i want to write you a song, brandon arreaga

thirty-nine

slowly, she lifts her hand, balling it into a fist and gently knocking on the door. after almost a minute, she contemplates knocking harder. but before she could lift her hand once more, the door swings open.

his eyes widen slightly at the sight of adele, scratching the back of his neck. "damn, this happened like, a few months ago."

but unlike last time where he hadn't been very familiar with the girl, he smiled. "why are you smiling?"

"because i am so glad you're here." he expresses, stepping back. "shit, come on in. edwin's gonna do a happy dance when he sees you."

she steps further into the home, about to turn and ask about brandon's whereabouts before austin sprints down the stairs. "love is real!" he exclaims, wrapping his arms around adele. "i knew you would come."

she couldn't help but smile as she hugged him back, "you guys are wild. isn't it too early to be on crack?"

"someone say crack?" zion asks, stepping into the hallway where the three stood. he sighs at adele, "oh, it's just you."

she scoffs at him, and he smiles at her as he goes in for a hug she'd easily dodged.
"get away from me, bitch. don't think i didn't see your post about brandon."

he huffs, "that was to lighten the mood!"

"hey, brandon's at the grocery store—" nick had began to say.

"because it's his turn." zion clarifies, though adele hadn't bought it.

"he should be back any minute now." austin informs, "i'm thinking..grand surprise."

"hide under his bed."

"god, no, zion."

"i'm throwing out ideas!"

adele watched as edwin stepped into the house, his eyes on his phone. "yo, you guys suck. i really had to take my fit pics with a self timer today— holy shit."

before adele could say anything, edwin engulfs her in a big hug. "oh my god, i missed you so much." edwin expresses, squeezing his friend tightly.

adele pokes her lip out, "aw, really?"

"simmer down, ed. we're trying to come up with ideas on how to surprise brandon." austin lectures.

"guys." adele sighs. "..i don't know if he wants to see me."

"what? of course he does." edwin frowns. and the rest of the boys agree, except for nick.

"i know you're worried about what he said to that girl." nick says. "he'd gotten drunk, and that annoying magazine journalist snuck in and got information from him. he didn't mean it, though. he felt like shit afterwards."

"where's that insider bitch?" adele mutters, and the boys shake their head.

"she's not worth it." edwin informs. "but anyways, brandon will be so excited to see you! trust us."

though despite their efforts to get the girl to surprise him, she finally convinced them to let her see him alone. she was nervous enough, and all she could think about was how everything could go wrong and four other people would be there to watch it.

she kept it simple; sit at the center of his queen sized bed and wait. her hands shook in her lap, gripping the stem of the single rose she managed to pick up from the hotel lobby as a peace offering.

"i'm home!" she heard brandon's voice boom through the house. "the least you guys could do is help get the grocery."

downstairs, all of the boys exchanged glances before standing from the living room and helping their friend gather the grocery bags.

"go upstairs." zion blurts out of nowhere, and edwin smacks his chest. "ow."

brandon furrows his eyebrows at the two, "what's wrong with you?"

"a lot of things." austin answers for him, "but ignore him, he's still hungover from last night."

brandon rolls his eyes at the two, taking his time to put the items away before making his way upstairs.

adele gripped the sheets beneath her tightly, attempting to calm her nerves. her breath hitches as she makes the last second decision to stand up. her eyes had already been watering, but she knew it was too late to dry the tears.

brandon opens the door, stopping in his tracks when he sees the girl in front of him. he felt his chest tighten, suddenly unable to breathe.

adele takes a deep breath through her stream of tears, her voice cracking before she could even speak. "hi."