down in hollywood // braeden lemasters

sixteen : 1980s horror film

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You fall onto your bed & sigh deeply, tired from your day at school. Although you had been there for three weeks, it was still exhausting finding classrooms you don't remember & trying to get work done with students gossiping around you, never to you.

At least music class was fun. Although you aren't a gifted musician, you are passionate about music & lyrics while also being able to play piano. You turn your head to face the keyboard in your room & a thought instantly come to your head.

You sit up suddenly & desperately hurry to your phone, calling up your music partner to work on your music project together. You are busy this weekend & you really didn't want an F in your first piece of work that counts to your grade which is due Monday.

Hearing a knock at the door, you run down the stairs to open it. Smiling back at you with his hands in one hand in his pocket & the other holding onto a guitar case is Braeden Lemasters. You are so grateful that out of everyone in the class, you were sat next to him.

Braeden is the best in the class in your eyes; being able to play guitar, bass, piano & probably every other instrument you could think of. His warm chestnut eyes lock with yours & you feel a short wave of butterflies in your stomach.

Over the past week, you had felt oddly attracted to him. You hate it. Not only is he frustrating, dorky & totally annoying, he's also way too talented.

"Hi! Sorry for the short notice, i just thought we should get it done." You gesture at him to come inside.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to call you." He walks in & looks around as you shut the door behind him, "Nice place."

"Thanks."

He follows you upstairs & into your bedroom. Giving him the bed, you pull up a chair to sit on & use your legs as a table for your notebook.

"Alright, so..." you flick your pen against the paper rapidly, "we need to write a score for a film."

Braeden nods, looking around your room & his eyes fix on your keyboard. "What about a horror film?"

You look up at him. "Short, suspenseful & easy to do; nice work Lemasters."

He chuckles at your newfound nickname as his fingers hover over the keys. Slowly, he starts to play a hauntingly beautiful melody. Its eeriness creeps over your body, leaving goosebumps on your your arms & legs.

You snap out of it when you remember the familiarity. "'Halloween'? Come on, that's plagiarism."

"What are you talking about?" Braeden continues to play the motif, repeating the chilling three notes.

You stare at the back of his head dumbfounded. "You mean you've never seen John Carpenter's 1978 cult classic slasher thriller starring Jamie Lee Curtis?!"

He immediately halts the instrument & turns his body to face you. "Guess not." He shrugs casually at you.

"We're watching them."

You drop your notebook on the carpet with a thud & insert the DVD into the side of your tv. It's positioned right in front of the foot of your bed so Braeden lies on his stomach facing the screen.

"Wait, what do you mean 'them'?" He questions.

"There are ten in total so far," you make your way over to close the curtains to ensure no light would be reflected, turn the light switches off & lie next to Braeden, "I only have the first five as they're the best in my opinion."

Braeden fidgets next to you into a resting position on the cushions, "How old are they?"

"The four after the first are 1980s films so get ready for the majority of your night to be full of mullets & leg warmers." You smile teasingly, only just realising how dangerously close your faces were from one another.

His mouth curls into a grin as he studies your features. "I'll make sure I'm prepared."
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"I remember that night." Braeden smiles fondly, "It was the beginning of the infamous week of nightmares."

You force a laugh, feeling so uncomfortable that it comes out more like a grunt from the back of your throat. You just told Braeden you liked him? In front of thousands of strangers?!

You viciously tear away your suspicious eye contact with your sweaty palms & peer up to face the live once more. "You have & always will be an absolute wimp."

He looks around awkwardly, causing your body to shake with fear. Oh no. Have you ruined everything?

"Ummm..." you shut your eyes tight, terrified of the next words that come out of his mouth, "since we're confessing our past feelings, i should tell you that i liked you too. In that exact moment."