Miss Fake

Chapter 6: Football fan?

With the loud music, only the people close to her notice it, but no one move to help her. I rush there with Addison.

“Oh my god, Rachelle! Are you okay?” I fake concerns.

She looks at me and Nina furiously, before muttering a yeah.

“You should go home and wash it, it’s going to stick, there was some sugar in it because of the mixer,” Nina says, faking as well concern over our ‘friend’.

“I’m okay,” Rachelle answers with a smile. She turns to Bryan and smiles at him. “You have a pool outside, right?” Bryan nods and she smirks.

Hell no! Don’t you dare think you can make your little charming number on us, getting in the pool in underwear.

“You didn’t bring change or towel, you are going to get sick,” I say before she can start walking outside.

“You have some, right?” She asks again Bryan.

“I don’t think it is going to be right,” Nina intervenes. “If you start that, then everyone is going to go inside, and I’m sure Bryan doesn’t have enough towels or changes for everyone, and someone is going to get sick.”

“Nina is right,” Bryan says, unknowingly supporting us. “You can use my shower if you want, and I can give you some of my cloth, but I don’t think any will fit.”

“You could go home to change and come back,” Nina tries.

“Bryan, could give me a lift to my house so I can change?” Rachelle says with a pout, clinging onto his shirt. He was about to accept, but I put my hand on his arm.

“Bryan drank tonight,” I cut in. “He can’t possibly drive like that.”

Bryan looks uncomfortable and nods. I saw him drinking, but he doesn’t look drunk. Still, I won’t let her have it her way.

“Is there someone who didn’t drink, who could drive her?” I ask Bryan, my hand still on his arm.

“Or she could call a uber,” Nina offers. “Since it was my fault, I will pay for it.” She takes her phone out, and don’t wait for Rachelle approval to get on the app and start looking for a driver, after entering Rachelle’s address.

“Found one! He is coming in five minutes,” Nina says happily. “You should gather your stuff and go outside.” Nina accompanies her to the entrance, practically pushing Rachelle away.

“Anyway…” I trail off, turning to Bryan, “why did you make this party? You usually don’t attend parties…” I change the topic to not let him think and feel guilty about Rachelle.

“Well, my friends visited, so I wanted them to have fun with everyone before they leave,” Bryan says looking at Ethan, who I didn’t notice, was standing beside Bryan.

“When are you leaving?” I ask him politely.

“We were supposed to leave on Sunday, but now, I’m not sure…” Ethan answers vaguely.

I don’t know what to answer to that and an awkward blank settle down.

“Bryan, I heard that you know Matt Frey. Is that true?” I ask, trying a technique that Nina taught me. Matt Frey is a famous football player, which I know Bryan admires.

“Yeah, I’ve met him a couple of times. He is awesome.” Bryan says with a smile, making appearing his dimples. “I even have his autograph on the ball we used to play together.”

I smile but scream internally not believing that it worked.

“Really?!” I ask enthusiast, even though I’m not really into football. “Can you show it to me?”

Bryan looks at Ethan, and then to the dancefloor. “I would rather stay here, I’m a bit afraid they’ll break something. But, if you want to see it, Ethan can show it to you.”

I smile and hope it doesn’t look too forced since I have absolutely no desire to go to Bryan’s room if it is not with Bryan. And I really don’t care about the scribble of some guy who plays football. But, as usual, I don’t want to look bad in front of him, or interested, so I nod, trying to look excited. I want to yell and curse at him, treating him of a cockblocker, but I keep it all inside and keep smiling. Bryan hands over something to Ethan, who put it in his pocket.

We move toward the staircase, and I tell myself that even if Bryan isn’t here, I’ll still be able to gather some information on him from his bedroom. Lost in my thought, I don’t see a guy dancing, and bump into him. Being lighter than the guy, I get push away, but an arm catches me before I could drift away or fall. He pulls me closer to him, and I look up to Ethan who is glaring at the guy I bumped into. The guy mumbles a sorry before going away, scared away by Ethan’s glare.

“You scared him,” I say with a chuckle. He looks at me and smiles gently at me.

“He shouldn’t have touched my girl,” he answers softly and keeps going, while I froze at my girl.

Still in his arm, we get through the crowd. It’s like earlier with Nathan, I feel protected, but at the same time, it’s completely different.

When we reach the stairs, he let go of my waist, we wouldn’t fit like that anyway. His hand slides away but he grabs my hand, and we walk the stairs like that. A part of me wants to let it go, since I don’t want Bryan to see and misinterpreted what is happening, but another part of me doesn’t want to let go, feeling good from this contact.

He leads the way, knowing the way to his friend’s bedroom. He goes until the end, going around the different couples making out. He gets out of his pocket a key, which must have been the thing Bryan gave him before we go.

He unlocks the door, and we enter. He closes and locks it again after we enter.

I suddenly realize that I am in a bedroom with a boy I just met, and the door is lock. My body stiffens automatically, while I cross my arms on my chest, feeling uncomfortable. “Where is the autograph?” I ask, wanting to get over with it soon.

Ethan studies me for a moment before sighing. “You don’t trust me,” he says, looking a bit disappointed.

“You can’t blame me,” I say with a laugh to lighten a bit the mood from this awkwardness. “I barely know you.”

“You really think Bryan would have sent you to his room with someone who would hurt you?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I say after some time. It makes me feel better and I let go of the breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“I just locked because Bryan will get crazy if someone he doesn’t know gets in his room. But I left the key in the lock if it reassures you.” It actually does, and I smile at him. “But you should know something, I would never hurt you,” he continues getting closer to me.

I don’t move while he keeps getting forward. Once he is close enough, he moves one of his hand to my cheek and the other one on my waist. I should be pulling out, but I don’t. On the contrary, I lean my head on his hand, enjoying the contact. He smiles gently a me. It feels strange to act like that and feel that while he is a stranger I just met, but it surprisingly feels right.

“You look beautiful,” he whispers, even though we are alone. I am left speechless, hearing the words that I so wanted to hear from Bryan. He pulls me tighter, my head resting on his chest. My arms found their way around his body, and I return his hug.

A knock snaps me out of my daze, back into reality. I push him away quickly. I think I heard a growl, but ignore it, thinking I imagine it. As I get away from him, a weird feeling comes over me. It feels like I’m missing something, or more like something from me was removed. The warmth and the safe feeling also disappear as soon as I wasn’t in his arms anymore. I shake that feeling away, blaming it on the booze.