"So are you coming to the party this weekend?" Katrina asks from where she is sitting on Sam's bed applying her makeup. The guys were in the editing room working on their latest video while we got ready to go shopping. I'd never had girls I could go shopping with. Sure I was friends with the girls in Jc's circle. Chelsea and I had a good relationship but I'd felt like I had intruded on their sacred bond. They'd all known each other for years, I felt uneasy at times and awkward when they shared their inside jokes. Katrina however made me feel very welcomed in the week since Colby and I had kissed.
"I guess. Colby hasn't really asked me. I don't know if he assumes I'm coming because I know about it." She rolls her eyes and continue to apply her mascara.
"Yeah, I think he assumes you're coming. Colby is so bad at this stuff. He hasn't done it in a long ass time." I bit on my bottom lip.
"Is it really bad? The fans? Is that why he hasn't had a girlfriend?" I ask softly. The thought of his fans hating me for being with Colby worried me.
"Are you his girlfriend?" Katrina teased. I leaned back lying down onto the bed as my legs dangled off the side, "I don't know. It's been a week that we've been...kissing? God that sounds so fucking childish. I've spent two of those nights here and he's spent one at my place. We've been on one date...but we haven't really talked about what we are."
"Why don't you take charge and ask?"
"What if he thinks I'm pushy? Or expecting more?" I prop up on my elbows and watch her.
"Expecting more isn't bad. Back to your first question. I think the fans are part of the reason. Another is...Colby's had a past with girls using him for clout. He's said he didn't feel like they wanted him for him. You don't care about the clout."
"No, I want him for him. Him and him only." I lay back looking at the ceiling of Sam's bedroom.
"Well Colby would certainly love to hear that." I sit up at the sound of Sam's voice from where he is standing in the door way. I grab the pillow off the bed and throw it at him. "Eavesdropping is rude, Sammy!" He catches it laughing and then walks over to us. He throws the pillow back onto the bed as he digs around in his drawer for something.
"I'm not kidding though." He says after a minute, "I'm sure he'd be glad to hear that." Sam and I had developed a bond in the last week too. I saw him like an older brother. He was always sweet and kind and he ribbed on me like older brothers would tend to do.
"Have fun shopping." He bends down kissing Katrina. She looks up at him with so much love in her eyes that it makes me look away because I feel like I'm intruding. "I'm gonna tell Colby I'm leaving. I'll wait for you downstairs Kat."
She's too wrapped up in Sam to answer so I pick my lanyard up off the bed and walk down the stairs to the editing room. Colby is sitting at computer with his clear framed glasses on, shirtless and deep in concentration. His back is toward me so he doesn't see me enter the room. His headphones must be really loud because the door squeaks when I push it open. I walk over to him wrapping one arm over his shoulder and the other around his waist. I place a soft kiss on his neck. He jumps when I first touch him but quickly relaxes. Taking the headphones off his head and bring his hand up to hold mine. "Hey." He says softly. I unlatch myself so he could turn the chair and face me. He pulls me between his legs and wraps his arms around my legs resting his chin on my belly.
"Hi," I brush the hair from his eyes, "How is editing going so far?"
"It's good. Got a lot done. Handing it over to Sam for the special effects and all that in a little bit" he looks up at me with the softest eyes and I feel myself falling more for him.
"Are you going to buy a new outfit for the party?" He asks. I chuckle, "Is that your way of inviting me?" He takes his chin off me and pulls me down into his lap.
"You're my girl, you don't need an invite." I feel a chill run up my spine at his words and I lean in to kiss him. The soft peck turns into more as he licks into my mouth. His skin is warm beneath my fingers. "You liked that didn't you? Me calling you my girl." Colby whispers against my lips.
I sarcastically shrug, "I mean I didn't hate it." He shoves his face into my neck letting the little stubble there tickle me. I burst into a fit of laughter almost falling onto the floor but he pulls me back onto him.
"Ellie! Come on! Let's go!" I roll my eyes at Kat's voice.
"So it's okay for her to make out with Sam but not okay for me to make out with you?" I climb off his lap, peck his lips once more and then turn to head out. I feel his eyes on my when I get to the door so I look back. He's got his bottom lip trapped between his teeth as his eyes watch up my legs. "You're staring, Brock."
"I'm admiring." I roll my eyes and flip him the middle finger playfully before heading to the car where Kat is already waiting for me.
We hit up a couple stores at the mall until we both find an outfit for the party. We both decided we were going to be as extra as we could be since we were celebrating Sam and Colby hitting 5 million subscribers on YouTube. After shopping, I drop Kat off at her apartment and then drive to the C4 house.
There are a few cars parked out front when I get there so I find a park a little ways down. There is shouting and yelling like usual when I push the front door open. "Hey guys!" I call out receiving responses from everyone all at once. "Where's Jc?" I ask.
"Not home yet." Crawford says, "how you been?" He asks as he grabs himself a energy drink from the mini fridge.
"I've been good, actually." Crawford gestures for me to follow him upstairs so I climb the stairs behind him and enter his room finding Nezza lying on his bed on her phone.
"Hey Ellie." She says sitting up.
"Hey Nez." I sit on the edge of the bed as Crawford sits in his gaming chair and turns to face me, "what's up?"
"I should be asking you that..." he says smirking.
"Crawf..." Nezza says. "Leave her alone."
"Whaaaat? I'm just asking...how's it going with Colby?" I roll my eyes.
"Is that really what you called me up here for?" I laugh as he shrugs, "you're such a chick sometimes. You love to gossip too much, Crawford."
He raises his eyebrows as he still waits. "Well, it's going good I think. He hasn't asked me to be his girlfriend but he called me his girl so I don't know what that means." Crawford shakes his head as he turns to his computer clicking.
