instead, Quinn showed up on Ellie's doorstep in tears, and looked like she might pass out.

"Okay, what the fuck?" Ellie whispered to herself, practically carrying her best friend to her old room, as Quinn stared blankly, there wasn't a single thought that went through her head.

Well, there was one. Fuck you Clay. It was the last thing she said to him. She felt horrible, even if he was the one who just kicked her out of her home. He loved her at some point, right? He had to have.

"I'll explain everything, I promise," Quinn's voice sounded raspy, Ellie knew that she most likely cried the entire trip over, and it broke her heart for her best friend.

"We'll talk later, you need sleep, girl," Ellie said softly to her friend, tucking her into the bed like she was a child. In their dynamic, Quinn had always been the one to look after Ellie, seeing the roles reversed was absolutely crushing.

"Ellie?" Quinn said weakly, feeling her eyes brimming with tears for the fourth time, since 6 a.m.

"Yeah?" Ellie flipped off the light and looked to Quinn who was almost sickly pale.

"I love you. In case I don't say it enough," Quinn's voice was the reflection of heartbreak. Whatever happened to her, Ellie was feeling it too. Her own eyes filled with tears.

"I love you too, Q." Ellie closed the door behind her, letting out a deep sigh. What happened? She picked up her phone and saw that she had two missed calls from George, four from Nick, and three calls and a voicemail from Clay. It wasn't a mystery that the situations were related. As she went to open her phone, it buzzed in her hand, a text from Clay.

Is she with you?

And then another.

Is she okay?

And another.

I'm so sorry.

Ellie wasn't a scholar, but she could piece this puzzle together. For a moment, she wanted to call Clay first, to hear from him, knowing how hard her best friend had fallen for him. But Ellie knew better. She listened to his voicemail.

"Hey Ellie. It's Clay... But you knew that, didn't you? Fuck... Ellie... I've done and fucked everything up, for- for good this time. I know that she's coming to you- So just, please... I need to know she's okay. I need to know she's safe. Oh shit, I gotta go... I'm sorry."

He had been crying. In every pause, she could hear tiny pieces of his heart shatter, and the grogginess in his voice was enough to make Ellie even more confused. Clay sounded like he was in the car, alone, and very upset. Nothing was making sense. She called Nick.

"Ellie?" He answered with concern, "Tell me Quinn's with you."

"She's here," Ellie was being stern, she wasn't gonna let some stupid guys hurt her best friend like this, "What the fuck is going on? George called, you called, Clay called, left a message, and texted me, what happened this morning?"

"It's a long story," Nick said, clearing his throat, before realizing what Ellie had just said, "Wait, Clay called you? What the hell, that piece of-"

"Nick, I don't have time to hear you rant about stupid guy shit, why was Quinn sobbing on my doorstep this morning, looking like she was going to collapse?" Ellie was pacing around her kitchen, she had hoped that he would start talking soon.

"It's a long story," Nick repeated himself, "Like I said."

"For Quinn, I have all the time in the world, start talking."

And he did.

Meanwhile, Quinn's dreams weren't making her heart hurt any less. A memory was playing through her head as she slept. And Quinn didn't know it yet, but she was crying in her sleep. The memory that took captivity in her sleep was the moment that she realized that she really liked Clay.

"Quinn, hey! I didn't think I would catch you before you left," It was the Streamys, Quinn had been invited to announce for a category or two, and she had of course accepted the offer. But after the awards had finished, a bunch of content creators had been planning on going to an after party in a bar somewhere. Clay had caught Quinn on her way out of the awards ceremony, as she was planning to skip the after party.

"Cla- Dream? Hi!" Quinn turned and embraced him, she still hadn't figured out what to call him at a public event like this. They had only been friends for a few months, despite them talking every single day.

"Were you planning on going out with everyone?" Clay asked, he had a hopeful look in his eyes, and Quinn had prayed that she didn't melt on the spot.

"No, I'm not a big fan of group events, plus my social battery is way too low, I would leave the second I got there,"Quinn brushed it off, inside, her stomach was doing front flips.

"Oh... Okay, well, if you're not too wiped, you could come back to my place, and we could hang out for a little bit, if you want," Clay was especially nervous to ask this, seeing as Quinn looked so... beautiful, too much for him, he was crushing hard.

