DECEPTION; Bradley Simpson

22.

"What were you doing here with him?" Brad asks, anger laced in his voice. He suddenly takes off his sunglasses and I almost gasp. He has a black eye. Who did that?

"The same thing you were with Ashley," I spit, looking into his eyes. I decide to ignore his eye for now.

"No, that's completely different. I practically asked you last night to be my girlfriend and the next morning I see you with him of all people?" the curly haired boy points back towards the café.

"Oh yeah? Well, you were here with Ashley, so what's your point?" I take my hand out of his grasp and take a few steps back.

"Ashley is part of our group," he sighs.

"So is Tris," I shake my head, not understanding what he wants to say.

Brad looks at me, standing there in silence. I shake my head one last time before walking away. What was he thinking, really? That it's okay if he hangs out with Ashley, who he used to hook up with, but it isn't when I hang out with Tristan, who is just a friend to me? That's just pathetic.

I huff when I bump into someone as soon as I step inside the school's hallway. I look up to see a confused Maggie examining me.

"You okay?" she furrows her eyebrows.

"Yes," I answer, my tone harsher than I wanted it to be.

"You're certainly not okay. Do you want to tell me what happened?" she stops me from hurrying towards my class by grabbing my wrist and turning me around.

"Brad is just... ugh," I huff. Maggie lets go of my wrist and crosses her arms.

"What did he do this time?" the dark haired girl rolls her eyes.

"He's so frustrating. One moment he's all sweet and the next, his tone is harsh and he's so... I don't even know how to say this," I shake my head in frustration.

"Yeah, I know," my roommate nods, "but what did he do to make you so mad?"

Maggie walked me to my first class and I told her everything. From me apologizing to Tris, then meeting the others in the café and my talk with Brad in front of the small place right next to the college. She huffs a few times, expressing her opinion, which I agree on.

"See you at the dorm," she hugs me before walking off. I step inside the classroom and sit down besides James. To my surprise, Brad is already sitting at his usual place. He glares at me while I make my way to my desk, but I ignore him and shoot James a smile. He reciprocates and puts his phone back on the desk.

"Are you coming to our party this Friday?" he asks.

"Yeah," I nod. I don't really have other plans and I might as well show Brad not to mess with me.

-

The rest of Thursday and Friday drags on pretty quickly. I haven't spoken a word with Brad and I kind of miss him, but I gotta stand my ground.

I finish applying my makeup, then head out of the bathroom to find Maggie waiting for me at the door.

"Finally," she squeals, making me roll my eyes plafully. I pick up my purse from my bed and head outside. We both agreed that it's best if Connor picks us up.

Arriving at Brad's enormous house, we all climb out of Connor's car and walk straight inside. Maggie takes my hand in hers and leads me towards the kitchen first, to get some drinks. I pour myself some beer, then follow Maggie into the living room, where everyone is seated already. Ashley and Brad are sitting next to each other on the couch, just how I expected. I find Tris sitting on the floor, so I occupy the space next to him. He shoots me a smile, which I return before taking a sip from my drink.

"Okay, now that everyone's here... let's play a game," Ashley smirks, looking around.

"What game?" Brad asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Truth or dare," Ashley smirks at me.

"Seriously?" Tris rolls his eyes, taking a sip from his drink.

"Evelyn. Truth or dare?" the dyed haired girl ignores Tristan's comment and turns to me.

"Dare," I glare at Brad, who reciprocates.

"I dare you to make out with Tristan," the bitch dares to say with a smirk. I look at Brad one last time before turning to the blonde haired boy sitting next to me.

"Are you sure?" he asks. I nod in response and lean closer. Tristan closes the gap between us by pressing his lips to mine. I find myself enjoying the kiss more than I should. My hands go up into his hair while his rest on my waist.

"Okay, she said make out, not swallow each other," Brad says, making me pull away from the kiss. When I look into the curly haired boy's eyes, I see nothing but disgust. I squeeze my eyes shut, knowing I really pissed him off now. I decide not to dwell on that and enjoy my night.

"Maggie, I dare you to ask that guy's number," James smirks, pointing to a boy who's sitting alone on a chair, looking around the room. He seems lost.

"Seriously? Couldn't you pick someone more handsome?" Maggie scrunches her nose.

"Come on," James elbows her. My roommate stands to her feet and walks up to the boy. She squats down and talks to him for a few minutes, then returns with a small paper in her hands.

"Nice," Kirstie nods with a laugh.

"Okay, my turn," Maggie looks around with a smile on her face. Her eyes stop on Brad, then she glances at me before looking back at the curly haired boy. "Brad?"

"Dare," he answers coolly.

"I dare you to take Eve up to your room and stay there for 10 minutes," the dark haired girl smirks. Brad rolls his eyes, but stands up, looking at me expectantly. I do the same, following him upstairs and into his bedroom.

"This is a shit game," he mumbles under his breath. I stay quiet, leaning against the wall and watching as he paces back and forth, then finally sits down on his bed.

He looks up at me, "Will you say something finally?"

"What do you want me to say?" I open my arms. "She said to come up here, not to talk," I shrug.

"You're so frustrating," he shakes his head.

"Says the one who pisses everyone off constantly," I roll my eyes.

The next thing I know is that I'm pressed up against the wall by Brad. His two arms are on each side of my head and our faces are inches away. I'm suddenly having trouble breathing.

"Do I still piss you off?" he whispers in my ear. I gulp heavily, not answering his question. Or maybe my reaction was the answer. I'm sure about that as soon as I see the smirk playing on Brad's lips.