{COMPLETED} ✔ December Bloom

nine

Braden stepped into my room, greeting me with a "Yo."

"What's up?" I asked him.

He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans.

"Coming to Duke's party?" he asked me, mumbling his words.

"Eh…" I hesitated.

"Come on!" he said fairly persuasively but not in his normal persuasive kind of way. I looked up at him to see that there was something in his eyes. Something saying that he didn't really want to go. And was hoping I'd turn him down again.

See, Braden and I, are best friends and are the most popular guys in school. It is compulsory for us to attend most parties due to our high status. After all, a party's not a party unless we're there. So, if one of us goes, the other has to as well.

It's like some unwritten rule and to be honest, I find it kind of stupid most times.

Not this time though.

I smirked, an evil glint in my eye. No way was I going to make this easy for Braden.

He probably had some kind of stalker girl following him, hence the strangeness.

I almost laughed out loud, I got it all figured out. Yep, just call me smart. I didn't even have to ask him, I came to it all on my own.

Hah!

Beat that!

"Yeah…why not?"

I laughed, stumbling a little. I was holding a three-quarters full beer bottle and had my arm around my best buddy, Braden.

"Hey, man. Let's go over there! There are like, chicks there…" I unlatched myself from Braden, attempting to walk over to the small cluster of girls but staggering instead, beer sloshing around in my bottle. A few drops had already spilled onto the carpet.

"Whoops!" I giggled then put my hand on the wall in an attempt to steady myself.

I shoved my bottle into the hands of some random guy, I don't know who.

"Whoa, Dante! Take it easy, man. God, you're drunk." Braden said. I turned to face him, flinging my arms around him in a hug.

"Braden!" I squealed, much like a girl.

Braden scrunched up his nose.

"Get off me, Dante, people are looking. Shit, you definitely are drunk. God, your breath is proof enough." Braden muttered, a slightly pissed off tone in his voice.

I giggled again.

Braden sighed heavily and started leading me somewhere. I have no idea, all I know is that the ground was spinning and I felt a dull throbbing somewhere inside of my head.

Then, I heard soft murmurs so I detached myself from Braden again, turning to look at a petite brunette who was saying her little seductive hellos to Braden.

The next thing he did, completely freaked me out.

He brushed her off. He was acting strangely polite, nodding and all but when she suggested for them to 'go somewhere' he declined. He shook his head about a dozen or so times, even when she tried persuading him.

And the thing is, Braden never brushes a girl off like that. Unless he has a girlfriend and, to my knowledge, he's available.

There's something wrong here and I know it.

I felt a tug on my sleeve and spun around quickly but that was a bad move. Everything was spinning around too fast and before I knew it, everything went black.