Desire | Reece Bibby

4

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I wake up, tears streaming down my face and my eyes dart around the room to work out where I am. Realising I'm at Brad and Tristan's, I let out a sigh of relief. Nightmares have always been a struggle for me, but I hadn't had one in a long time.

"Damn you, Brad." I mutter to myself. The movie we watched earlier must have triggered something off inside my brain.

Without even thinking, I let my feet carry me to Tristan's door. I don't bother knocking and just let myself in, walking slowly over to his bed.

I feel bad about waking him up and debate waking Brad instead, but decide against it, knowing Tristan will understand.

My hand gently shakes his shoulder while I whisper his name, waking him slowly from his sleep. His eyes flutter open and he knows what's happened straight away.

"Nightmare?" he whispers, gaining confirmation when I nod my head.

Tristan moves over in his bed, lifting up the covers so I can climb in next to him. His arms wrap around me securely and he lets me sob into his shoulder for a minute. He makes me feel safe, and always has. Whenever I've had night terrors and Tristan's been under the same roof as me, he's always been the first person I go to. It's been this way for years.

"Sorry for waking you." I whisper, my voice shaking as I calm down.

"Oh Harp, you know I couldn't care less right? I'm just glad you're here so I can comfort you. I'm no Jesse but I try." he chuckles, running his hand softly through my hair.

"You're better than Jesse, but don't tell her I said that." I smile lightly, closing my eyes once again.

◦◦◦

Luckily, Tristan seemed to have woken up before me as the bed was now empty. I can't help but feel embarrassed at last night's activities, even though I know he would never judge me for anything.

I take the bathroom while it's free, having a quick shower and getting ready for the day. Once I finish towel drying my hair so the dryer doesn't wake Brad, I walk out into the kitchen area of the boys' flat. Tristan is sat watching who knows what on the TV but his head snaps towards me as soon as he notices my presence.

"How'd you sleep?" he asks, taking a sip of the drink in his hand.

"Surprisingly well after I joined you." I chuckle, getting myself a glass of water and sitting next to him.

"Surprisingly? How rude." he jokes, "You seen your brother yet?"

"Nope. He's a lazy shit, you should know this by now." I grin, hearing a cough in the doorway.

My gaze follows the noise and land on Brad who's giving me an annoyed glare.

"Morning!" Tris nods towards his sleepy friend. Brad sends him a confused look, clearly too tired to comprehend anything.

"Shower." he croaks out, heading towards the bathroom. Tris just nods his head, clearly used to Brad not being such a morning person.

"I have to admit, I don't miss that about living with him." I giggle, downing the rest of my glass of water.

"Can we get waffles? I'm starving and can't be bothered to make anything myself." Brad appears from the bathroom when he's done.

Tristan and I both nod, food sounding like the best thing in the world right now.

"What can I get for you?" a waitress comes over to our booth, her eyes immediately checking Brad out. Tristan notices and I fake a gag at him, causing him to kick my leg from his side of the table, yet he still can't help but let out a snort at my behaviour while Brad orders.

She soon reappears with our breakfast and I realise she got my order messed up. "This isn't what I ordered." I fake a smile at her while she grins, knowing fully well what she's done.

"My mistake. Is everyone else's okay?" She fakes a smile, taking my plate back to the kitchen when the boys all nod.

"Don't wait for me." I smile at the boys, watching them dig into the food that smells like heaven.

The waitress soon comes back with the right order this time and drops a slip of paper onto Brad's lap. When she's gone, I grab the piece of paper from my brother and read what she's written.

Call me ;) x

"She really left her number? That's hilarious." I laugh at the writing, passing it back over to Brad who shoves it in his pocket, clearly unbothered by it all.

"You going to call her?" I ask Brad, gesturing to the slip of paper peeking out of his pocket that the waitress gave him.

"Not my type." he smirks, pulling it out and crumpling it up. He chucks it in the bin closest to the table and I can't help but laugh.

"Breakfast's on me." Tris announces, standing up to go and sort the bill. I call out a 'thank you' to him as he walks up to the counter.

"So," Brad starts. "How come you came out of Tristan's room this morning?"

He's sat with a questioning look on his face, and I almost choke when I realise what he means.

"Brad, me and Tristan? No! God, no. I had a nightmare, you know how they are-" I rush to explain myself but he cuts in.

"I know," he grins, standing up and putting his jacket back on. "I'm messing with you."

"Dickhead."

◦◦◦

"I'll pick you up this evening. Just text me." Brad hugs me goodbye as we stand outside the hotel the New Hope Club boys are staying at.

"Will do. Thank you B." I smile at my sibling, waving him off before making my way into the lobby.

Reece is stood against the wall on his phone and doesn't notice my presence. Taking advantage of the situation, I creep up on him and place my hands on his shoulders suddenly.

"Jesus-" he groans, "You almost gave me a heart attack."

I throw my head back in laughter at his reaction, pulling him into a hug. "Sorry."

"You ready to see London?" he asks, shoving his phone in his pocket so he can give me his full attention.

"Only if you're my tour guide." I smirk, knowing the sentence will make him blush.

A ding sounds and the lift doors slide open, revealing the other two lads. I bounce over to the pair, giving each a hug and a 'hello'.

Reece orders an uber and insists that Blake sits in the front so he can talk to me. I pout at his demands. "What if I wanted to sit next to Blake and not you."

"We both know that's not true." Reece grins, a smug look plastered on his face when I can't help but let out a giggle.

unedited