Quinn was feeling her face warm up, even in the darkness, "Sure," she answered, surprising herself with how quick it came out. Not wanting to seem desperate, she kept talking, "If you're offering. My best friend is probably asleep, and at this rate she wouldn't be here to pick me up for another hour." It was a little awkward.

"You didn't drive here?" Clay was feeling extremely lucky.

"Uh, no, I didn't but I can take an Uber to your place, if you want me to meet you there," Quinn hadn't expected his response and it startled her a little bit.

"Absolutely not. No way, it's late, and you're way too beautiful to take an Uber by yourself right now... Even though I know you could handle any trouble that comes your way... You can drive back with me... If that's okay with you," It was cute seeing Clay this nervous, he was very dorky.

In his car, there was a thick silence, and most of it was out of sheer exhaustion. But some of the quiet came from the fact that Clay was trying his hardest not to drool over the girl sitting next to him. He didn't know what to say, but he couldn't let her go unnoticed by him.

"Quinn, you look... uhh... uhm... gorgeous, stunning, really," Clay stammered, focusing very hard on the steering wheel. Beside him, Quinn shifted, relaxing a little.

"You look handsome tonight, Clay," She looked out the window nonchalantly. It was incredibly difficult not to feel the warmth in her stomach. But still, Quinn kept her cool.

"I do?" There was Clay's own blush in his tone, and he let his right hand fall from the steering wheel, resting his arm on the center console. Quinn looked back and forth between his hand and the road in front of her.

The silence in the car was tense, not because there was anger but because in a moment of bravery Quinn put her hand on his, and time just seemed to stop. After the initial shock died down, Clay readjusted his hand, lacing his fingers into hers. It was a silent moment, but it was there.

The dream skipped and suddenly Quinn was standing on the back porch.

"There you are, I couldn't find you anywhere," It was later that night. Quinn had changed out of her dress and was in Clay's hoodie, and a pair of his sweatpants. His clothes smelled like pine and teakwood, Quinn would've been willing to bet that he sprayed it with cologne before he gave it to her to wear.

"Sorry, I just wanted to step out for a second, and then I kinda just stayed here," Quinn wasn't staring at the stars, but she had spaced out entirely, her head full of nothing but the fact that her whole body felt electrified. There was something about being in this house with George and Nick and Clay, that just felt so right to Quinn.

She was so deep in thought that Quinn almost didn't notice that Clay had hugged her from behind, and was burying his head into her shoulder. She sighed, letting herself fully feel this moment. She was sure that her heart was beating out of her chest, and she was hoping he couldn't tell.

To be fair, he wasn't really paying attention, because he was trying his hardest not to melt at Quinn's feet. This was a side of her he had yet to see, in real life, Quinn was so much more than he could've imagined. She was soft in these small moments, and she was witty in her banter. She had a way of keeping her cool under immense pressure, and she was delicate as well as being the most powerful person in the room. Clay had fallen so hard, so fast, and he hoped that she was willing to catch him.

"Move in with us," Clay said, his head still buried into Quinn's shoulder. At this point, it was to partially hide the fact that he was blushing harder than he had ever blushed before. Watching Quinn interact with the boys, reassured him of what he was asking. Quinn was a perfect fit to the dynamic, she completed them.

"What? Why?" It was so sudden for Quinn that she almost laughed. She was inclined to say yes, there were a bunch of benefits to moving in with the boys, as well as it just being a fun idea.

"You fit so well here, and we have an open room," Clay spun Quinn around so that they were looking at each other, face to face, "it's yours if you want it."

"You're crazy," Quinn turned out again, focusing her eyes on the horizon, trying to hide her excitement.

"I'm serious," He reached his right hand under Quinn's chin, turning her head slightly, so that she was looking at him again. The moment took Quinn's breath away, "I would love for you to live here, if you want to."

She felt frozen to the spot. All Quinn could do was stare at his lips, she felt dazed, this couldn't be happening. They sat there, just looking at each other for what felt like forever. Quinn remained still feeling Clay's warmth radiating his hand.

"Quinn?" Clay asked, he looked like there was something that he wanted to say, it was in his eyes and Quinn was praying for some mind reading powers.

"Mhm, yes, yeah, of course, I mean, if it's cool with you, it's cool with me," She abruptly took a step back, because she was afraid that if she stayed in his reach any longer, she was going to kiss him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Clay jumped and apologized, getting the wrong vibe.

