DECEPTION; Bradley Simpson

2.

"Evelyn?" I turn around to see her face. Ellie Brooks. She was my bully throughout high school. Ever since I accidentally bumped into her on the first day, she's been bullying me. She even stole my boyfriend back then.

"E-Ellie?" I stutter.

"Good to see you again," her smile is welcoming and warm. What the heck? She sits down next to me and starts talking with the others. They know her?

I keep sitting in silence, feeling quite uncomfortable with my high school bully sitting right next to me. I take a sip from my beer and look down at my hands, which are in my laps.

"Are you okay?" as I feel Brad's hot breath against the skin of my neck, I shiver.

"Yeah," I turn my head to face him and put on the most fakest smile.

"You don't seem like that. Wanna go outside for a bit?" he sounds a bit... concerned? I'm not really sure.

"Okay," I nod, giving in.

Brad gives me a hand and helps me stand up, then keeps our hands locked as we walk towards the front door. I breath in the cold air as we exit the house. A bunch of people are laughing and running around like crazy, but I don't care. I needed the fresh air more than anything. I started feeling sick to my stomach as Ellie sat down next to me; memories of her bullying me coming back.

"Do you know Ellie?" I turn to Brad, who's standing next to me with his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Well, Connor knows her and brought her with us quite a few times whenever we went somewhere," Brad shrugs. "Do you know her?"

"Uh, yeah..." I admit, looking down at my sneakers.

"You don't seem to like her," Brad states and I look up to meet his beautiful eyes. I keep staring right into them for what feels like forever. "I don't like her either."

I don't even notice how close Brad's standing by now. There are only a few inches between us. My eyes wander down to his lips, then back to his eyes.

"Are you okay?" I hear Maggie's voice from behind us. I quickly take a step back and turn around to smile at her and nod my head.

"It was just... a bit too hot in there," I shrug.

"Do you wanna go back to our room?" she looks behind me, right at Brad, before back to me.

"No," I shake my head. Maggie nods and walks back inside the house, finally. I turn back to Brad, who's still standing with his hands in his pockets.

I just look into his eyes, he does the same. What is happening to me? I get mesmerized by those chocolate brown eyes, it's like I haven't seen anything more beautiful in my whole life.

"Why don't you like her?" I ask, the question just slipping out of my mouth.

"She throws herself to every boy that comes around," Brad shrugs simply. "She tried to get in my bed as well. I don't know what she doesn't understand in a simple 'no'." he explains. Yup, that's definitely the Ellie I got to know in high school. "Why don't you like her?"

"Uhm..." I bite down on my bottom lip. "She used to bully me in high school," I don't know why I'm telling this to him.

He doesn't say anything, just keeps staring at me. I stare back, a small smile playing on his lips. I start to shiver, just now noticing how cold it really is outside.

"Let's go back inside," he steps next to me. I nod and take his hand again before we walk back into the crowded house. Brad leads us towards the couch. Everyone is in their same spot, just like before we left.

I sit back down next to Ellie, but eventually, Brad joins me. He sits behind me and rests his head on my shoulder. I feel my breath heavying as I look at him, then divert my eyes towards Ashley. If looks could kill, I would be dead by now. That death glare he gives me is really scaring me, so I try to ignore it and laugh at a joke Tristan said.

"Are you two like... together, or something?" Ellie asks, turning towards us. I look at Brad and see a big smirk on his face.

"Say yes. Please. Maybe she'll leave me alone then," he whispers in my ear, making me shiver again.

"Uh... yes," I turn to Ellie and nod. I notice a bit of a disappointment on her face, but I ignore it and look back at Brad with a not-so-friendly look. He just smiles thankfully at me and keeps resting his head on my shoulder. I feel Maggie's eyes on us, but I try to ignore it and focus on the boys joking and bantering between themselves. It's quite hilarious actually.

After a few minutes, Brad stands up and walks upstairs. I don't know why or where he is going, but it's not my business anyway. I can't help the sudden jealousy that takes over me when I see Ashley walk upstairs too. She's probably going after Brad.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Maggie asks.

"I'll come with you," we both stand up and walk into the kitchen. I grab a few bottles of beer to bring them to the others. I try to go back, but Maggie grabs my wrist and turns me to face her.

"Be careful with Brad," she tells me with a serious expression.

"Why?" I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. It's not like there's anything going on between us; I just met him tonight.

"Because he's a player. And he hurts girls, a lot," she tells me. I gulp heavily before nodding. We finally go back to the others. There's still no sign of Brad or Ashley.

-

As I check my phone, I see that it's 1 am already. Maggie and I are both clearly drank a few tonight, and can't drive back to our room.

"Is there a room we could sleep in?" I ask James.

"Sure, any room you find upstairs," he nods. I smile at him before grabbing Maggie's wrist and dragging her upstairs. She was too drunk.

I open a door and instantly regret it. Ashley and Brad are laying on the bed, makig out with each other. Maggie starts laughing, grabbing their attention. As my eyes meet with Brad's, I instantly close the door and hurry to find a room. Unfortunately for me, Brad saw me walking into one of the rooms I found empty and followed me inside. He helped me lay Maggie down before turning to me.

"What are you still doing here?" he snaps. My eyes widen at his sudden change of mood, he was really kind to me all night, and now he's being a jerk? Why?

"I just... we can't drive back to our room. We both drank, Maggie a little too much," I point to my roommate, who is now fast asleep.

"Fine. But don't come in that room again," he says. I watch him walk out of the room and slam the door behind him. What the hell was that about?

I was too tired by that time to keep thinking about Brad's sudden outburst, so I kicked off my shoes and joined Maggie on the bed, falling asleep almost immediately.