Disclaimer: I don't own Summerland, Bradin, the crazy beach house, or anything that they show on TV. The TV owns them. (smile)
Bradin stands in front of the door of Lea's house, nervous, excited. He lifts his hand to ring the doorbell, but retracts it. He clears his throat, as if it'd help him work up some guts.
He didn't have too much trouble finding his way, and he had made sure he was on time.
Lea lives in the upper hills. Bradin knew that the houses there were some of the most extravagant in the area. But despite all the prior knowledge, he found himself impressed nonetheless.
For one thing, the exterior landscape has been decorated to resemble a tropical paradise— palm trees, waterfall, colorful tropical flowers—Bradin guesses that those are Lea's mothers choice.
He cautiously rings the doorbell, as if a rogue flamingo might jump out and attack him.
Seconds later, the wooden front door flings open. Bradin looks at the person who came to receive him and he just stares at his greeter, stunned.
"Hmm... the open mouth look isn't your best." She peers at him.
This isn't how it was supposed to happen! Bradin had rehearsed this in his head... and with Johnny. Lea's parents were supposed to come to the door, he's supposed to charm her mom with "you must be Lea's sister," and make good with her dad by calling him "sir".
But, no, Lea can't just be the normal girl who sits on the ottoman in her room and waits for her mother's beckoning call to come down the stairs. She had to be different from the typical She's All That heroine.
Lea was the one who opened the door, looking radiant and glorious. Leaving her date with a dried mouth, not knowing what to say and unsure if he knows his own name.
"Bradin?" Lea looks peculiarly at him. She's starting to get anxious, what if he regrets asking me to go with him—did she look that strange? "Bradin— " Lea's about to tell him that if he wants, he can probably still go stag and there are likely to be lots of available and even unavailable girls—
"You look beautiful." Bradin blurts out, interrupting her mental speech.
Lea looks sideways shyly. "Um, thanks. You look good too, Bradin. I like the tie."
She gives him a genuine smile.
Ava had selected Bradin's attire for him, after finding him in midst of, well, his entire wardrobe. She chose a cerulean blue collared shirt with slate grey slacks, pairing it with a ivory-pale yellow silk tie, borrowed from Johnny's collection, retracting her earlier decisions about the blue tie because "Blue on blue is too much... The shirt is enough to bring out your eyes." Who is he to argue with the fashion designer?
"Well, come in!" Lea moves aside to let Bradin in. At this time, Lea's parents have come back into the nook.
Bradin looks at Lea's parents and immediately he remembers when Lea had told him that J.B. takes after her father. Mr. Noel is, in a nut shell, the older version of J.B., the same green eyes, the same defined nose, the same strong cheek bones, the same sandy blonde hair minus the gelled spikes.
"You must be Bradin." Mr. Noel speaks. There is still a slight French accent resonating in his words, "I am Jean-Bastien Noel the Third."
"Good evening," Bradin answers. "Sir," he adds as he takes the hand that Mr. Noel offers him.
He can hear Lea stifle a snicker next to him.
"Hello Bradin." Mrs. Noel smiles kindly at the handsome boy who's come to escort her daughter, and shakes him with two hands.
"Mrs. Noel." In his other hand, Bradin pulls out a small but tasteful bouquet of flower from behind his back and hands it to her.
Mrs. Noel appears pleasantly surprised. She looks at Lea and says, "I like him already!"
"I think I'm developing an ulcer." Lea mutters under her breath.
She then turns to Bradin, "Please, call me Keala. Mrs. Noel sounds so old, and it gives her father a big head." Keala Noel slightly nudges her husband. A mischievous twinkle shone from her eyes which were still beautiful despite the signs of age.
Jean Bastien Noel III's eyes sparkled as he looks at his wife and then tells Bradin, "Ma chérie and I, it was love at first sight." He grins, and puts his arms around her. Mrs. Noel slightly slaps at his hand but smiles at the same time.
After a round of pictures that left Lea seeing so many stars that she thought she must be at a Hollywood premier, they were finally allowed to leave.
