DECEPTION; Bradley Simpson

45.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," a familiar voice whispers in my ear. I slowly open my eyes, seeing Brad smiling down at me.

"Morning," I rub my eyes, sitting up. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to wake you up and take you to McDonald's," he says, leaning closer and kissing my lips passionately. My fingers immediately wrap into his curls and I pull on them, earning a groan from him. Brad pushes me to lay down on my bed, hovering over me. I pull away after a few seconds, looking over to Maggie's bed.

"She isn't here. She gave me her keys last night before I dropped her off," he mumbles against my lips.

-

"I'm feeling quiet sick today," I say as Brad drives towards the University's building.

"Do you want me to take you back?" he asks, glancing over at me with concerned eyes.

"No, I'll be fine," I shake my head.

I don't know why, but I've been feeling sick this whole morning. I almost threw up after I ate my breakfast. Maybe I just catched something.

Brad parks his car in his usual spot and I climb out, waiting for him to join me. We both walk into the school's building, heading towards our group. We all great each other, joining their conversation.

"Where's Maggie? We have the first class together," Lucy asks, furrowing her eyebrows.

"She's with her boyfriend," I answer, leaning into Brad's side for support. The hallway starts spinning with me and I grab onto the curly haired boy's arm. He's quick to react, snaking one arm around my waist, while the other holds my hand.

"What's up with you?" he asks.

"I don't know," I say weakly, shaking my head.

"I'll take you to the doctor," he says.

"No. Just... take me back to the dorms. I'll be fine soon," I smile at him. Brad nods in silence, leading me to his car. I sit in the passenger seat, leaning against the window and closing my eyes. My boyfriend wraps his jacket around me, keeping me warm as he drives me back to the dorms.

He helps me walk into my room and I lay on my bed, closing my eyes. "I'll stay here," he whispers, laying down besides me. I move over, so he has space and cuddle up to him.

-

Before dinner, Brad leaves and Maggie comes back. She knows about my sickness and brought me some chocolate.

"Hope this makes you feel better," she sits on my bed with the chocolate.

"Thanks," I smile at her.

"We're still going to dinner, right?" my roommate asks.

"Of course," I nod my head. "I'll drive, though. Brad won't pick us up because he has to do something before dinner and I don't want the others to drive us around when we have cars on our own," I explain.

"Okay," Maggie nods, taking a bite from the chocolate.

After eating the whole bar, I get ready for dinner. I feel much better than this morning, but the sickness is still there a bit. I fix my makeup and get out of the bathroom, seeing Maggie waiting for me. She jumps to her feet and I take my keys, heading out of the dorm room and lock the door behind us. I drive to the diner we always go to and park in an empty spot, climbing out with my roommate behind me.

"That chocolate was delicious," Maggie throws an arm around my shoulders and I laugh as we enter the small diner.

(A/N: you can listen to Deception by Christina Grimmie from this part)

"You tell her now, or I will!" my head shoots up, looking at Tris who's shouting with Brad.

"Oh no..." Maggie mumbles next to me.

"Hey! What's happening?" I hurry up to the others. Brad and the others look at me with wide eyes, while Tris looks at the curly haired boy expectantly.

"Bradley has something to tell you," Ashley speaks up first, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Shut the fuck up, Ashley," Brad shouts.

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion, looking around our group for some kind of explanation. Maggie quickly walks over to me and sits me down on a chair.

"What's going on? What does he have to tell me?" I look at Tris, then at Brad.

"Come on, Bradley bear. Tell her," Ashley encourages Brad as we keep eyecontact. I can see him getting angrier.

"Say something," I say to Brad.

"He's been deceiving you," Ashley smirks again, squeezing my hand on the table. Maggie swats her hand away, but I still don't take my eyes off of Brad.

"What does she mean by that, Brad?" I press him.

"There's something you don't know..." he starts.

"I figured it out," I roll my eyes, slowly starting to lose my patience.

"I-" he takes a deep breath.

"He used you to get his father and your father to work together," Tris blurts out and the whole world starts spinning with me. My eyes go wide and my mouth dry. I stand from my seat, grabbing onto the table, so I won't fall.

"Thanks a fucking lot, Tristan!" Brad shouts at the taller boy. "Babe, it's not like that, I-" he reaches for my hand, but I pull away, getting back to reality.

"Don't fucking touch me," I threaten, tears filling my eyes. "You knew about this?" I turn to Maggie. She just looks down, looking as ashamed as ever.

"I swear to God I wasn't playing with you. I was at first, but-" I cut him off again.

"Stop!" I shout. I feel everyone's eyes on me, but I could care less right now. "You used me, even though you knew that was my biggest fear after high school!" I back away.

"Eve, I-" he steps closer, but I run out of the diner and into the rain. My hair gets wet immediately and my makeup is probably running down my face. "Evelyn, wait!" Brad runs after me, grabbing my wrist and turning me to face him. "Let me explain!"

"What is there to explain? Tris already told me everything I needed to know," I open my arms and let them fall back to my sides.

"You told me you'd always be here for me," he's crying now as well. How pathetic.

"I guess that changes now," I shake my head, wiping my tears. "You can't expect me to stay with you after what you've done to me."

"Evelyn..."

"No. We're done, Brad. For good this time," I swallow hard. When he doesn't answer, I turn around and run towards my car.

I trusted him, and all of them. The whole group betrayed me. I thought I finally found real friends and a boyfriend who truly loves me. I guess not everything is like a fairytale. There isn't happy end, there isn't a charming prince on a white horse, who comes to save you from the bad. Life's not a fairytale, and I've got to learn that now, the hard way.

Everything and everyone I believed in... it's now all destroyed because of my dad, once again. What a surprise, huh? I guess I was made to suffer, to never find happiness, real friends and a true love. This is my fate, being all alone in this cruel world.

----

THE END

Thank you all so much for reading the first book of the Deception series. I hope you enjoyed it and hope you will all stay with me for the next chapter in Bravelyn's (I came up with that shipname;) relationship. Love you all a lot.