New Year's Resolution (Brooklyn Beckham)

Chapter 2

Sunday 31st December
The second I set foot in Connor's multi million pound mansion I knew I wanted to run home and put on my tartan pyjamas and read until I fell asleep. However, in some way some part of me thought I owed it to Meg and Han to stay. I'm not really sure if that was the part of my brain associated with some kind of mental illness that was telling me that given that they had ditched my plans to force me to come with them to this party. The four walls of the living room were lined with tables holding red cup upon red cup filled to the top with some ungodly substance I only dared to imagine. Speakers the size of my upper body sat in each corner of the room between tables blaring songs which I was ashamed to admit I knew the words to. The whole house was shaking and as I took a good look around I realised I knew none of what must have been the 150 people in this house. I immediately felt scared, Connor's friends were beyond dodgy (I knew this from all the guys they all tried to set me up with) and I had already managed to loose Megan and Hannah in the crowd of drunken dancers. My rapidly turning stomach was soothed by the thought of my book in my bag and I made it my mission to find somewhere quiet-ish given the circumstances to sit down and devour it. After about 15 minutes of pushing aside drunken teens and walking in on things I wish I could unsee, I finally found a peaceful corner in the roof of the house. Little fairy lights were draped over a corner of the loft room. It seemed so warm and welcoming and so different to the rest of the house Connor owned and the havoc down stairs that I felt that much more comfortable there. I curled up under my fur-lined navy blue bomber jacket and retrieved my book from the depths of my bag. This was my third time reading Jane Eyre yet it was as if I was lost in it all over again. I became completely unaware of my surroundings and the din of the party soon faded away into nothingness.

I didn't know how long I'd zoned out for, but the sound of muffled footsteps pulled me out of my trance of the words of Charlotte Bronte. I sat up, my back stiff from lying down for so long and I grabbed my phone to check the time: 11:11. Usually I would make a wish right now but the sound of footsteps was getting closer and closer and in order to save myself from seeing something I really didn't want to- I called out "get a room- this one's occupied!" I then realised just how odd that sounded, so I decided to shout again "just to clear things up- I'm just in here reading but please don't come in as the room's status is still occupied." I shook my head at how dumb I sounded. But my thoughts were interrupted by the continuing sound of footsteps getting closer. I decided they must not have heard me, and shouting would do no good. I decided to wait them out and then redirect them downstairs and away from me.
However, when the footsteps finally reached the top, it was not a couple trying to eat each other's faces, but infact, just a single guy, walking up the stairs- looking at me right in the eye. The second he saw my tense posture ready to pounce he looked at me- smirked- and raised his hands as if in surrender. The closer he got, the more the fairy lights lit up his face. I got a good look at him and his angelic face smiled at me. My heart stopped, did and somersault and carried on beating. My jaw hit the floor. I took me a good few seconds to stop gawping at him and become aware of my body again. I collected my things up and grabbed my jacket and ran awkwardly past him with my stiff legs in my ankle boots and I got half way down the stairs before: "Um, excuse me- I think you've forgotten your book?" My heart leaped again and I could hear it beating inside my ears. My faced flushed a colour of pink and red. I patted down my clutch bag to find no shape of my book inside. I turned slowly on my heel, making sure not to fall off the ladder leading back to reality and walked back up to the loft.