Keala Noel drew in a sharp gasp as she watched Lea pull on her shoes.
Lea and Callie had decided that as a protest against heels—which they agreed to be a misogynic male designer's way of torturing women—they are both going to wear converse sneakers instead. It took Lea a while to find the yellow ones that would go with her dress, but she managed, and it added a tasteful impishness to the effect.
"Lea— " Mrs. Noel looks at her daughter with a frown.
"Mom! We're trying to make a statement. Plus it's not that big of a deal, it's just homecoming, everyone ends up barefoot anyways. Look, these are new and everything." Lea airily waves away her mom's apprehension.
Mrs. Noel smiles apologetically at Bradin, "I'm sorry child, I swear I've raised her better than this. When she was little— "
Mr. Noel quietly edges Bradin towards the door, he knows how his wife can get. "I think she looks wonderful, don't you, Bradin?"
"I completely agree," Bradin feels nothing but adoration as he watches Lea tuck in her laces and stand up, "uh, sir."
Lea rolls her eyes at him. But Bradin just widens his own baby blues at her in a "What?" manner.
As Lea and Bradin head out the door, Mr. Noel puts in his usual fatherly word, "Keep my daughter in one piece, young man." The Noels have never imposed curfews, their children have never given them reason to.
"Yes sir." Bradin solemnly nods.
Lea's mom gives her a kiss. Then Lea's dad reaches for his daughter to give her a quick hug, "Keep an eye on your frere, comprenez?"
"Oui," Lea answers in the French on instinct.
Lea pulls Bradin out the door and as she descends down the three stone steps towards her driveway, she hears her father call after her, "Anastasie! Laissez les bons temps rouler"
Lea throws back her head in a laugh. The sound mesmerized Bradin and her carefree expression was like a painting in his eye.
"D'accord, Papa. À tout à l'heure!" She calls over her shoulder as she follows Bradin to a silver BMW Z3 comvertible.
She raises her eyebrow, impressed. "Bradin, you have connections that I don't know about?"
"Yea," Bradin flashes her a smirk, "Johnny's really in the mafia."
"I knew it!" Lea gives him a look like she believes him.
Bradin opens the door for her, and she ducks into the car, "Thanks."
He then rounds the car and slides into the driver's seat, turning on the ignition. "Anastasie?" He does his best to imitate the correct intonation.
"Je m'apelle Lealana Anastasie-Maryse Noel. My middle name from papa." Lea replies.
At the tongue twisting sound of the romantic language, Bradin's head immediately whips around to stare at Lea.
"Oh my gosh! Bradin! Keep your eyes on the road!" Lea's eyes widen in fear.
"I didn't know you speak French?"
"You didn't ask." Lea says then shrugs. "It's no big. Plus my accent is so bad I think it makes my grandparents cringe."
Bradin grins inwardly at Lea's modesty—whenever the subject approaches to a compliment towards her, she'd always dismiss it by a shrug or a wave of the hand, and the words "no big,"—another reason why he adores her.
Bradin tosses a glance at his lovely date as he maneuvers the convertible down the switchback roads of the Playa Linda Hills, "You ready?" They have one more stop before the dance.
Derrick flips back the blinds as he scrambles away from the den and into the kitchen, where the adults of the beach house crew have assembled. "He's coming! He's coming!"
Five adults and one ankle biter filter back into the den and they can see the head lights of a car pulling up. Nikki must have heard the commotion from her loft because she is stumbling down the stairs to join them.
"The camera!" Erica suddenly turns around.
"It's in the den already." Johnny answers, taking her by the shoulders and directing her back around towards the front door.
"Is there film in there?" Susannah asks.
"It's digital!" Jay replies
"So is there film?" Susannah looks at him, waiting for an answer.
"It doesn't use film!"
Outside, Bradin pulls the Z4 next to the curb. He hops out of the driver's seat and quickly routes over and opens the door for Lea.
It's part of the deal for Johnny's car—he'd bring Lea over before they went to the dance so his family can fawn over her.
