𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐘 𝐎 𝐔. "*°• 𝕭𝖗𝖎𝖆𝖓 𝕸𝖆𝖞 & 𝕼𝖚𝖊𝖊𝖓 •°*"

#8, I'm Going Slightly Mad.

"I'm going out with a friend, enjoy your alone time with Chris." I told Delilah and winked at her while I walked towards the door backwards, coat in hand. "Oh I will." She laughed. I then turned around and walked out of the apartment. Once outside, I dug up a beanie from out of the pocket of my long winter coat. It was a lot colder than I thought. The streets were even covered in a thin layer of white snow.

I leaned against a wall as I waited for Brian. When a cold wind hit me, I jerked up the collar of my coat a little further. Perhaps it wasn't the best weather to take a walk today. The sound of an approaching car made me look up. The familiar red Ford Cortina in which Brian had brought me to his house a few years earlier pulled up. The car door opened and Brian got out. "Hey, ready to go?" He smiled. He as well was dressed for the weather. A thick winter jacket kept him warm and a colourful scarf was tied around his neck. On his head, he wore ear muffs since his hair did not allow him to wear a hat. It appeared as if he had stepped out of a Christmas movie. In an adorable way, though.

"Yeah, let's head out." We began to walk towards the park, side by side. Walking next to him always made me feel even shorter since his tall posture was towering over me. As soon as we hit the park grounds, thick clouds formed above us. It wasn't until seconds later that snow began to fall down from the sky. One of the white snowflakes swirled down on my nose and caused me to let out a giggle. Then, something flew at me and soon a cold wet object hit my face. I turned my head to see Brian crouched down on the ground, forming snowballs with his hands. "Hey!" I chuckled and reached down as well. I managed to throw a ball onto his chest but that soon backfired. Laughing, I hid behind a tree. "You can hide but it wont help!" Brian laughed as well and I saw a snowball fly past me and the tree. I swiftly picked up some more snow and formed another ball to throw back into his direction. This time it did hit his face. "Hah! Bullseye!" I cheered, throwing my hands up in victory. "Oh come here you!" He ran towards me and easily picked me up but he slipped and we both fell to the ground, laughing. "Shoot, are you okay?" Brian slightly pulled back, hovering over me, his eyes filled with concern. "Yeah yeah, I'm fine, don't worry." I giggled. Relieved I wasn't hurt, he got back on his feet and helped me up.

I got so caught up in the snowball fight, that I didn't even notice how cold my hands were. Shivering, I stuck them into my pockets. "You alright?" Brian saw me shivering. "Just a little cold." I shrugged. "Hold on—" He searched around in his pockets for a bit and then pulled out a pair of gloves. He handed them over so I could put them on. They were of course far too big but that was alright. "Thank you." I smiled. "No need to thank me. I can't have you freeze to death, right?" He chuckled and we continued our walk. The snowing had now lessened.

After a bit we left the park and wandered past some shop displays. A lot of them had Christmas decorations already. We paused at one that showed an entire miniature village with lights and everything. It was fascinating to see, really. "Look over there, it's you." I pointed at a poodle figure that was running around with a stick in his mouth, two kids chasing him in the snow. A low chuckle vibrated in Brian's throat and he rolled his eyes. "Veeery funny." With my face pressed against the window like some little kid, I admired the scene in front of me. "You really enjoy this, don't you?" He laughed. "Yes. Christmas is my favorite time of the year! Too bad it's still like a month away."

"Actually.. Freddie is throwing some early Christmas party. I suppose it's more of an excuse for him to throw a party but it's still going to be Christmas themed. Perhaps you'd like to come?" I pulled back my head to look at him. I barely knew the band but they seemed like nice guys. Besides, if Brian was going to be there everything should be fine. "I'd like that. When is it?" We gradually continued our stroll through the streets. "Tomorrow night. His place. I'm afraid I can't pick you up, though. However, I will send you the address, of course." He explained. A part of me wondered why he couldn't pick me up but then again, that wasn't my business. I didn't need to know. "That sounds good. We'll keep in touch about it."

With that set, we decided to head back to my place. As we walked, I texted Delilah to ask if the coast was clear. Luckily it was. Chris had already gone home. I did not want to find them half-naked on the couch or whatsoever. "I'll see you tomorrow then." Brian said as he stood next to his car, one foot already inside. He raised his hand to wave at me. "Yeah, see you tomorrow. Don't forget to text me the address!" I reminded him before he got into his car. I watched him drive off and headed inside once he was out of sight.

***

The next day I had to work again, just like on every Monday. It was extra busy in the morning due to rush hour. Many people wanted a quick cup of coffee before they began their long day at work. The rest of my shift was fairly easy so I did not have to work any overtime. I could go straight to Freddie's after finishing my job. Brian had given me the exact address last night. This morning, I made sure I had my party outfit ready in the boot of my car so I could change before heading to Fred's.

I turned into a street with terraced houses. I hit the brakes when I reached one of the houses that had an elegant white facade and two golden numbers next to the black door that read 12. This was it. I parked my car on a free spot not too far away from the house and then headed back to the front door. My index finger reached out to the doorbell to ring it. For a moment, I thought no one had heard it since I could hear the music through the door. Then the front door swung open and suddenly Freddie was standing there at the top of the entrance steps. "Maria! Darling! You made it!" He exclaimed and flung his arms in the air, in one of his hands was a champagne bottle and from what I could tell, he already had a drink or two. Fred rushed over to me and embraced me. The smell of alcohol and cigarettes invaded my nostrils. Yep, he was definitely not sober. "Hey!" I decided to just greet him with a big smile anyway. "Is Bri here yet?" Freddie pulled back from the hug and eyed me questioningly, his brow raised. "Bri? Do you mean Brian?" I nodded and blushed, I hadn't realised I called him by that nickname. "He's inside, come." The tipsy lead vocalist beckoned and stepped aside so I could enter.

Freddie's hand was on my shoulder as he guided me through the sea of people. Everywhere, truly everywhere, there were guests. Some were dancing on the table and others were just getting wasted in the kitchen. I didn't even know that the band knew this many people. A wisp of smoke drifted through the room from all the people that were smoking. Apart from that, my ears were nearly being deafened by the music but nevertheless the overall atmosphere was fun. "There's your boy." Freddie's voice hummed in my ear and he gave me a gentle nudge towards the sofa where I could see Brian sitting. Roger was with him. As per usual, he still had his sunglasses on even though it was literally winter and he was sitting indoors. Brian and him were engaged in a conversation but as I approached them they both looked up. "Maria, hey." Brian greeted me with a small smile. Roger said hi too but then stood up. "I better go find Deacy. He must be hiding in a corner somewhere, away from all the commotion." The drummer chuckled and walked away, leaving me and Brian on our own. Possibly on purpose.

I simply made the decision to sit where Roger had just been sitting. Our knees lightly touched as I sat down and I immediately felt Brian pull back. Something was off about him. "Everything okay?" My voice was filled with concern. "Yeah, I'm good." He almost forced a smile. There was an uneasy mood prevailing between us. "So uhm... There's a new film playing at the theatre on Friday night, what do you think about going there? Sort of like a second date?" I suggested, trying to lighten the mood. "I'm sorry but I can't." Brian didn't even bother to look at me. I saw how he gulped, as if he wanted to say something. "Maria... there's something I need to tell you..." Great, now here it comes. I prepared myself for the worst. Brian opened his mouth to speak but before he had a chance, a stunning lady with short dark hair appeared right by our side. She had two sodas in her hands and stared at us in a state of disgust. "Babe, who is this?" Babe?! Wtf?!