ADDICTION | BMLA

twenty five.

Arabella Easton

I drowsily sat on the couch as Zion picked up the half empty bottle to chug the remaining liquid. I laughed at the boy while I put the tip of another bottle in my mouth.

"Zion y-you won't c-chug another o-one," I laughed drinking the sour liquid in my hands.

"Hey n-no pussy shit," Zion giggled back. And just like that, Zion had another full bottle of alcohol in his hands. I stood up and trudged to the counter. I slammed my bottle on the table and leaned against it for support.

"Looks like that's enough drinks for this one," Edwin said. I placed my arms on the counter and turned to Edwin.

"N-no I'm... I'm can handle a-another bottle," I stuttered.

"Yeah, 'I'm can handle another bottle' my ass," Edwin mocked. I scoffed and reached for a fresh bottle just a few inches away from me. My finger tips were pushed away from Brandon's arm, moving the bottle to the  cabinet.

"Brandon move" I laughed, standing on my tippy toes to open the cabinet.

"You had enough," Brandon replied, securing  my arms around his shoulder. We slowly walked back into our room where Brandon sat me down on a chair. He pulled out my makeup wipes from my bag and gently removed my makeup. I moved his hand and pulled off my lashes. I opened his hand and placed the used lashes in them. "Ara where am I supposed to put this?" Brandon questioned.

"Y-you put them..... o-on the TV!" I giggled. Brandon sighed and placed the lashes on the table.

"I'll just wait till you're not drunk," Brandon smiled.

"I'm n-not dr-drunk!" I said, shifting to the perfectly folded bed. Brandon sat in front of me and placed my stretched legs on his lap. He removed my nude heels and placed them gently in the closet.

"You gunna sleep in that Easton?" Brandon asked, pointing at my dress.

"Shhh I'm w-watching a m-movie," I complained, closing my eyes.

Brandon's POV

I watched as Ara moved around the bed in her dress. She made herself comfortable in her spot and fell asleep. I turned off the lights and left the room. As soon as I closed the door behind me, the rest of the boys were seen finishing up their drinking.

"Okay okay Zion that's enough!" Edwin chuckled, trying to take Zion's bottle away from him. Zion scoffed and stumbled into his room while Nick followed slowly behind him. Edwin was left to clean up the remaining bottles since Austin was left knocked out on the couch. Edwin collected the empty bottles and threw them in a separate plastic bag.

"Hey B," Edwin called, taking out a packet of cleaning wipes. I walked over to the counter as Edwin tossed me the packet. I began to wipe down the counter as the smell of "kitchen lemon" lingered around my nose. "So uh... you and Ara?"

"What about us?" I smiled, flipping the wipe to it's opposite side.

"Well I mean I know you love her," Edwin replied. I looked at him and furrowed my eyebrows. "You don't just compliment any lady like you do to her."

"She's complicated," I sighed. I threw the wipe away and washed my hands.

"Well I hope you figure her out," Edwin grinned. I watched Edwin tapped Austin's shoulder to wake him up. Austin blinked a couple of times before getting onto his legs. And just like that, Edwin and Austin were already in their rooms, leaving me alone in the cold air of the living room. I cleaned up the rest of the kitchen and slowly creeped back into my room. I found Ara peacefully laid out on our bed, cuddling with one of the pillows. I leaned over her and took out her dangling earrings. I tucked a piece of her hair behind her ears and kissed her on the forehead. I peeled myself away from my suit and changed into my sweats. I sat down in front of the mini desk in our room and cleaned up all the mess and clutter. I made space for my laptop, headphones, and mic and began to play around with some sounds.

.   .   .

3 A.M.

I managed to create a full song with just some sad and sappy feelings to make lyrics. The song only reminded me of Ara and only her. My thoughts quickly faded away as I heard Ara groan from the bed and shuffle around.

"Brandon what time is it?" Ara questioned, rubbing her head.

"It's 3 go back to sleep sleepyhead," I smiled. Ara shrugged and began to search for some clothing in our closet.

"Hey can I wear this?" Ara laughed. I turned in her direction to reveal her holding up my hoodie hung perfectly on a plastic hanger. I nodded at her as she slipped the black hoodie off the hanger. She hurried to the bathroom and came back with her dress neatly folded in her hands. My hoodie hung right above her knees as she hung up her red dress.

Arabella's POV

I breathed in the smell of Brandon's cologne as I shuffled around in his hoodie. I picked up my makeup bag and fixed the items inside. I sat back down on the bed and shoved my head into the hoodie.

"Where did you go?" Brandon chuckled. I giggled inside the hoodie as I felt Brandon wrap his arms around me.

"You'll never find me Arreaga," I laughed. I finally peaked my head through the hoodie and pulled the strings until the fabric of the hoodie perfectly fit around my round head. Brandon laughed at me as I stuck out my tounge. "I might as well steal this hoodie," I commented.

"It's all yours," Brandon replied.

"Really?" My eyes lit up to Brandon nodding his head. The hoodie smelled just like him in every way and I loved it. Brandon unwrapped his arms around me and slowly made his way to his opened computer. He quickly shut the screen and placed his headphones on top. I crawled to the edge of the bed until my legs hung off and touched the floor. "What did you record?"

"Nothing. I was just messin around."

"May I hear it?"

"It's not done."

"It's doesn't matter let me hear it." I stood up and reached for his laptop. He quickly grabbed it off the desk and brung it into his chest. "Oh c'mon Arreaga."

"Next time you'll get to hear it."

"When's next time?"

"Someday...." I scoffed at his words as he shoved his laptop into his backpack. I jumped back in bed and faced the window while Brandon made himself comfortable in the spot next to me. My mind pondered on the events that happened during dinner. The fact that he thought he owned me made me mad but I still found it quite adorable how he became overprotective about something that wasn't his.

"B?"

"Hm."

"Mmmmmm....Nevermind."

"What? No Ara you have to tell me now."

"No nevermind." Brandon sat upright and crawled behind me.

"Hey tell meeee."

"I said never mind." Brandon didn't reply. He let his fingers dance on my shoulder as he moved my hair to one side. He gripped my jaw and kissed my neck passionately. I remained emotionless as Brandon kept trying to please me. I turned around and held his face in my hands. I studied his features while he leaned against the bed. "Brandon?"

"Yes?"

"Do you love me?" Brandon shot me a confused look and sighed.

"It really feels like I'm asked this question everyday." Brandon moved my arms away from him and began to face the opposite direction from me. I tugged his arm so that he wouldn't move any inch further away from me.

"I'm willing to give us another shot, Brandon." Brandon's glare turned into a soft stare.

"What?"

"I love you. Like a lot," I replied, "and I just want to prevent myself from being hurt again." I fiddled with my fingers as Brandon's mouth hung wide open. I was waiting for Brandon to drop words any second, but he remained speechless. "Brandon say something please." Brandon immediately threw his arms around me and squeezed me into his chest. He planted small sweet kisses on my cheek and held my face in his hands.

"You're mine forever."