Lea had figure that the beach house might get a little excited about the occasion—no matter what anyone says, they're a family in their own unconventional way, and every good family makes a big deal about sending one of their wards to a school dance.
Bradin protested, groaned, and pouted profusely. He tried to explain to everyone that he and Lea are only going as friends, but they just weren't having it. Left with no choice, Ava went to Lea directly when she was over studying one day, and of course Lea cheerfully agreed. The beach house crew has always made her feel welcomed, and she enjoys the buzz and hum of the beach house. Bradin was promptly overruled.
So here he is, taking her to The Beach House With Padded Walls.
Bradin holds out his hand to help her out of the car. When she took it, he notices how soft her skin is and how small her hands are; and he thinks about what he wouldn't do to just grab her and pull her into an embrace, and drown in her essence. But knowing the folks inside the house, they're probably spying.
Bradin gives Lea a wry smile. "Brace yourself."
Back in the den, a few are peering out the blinds, trying to decipher the figures in the darkness, while others wait impatiently by the door.
"Oh! I want to open the door!"
"What color is her dress?"
"But you have the camera?"
"Yeah, I saw it on the coffee table."
"There's nothing on the coffee table?"
"This is so exciting!"
"What? Are you sure?"
"Well, I can take a picture with my phone..."
"Okay, hurry! Go get it!"
"I'm going! Wait! Don't open the door until I get back!"
"But they're coming up the doorsteps right now!"
"Everyone STOP! Nobody move. I.Have.The.Camera." Ava holds up the electronic item in her hand. "Let's all calm down. You're going to scare them. Let's all breathe."
Five adults and one thirteen year old engage in something that resembles a yoga breathing routine mixed with lamaze exercise. And in the middle of their second "and breath out," the front door flings open. Bradin's hand was mid-air as he was just going to open the door, but someone had beat him to it.
He knew it! They were spying!
Bradin and Lea look curiously at the people standing in the foyer. Derrick, who opened the door, leaps towards Lea for a hug, "Lea!"
"Hey little man!" She swoops down to give him a hug.
"Derrick! I wanted to open the door!" Nikki glares at her little brother but quickly turns her expression into a grin for Lea.
"You smell nice!" The little boy speaks the truth.
Lea laughs, "thank you!"
Bradin peels his younger brother away from his date. Uh-huh. I don't think so. Hands off, ankle-biter! He thinks.
But Bradin knew that he's anything from menacing right now, for the first time in a long time, he felt happy.
Not that Lea has erased the pain of losing his parents, Bradin doesn't think that would ever be possible. But Lea has given him hope; for every end, there is a new beginning, and she makes him remember that there are still good things in life to look forward to.
There is a silence as the beach house crew beam at one of their own, about to embark on a delightful evening with a girl who they were all keen on.
For Ava, it is a moment that made her realize the rewards of motherhood—seeing Bradin so happy and elated. Vivacity glimmers through his brilliant blue eyes, reminiscent of the bashful young boy who used to run out from the barn to greet her in Kansas before life threw him into a tornado. Bradin has really turned himself around lately, and she is proud of him. She is also grateful to Lea because whether the girl knows it or not, Ava can see the effect that she has on Bradin.
Johnny, Susannah, and Jay had wide smiles on their faces as well, partly for the two winsome teenagers standing in the doorway, Bradin has been through a lot in a very short time. For him to finally arrive at a happy place is a huge rock lifted in their heart. And also for their best friend Ava, who has taken on so much and has tried so hard to do right by everyone—they are glad to see that it hasn't all been in vain.
Erica smiles as she takes the first move towards the two. She's glad that Bradin, who she has come to regard as a younger brother, has finally found a good girl to give his attentions to. And seeing Lea, a fellow local girl, who is in many ways a reflection of herself, reminds her of the time when her life was a little simpler and each day didn't seem to pass by so quickly.
