Anything But That

Chapter 3

Sometimes, Lydia thought, it's okay to cry. Even if that meant spending time that was meant to be used to have fun and socialise, in the bathtub, fully clothed, sobbing her eyes out.

She just didn't understand why Jake had acted like that, like she was some sort of big-mouthed idiot. It hurt, hearing him say it. That he didn't trust her. Yes, I know that this kind of thing could ruin your reputation, and I would never do that to you!, she felt like screaming.

And that was another thing. Why did it matter so much to people if they're not heterosexual? They're still the same person they were before, so why did people act like it was a big deal?

All the thoughts were crowding her brain, a mixture of anger and upset, and she wanted to scream in frustration. The blonde girl was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice someone entering the bathroom, and was only alerted to their presence by the telltale noise of a zip being undone, followed by the steady sound of a stream of liquid.

From behind the shower curtain, Lydia froze, slapping her hand over her mouth, but it was too late.

"Um..." the person said, while zipping his trousers back up hurriedly, revealing that it was a male, "I don't know who's there, but either you have a very odd way of expressing pleasure, or something is very wrong."

The girl pulled back the curtain slowly, and saw that it was one of the three boys that she had opened the door for earlier.

She saw him visibly trying to pull her name out of the dregs of his memory. "Lydia?" he asked finally, looking concerned.

"Yeah, you're Blake, right?" she replied hopefully.

"Yup!" the brunette responded enthusiastically. "Hey, you live in this house, right?"

Lydia nodded.

"So why are you here, crying in the bathtub, when you could be in your room?"

"My best friends are currently making out in my bed." was the simple response, paired with a slight sniffle.

Blake nodded understandingly before climbing into the tub and sitting down with her, when a thought occurred to her.

"Hey, earlier, I thought you looked super familiar, are you-"

The brown eyed boy brightened up like crazy, cutting her off, and started speaking what seemed like a million words at once. "Yes! Yes, I am part of New Hope Club! Wow, this is so great. Reece said that nobody in school watched our covers but he was wrong! Oh, he'll be so excited when he finds out, George too, which cover is your favourite-"

Lydia was confused. "Um, no."

"No?" Blake questioned.

"I was going to ask if you were in my Graphic Design class."

"Oh. Well this is awkward. Uh, now that I think about it, yeah, I think I am in your Graphics class."

He was still speaking, but the girl wasn't really paying attention because she was suddenly distracted, her gaze fixed on his hair. No matter how much he moved his head, his hair stayed completely still.

It genuinely looked like it could withstand a tsunami.

Experimentally, she reached out and poked out his dark quiff, and let out an audible gasp when her finger fell through.

As if by instinct, the boy's hand whipped up and slapped her wrist away, but Lydia was laughing too hard to notice, and soon, Blake joined in.

"Oh my god," she gasped between giggles, "What the hell is your hair? It's ridiculous!"

The boy in question looked put out for a moment. "It's not ridiculous." He pouted.

Immediately, the girl realised her mistake, and corrected herself. "No, I meant, it's brilliant. However, it defies the laws of physics. So what the hell do you put in your hair?"

Without a moment of hesitation, Blake started listing. "Uh, TIJI Bed Head Workable Wax, Toni & Guy Styling Fibre, sometimes that weird Alternator spray from American Crew- Ooh! Fudge Hair Sharper is brilliant... and styling mousse, texture powders, and loads of hairspray." he finished. "Basically."

"Basically." Lydia repeated with a laugh.

The boy shrugged. "It seems pretty basic to me, because I do it every morning, and the lads do more or less the same." he said simply.

The term caught the blonde's attention, because she had heard them less than an hour ago when she had let them in. "The 'lads'...  they're the ones you're in that band, the one you mentioned... New something Club?"

"New Hope Club, yeah. But enough about me. Why are you in here, crying, when you could be out there, partying?"

Lydia considered not answering. After all, even though she had been aware of this boy's existence for quite some time, she had only just met him, and she had no obligation to go and spill her life story to him... but then again, maybe it would be good to get it off her chest, and since her friends were obviously occupied, he was the only option.

She hesitated, then began to confide in this relative stranger. "I just- my brother, Jakob, I saw him doing something he doesn't want other people to find out about, but he yelled at me, and- well, he doesn't trust me, and that sucks, because we used to tell each other everything, but now he keeps stuff from me and thinks that I'll tell everyone." as she spoke, her Russian accent began to slip through the cracks in her carefully constructed Estuary English one, as it often did when she was emotional.

Blake noticed this, but decided not to question it. "Listen, just ignore him. He's obviously an arse, and if you fall out, well, it's his loss, because you're obviously amazing. People change, and you know what a good way to get over that is?"

"What?"

"Have a good time."

***

Lydia walked downstairs with Blake by her side, occasionally sidestepping to avoid the couples snogging in the hallways, until they made it to the kitchen.

Automatically, Blake reached for two beers, and held one out to his new friend. "A beverage for my lady!" he announced grandly. But the blonde girl just shook her head.

"I don't like beer." she stated. In fact, she hated it. She hated the rancid, sour taste it left in her mouth, hated the burn as it made its way down her throat, hated the way it smelled on her breath afterwards. Instead, she poured herself some Irish cream whiskey - sweet, smooth, soothing - just the way she liked it.

Suddenly, she heard a voice next to her, almost making her spill her drink. "Aren't you two a little too young to be drinking?'

It was one of the blonde boys from earlier, Blake's band mate. Reagan? Reid? His hair was strangely flat, and also dripping, contrary to Blake's sentiments about the hair products. His green eyes were also tinged red, as if he had been crying.

"Actually, hardly anyone here is old enough to drink, so your point is invalid." she shot back with a scoff. Her reply attracted Blake's attention, and the brunette boy turned enthusiastically. "Reece!"

Reece, right.

The blonde boy smiled warmly, accepting Blake's high five/handshake/hug combo. "Hey, man, what's up?"

The younger of the two boys shrugged. "Not much, I've just been hanging out with Lydia." He grinned before continuing, "She's brilliant."

Reece nodded. "Yeah," he said, "I was actually going to ask you, somebody poured beer on my head, do you have any hairspray I can borrow?"

***
Author's note

I'm sorry for being a terrible writer. RIP.

Anyway, got some good Blakey action in there, and there's going to be some Bibby in the next one... but maybe not in the way you imagine.

Anyway, be sure to vote, comment and share if you liked it (And even if you didn't)

Hannah xx

Ps nhclubsandwich made me the current cover because she is a literal goddess, bless her