Would You ↪ Bradley Simpson

eleven ↪ that time we got soaking wet

"You're sure that was the right turn, mate?" James spun his head in every direction, looking for any familiar street sign or reminder.

"Yah?" Tris shrugged unsure.

A soft song was blasting through Bradley's earphones and he didn't look one bit worried. Connor, on the other hand, just sighed. I raised my eyebrow and looked over at him. He smiled sheepishly and let out a soft throaty laugh. — "Don't worry, this happens all the time. Literally."

"You...get lost every time?" I tried not to laugh.

"All the time" Bradley answered with a funny look.

Connor nodded with a similar look and just shrugged. I spun my head and peeked at the seats behind ours. Luce and Kirstie were fast asleep, a set of earphones on each. It did look pretty late, the sky was at its darkest shade yet. The moon was up high, its beam of light making its way to the street ahead of us. I must've blinked more than usual because Connor huffed in my direction and smiled.

 "You can sleep, we don't judge" he mocked.

 "I'm fine" I tried to pull up a smile but yawned instead.

Bradley cutely snorted. "Yeh, not a bit sleepy"

I lazily smiled and leaned my head on the car window. James and Tris were still animatedly conversing, the car hopping and bouncing on the irregular terrain causing me to bump my head against the glass more times that was okay. I mumbled out a low groan and uncomfortably shifted in my seat. I could feel warmth spreading to my right as Bradley's shoulder bumped into mine in his attempt to gently whisper into my ear. His lips slightly brushed against my hair as he spoke. — "Lean on me, yeh?"

I shot my glance at him, a tint of pink on my cheeks. I gulped and tried not to melt under his gaze. "Mmh?"

"You don't want head concussion, do ya?" he mocked with the funniest look. "I don't mind, make yourself comfortable"

Although Brad's request was more than appealing, I didn't feel bold or comfortable enough to do that. I eyed him for a short moment and pulled up a shy smile. It was supposed to be a no, thank you, but you're nice. Before he could say anything in return, the vehicle abruptly came to a stop. Connor helplessly flew against the seat in front of him and slightly bumped his head. The girls sitting behind us woke up quite instantly, and Tris cursed under his breath.

Connor winced. "What was that?"

 James leaned towards the steering wheel and checked the van's system real quick. "It's dead"

Bradley shifted in his seat, suddenly depriving me of his soothing warmth. "Wha do you mean dead?"

"Dead dead?!" Connor squealed.

Tristan let out the loudest groan and kicked the steering wheel with his palms. "Fucking hell, it's pouring"

Both the girls behind us shrugged and went back to their comfy sleeping position. I sat up straight instead, fully invested in what was going on. Tris and James hopped out of the vehicle while Connor smoothly slid in the driver's seat and pulled the side lever up so the boys outside could slide the bonnet open. Tris was right, it was pouring. The boys' hair stuck to their foreheads at the exact moment they stepped out. They were clearly struggling to find out what was wrong with the vehicle, it also being dark outside.

"My phone's dead" Connor sighed as he spun around and eyed us. "You have the torch app?"

Bradley went through his phone. "Yeh"

Before I could even ask what they had in mind, the curly boy on my right slid off the van and jogged to his friends' side. I scanned the interior for anything useful, my eyes stopped on a long black umbrella lazily placed under the girls' seats. I huffed, boys. I stuck my arm and pulled it out, then removed the safety strap and held the shaft tight in my sweaty hands. Con eyed me curiously, studying my every movement closely, not sure of what I was going to do next.

"Was it in here the whole time?" he asked with a soft snort.

"You guys are such boys, it's crazy" I mocked and slowly slid onto the other seats so I could hop off. I waited for my feet to touch the ground before I pushed the button and opened the umbrella. The object was surprisingly big, just a little bit worn out. I took steps towards the boys, my shoes slapping and dipping in every puddle, my socks getting wet with each step. They only noticed my presence when I held the umbrella up their heads. The three of them shot their eyes up in confusion and stared at me.

"Won't you look at that?" Bradley grinned with a soft snort. "Peachy to the rescue"

Tristan laid his eyes back on the engine while James just smiled. "Where did you get that?"

"Take a wild guess, Jimmy" I smiled.

There was a loud disapproving groan followed but a whisper. "Not Jimmy again! We talked about this!"

I just smiled again. It was a few moments later that a strong blow of wind almost pushed us backwards. A pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped me up from behind and held me on my feet, but the umbrella helplessly hit his head. I couldn't stop it even if I tried, a soft thud was soon heard.

"Ow," Bradley softly winced with a light-hearted chuckle. "That's what I get from keeping you on your feet?"

My heart stopped as I spun around real quick, unwillingly pushing his arms off me. "I'm so sorry!"

The curly boy stood there laughing for some reason, not bothered a bit by what had just happened. The two boys joined the laugh right away, and I stood even more confused. Were they actually five-year-olds? I did try to smile it away yet I couldn't help but feel guilty. The poor boy had just been hit because of my poor reflexes. "What's that face for?" James mocked me. "That was quite funny"

  My mind drifted away while the boys worked on the van's issue. Con started the vehicle and, fortunately, it finally worked again. He drove for a few feet, pulling it next to a bus stop. Tristan, James, Bradley, and I, walked all the way there and stopped on our tracks under the glass roof coverage. Tris and Brad soon jogged towards the van's trunk and pulled out a few things from their backpacks.

"James, catch!" Tris threw a black jumper at his friend, who almost let it drop on the dusty ground.

I stood there confused before I saw what they were doing, getting changed into dry warm clothes. Pretty good idea, actually. Bradley removed his soaked hoodie and stayed in his black t-shirt before he shoved a dry grey one over his head. His locks of curls stuck on his face, even though he kept trying to get those out of his eyes. He walked closer, another hoodie in hand, and stopped in his tracks in front of me.

"It'll fit a little loosely but it's quite warm" he thoughtfully spoke, playing with the piece of cloth in his hands before sticking it out for me. I stared at him in confusion.

 "You-" he slowly smiled up. "You need to put this on"

Did I? I shot my head down and scanned my clothes. I was soaking wet indeed, but I didn't mind. Or so I told myself. My skin was cold, heavy drops of freezing rain still sliding down my shaking body. I hadn't noticed how cold I was before Brad pointed it out. I shot my eyes back up and shyly nodded at the boy.

"Can you two dorks move, please?"