Disclaimer: I don't own the show, the character or anything. That's why it's so fun to mess w/ them!
Alone with Bradin, Lea is at a lost for words. She is afraid that once she opens her mouth, she'd simply just babble senselessly. Instead, Lea decides to keep her sights on the road.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Bradin has noticed that his date is quieter than usual on their way to the dance.
Bradin examines his date as Lea simply purses her lips, "My thoughts," she begins slowly, "are worth way more than a penny." Lea wrinkles her nose at the expression, what a degradation of a good mind! "I mean, would you say that to Einstein? Or Newton? Or Leonardo Da Vinci? Well, Da Vinci was French so maybe not."
Bradin chuckles lightly, despite noticing that she's trying to change the subject. Parking the convertible into a parking space in front of the school gym, Bradin hops out of the driver's seat and rounds the car to retrieve something from the trunk.
Lea opens her car door, and is about to step out of the car, when she is presented with a colorful bouquet of scented blossoms.
Bradin grins as he watches her expression soften.
"Bradin!"
"That is my name." He answers in a sing-song voice.
"You didn't have to..." Lea stammers. She then looks at him and says weakly, "I didn't think..."
"Well, I wanted to." He grins. "You didn't think that I would give your mom flowers and skip over you?" Knowing very well that she did, Bradin is feeling pleased that he's finally pulled one over her, moreover, he's proud of himself for being able to produce a smile on Lea's face.
"I thought that was more of an appeasement, you know, to make sure only one member of my family wishes for your painful death ritualistically." In her long-winded, roundabout, prideful way, this is Lea's admission that she did think that he didn't bother to get her flowers, and had cared enough to be disappointed.
"You underestimate the classic gentleman!"
"No, I just underestimated you." And the way that you can liquefy my heart like a nuclear meltdown with one simple gesture, she adds silently.
"Are you implying that I'm not a gentleman?" Bradin pretends to be shocked.
"If the shoe doesn't fit..." Lea revises one of her favorite sayings.
"Oh, it fits!" Bradin smirks, crooking his elbow as an invitation.
"Modesty is lost on you." She shifts the flowers into her other hand, taking up on his offer, and the two enter the circus that is the Playa Linda Homecoming Dance.
The gym is decorated inside with the usual high school dance décor—paper streamers, cheap tablecloths, and eccentric centerpieces that will disappear one by one inconspicuously throughout the night.
The festivities ensue with dancing, snacking, and of course, more picture taking.
-Callie and Lea, forever imprinting the moment of their declaration against uncomfortable women's clothing.-
-Bradin and Adam, who procured the oddest hats and suspenders from who knows where, looking very much the 60's film stars-
-Bradin and Callie, grinning into the camera cross eyed, hamming it up for the photograph-.
-Adam smirking and Lea rolling her eyes, he had picked her up in a hero- saving-damsel way, warranting several dirty looks from Bradin.-
-Callie and Adam, performing an impromptu can-can routine inspired by Moulin Rouge.-
-Lea and Bradin, laughing as they attempted to entangle themselves from a failed swing dance twirl move-
At eleven, the masses are ushered out of the gymnasium. A few of them are heading home, a couple for hotel rooms, but most of the cars peeling out of the parking lot are headed for the bonfire after party.
Bradin and Lea are seated in the silver Z4 again. When Bradin slides into the driver's seat after opening Lea's door for her, he finds her studying him with a bemused look.
Her head is slightly tilted to the right, brown locks cascading down the other side, the moonlight hitting her shoulders and collar bone at just the right angle. Bradin feels mouth dried.
"You having fun?" Lea asks softly.
Bradin looks at his lovely date, whose tone reveals that she truly hoped he is enjoying himself, and he only wants to worship her, for always putting others before herself. "Yeah," he requites her with a meaningful smile.
The drive to the beach was a short one. Lea busied herself with the stereo settings, deciding that it'd be good payback to Johnny if she reprogrammed all his settings to Spanish radio stations.
When they arrived at the beach, many of their classmates have already gathered around the stone pit, in which a roaring fire is slowly nursing.
