sunflower , vol. 6

“ sorry , are you AGREEING with coach right now ? ” clara peeked up from where her face was smushed into a pillow , “ what kind’a benedict arnold best friend treason are you trying to commit here ? ” she FLINCHED as down feather came barreling down on her , landing in a thwack on her head , and she had half a mind to retaliate with a firm shove off of her bed , but maverick was once again wiggled in between , nosing at her cheek and further ruffling up her hair . “ why is it a problem when i get sulky ? ” she huffed , flopping over onto her back and staring at the ceiling , “ i think i’ve earned the right to sulk every now and again . ” and she wasn’t . . . WRONG , per say . just as an air of sparking innocence had a tendency to follow clara around , so did the expectation of a BRIGHT and bubbly personality . it was her own fault , really , with the way she refused to be anything but that 90% of the time , but in her own home . . . her own room ? she wasn’t the type to get hung up on a boy . she dated here and there , had flings on occasion , even fell in love once or twice , but to let someone get under her skin so quickly . . . in the best kind’a way . . . it was unheard of . “ no , ” she answered promptly , rolling her eyes before changing her answer to reflect the truth , “ yeah . but the only ass kicking he’d be gettin’ is from me , thank you very much . ” she grumbled , rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling . as if it were routine , maverick shifted in his spot , resting his head on her stomach and nudging at her hands . “ not that he deserves it . i just kind’a let myself make a mess of things , i think , ” her lips pursed as her hands moved to mav’s ears , carefully running along his fur , “ i’ve never been good at the . . . real stuff , y’know ? when it gets more serious than hangin’ out or hookin’ up or . . . whatever . so i find somethin’ to muck it up before it can start . ” her chest heaves in a heavy sigh , and her head rolls to the side to look at the frames on her right . because she hadn’t missed it , the way olivia glanced over at them . ANYONE who entered her bedroom at home did . he was all over the walls , the only ghost among memories , in photographs and a framed jersey . “ i’ve sure got a way of putting my foot in my mouth . always have , i s’pose . cam was always better at this sort’a thing . i mean , sure , i’m outgoing . friendly . but he was just –– he knew people , y’know ? knew how to navigate this shit , ” her jaw clenches , and there’s a furrow in her brow as she stares at the photo , hard , and her voice cracks as she adds , “ i miss him . ” three words that were hardly uttered . because for CLARA , it wasn’t allowed . when the pain of missing her best friend reared its ugly head , she had to swallow it down before she threw it up . so she cleared her throat and glanced over at liv , feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude . because she was the one person who’d seen her in her most fragile states . . . and she stuck through it . “ i’m sorry , ” it’s a whisper , and she can’t hold that blue eyed gaze for much longer , so she focuses her eyes on the way maverick is drifting to sleep as she pets his ears , “ i’m sorry we don’t . . . talk about him like we should . ”

there are approximately 918271923 atrocious pictures of liv on clara’s phone , and they get slowly dished out with every birthday that passes . granted , she’s probably got just about as many horrible photos of clara . . . but what would best friends be without an ample amount of blackmail material . that doesn’t negate the fact that clara also probably has tons of liv’s instagram screenshotted for the sole reason that . . . she’ll screenshot , send it liv , shout something about big blue eyes and being fine as hell . . .  and then forget to delete said screenshot . this picture ? definitely received via snap at four in the morning . 

of the people that clara is in pretty steady contact with , parker’s pretty scarce in her camera roll . granted . . . there might be a couple thirst traps tucked away privately , but she sure as hell isn’t taking the chance of her phone ringing and a less wholesome picture popping up in front of someone like her d a d . this one , though , was quietly snapped in the bed of a beat up pickup while the sun was setting and clara found herself on something that was very , very , very much NOT a date with one ( 1 ) parker cole . who , she’ll admit to no one , is quite stunning during golden hour . 

oh y’all have CUTE pictures of donnie on your phone ? not miss clara ! no no no . it’s ugly screenshots . it’s sweaty post - game photos .  it’s drunk clara + donnie looking absolutely fed up with each other . it’s a scowl from the other side of of a booth at 2am in their favorite diner . it’s clara kissing his cheek and him looking disgusted . it’s donnie in the driver’s seat and clara looking pissed on the passenger side . and this one ? is clara going to grab his chin ( ya know . . . like in the tiktok vids . . . ) and straight CHOKING him instead .

taken gi’s senior year of high school , the night before the school year began in the living room of the sloane residence . if clara was a crier , she’d have lost it that night because she sure as hell can’t imagine the halls without gi around for her to bother . . . even though she really wasn’t going far . they stayed up the majority of the night , got shitty diner food for breakfast , mixed mimosas in the car , and had a real hard time staying awake at school the next day . . . but that night really solidified it for clara . georgia was more of a sister than a friend .

“ 𝐢 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 , i think there’s more than one factor that goes into what makes me find someone attractive , but a big thing for me is … i suppose i think it’s attractive to be clever . not necessarily book smart , but CLEVER in that i always gravitate towards people who can keep up . silver tongue kind’a stuff , quick witted comebacks , fast on the fly … the type’a person who can talk their way out’a trouble if they have to . –– but i also find drive to be attractive . . . y’know , doing what it takes to get what you want . ‘ course . . . that could just be me needin’ someone who can keep up . 

“ 𝐢 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐨𝐧 this one’s kind’a OBVIOUS , but one wish ? no ramifications ? just works out perfectly ? trio’s not really a trio without three people , and i don’t think there’s a DAY that goes by without missin’ cam . i’d wish that accident never happened , i s’pose . it’s not like i haven’t wished that before , though . on just. about every shootin’ star i’ve had the luck of seein’ . . . GRANTED , this feels like a lot of responsibility , so . . . maybe i’d just give my wish so someone else . someone more responsible . coach , maybe . ”

" 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰 . . . i don’t know if it’s quite fair to play FAVORITES , but if i had to pick just one ? mav , maybe . . . though if you’re askin’ about someone who walks on two legs . . . i damn near PROPOSED to georgia the other day . in fact , i think i damn near propose to gi every day , but that’s just because it is –– quite literally –– impossible not to love her . dev and liv , too , and i could go on and on about ‘em , but i’ll spare ya for now .

“ hey joe burrow if you’re reading this i’m now free on mondays . my monday nights are available . if you’re free . let me know . because i’m available . ”