Bradga Short Stories

Fireworks

Bradley looked up when I turned the lights on and released the tight pressure on his ears, still leaving his hands up to cover parts of them. He cleared his throat and I could see him blush, even in the dimmed lights.

"B, why didn't you tell anyone that you're scared of fireworks?" I asked, smiling at him, trying to cheer him up and make him feel safer.

He twitched every time a louder sound would make its way into the small room. "It's stupid." He said, groaning in embarrassment.

I shook my head and giggled. "It's not, we're all scared of something."

"Yeah, but I should be out there celebrating with all of our friends on New Years Eve, yet here I am, hiding from these damn fireworks." He scoffed, clearly disappointed in himself.

I gently reached out for his hand and took it in mine, rubbing his palm with my thumb. "You've got nothing to be ashamed of, Bradley. Wanna know what I'm afraid of?" I asked, looking at him. His face lit up with interest and he nodded lightly.

"Plastic slides." I said.

Bradley raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Plastic slides? Why?"

I giggled. "Okay, so when I was like 6 or 7, my parents left me at one of these kiddie world things at IKEA. And I was so excited because I'd begged my parents to let me go before and they said no but this time I was allowed to go there. And they have this huge, colorful plastic slide all the kids were having fun with and at the bottom of the slide you'd land in a pool full of plastic balls. It looked super cool. Anyway, I went on the slide because why wouldn't I? And when I was through and came out, my hair was stuck into all possible directions and for the next ten minutes nobody could touch me and I couldn't touch anything either without getting a huge electric shock. I started crying and my parents had to pick me up because I would scream hysterically every time someone tried to come near me. I can't go near a plastic slide until this day. Heck, anything made from the same material scares the shit out of me."

Bradley smiled and then let out a huge sigh. "When I was ten my friend and I were messing around with fireworks in our backyard because we wanted to be tough and cool guys. It all went well and we had tons of fun until one of the fireworks shot into our direction because of the wind. It hit my friends arm and exploded. I remember the smell of it and how loud the explosion was. He still has burn marks on his arm to this day. It was pretty traumatic." Bradley shrugged, hugging himself at the memory.

"I'd be scared shitless too if I was you. That must've been so scary to see at ten years old." I said, shuddering at the mere thought of what he must've felt like.

"I know I shouldn't be scared of it anymore, I'm a grown up and the chances of it happening again are very slim, but I can't help it." He said.

I smiled at him and then frowned. "Now my plastic slide story sounds lame." I laughed, Bradley soon joining in with me.

I listened to the sounds outside, realizing that the fireworks had stopped, so I opened the door for us and stepped out into the cold air again. "You're safe, B. They're done with their firework celebration." I mocked and watched him walk out of the room as well.

I enjoyed the fresh air for a moment before turning back around to him. "We should head inside. They're probably worried about us." I said, reaching for the door handle. Bradley stopped me by grabbing my wrist, his hand slowly slipping into mine.

"Thank you." He said, looking into my eyes. His eyes sparkled in the candle lights and I got reminded of how beautiful he really was once again.

"For what?" I asked, looking down at our intertwined fingers and back up at his face.

"For following me here and telling me about your plastic slide phobia." He smirked. "I didn't think there could be a less rational fear than mine, but you beat me to it."

I gasped and playfully hit his arm. "Bradley Cooper! Stop being mean to me!" I laughed, watching him join in, his whole face lighting up.

"No, but seriously. Thank you. I barely heard the fireworks thanks to your distraction." He smiled.

I nodded. "Anytime." I smiled back before clearing my throat. "We should really head inside now."

Bradley bend down to place a soft kiss on my cheek before opening the door for us. I blushed and walked inside, spotting our group of friends at their table. Him and I joined them again, enjoying the rest of the evening.

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE!!✨

The plastic slides phobia/fear is inspired by one of my fears 😂 I'm really freaking scared of that kind of material since I've experienced that and it's silly and kinda funny so I thought I'd throw that in here for a fun little insight into my own mind 😂😂 hope you liked it! What's a weird phobia/fear you have?? Pls tell me 😂🙏🏻