DECEPTION; Bradley Simpson

39.

"Why don't you hang out with your friends?" I ask Brad, tilting my head up to look at him.

"I just want to spend more time with you," he shrugs, kissing my forehead. "I've been hanging out with them for years."

"But still... they are your friends," I bite his lower lip.

"And you're my... well, I don't know. The only thing I know is that I love you and I want to spend every second of my life with you. That's why I want to move somewhere with you," he looks deeply into my eyes.

A small smile appears on my face as I sit up and kiss him. No one ever said something like this to me. I feel the same way about Brad, but I'm afraid we might end up breaking up or... never even dating again and one of us will have to move somewhere else. I just find this too quick.

"Let's look for some things for that party," I take my laptop in my lap and search for pink decorations. Sasha told me if it's going to be a girl, she definitely wants pink, because that's her favorite color. And if it's a boy, they want the decorations to be orange, because that's Tim's favorite. Well, they definitely aren't a clishé couple.

-

"I bought you some food!" Maggie enters the dorm room. Brad and I are still looking at pink decorations.

"Thanks," I mumble, not looking up from my laptop.

"What are you two looking at?" my roommate sits down beside me and looks at my device's screen. "Oh, decorations for the gender reveal?" excitement fills Maggie's voice.

"Hey, give it back!" Brad tries to get the laptop back from Maggie, but she jumps to her feet and walks over to her bed.

A few minutes later, the dark haired girl has a proud smile on her face as she places the laptop in front of me. I go through everything she bought, then smile up at her thankfully.

"You're the best!" I kneel on the bed and hug Maggie.

"Duh," she wraps her arms around me and I laugh at her answer.

"Now get to eating. The waiter wrapped up your food as well and I brought it for you," she gives us the food and we start eating.

Brad takes some fries off of my plate and I smack his hand, making us both to laugh. He dips the fries in ketchup and holds it up in front of my mouth. I bite the half of it and Brad eats the other half. We do this until there are no more fries, only a hamburger, which is Brad's. He lets me take a few bites before I lie back down on the bed.

"You two are seriously disgusting," Maggie says. When I look over at her, she has a disgusted expression, which makes me laugh.

"Just like you and your new boyfriend," Brad throws a napkin at my roommate and I sit up, looking at her in surprise.

"New boyfriend?" I raise an eyebrow. Maggie immediately blushes, looking away from us and playing with her bracelet.

"Yeah..." she mumbles, a shy smile appearing on her face.

"You need to tell me everything!" I jump up and walk over to her bed, sitting down.

"Okay, you guys can do your girly shit, I'm out. Talk to you later," Brad pecks my lips before leaving the room. I turn my head back to Maggie and listen to her telling me about this new boyfriend of hers, whose name is George.

-

"Morning," I yawn, stopping next to Brad and greeting him and the others.

"Someone's tired," James laughs, throwing an arm around his girlfriend.

"I stayed up too late to plan that party," I lean into Brad's side and close my eyes. He kisses the top of my head, making me open my eyes and making eye contact with Ashley. She glares at me for a few seconds before looking away. I roll my eyes, closing them again.

While I stand with my eyes closed, my head resting on Brad's shoulder, I listen to the others talk about their plans for the weekend. They're all going to Connor's party, I'm the only one who won't attend.

"Why aren't you coming?" Lucy asks.

"Because," I rub my eyes, opening them, "I have to go home."

"Why?" it's Kirstie's turn to interrogate me.

"I need my mom's help with this party," I look up at Brad and peck his lips.

I don't know why we act like we're dating when we're not. He said we're not dating yet, but I'm not sure if we ever will. If any other girl from his past contacts him, I will seriously flip out. Why did he even save their numbers? He told me he didn't even knew their names, nor their numbers.

"Let's go to psychology," Brad whispers in my ear, snapping me out of my thoughts. I nod, saying goodbye to the others and walking ahead.

Brad catches up with me, looking down at me with a confused expression. I keep acting like I don't notice and continue walking. He tries to hold my hand, but I pull it away.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asks, confusion clear in his voice. I don't respond, just keep walking in silence. Unfortunately, Brad isn't having it and he wraps his long fingers around my wrist, stopping me and turning me around. "Talk to me."

"I have nothing to say," I shake my head, trying to jerk my hand away, but his grip tightens.

"What did I do now? I didn't even talk this whole morning. Is that your problem?" Brad raises an eyebrow.

"No," I shake my head.

"Then what is it?"

"Let it go, Brad," a sarcastic smile appears on my face as I use his own words.

The curly haired boy's eyes widen and he lets go of my wrist. I step away from him and walk into our class. This is my problem. I overthink everything and then I'm afraid to talk about it. I overthought this whole situation with girls from Brad's past contacting him.

I sit down next to James' empty seat, who promised his girlfriend to walk her to class. I take out my phone and continue planning the party, writing a list of all the important things I'll need. Meanwhile, Brad walks in as well, sitting down in front of me. We're the only ones in the class, it's still early.

"Evelyn..." he tries to get my attention, but I ignore him. "Eve, don't do this. If you'd tell me what I did, I'd make it right."

I look up from my phone to see him looking at me with puppy eyes. I roll my eyes, placing my device in front of me, looking at him.

"How many girls will contact you like that Jessica girl?" I blurt out.

"What?" Brad tilts his head to the side in confusion.

"You heard me," I cross my arms.

"That was one time. I already blocked her number, so she won't ever text me again. I don't even know why I had her number saved," the curly haired boy takes out his phone and shows me his contacts. I recognise almost every name as his friends and family members.

"I'm sorry," I let out a sigh. Brad stands up and walks over to me, sitting down in James' spot. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a hug. "I just... I know about your past with girls and I'm afraid of it. I'm afraid history will repeat itself and you'll go back to hooking up with so many girls," I admit truthfully.

"That won't happen ever again. You're the only girl I want and need in my life," he says, kissing the top of my head. I snuggle my face in the crook of his neck, letting a huge grin appear on my face.