"Why are you girls so oblivious?" Nezza throws a stuffed toy from beside the bed at his head. "Wha-"
He glares jokingly, "I'm just saying, when a guy says my girl, in his head you're already his girlfriend." My heart rate quickens at that idea. I still wanted Colby to confirm it to me, or ask at least. But it made me feel all weird and gooey inside that he thought of me like that.
"You're blushing." Crawford says with a straight face.
"Fuck you." I get up and walk out the room heading back downstairs to hang with the others for a while.
I was sitting around the living room with most of the roommates and shooting the shit. "So how come, Ellie gets to go out with y'all for guys night sometimes?" Franny asks pointing at me.
Dyl let's out a loud laugh, "That's because she is one of the guys. Have you ever seen her shotgun a fucking beer? She does it faster than me sometimes and I'm a tank." I laugh at his description of himself when I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket.
Colby: finally finished editing. I'm gonna sleep. Have fun at the C4 house. 🖤
You: get some rest 🖤 I'll text you when I get home.
Colby: stay safe. 🖤 see you tomorrow, my girl😉
I hear a scoff from behind me so I turn around to see Oscar standing here boldly reading my text messages. Seemed like I wasn't the only one who heard the scoff because everyone sitting around us stops talking and looks at us, "You got a problem?" I ask.
"So I guess y'all are fucking now, right?" He asks. I hear some gasps around the room and then Crawford, who I hadn't realised was coming down the stairs said, "Woah, woah, woahhhhh dude. You can't ask a girl that."
"She's one of the guys, right?" He's got this glare on his face and he looks at me like he wants to kill me. Dyl has gotten up from here he was laying on the bean bag.
"I don't see how that's any of your business though, bro? Are you mad or something?" Dyl
says as I stand to look at him properly.
"It's a simple question though. Are you or are you not fucking Colby?" At the sound of his name there a more gasps. I look at the guy who I had thought was my friend as he stands there and do whatever the fuck it was he was trying to do.
"Oscar, bro. What are you doing?" Crawford tries again.
"Shut the fuck up Crawford. You know what? I'm fucking tired of this." He says pushing off the wall he was leaning against.
"If you've got something to say Oscar, fucking say it." I say my anger boiling beneath the surface. Jc walks into the house at the same time but Oscar doesn't seem to notice.
"Yeah I got something to say, you...you're fucking ungrateful." What the fuck was he on about? "For months you hung around here, we all knew you had shit going on. We weren't good enough to know it though, right? You fed us lies about what really happened to you. But despite the lies, we all still helped you. We talked, we were your friends. I...I was your friend. I listened to you talk until fucking 4 am!" He is screaming now and everyone seems too stunned to move from their places, "and you meet this guy, and suddenly I'm not good enough anymore. What's he got that I don't huh? Have you told him the truth? Is he good enough to know?!"
Tears filled my eyes as I stood there listening to him. He was angry because I didn't tell him? Oscar took a step forward toward me and Jc was suddenly there pushing him away, "It's not your place to demand someone tells you their story. You need to back the fuck up. Now!" Jc says calmly but firmly.
"I just wanna know why you can't love me? Why him?!"
"Oscar...not like this bro." Crawford says joining Jc pushing at Oscar's chest. I couldn't be in this house anymore. I grab my phone off the couch and I storm off out the front door and out the gate. I walk to my car down the street as the tears roll down my cheeks. What the fuck just happened?
I sit on the hood of my car for a few minutes before I see Jc walking toward me. "Hey, are you okay?" He says as he gets to me pulling me in for hug.
"What the fuck was that Jc?"
Jc sighs and sits next to me, he shoves his hands into his pockets and looks up at the darkening sky. "Oscar is basically in love with you. I think he has been since you started hanging around the house."
"I don't...I don't feel like that toward him."
"I know. He hasn't told me anything. But I know he's told Crawford. Crawford tried explaining to him that you have someone now, and that you're happy."
"He doesn't love me." I say, "if he did, he would not have said what he just did. He wouldn't demand to know my shit. Look, I gotta get home. I need some space."
"Text me? Let me know you get home?" I nod and hug Jc one more time. "I probably won't be around the house for a little bit."
"That's okay, I'll come by your place and visit. We gotta do that brunch shit you roped me into again, it was kinda fun." He makes me laugh like he always does as he squeezes me tightly in his bear like hug. I step away and get into my car as the tears flow down my cheeks. I drive slowly until I reach home.
When I get inside I text Jc that I got home and then before I could think to stop myself I dial Colby's number. He picks up after three rings with a voice that sounds groggy and raw. "Baby?" I instantly feel the sadness subside.
"Hey Colby...did I wake you." I sniffle as quietly as I could.
"Yeah...are you okay? Are you crying? What's wrong?" He asks sounding much more awake now.
"I'm good." I lie, "Just wanted to hear your voice."
"I'm coming over. I'll be there in ten." Before I could argue he ends the line. I take a quick shower and feed Oakley in the ten minutes it takes for him to get here. When I open the door he looks me over quickly like he's assessing for injury before he cups my cheeks in his hands and slams our lips together. "What happened?" He gasped against my mouth.
I didn't want to talk about it but he came here for me, he heard my voice, and he came. I take his hand pulling him out of the doorway so I can lock the door before pulling him into my bedroom. I peel my sheets back and get under them as Colby looks at me with sad eyes. He strips his leather jacket off and then his hoodie. He kicks his shoes off and then pulls his sweatpants off before climbing in beside me. We lay face to face his hands finding my waist and mine finding his face. And I tell him everything and he listens. When the sobs return he holds me through them, he whispers that it'll be okay. He tightens his grip around me and lays a kiss on my head. And when I finally start to drift off to sleep, I can hear his voice far away. "I'm here, baby."