So sorry this update it late, but I have an extra long Brella filled chapter to make up for it! Enjoyyy ;)

Stella's P.O.V.

Oh, Saturday, what a glorious day..

This is first weekend in weeks that I haven't spent drowning myself in SAT prep, and boy, was I ready to enjoy it.

And by enjoy, I mean relish in the soft, sheets of my bed, bathing in all it's satin bliss, sleeping in until noon.

That is, until my mother burst into room with a vacuum, interrupting my much needed private time with my bed.

"Stella! How are you still sleeping, it's almost 2pm?!" She scolded, aggressively ramming the vacuum into random spaces of my room.

"Why are you cleaning my room like a crime happened in here?" I groaned, smothering my head further into my pillow in attempts to mute that god awful noise.

"Because it looks like one.. or several did. So this is where half the silverware went!" She said, holding up a stack of old bowls with dozens of pieces of cutlery in them. "What have I said about leaving food in your room!"

"Mom, seriously, are we having guests or something?" I asked. "Even if we are, it's not like they're deliberately gonna come into my room, lift up my lamp and have a heart attack about the dust behind it!"

"Honey, stop joking around and get up" She demanded.

"I was planning on sleeping the entire day!" I huffed, hiding under my covers.

"Are you messing with me or did you forget about it already?" she asked.

"Forget about what? What's happening today?" I questioned.

"Stel! Isabel and the boys are coming over for dinner today. Or more of a lunch, really.." she said.

"What?! Wait why?"

Not that I'm mad, I love Isabel of course, but it would've been nice to be told in advance!

"Angelo's last game of the season, we planned a little celebration, he insisted we invite them.. honestly Stella I told you all this last week" She sighed. Before I knew it, my mom tugged my covers right off, but since I was wrapped like a burrito, I tumbled right onto the floor.

"Wait, mom! By boys you mean.."

"Mr Shields is out on a business trip in Washington, so it will just be Isabel, Liam and Brandon" She said. "Will that be a problem? Please tell me you guys didn't get into another fight-"

"No! He's-.. we're fine" I said.

I haven't spoken to Brandon since two nights ago, so I hadn't had the chance to ask him about that girl, or ask him why he seemed to despise Tristan. I don't wanna seem like I'm overreacting or anything, but I get the sense he's avoiding me. Even though it's been literally one day, he hasn't answered my messages. Maybe he's busy with that girl.. god, it mystifies me how he suddenly just got all friendly with her. Maybe they're old friends or something? I don't know, we can catch up today because the curiosity is eating me up.

"Okay good, I don't want any fighting between the two of you because I have been waiting to invite them all over for ages. Now get ready, so you can help me with the food!" she squealed, before leaving my room. My mom loves having company over, it's adorable really. Back in Miami, she used to be host of all get-togethers and the entire neighbourhood adored her. I'm guess living here, in a much bigger town makes it seem less inviting, but I'm glad she can still have that with Isabel.

A few hours later, the whole house was spotless, per mom's request. After almost burning an omelette - yes, an omelette, to a crisp, she put me on cleaning duty and I dramatically fantasised about being Cinderella, forced to scrub every inch of a marble floor. Until I was reminded of the existence of a mop, which made my life much easier.

"They're here! Stella get the door please" My mom yelled from the kitchen. I looked down straightening out my dress that had risen up a few inches after frantically trying to get stains out of the tablecloth last minute.

And yes, a dress. She told me in a very unsubtle way that my sweats wouldn't cut it, so I was wearing a short flowy, bohemian summer dress that was white. Dumb idea, wearing white at dinner..

"Stella honey, you look gorgeous" Isabel beamed, enveloping me in a hug, as Liam and Brandon stood outside, waiting for us to finish. "Doesn't she look adorable!"

"A messy eater like you wearing white.. did you think this through?" Liam teased. It's like he reads my mind and vocalises my thoughts before I can myself.

"Says you.. did you gel your hair?!" I laughed, reaching my hand out to touch it before he swatted my hand away. "You almost look like a gentleman"

I looked over to Brandon, who was holding a tub of food in his hands that I assume Isabel made. He barely acknowledged my presence, zooming right past me to the kitchen.

Shrugging it off, I closed the door, letting everyone get settled.

"You guys are just in time, food is almost ready" Angelo said, before greeting them and being showered in 'congratulations' on his team's success.

My mom, Isabel and Liam were deeply engaged in conversation about food, obviously. Brandon had hogged Angelo to talk about some sport... stuff, I don't know I tuned out after hearing the words 'gym' and 'reps'.

So I was just sitting there on the couch, alone, awkwardly fiddling with the edge of my dress.

I wasn't being paranoid, Brandon is totally avoiding me! He hasn't said two words to me since he came.. did I do something?

No! I shouldn't be blaming this on myself, he's the one icing me out, giving me the silent treatment for no reason!

"Stella? Are you listening, honey?"