"You cannot bonfire without s'mores." Lea says as if it was a national proclamation as they trekked across the sand.
She glances over her shoulder, waiting for his answer. Now that the dance is over, Bradin has loosened his tie, undone the top buttons of his dress shirt, and rolled up the sleeves. Lea can only smile at the sight of him as he jogs slightly to catch up with her, his blonde locks slightly mussed by the sea breeze.
"Bonfire is not a verb." Bradin points out as he and Lea find a spot near the fire and settle down, warming themselves from the night sea breeze.
Lea waves away the legality, "I'm just extending its usage, I'm sure the literary academies will not be too insulted. Stop trying to change the subject, we're talking about s'mores."
Bradin's face wrinkles as he remembers the sickeningly sweet treat.
"I've had s'mores before!" He winces again as he hears himself rhyme, yeah, that's really manly. "We're from Kansas! We camped on like a seasonal basis! Nikki used to shove those down my throat all the time." There you go Bradin, emphasize your ruggedness.
After a pause for quick contemplation, Lea replies, "well, see, there's your problem."
Despite knowing better, Bradin can't stop himself, "Nikki?"
Lea rolls her eyes disapprovingly, "No! Bradin, you're going to traumatize her one of these days. What I mean is that you've never had a s'more made on a bonfire. At the beach." She looks around and spots the stack of wire clothes hangers. Lea reaches to acquire a couple and begins to straighten out the thin metal.
Bradin grabs a box of graham cracker, a bag of marshmallows and a bar of Hershey's chocolate. "We're still talking about the same graham cracker- marshmallow-chocolate sandwich?" He waves the packages in front of her.
"Unless you're from an alternate universe." Lea shapes a portion of the hangers into the shape of a horse shoe, then twists together the wires, creating a makeshift clamp. She nabs the ingredients from Bradin's hands, stacking them into the right order.
"Okay, well, us aliens toast the marshmallows first?" Bradin reaches over, attempting to snatch the marshmallow so he can show her how to "do it right." His body is almost pressed against hers, and he can smell the fragrance of her shampoo. Derrick's right, she does smell good.
"Patience, young cricket." Lea stretches her hand far behind her, she feels his nearness, and hopes that the only reason why her cheeks are so flushed is because the fire is really warm. Surely the bubbliness she feels in her stomach is just the belated carbonation from the soda she drank earlier.
She nudges him lightly to move back over. Bradin pouts slightly as he observes curiously as Lea proceeds to stick the entire sandwich into her contraption, and roast the entire thing over the fire.
Only Lea would insist on making s'more production an exact science.
Pulling the sandwich away from the cackling flames, Lea extinguishes the marshmallow that had caught on fire and deftly edges out the sweet, offering it to Bradin, "Hurry, take it, it's hot."
Bradin rolls her eyes, "Oh yea, doesn't matter if my fingers burn off," but relieves her fingers of the toasted sandwich anyways.
"Be a man." She grins
Bradin snorts softly, "Touché!"
Lea's eyes widen, "that's the first time I've heard you use that word!"
"Because it's the first time I've ever used it. Remind me never to do it again. You're a bad influence, Lea." He wrinkles his noise.
She ignores the dig and points at the simple delicacy in his hands. "Try it!"
One look at the Lea's earnest eyes told Bradin that he couldn't say no. Not that he really wants to anyway. If his excess consumption of sugar can bring a smile to her face, he'd gladly take a job at the M&M factory as a taste tester.
Gingerly taking a bite, Bradin suspiciously chomps down his jaws, preparing himself for the saccharine combination of melted marshmallow and cold chocolate, and hard graham crackers.
Lea gages his reaction carefully. When Bradin doesn't gag or spit out a mélange of gooey graham crackers, she counts her victory. "Admit it! It's good! It's the best s'more you've ever had!"
Bradin only looks at her with a look of forfeit. Lea goes on to enlighten Bradin on her theory that toasting the entire thing rather than just the marshmallow is what accomplishes the sandwich. "And I think the sand gives it an added flavor."