With their heads slightly tilted up (well for Derrick it's tilted up a lot), the two younger siblings gaze in wonderment at their older brother—their role model, their anchor. Nikki only hopes that one day, she can find a boy who can measure up to her brother, and who will look at her the way Bradin is looking at Lea right now. Derrick grins as he imagines what it'd be like when he's 16, taking the girl of his dreams, presumably Martha, to a dance—it seems to him like the time would only come after an eternity.
Erica puts an arm around Lea first and hugs her, "girl, you look good!"
"Thanks," Lea blushes.
Susannah found her voice next, "Lea, honey! Lets have a see!" She takes Lea's hand makes her turn around so her critical fashion eye can do the one over. "That is a cute dress! Where is it from? And the sneakers—it screams "fun"! I see it! Oh! It's great! Where is the camera?" She starts to visually search around her.
Once the silence was broken, everyone spoke at once.
"Bradin! Taking care of my vehicle?"
"Okay, picture!"
"You remade the dress? Ingenius!"
"Yeah, the steering is awesome..."
"Lea, you're hair is beautiful! Will you French braid mine next time?"
"Bradin! Bradin!"
"Oh, we need to get one of Ava and the couple!"
"Wait! I want a picture on my phone of just me and Lea!"
"Whose sister are you?"
"Yeah, well, she's smarter, and better looking."
"What?"
"'Fraid she got you there, my man."
"I thought I was the one that lived in this house."
"Smile!"
"Bradin! Bradin!"
"Yeah, in a sec, Derrick."
"Say cheese!"
"You clean up good for a Laker fan."
"Heresy! Sacrilegious! Shaq belongs in the west!"
"Oh, can you see all the details of the dress in the photo?!"
"You two photograph really well!"
"But not Jay though."
"Hey!"
"Did you have to put any product in your hair?"
"So where do they hold the after parties now?"
"It's gonna be, like, this bonfire thing."
After a whirlwind of conversations and flashes, Bradin and Lea finally were released.
As they head towards the car once again, Bradin looks at Lea, perhaps he's just overreacting but she looks a little tired already. "Man, I'm really sorry."
Lea frowns slightly at him, "don't be!" She then smiles and softly tells him, "your family is great."
Her words resonate in Bradin's head for a second, my family. Yeah, like it or not, that's what they've become.
Minutes later, the silver Z4 peels off away from the light of the beach house, towards not just a night of dancing and good times, but an untold future that may be bittersweet at times, but promises love, laughter, and unforgettable moments.
A/n -- if you are a French speaker, and you notice that the words and phrases are not correct and would like to enlighten me, I am waiting with open ears. The chapters are getting long... is everyone tired yet? read/review/amuse me (grin). Oh hey, I worked in the scoobies this time! Was it too confusing b/c I left out the names? I wanted to leave it up to your imaginations... No really, it's not because I'm a lazy bum...
I know what you're all thinking-- "God dammit they still haven't gotten to the dance yet? Um. Sorry?
Next chapter is the dance afterparty = Bradin & Lea- ness. I like fluff! If you don't, well, tough. (grins)
Melodie568 - Thanks for keeping up with my story! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter..., and hopefully you liked this one too. did you like the Callie/Lea banter? I think that was my favorite part to write. Hopefully this story isn't moving too slowly for you, I tend to blab on, but for me that's what is fun about writing.
Dolpinchick2568 - Good arm it is! (smile). Anyway, I'm glad you like the story! Hopefully I'm not keeping it moving so slow that you're about to chuck your mouse at the monitor. But the whole basketball thing gave me another idea for this story, even though I already have too many (frown). Happy reading & good luck w/ your story! I took a peek at it, and I enjoy your 1st person narration!
i should have thought of this before, but i didn't. Thank you icytigergrrrl for the suggestion.
Mini French Lesson:
Ma chérie –my dear, my sweetheart.
Je m'apelle Lealana Anastasie-Maryse Noel – My name is Lealana Anastasie-Maryse Noel
Frere - brother
Comprenez - understand
Laissez les bons temps rouler – Let the good times roll.
D'accord, Papa. À tout à l'heure! – Okay Dad, I'll see you later
