The Test of Time

51 ~ December

"It's..." I trail off as I enter, taking in the boring, bland room.

"Exactly like the one in the mansion?" He finishes for me, smirking.

"Yeah." I agree, grabbing hold of the closet doors and pulling them open.

"I don't spend much time here." He remarks.

"Clearly." I giggle at the empty closet, two tops hanging up in one corner.

"I have a better time at college." He shrugs and I turn back to face him.

"It's only down the road."

"It gives me the space I need." He points out and I smile, collapsing down onto the edge of the bed and taking a sip of the champagne. It's bubbly as anything and I nearly choke, but the flavor is... champagne. I can't tell any difference between this and the cheap alternatives that Elle and I buy.

"Your parents seem lovely." I smile as he takes a sip out of his own glass.

"They always do to outsiders." He replies quietly and I shake my head. "They have to keep up appearances."

"You could have worse parents."

"I guess." He nods before glancing over at me as I attempt to take another sip, "Do you like that?"

"The champagne?" I ask, glancing down at the glass.

"Yes."

"I... I think I do." I mumble and he laughs.

"Hold on." He says, placing his glass down before leaving the room, allowing me to gather my thoughts. I glance around once more at the bland room, not even a football poster up in this one. It could easily be mistaken for a guest room, a spare bedroom that no-one ever uses. There's nothing here whatsoever to tie Brett to this room.

Standing up I glance out of the window to see two skyscraper buildings that stand next to this one, their windows glinting in the sun, towering menacingly over the city below.

"This should make it better." Brett exclaims and I turn to see him walk back in, a carton of orange juice in his hand. I watch as he stalks over, grabbing hold of my hand to steady it before pouring some into the glass. I feel myself freeze at the small amount of contact, my heart beginning to thump louder. Fuck sake, why can't I react like a normal, functioning human when he's around?

"Th-thanks."

"It's tradition." He grins at me and I can't help the smile that makes its way across my face. "I can't imagine my mother would be that impressed though so let's keep this between us." He comments, stepping back and shutting the door. Great. That makes not jumping his bones a lot harder.

"I'll just have to drink it before we leave this room." I retort, taking a large gulp. I am baffled that he remembers, that he even listened to my ramblings. Maybe Brett isn't as bad as I think?

"Anyway, how's college going for you?" He asks, sitting back down on the bed, patting the empty space next to him. I roll my eyes before joining him on the bed and telling him about all my assignments and exams that are coming up.

The time flies as we sit there, laughing as we chat, drinking our mimosas as we joke around. I've forgotten how easy it is to talk to Brett, how free flowing the conversation is. He tells me that Chris flunked his first year of college and is now retaking, Ben is flying through university with top grades, Ellis is spending most of his time partying. He asks of Zara and Becky and I tell him how they are, both of us laughing at how Zara and Sam ended up going off to Italy together, giving into their attraction after so long.