"Sorry what?" I asked, blinking out of my distracted daze.

"I asked if you could grab the champagne glasses for us?" my mom asked.

"Sure. Brandon, would you help me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

"I don't think that requires two people" he muttered, avoiding my gaze.

What the hell is his problem? He can't even look at me?

"It's high up, I can't reach it" I said, grabbing his arm and tugging him along.

I practically had to drag him to the kitchen, but once we were in, I closed the door and leaned my back against it so he wouldn't try and leave.

"Where are they?" He asked.

"Where are what?"

"Champagne glasses" he stated in an obvious manner.

"Screw the champagne glasses, I need to talk to you!" I said. "Why are you acting like I have the freaking plague?"

"I don't know what you're talking about" he said, opening the fridge.

Okay, he's really getting on my nerves.

"Cut the bullshit, Brandon" I said, slamming the fridge door as I appeared in front of him. "You're ignoring me"

"I'm not"

"You didn't answer any of my texts!"

"My phone was on airplane mode, I didn't get them till today" he shrugged.

"You literally latched on to Angelo to avoid me" I said.

"We were just catching up" he said.

"Are you mad at me?" I frowned. "Because if this is about the other day, I'm sorry about embarrassing you when you were with that girl. I know I probably went too far, but I swear I never meant to make you mad I just-"

"It's not that." he finally spoke, cutting my apology short. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Well that's a relief, because I so need to talk to him about that later..

"Oh." I uttered. "Then why.."

"It's.. Rivers" he spat, leaning back on the counter as he crossed his arms.

"Tristan? Let me get this straight, you're mad at me because you think Tristan stole your spot on the team, and you're jealous of-"

"Wow.. is that what he told you?" he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Unbelievable... but then again, that's just like him"

"Can you stop being so mad for one second and talk to me? Why do you hate him so much, what did he ever do to you?" I asked.

I saw a look of pain cloud over his eyes, as if there was more to the story, but he just brushed it off.

"Nothing. He.. he's just a bad guy, okay? I don't think you should be with him" he said.

"I'm not with him, we're just friends" I said.

"Yeah, for now. I mean come on, you're not an idiot Stella. You know what the deal is with these types of guys"

"What are you talking about, what 'types of guys'?" I questioned.

"Players, flirts, heartbreakers. Different titles, same thing. He's just using you" he said.

"He's not! He's been nothing but nice to me, he's not like that. You don't know him" I argued.

"Oh, and you do? He's clearly filled your head with lies about me" he said.

"As far as I know, everything he's told me is true. I mean you did quit the team, he replaced you, and now you're jealous because he's a better quarterback than you?"

"That has nothing to do with it. He's an asshole and you shouldn't trust him" he said.

"Look Brandon, I can and will hang out with anyone I want. I'm sorry if that bothers you, but unless you give me a valid reason not to talk to him, you're gonna have to find a way to deal with it" I said, walking over to the cabinet to grab the glasses we came here for in the first place. "Besides, you're one to talk. You were an asshole when we first met"

"That's totally different. He's never spoken to you before, and suddenly he wants your attention. He's only looking for one thing-"

"Oh, because I'm so unlikable, right? The thought that someone would actually genuinely like me is just beyond belief to you?" I retorted.

"What? No, of course not. I didn't mean it like that" he said.

"Then what did you mean?"

"You know what.. forget it. Do whatever you want, I don't care." he said coldly, pushing past me.

We were barely ten minutes into dinner, and it was already weird. Brandon and I were left sitting opposite each other, and he was looking everywhere but my direction.

Deciding to ignore his childish temper tantrum, I continued to eat but was disturbed by my phone beeping on my chair every two seconds.

"Someone's popular today" Liam laughed, elbowing me.

I picked it up and saw a bunch of messages from, well, speak of the devil and he appears.. Tristan.

Biting my lip to stop a grin from spreading on my face, my eyes scanned over the texts.

He was just being adorable even in text form, it was too hard not to smile, okay?

Suddenly, my phone was slipped right out of my hand by Liam, who was reading them with his jaw on the floor.

"When did you plan on telling me about this!" he gasped, looking at me in disbelief.

"Liam, give it back!" I demanded, trying to snatch my phone from his grasp.

"You're dating Tristan freaking Rivers and you don't even tell your best friend?" he exclaimed, diverting all the attention to us.

"I'm not-"

"Tristan? Isn't that the boy you used to be friends with?" Isabel asked, looking at Brandon.

"He's not my friend! Never was, never will be" Brandon grumbled immaturely.

Hold up.. so they WERE friends? What the hell happened between them?

"You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend?" My mom said, looking at me suspiciously.

"Look what you've done now, moron" I whispered, smacking Liam on the shoulder. "I don't! I'm not dating him or anyone, I swear. We're just... acquaintances?"

"Then why are you all giggly when he texts you?" Liam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"None of your business! Can we please talk about something else!" I whined, finally grabbing my phone and turning it off.

