down in hollywood // braeden lemasters

twenty eight : house party

"But...what if he's different in person?" Lydia confides in you.

You both are getting ready at her apartment for a small house party hosted by Danny, the Wallows trumpeter. Although the fewer the people was what you preferred, Lydia hated thinking of the awkwardness of meeting Dylan for the first time with such little distraction around her.

"You've read your messages to me & they sound exactly like the idiotic personality of the guy i happen to be friends with." You bend down in front of her sitting in the bed, holding her shoulders & causing her to look up at you, "Trust me, he's the same goofball in real life; you're gonna love him & he's gonna love you."

Her eyes widen with worry. "You can't just throw around that word, Y/N!"

You laugh at your friend's reaction, stand back up & make your way to the full length mirror. You stare at your reflection, making sure your sleeveless green oversized shirt is successfully tucked in to your baggy light washed jeans.

"Ready?" You turn back to Lydia in the same position as before. She nods in response & you tilt your head & smile at your realisation. "I've never seen you this nervous before; not even before a show."

Out of her trance, she quickly stands up & joins you next to the mirror. "Don't get used to it." She smirks.

After laughing at photos you took of your exaggerated poses in the mirror, you walk out the door & start heading for the house. Even though you are together, you still feel eyes from strangers in the street lights. You both hate the eerie worry that had creeped upon you & telepathically decide to speed up.

Once you arrive, a wave of relief hits you & you knock loudly over the blaring music that comes from within. "I'll get it!" You hear a familiar shout over the noise.

A moment later, Cole swings the door open & unusually greets you. "Yooooooooooooooo!" He holds the word, waiting for you & Lydia to join in.

Holding back your laughter, you each back to him, causing a harmony of o's to create a disturbance once the song from inside stopped playing. Seeing no end in the near future, the three of you stare at each other, your smiles creeping in & slightly changing the sound.

"What the hell is that noi-" Suddenly, Dylan appears in the doorway & stops his sentence once he locks eyes with Lydia. Blushing instantly, Lydia closes her mouth & you follow her actions once realising the situation.

You push Cole into the house once again filled with music & shut the door behind you, leaving Dylan & Lydia outside. "Hey! I was on a role!" Cole complains.

"How much have you had to drink?" You question him, raising an eyebrow.

"Not much at all, you know he's a bit of a light weight."

You smile as you slowly turn to face Braeden, leaning casually against the wall holding a can of beer. He takes a swig & makes his way over to the two of you.

He eyes you up & down & smirks to himself. "I didn't think you were gonna show up."

"Yeah, well, it looks like you didn't need my company." You gesture to the crowded living room area filled with dancing bodies & couples making out on the sofa.

Braeden laughs as he looks around. "Danny's really outdone himself this time."

"Y-you can say that again," Cole blurts out, "this party is sick!"

You & Braeden looked at each other & raised your eyebrows. Thinking exactly the same thing, you both wrap your hands around an arm of Cole's & drag him backwards towards the backyard. You drop him on one of the loungers beside the pool & sit on another one together, gaining your breath.

"Ayyy, there are my shades!" Braeden exclaims, reaching towards Cole's front pocket & taking out at pair of sunglasses.

He slides them into his face & looks down at you with a smug face. You can't help but laugh at tipsy Braeden. You have only seen him drink once before & if he's always like this, you could definitely get used to his stupidity.
———————————————————————
It is one of the biggest parties of senior year and one of your first ones to attend. You are sitting at the pool's edge, dangling your bare feet in the warm, blue water with a can of beer beside you.

You lean back on your hands & slowly look look up at the clear night sky, admiring the sparking stars above you. Suddenly, a handsome stranger appears in your vision at looks down into your eyes. You sit back up quickly & turn to see the boy place himself next to you.

"Brody." You reaches out his hand for you to shake.

You take and smile at him in front of you. This sight was definitely better than the stars. "Y/N."

He smiles shyly & looks down at the glowing water. "I see you enjoy my pool."

A quick realisation enters your mind. "So this is your party?"

"Yep! And I'd say it's the best one I've hosted."

"The best or the most popular?" You question him, tilting your head.

He smirks at your words & stares into your eyes. You feel your stomach flip slightly. "Same thing isn't it?"

You scoff at at his answer & go back to looking at your feet kicking in the pool.

"Anyways," Brody continues, "it'll go down as my favourite since i got to meet you."

You feel blush creep up to your cheeks & begin to form an answer when you feel hands on your back & are pushed into the water. As your underwater for a brief moment, you hear Brody shouting at the culprit. When you resurface, you look up to see Braeden hysterically laughing at the water running down your face.

"What the hell was that for Lemasters?" Brody yells, "You could've hurt Y/N!"

Braeden starts to lose balance when Brody pushes him slightly & stumbles back. A small gathering starts to make their way to where the shouting is & stares at you drenched in the water.

Before anyone could react, Brody jumps in and wraps his arms around you. "Let's jump in!" A voice comes from the crowd & people start to cannon ball into the pool.

Brody pulls you close to him, shielding you from the splashing water as you both laugh at what was happening around you. You look back up at the house quickly & see Braeden wall away angrily, throwing his empty beer can into a nearby bush.

——————————————————————

"The fairy lights too bright for you?" You tease.

"Nahhh, it's your beauty that's blinding me this evening." He winks, forgetting that you can't see beyond the black lenses.

You snort at his cringey response & watch Cole curl into a ball. Braeden doesn't notice Cole's movements, still watching you, infatuated with the silhouette of your face.

"There you guys are!" Dylan & Lydia appear, holding hands. "We were looking for you three everywhere."

While you look up quickly & beam at them, Braeden takes his time peeling his eyes off your face.

"Wow, Braeden, you look dodgy." Lydia observes, causing you & Dylan to laugh softly.

Dylan pulls Lydia closer into a side hug. "Yeah, Y/N, you might wanna be careful around that one."

You roll your eyes & gaze up at Braeden, his smile beaming at your two friends. A moment later, he looks back down at you and takes a mental picture of the image in front of him.