It's been about a week since the whole shit show featuring Brandon Arreaga happened. He came to school one day this week and hasn't been back since. And that one day that he did come, he didn't say a word to me. He talked to everyone else, even Sofia, but didn't say a single thing to me. Surprisingly, Sofia got over Brandon a lot quicker than any of us expected her too. Especially because of how much she was up under him and how much time they spent together. I'm also pretty sure that they slept together pretty much all the time. Edwin and I haven't really talked about what happened much. He knows that I'm into him and kinda sort of into Brandon, although Brandon has done nothing to make me want to be into him. I think Edwin is more focused on what me and him can be instead of dwelling on what's going on between me and Brandon. Jazmine and Austin have also been arguing a lot lately. It's just been a shit show in our friend group for the past week.
Hopefully all the fighting and arguing stops because Brandon, Edwin, Austin, Nick, and Zion are throwing a party at their house tonight and it's supposed to be a banger. They invited majority of the school, although I'm pretty sure everyone from school will end up showing their faces. It's supposed to be this really big thing with kegs full of beer, bottles of hard liquor all around, good music, the pool, etc. And most importantly, the boys are supposed to be performing themselves. Hopefully, they do it before they get too drunk because we don't want them falling all over the place thinking that their dancing. I'm excited for the party. And I'm also excited to see how everyone will be in a full group again. Jazmine, Sofia, and I are supposed to be going over to the house tonight to help them set up everything. Hopefully the party doesn't get to rowdy because we definitely do not want the cops to come, shut it down, and have Simon up their asses.
Jazmine comes to pick my up from my house. Sofia is already in the car. She told us to bring an overnight bag because we probably won't be coming back home tonight. I get in the car and I can feel the tension rise. Sofia says she isn't mad at me still, but I don't believe that she's fully over what happened.
"So you must be excited to see Brandon tonight." Sofia says as soon as I get in the car, "I know you guys haven't talked much but get him drunk and he'll tweet like a bird."
"Maybe she's excited to see Edwin tonight." Jazmine suggests, "Brandon said he was into her and hasn't talked to her since."
"Is Edwin okay with you being into them both? It has to cause some kind of tension in the house."
"We actually haven't talked much about it, Sofia." I say, "I assume that it will cause tension but to be honest, I don't even really know if I'm into Brandon or not."
"Tonight is the night to find out." Sofia says, she turns to face me, "And don't worry, I'm completely over Brandon."
I nod my head as Jazmine zooms down the street to the boys house. All of the boys are waiting by the door when we get there. When we get inside, the house is pretty much set up. Zion and Nick moved the keg to the backyard, Austin made the playlist, and Edwin and Brandon set all the valuable stuff up in a place where no one can find it.
"So..." Nick says, "Are y'all ready to get lit tonight?"
"Hell yeah!" We answer in unison
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Before you know it, the night falls and the house is full of people. Everyone is drinking, dancing, vibing, and so far everything is going good. Brandon still hasn't said one word to me, despite us being in the same house all day. I'm sitting on the kitchen counter, finishing off my "i lost count of how many cups I've had" cup of alcohol when Jazmine comes to get me.
"The boys are about to perform."
I get up and follow her into the backyard and push our way through the crowd to the front of the stage as the boys set up. Brandon comes to the center of the stage and looks at me as he speaks to the crowd.
"Thank you all for coming to our banger, we hope y'all have an amazing time and we hope you don't mind if we sing a little bit."
They begin to sing and I can't help but vibe. They are so talented its unbelievable. Brandon looks directly at me during his verse and I shivers run down my spine. I have absolutely no idea why he's not talking to me even though it's pretty obvious that he wants to talk to me. Edwin comes up to the stage and grabs my hand as he sings. Edwin is so fucking sweet and he really shows me that he likes me.
Ugh. Why do I like them both? Brandon has his faults, but when he wants to be, he can be pretty fucking amazing. He's very passionate about singing and his career and that's one of the things that I like about him so much. I mean after all, they all left their homes to come to LA and pursue a career as a boyband, so I would expect them to be passionate about it. But Brandon, performing is his life. You can tell that he wouldn't have it any other way. On stage is where he feels most comfortable. On stage is where he is living his best life. On stage is where he is achieving his goals and his dreams. And it helps that his voice is so smooth and beautiful. And his dancing is out of this fucking world.
When the boys are finished performing, everyone goes back to their regularly scheduled partying. Brandon walks right past me and gets him two cups of alcohol, one for each hand, and drowns them. Making up for lost time I guess. Edwin comes up and grabs me and pulls me to the dance floor to dance. Edwin can really fucking dance. Being from New York has definitely taught him how to catch the rhythm of the beat. When I'm dancing with Edwin, all the Brandon bullshit goes away and I'm just focused on me and Edwin in that moment.
But it doesn't last for long.
Edwin and I dance for about thirty minutes non stop and in those thirty minutes, I notice Brandon consuming a lot of alcohol in such a short period of time. He's dancing on Sofia, but you can sense that they both aren't into it. He looks at me and rolls his eyes before heading into the house. I walk away from Edwin after the song is over and follow Brandon in the house. Edwin doesn't seem to notice and starts dancing with Sofia. I follow Brandon all the way up to his room, where he slams the door before I can even come in. I knock on the door, he opens it, and I push my way through. I'm pretty drunk, but even drunk I know when someone is being an asshole. And Brandon, is being the biggest asshole of them all.
"Okay, what the fuck is going on with you, Brandon?" I ask
"What are you talking about. I'm chilling, Moana. Maybe you should try it."
"Don't fucking call me that!" I exclaim, "You haven't said one word to me all week, and I've been here majority of the day, and the first name you call me is 'Moana'. Are you serious?"
"What is the issue here?"
"You tell me." I reply crossing my arms, "You said you were into me and then you just stopped talking to me. I don't know how they do things in Texas, but usually when you're into someone you don't stop talking to them."
"I haven't been in school all week and I've been busy setting up for the fucking party that you're at right now!" he screams, "So excuse me if I didn't have time to make small talk with you on Tuesday, I was pretty fucking busy."
I scoff, "I don't even know why I-"
I don't even finish my sentence. I turn to leave and as my hand is on the door handle, Brandon grabs my arm. He tugs on it slightly as a way to tell me not to leave.
"Wait, Lani." He says, "I'm sorry."
I turn around, "Did you just call me Lani?"
He moves closer to me, putting his arms around my waist and pulling me closer to him.
I don't mind.
"I'm sorry." he repeats
"Sorry doesn't cut it all the time, Brandon." I say, "You can't come to my defense on Monday and then not talk to me on Thursday. You're sending me mixed signals and I don't know if I can do that. I like you, but I just feel like I'm wasting my time and you don't even care enough to-"
He cuts me off by crashing his lips against mine. Shock waves pulse through my entire body as I kiss him back passionately. He pushes me against the wall, pinning my hands above my head as he continues to kiss me. His lips move from my mouth to my neck and I let out a soft moan before he crashes his lips onto mine. He drops my hands and I put my arms around his neck as he grabs my ass. We kiss passionately for a while before he picks me up and tosses me on the bed. We come up for a quick breath and he bites his lips and looks at me.
"Do you mind?" he asks
I shake my head.
I don't mind.