As Bradin and Lea enjoy each other's company, a voice interrupts their comfortable peace.
"Starting the party without us?" Adam and Callie approach them from the darkness. Adam has rolled up his trousers slightly, and Callie is holding her sneakers by two fingers.
Bradin quickly pops the rest of his s'more into his mouth to free his right hand to exchange high fives with Adam.
Callie settles down next to Lea, "Hey Lea, make me a s'more?"
Lea shoots Bradin a Did-You-Hear-That look, "I should charge for my services."
"Why don't we just make you a plaque? Lea Noel, Grand Champion of Juvenile Diabetes." Bradin retorts.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be sure to call the ambulance when you go into sugar shock."
"You know, s'mores must be the epitome of gluttony." Adam says as he stacks together a double chocolate version.
Callie's eyes widen, "And cheesecake!"
"Root beer floats!" Lea pipes up as she pulls Callie's s'more out of the fire. She offers the wire to Callie, "Here, it's done. You take it out. It's hot."
"Wimp," Callie rolls her eye at her friend.
"Love the appreciation." Lea retorts.
"What about caramel molasses pops?" Bradin brings back the previous conversation.
He's answered by three very blank looks.
"What are molasses pops?" Adam asks.
"They still have those?" Callie vaguely remembers the treat from her Midwest cowgirl days
"Molasses is edible?" Lea's brows are crossed disturbingly. "I thought it was, like, the unprocessed form of... syrup?"
Damn California kids and their strange ignorance! Bradin rolls his eyes, "well, it is, but it's edible!" In midst of his annoyance is a tender affection—she knows so much about too worldly many subjects, yet so little about what Bradin considers the basics.
"Wait, so what does it taste like?" Lea persists.
Bradin chuckles, "it's sweet."
"Oh—" Before Lea can collect more information about the consistency and texture of molasses, a white round mass lobs towards the group, most directly at Lea.
In any other teenage tale, this is when Bradin grabs Lea to pull her to rescue her from the big bad volleyball. But Lea Noel needs no hero in homemade full body spandex suits. She snaps back to attention just in time to catch the volleyball.
"Dude, sorry!" A voice in the darkness floated towards them.
Adam, Bradin, Callie and Lea turn their heads towards the sound. Lea tosses the ball back at the boy who she recognizes from her history class. It seems that a game of impromptu midnight beach volleyball is taking place not far from them.
"Hey you guys wanna play?" Another voice proposed.
Adam considers it for a second, "Yeah, why not." He figures most of the kids were too intoxicated to notice how bad he is anyways.
Bradin looks at Lea, who shrugs, "I don't care."
Callie on the contrary, wrinkles her nose, "I'll pass, I suck at volleyball." She's more of a soccer chic, you know, a sport that doesn't require hand-eye coordination.
Adam is walking over to the court, pulling Callie up by force. "C'mon, that's why you need practice."
Callie glances over her shoulder at Bradin and Lea, "You guys coming?"
Bradin inspects Lea quickly and notes that her hazel-greens seem more lidded than they were thirty minutes ago. "Uh, maybe later."
"Thanks, send me solo to the massacre." Callie groans as Adam drags her away.
"When in doubt, duck and cover!" Lea calls after her friend.
"Yeah, yeah..."
Lea grins as she watches her friends become figures in the darkness; she draws in a deep breath, stifling a yawn.
"Tired already grandma?" Bradin nudges her slightly with his shoulder.
"No!" She answers immediately, but at Bradin's quizzically raised eyebrows, she confesses sheepishly, "well, maybe just a little."
Bradin chuckles, "want me to take you home?"
Lea softly shakes her head, "I'll stay as long as you want to."
"Is that a promise?" Bradin speaks without thinking too much, not realizing what had slipped out of his mouth until moments too late.
Lea's eyes quickly turn bashful, and she averts them away from Bradin's face. It would have turned into an awkward moment if one of their peers didn't decide to turn pyromaniac on them and toss a bottle of lighter fluid into the already roaring bonfire.