"No! You didn't! Not at all! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to give the impression that you... No it's okay... I'm" Quinn cut herself off before the word vomit could get any worse. She took a step back towards Clay and reached for his hand, softly taking it in hers.

"So... We're roommates?" Clay asked, feeling the grin grow on his face.

"Roommates... I mean, I guess I'll keep you around, I'm sure we have a spare room somewhere, how do you feel about the attic?" Quinn joked, pretending as if it was her house and her decision to let him move in.

Looking at him, in this moment, Quinn could feel her face grow hot. Being his roommate was going to be a lot harder if she was falling for him this quick. This might be a problem.

"What the hell?" 

Ellie was sitting on the couch, listening to the end of Nick's explanation. Ellie could understand why Quinn was so broken over the situation, but she was furious with Clay, "I trusted him enough to take care of my best friend, and he chose a girl who's chasing his clout? I'll kill him."

"I'll help," Nick sighed on the other end of the line, "after Quinn left, Clay took Vanessa home, and he hasn't come back yet. I don't think he's at her house though, he texted me that he's not gonna be home today."

"Do you think he would try to come here?" Ellie wasn't sure if she would be able to handle a heartbroken Quinn and an emotional Clay.

"He doesn't have the balls. I love him like a brother, but he's being a fuck-face. He's gonna cower for a while before he does anything stupid," Nick yawned, and Ellie could sympathize with his sleepiness.

"Well, thanks for keeping me in the loop, you should really get some rest, besides I have a best friend to cheer up," Ellie tried to end the conversation on a light note.

"Ellie, promise me you're gonna take care of her," Nick begged, "George and I normally have her back, but it's a little harder to protect her from far away."

"I promise, Nick." Ellie nodded like he could see her, before hanging up the phone. She opened her messages again, and read over Clay's texts. Before she could hesitate, she opened his contact settings.

Are you sure you want to block this number?

The texts would have to go unanswered.

"I hope you're hurting," Ellie whispered.

When Quinn woke up, she didn't want to check her phone, she was too afraid of what she was going to see. After fighting with herself for ten minutes, she decided that it was better to rip the bandaid off, and picked the device up from the dresser. Two texts from Nick. One from George. One from Clay's sister, and three from Clay. And one from an unknown number.

She opened Nick's first.

I talked to Ellie, I feel better knowing that you're in good hands. This isn't the end Quinn, you'll be home sooner than you know.

I love you.

She smiled at the message. "Home", made Quinn teary again, but she quickly blinked them back and opened the message from George.

I miss you already. I hope your safe. <3

The typo made Quinn smile. He had probably sent the message half asleep and didn't bother checking for spelling mistakes. Quinn hesitated opening the message from Clay's sister.

What happened? He won't speak. Are you okay?

Quinn could imagine Clay, sitting at his parents kitchen table, staring into the distance tear-stained and puffy, all the words lost on his tongue. Quinn wrote back.

His sister responded almost instantly.

It's okay. I just hate seeing him like this. You guys will be okay though, I'm sure.

Quinn realized that Clay's sister wasn't told that Quinn was no longer her brother's roommate. That was going to be news.

There was a part of Quinn that wanted to ignore Clay's messages altogether. If she didn't open them, they weren't there. Still, her curiosity got the better of her.

I will never not be sorry. I should've stood up for you. I could've stopped this. 

I'm so sorry.

I wish I could go back, change what happened this morning. Beg you to stay. I couldn't stay in that house, knowing you weren't coming home. Vanessa and I fought the whole way back to her place, but I know it'll be okay.

I wish you were here, Quinn. I miss you.

Quinn was torn. He feels bad, and he wishes that he would have stood up for her, but he didn't apologize for all the things he said. And he didn't apologize for regretting those things. Clay had always been a romantic and he had always had a way with words, but this felt like a half assed excuse, rather than a sincere sorry. Quinn didn't respond, but checked the unknown number's message.

Block him.

With nothing else attached. It had to be Vanessa. Part of Quinn wanted to defy. She had lost enough already, losing connection with Clay would be the final straw. But at the same time, Quinn knew that if she kept him open to talk to, that she would never get over him. And now there was no other choice.

Are you sure you want to block this number?