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december 27, 2019
"help me."
"well, merry christmas to you too." brandon murmurs in response, slumping down in his bed while holding his phone to his face.
adele's eyes roll, and brandon noticed she'd been standing in the kitchen of her loft. "christmas was like, two days ago."
"still, i never got the chance to wish you."
she grimaces at the camera, "stop being cute and help me."
he ignores her subtle compliment, scratching his head. "what do you need?"
"how do you make spaghetti?"
brandon gives her a blank stare, before blinking. "uh..are you serious?"
"of course." she nods, setting the phone against the kitchen counter and allowing him to see her from the waist up. "my mother is coming over tonight, and i feel like impressing her for once."
"so you're making spaghetti?" he asks, "just order something."
"what part of i want to impress her did you not understand?" she asks, shaking her head.
"alright.." he nods, "i'll help you, then."
from there on, he announced all of the ingredients she'd need, allowing her some time to gather them while he brushed his teeth, taking the phone downstairs and setting it down to grab his breakfast.
"it's taking forever to boil." she frowns, "is that normal?"
"it's been two minutes, adele. it's normal."
he watched her as she occasionally stirred the pot, sighing with exhaustion. "don't tell me you're already tired."
"oh, shut up." she tries to hide her embarrassed smile, "i know i'm not gonna hear the end of this. i'll be sixty and you'll still remind me about the time i couldn't make spaghetti."
"sixty? bold of you to assume i won't unfriend you by then." he mocks, and she lets out a laugh.
"fuck you. what are your plans for today?"
he shrugs, "i don't know, i'll probably see a movie with austin."
"cute."
he gives her a sarcastic smile, before the conversation quiets down again. "so..why'd you call me?"
she raises an eyebrow, turning the stove off and looking at him. "to..ask you how to make spaghetti?"
he makes eye contact with her through the camera, before looking down at the counter with a sly smile, "i think we both know that's something you could've looked up on the internet, adele." he says calmly, causing her heart to race.
"maybe i just wanted to see if you knew had to make it." she covers up smoothly.
"of course i know. but that's not the reason."
she grimaces at him, "fine, idiot. i wanted to talk to you. is that what you wanted to hear?"
"the idiot part could've been left out, but i'll take what i can get."
she scoffs playfully, shaking her head. "how was your holiday?"
"boring." he answers, "all of the boys went home, and i was beyond bored. i guess i'm grateful austin came home, though."
"why didn't you go home?" she asks, digging in her mind for his hometown, "to uh..texas?"
he shrugs, "my family likes to invite a lot of people over for christmas dinner. when i was younger, i used to get anxious for those dinners. i'd rather avoid it now, since i have the chance to."
she pokes her lip out, "aw. you should've texted me, or something."
"i assumed you were with family."
"my dad was too busy drowning in his sorrows and my mother was at some camp to celebrate her sobriety. it was just me, myself, and i."
"you should've texted me."
"can you stop mocking me?"
"i can't help it!" he laughs, and she smiles. "now, why are you smiling?"
"you aren't ever gonna catch me saying this again.." she takes a breath, "your laugh is cute as hell, man. i hate you."
he beams back at her, his cheeks heating up. "thank you. means a lot coming from you."
"it shouldn't."
"of course it does."
the corners of her lips rise as they stare back at each other, only to be interrupted by the sudden knocking at adele's front door.
they snap out of their trance at the same time, adele glancing over at the door. "well..that's her."
"i hope the spaghetti impresses her." he murmurs softly, and she smiles in return.
"thanks for the help. i'll text you later."
he wanted to respond with a snarky reply, or even another mock. but instead, he shyly smiles back at her. "anytime, adele."
+++
my favorite
chapter of the book 💖