Painting Annalise

31.The dumbest words

I've decided to leave this line for comments on the motivational pictures <3

Jacob slows down as he takes a turn into crowded short street and it doesn't take a genius to know we're close to Brayden's house. He finally stops in front of the house with the most lights on, it's not as big as mine but it appears large enough to host half the students in our year and older because I immediately spot Aaron's car while Jacob's looking for a parking spot.

There are like ten people scattered on the lawn, my stomach flips as a result of my nerves. Everything screams this is a bad idea, instead I pop two mints into my mouth before spraying just enough perfume to cover the smell as Jacob parks the car.

"what lover boy doesn't smoke?" Jacob asks with a teasing

"his name isn't lover boy and yes he doesn't smoke" I mutter the ending as we get down.

Lori excitedly wraps her hand around my shoulder as Chris knocks on the door. The music is faint, so once Jaden opens the door the sound increase by a thousand making me wonder what I loved about this about a year ago. The smile on his face grows bigger when he realizes who it is.

"Annalise is here!" he yells and cheers fill the house making my want to disappear into the ground.

"nice to know we exist too" Jacob scoffs before disappearing through the crowd

"so," I say in a questioning tone hoping he'll take us away from the cold porch into the full house.

"oh yeah. This way" He leads us through the crowded room to the kitchen

I hadn't even realized Chris stopped following us till we get into the kitchen which fortunately is less crowded. As the door slams shut, the music becomes faraway again, separating about ten people including my brother who's scowling at my dress from the rest of the party.

"looks like someone isn't a fan of the dress" I mutter to Lori and she giggles

Jaden pours two shots but I refuse , Lori takes the two of them. She throws her head back as she downs the two cups before slamming the little glass cups on the table. The disgusted expression on her face reassures me to stick to water. Some of the guys cheer at her action making her smile proudly.

"you don't drink?" Jaden asks

"Yup," I say not feeling the slightest bit of embarrassment

"same as my brother, speaking of which. I saw him come in this morning with a smile on his face. I assume that was your doing" he smirks but before I could give him a remark someone clears their throat.

I turn around and see Brayden dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and the cutest sweater ever. His hair is messy from what I assume as his hands run through it. I know the weed has hit the moment I struggle to hold back my smile.

"speak of the devil" Jaden mutters

"very funny" Brayden says with so much sarcasm

"who's that for?" Brayden asks nodding towards the paper bag in my hand

Jaden looks at my hands and soon everyone is staring at me waiting for an answer. As heavy as it is, I had forgotten about the bag.

"where's the last one?" I ask referring to Kayden

"here" he yells while walking into the kitchen with a girl in his arm

"you, out" Lori says to the girl, and for some odd reason Kayden nods at the door. With a scoff, the girl leaves the kitchen not before glaring at Lori.

Brayden walks over to the counter and instead of alcohol he gets a soda, before anyone could catch me staring I quickly turn to Kayden

"here you go" I hand each of them a box. Brayden eyes the box while Jaden unwraps his own like a child on Christmas

"no way" he yells once his eyes see the shoes

I didn't know what to get them but I knew with Nike Jordans as a gift it can never go wrong. Jaden and Kayden pull me into a suffocating hug, I push them back causing everyone to laugh. Except for Brayden who isn't in the kitchen anymore.

"he went outside" Lori whispers when she notices the confusion I'm trying so had to mask

Ignoring the unsettling feeling in me, I nod my head as the others start leaving the kitchen

"how much of your savings did you blow away?" Aaron whispers only for me to hear

"from both our accounts" I smirk while reaching for the still lit weed on the table but he grabs it and throws it in the sink

"very funny Anna" he glares before walking towards the source of loud music

Lori had left with Kayden and the other boys, leaving me alone. With no eyes to judge me, I stroll to their backyard which happens to be the opposite of the rest of the house. It's as quiet as it needs to be with the cool wind hitting my exposed legs.

I immediately spot him alone in a garden chair watching the star-filled night sky. A sigh escapes my lips as I take the empty seat next to him

"so, did you like your present?" I ask putting an end to the silence

He just looks at me then looks away, that's definitely different. My mind suddenly screams at me for getting dressed and daring to come for this party

"ok, I'll go" I mutter before getting up to go home while trying my best to hide how hurt I feel right now.

"wait" his voice orders but I keep walking till he grabs my wrist gently, pulling me back

"what?" my tone harsh enough to hide the fact that I was at this bloody party because of him in the first place and here he was ignoring me with no reason.

"you didn't have to get the shoes, half of the people don't even know why they are here," he says

"ok, can I go now ?" I ask trying to walk past him but he wouldn't let me go.

"I'm sorry ok. I just ..." he pauses for a while and I'm guessing it's for him to gather his thoughts.

"you're doing a lot for me and I can't help but feel I owe you a lot more" he finally says leaving me tongue-tied. Even though I wish to tell him about how he has really helped my mental health these past two months I've met him, how when I hear his name my heart races, and when I see him i forget everything else. That's the thing about hidden confessions, we always want to say them before something blocks them. What blocks mine are Aaron's words and before I can stop it, I say the dumbest thing ever.

"that's what friends are for"

He looks away from me with a laugh of disbelief. It was one Jacob did a lot so it didn't take much for me to realize.

He's about to say something but Jaden interrupts, yelling something about kiss and blow.

I realized if I tag in two's I'll never finish, so a huge thank you and I love you too ❤️: Amelia_Rosexxx MuhammadMuzammil265 ryaninnyc  confused_moron theroverkid