Finally, our Bradin gets the chance to play hero, as he pulls a cowering Lea away from the animated inferno that leapt a foot taller instantaneously. In his arms, he can feel the coolness of her skin through his shirt, and the lack of distance between them makes his heart jump to his throat.
"Hey, you okay?" Thank God his voice didn't crack.
"Yeah, it just took me by surprise." Lea mumbles quietly.
Encircled by Bradin, she feels as if someone poured a spell of warmth over her head, and she can feel it traversing towards the appendages of her body. The peppermint and white musk scent of his cologne, mixed with the smokiness of the burning flames is soothing, comfortable, and soporific, magnifying her drowsiness.
Bradin keeps her in his arms—not wanting to let her go, yet too afraid to squeeze her tighter. A few minutes pass and he can feel the petite mass in his arms getting heavier, a sign that Lea is drifting further from consciousness.
He shakes her ever so gently, then pulls her to her feet, "C'mon, Sleeping Beauty, I'll take you home."
Too tired to argue, Lea complies, as she stood up, Bradin roughly encases her in the jacket that he's wearing. Of course, he could have just taken it off and given it to her, but then he wouldn't get to pull her close again.
"If I send you home with a cold, J.B. might decapitate me." He quickly comes up with an excuse.
"Mm? No, he's more into extreme torment. You know, Chinese water torture and the sort." Lea's voice is thick from tiredness.
Bradin rolls his eyes but feels the ends of his lips curling up, even half asleep, she's always got to have the last word.
The car ride home goes by faster than either of them wanted and soon they found themselves on Lea's driveway, which is shaded by several palm trees.
"Well, I better go." Lea says, hating herself for not being able to come up with something witty.
"I'll walk you." Bradin declares more than offers.
The words "You don't have to," are about to slip out of Lea's mouth but Bradin has already hopped out of his driver's seat to come open Lea's door for her. As the night is ending, she wishes he'd stop being such a perfect date, it'll make Monday easier when she has to face things back the way they were, just friends.
They advanced slowly up the low stone steps that led to Lea's front door, anything to prolong the night, even for a few minutes.
When they reached the Mahogany double doors, Lea turns to Bradin and hopes that she's convincing at her good natured smile, "Well, you were a pretty good date, Westerly."
"You weren't too bad yourself." Bradin smiles. He gazes intently at Lea, carefully memorizing Lea's face as to imprint it forever in his memory her features, and how beautiful she looks tonight.
Enraptured by his ocean blue eyes, Lea stands rooted to the ground, all logical, rational, coherent thought slipping out of her mind. For a second, she almost believes that they can stand on her front porch forever, enchanted by each other's eyes and forever succumbing to their reveries.
Then the magnetic forces that must span under the Noel estate kicked into effect, because Bradin feels himself leaning towards Lea, drawn in by that something in emanating from deep within her soul.
And before he could stop himself, he captures her lips in a simple, delicate kiss.
A/N: Ooooh! They kissed!! This chapter is due for revisions and edits. but I just felt like updating. I've already written the next chapter, but I'm going to pace the updates to give myself time to edit and etc. I'm sorry if this story drags...(What kind of stupid story takes 10 chapters to get the main characters together!) mm... oh well. and I don't promise to speed it up either... sorry! don't kill me! cowering in fear but i promise bradin's heartfelt is coming
beautyqueen321: Thank you for keeping up with the story, and thank you for reviewing! I am glad you like it, I've got some ideas for some action soon.
melodie568: Bradin will tell Lea he likes her, don't you worry about that! [wink] I much more for the boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, boy chase girl story line than the, boy is hot so girl must be jealous 24/7 story... [laugh] Thanks for reading and even more thanks for taking your time to review!
icytigergrrrl: Thank you for your long review! I took your advice and revised the chapter with a small note at the end w/ the french meanings. In truth, I don't speak french, at ALL... i had to look up the words at different sources... it took quite a while [sweat]. Hopefully I can keep you interested in the story, and hopefully you will keep reading! Thanks again!
