hømetøwn

• : / nine / : •

Considering that Brendon was a key member in a popular band, his apartment was on the smaller side. He avoided my gaze as he led me in, his hand lightly touching my elbow.

"It's not amazing or anything. But I mean, it's something. And it's not in your town. So that's not bad. I, um. I can sleep on the couch while you're staying. My room's kind of a wreck, though. Here, let me show you -"

He pushed a door open. His thick eyebrows pulled anxiously downwards and he rushed in, scooping something off the ground and throwing it into the laundry hamper. I laughed under my breath.

"It's fine, Brendon."

"It's - I, uh. It's pretty messy. I didn't know you'd be...uh..." He dashed around the room, grabbing miscellaneous clothing items and flinging them out of sight.

I wandered past him. "Nice guitars."

He paused, arms full of dirty clothes. His eyes flicked to the guitars leaning against the wall, then to me, then back to the guitars.

"Yeah. I play some other instruments too. Guitars are pretty sweet, though. Ryan, he's really great at -"

"Ryan. Is he here?"

"He will be soon. He's at the bar now."

"The bar."

"There's one just across the street from here. Fucking dope."

I gazed at him for a moment, eyebrows raised. He grinned.

"Yeah, I have a fake ID. I only graduated last year, Lake. Don't think I'm some sort of old wannabe party animal. I'm a true ass party animal. And don't you dare call me old, or I'll cry a thousand tears then murder you."

"You're old."

"Don't test me, Rivers."

"Rivers?"

"Oh, sorry, or was it Ocean? Don't test me, Ocean."

"Hey! No making fun of my amazing name!"

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, Pond."

"I will stab you."

"Water you thinking?"

"BRENDON, NO."

"Don't you sea what I did there?"

I lunged for him. His arms locked around me and we flailed to the ground, wrestling and tackling each other. His intoxicating scent, like sweat and vanilla, clouded my mind and made my skin erupt into flame. Insane laughter danced through the air as we wrestled, Brendon still yelling water puns between gasps of laughter.

Finally we stopped, giggling and catching our breaths, lying side by side on his bedroom floor. I glanced over at him. His face was already turned toward me, his cold vanilla breath drifting against my skin. I forgot what I was going to say. His dark eyes were locked onto mine, so full and complex and beautiful and impossible not to fall into.

Damn you, Brendon, I thought. Damn you and your dark eyes and beautiful voice and perfect lips, damn you and your vanilla scent and your chicken nugget addiction, damn your fucking perfection.

And I thought, There has to be a catch. Because perfection is a twisted idea, an impossibility we thrive on, a concept created through the warped vision of society's expectations and our own mindless fantasies - Perfection is the result of a lifetime of brainwash, but I had never seen someone who so fully encompassed the qualities that I loved before, and now here he was and it was like seeing the sun for the first time - grateful for the light, terrified of being burned. And I wondered how close I could get to him and his blinding light before I would catch fire.

I blinked. Heat crept up my face.

He smiled.

I sat up. "You're an idiot."

"Not as much of an idiot as you are."

He sat up too, his hand brushing against mine. I froze. His fingers curled over my hand, warm and soft. My heartbeat thundered in my ears. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind at once - They became bright red scribbles that tangled in my mind and screamed for help. My eyes flashed to him, to our hands. Blood rushed hot under my skin.

I pulled my hand away.

"Ryan's probably going to be here soon," I said.

For a moment he was quiet, gazing at the place our hands had been. Then he seemed to snap out of a trance. Shaking himself, he rose to his feet and offered a weary smile.

"Yeah. He'll be here any minute. You hungry?"

He led me out of his bedroom and into the main part of the apartment. We sat at the table and shared a bowl of Doritos. The air felt heavy with the things we left unspoken.

The door clanged.

Brendon leaped to his feet. "Ryan!"

My gaze shot to the guy standing in the doorframe. Ryan stood, leaning heavily to the right, his eyes distant. He was taller than Brendon by a few inches, with ruffled dark hair and a childlike face. My stomach clenched.

"Ryan, hey. This is Lake. Come here real quick," said Brendon, snagging him by the elbow and leading him over to the table where I was sitting.

Ryan's eyes narrowed as he approached me. His steps were unsteady.

"This is Lake," Brendon said again. "She'll be staying with us for a while."

Ryan studied me. His eyebrows arched upward. A harsh laugh cracked like a gunshot out between his lips. "Wow, Brendon, you always gotta have a fuck buddy, don't you?"

Heat surged up my bones. Brendon choked on his own spit.

"What?" I said.

"Oh my God. Don't listen to him. He's drunk." Brendon glared at him. "Fuck you, Ryan."

A sloppy grin unraveled across Ryan's face. "That's her job."

I flushed. I looked to Brendon. "Is that what this -"

"No. That's not why I offered to let you stay here. Oh my God. Ryan, I'm going to fucking kill you. Go get some sleep or something."

"A lake is for swimming, not for naming someone," said Ryan, his words slurring. "But I guess you can swim in her too, if you know what I mea-"

"RYAN, GO TO YOUR ROOM."

"FUCK YOU, MOM!" Ryan bolted away.

Brendon collapsed into a chair, cradling his head in his hands. "Fuck. I'm sorry about that. He's such a dick when he's drunk."

"I don't know," I said. "He seemed pretty great to me. Very nice guy. It's so refreshing to meet guys who don't get overly sexual when they're drunk."

Brendon's smile was distant. "Oh, yeah. Just imagine if he'd made a bunch of lewd comments to you. I'd be mortified."

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hey guys--
Hope you're enjoying the story. Just a heads up, the more votes and ESPECIALLY comments this story gets, the sooner the next update comes. Nothing motivates me more than knowing you guys are reading and hopefully liking it. I love you and hope you're having a wonderful day

xxkelsey