"Well, as I was saying before, our garage is a complete mess and I was thinking of getting the boys to clean it up tomorrow" Isabel spoke, carrying on her conversation from earlier.

"About that.. I can't tomorrow. I have a volunteering thing and I really need it for my resumé and college applications, sorry" Liam said.

"Why don't you get Stella to help? She's got nothing to do, she could definitely use the work" my mom suggested.

"Oh, I couldn't ask her to do that. It's a whole day's job" Isabel said.

"Why do you automatically assume I never have plans?" I asked my mom.

"Do you?" she questioned.

"Well.. no. But-"

"Then it settled, Stella will help Brandon tomorrow, won't you?" She said.

"Yup, I'd be happy to help" I smiled politely.

I can practically see him gleaming in joy...

After that, he only seemed to get more agitated at me, as if I was purposely trying to piss him off.

"Brandon, could you pass the potatoes?" I asked for the third time, practically forcing him to look at me. A scoff escaped his throat before he quite rudely shoved the plate forward.

"Stop being an ass" I whispered, leaning forward.

"Stop forcing me to hand you food every two seconds!" He whispered back.

"What is with the attitude? Can you not at least be civil?"

"Not as long as you keep cozying up to that pendejo"

"You're the one keeping secrets, I mean you're the one who had a girl in his room the other day!"

My eyes went wide as I realised our argument had escalated out of whispering and into yelling, and everyone was now looking at us.

"You had a girl in your room?" Isabel asked, making Brandon splutter into an explanation.

"N-No, it wasn't like that! Ask Liam, he's the one who brought her there in the first place" he said.

"Alright, so I may have set up a little date with a girl I knew, big deal. I honestly didn't think he'd agree to it" Liam said, putting his hands up in defence.

"Wait, you set that up?" I asked.

"Duh. You think he could do that by himself?" Liam chuckled. "I set him up with Alison P, from my English class, and I think they really hit it off. Just call me cupid"

"Really, tell me more! I was beginning to worry he'd sworn off girls forever" Isabel beamed.

"Trust me, this was a last resort. After this I was gonna start setting him up with dudes" Liam laughed, earning a kick under the table from Brandon. "You might be getting grandkids early from all the noise that was coming from his room..."

"Shut up man, we just met. It was completely innocent, nothing happened" Brandon defended.

"Pftt, didn't sound like that to me" I muttered under my breath, "And you claim Tristan is trying to get into my pants, when you're the one pouncing at the first chance you get"

Shit, did that really just come out of my mouth?

The sudden clang of glass hitting the table made my gaze shoot up, meeting Brandon's, who had just dropped his drink in shock and was practically bathed in Snapple.

Ha! Never mind, that was totally worth it. It's what he deserves.

"That's so not what happened, you should know since you were eavesdropping!" he accused, standing up. "I know you're obsessed with me, but that's a little much, don't you think Sunshine?"

Oh, so now he wants to talk to me?

"Excited, are we? I know you like her, but have some decency and keep it in your pants" I teased, gesturing to his jeans that were soaked with iced tea.

"Stella!" My mom warned, shooting me a stern look.

"..I'll go get some paper towels" Angelo said, rushing to the kitchen to escape the awkwardness.

"Brandon! I hope you're not doing anything irresponsible, you better be saf-" Isabel started.

"God no, mom please stop. We were literally just playing video games, nothing else. You're starting to sound like Stella" Brandon sighed.

"Wait you played with her?" I scoffed in surprise, unintentionally emphasising the word 'her' in a rude way.

No! I did not mean to make that sound as... envious as it did.

"You guys played video games? I thought the only girl you did that with was Stella" Liam commented. "You jealous, Stel?"

Again, reading my thoughts aloud, Liam?!

"Ew, no! He can do whatever he wants, I'm just surprised Alison Pierce even knows how to pick up a controller" I laughed.

"Like Tristan can even manage to count up to his own body count" Brandon replied.

So that's how he wants to play it? Fine, it's not like we haven't done this before... I'm just getting started.

"Look, I know you're sexually frustrated right now, but must you project your frustration onto all of us?" I sneered.

"That's rich, coming from the dumb blonde who's begging for the attention-"

"That's enough! Go and clean yourself up Brandon!" Isabel ordered, sending him to the kitchen.

"Stella, go help him and apologise for your rudeness" My mom said.

"But I didn't-"

"Now!" she demanded.

Sighing reluctantly, I pushed my chair back and stomped to the kitchen, where Brandon was leaning against the sink, dabbing a wet cloth on his light grey shirt.

"Thanks a lot, jackass. Way to make a scene" I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Hey, I wasn't the one running my mouth all night long, you started this" he said.

"Ugh, gimme that" I said, rolling my eyes as I snatched the cloth from him. "Water isn't gonna do anything for those stains"

I scoured the drawers for some baking soda, and mixed it into the cloth.

"Stay still" I whispered, fumbling with the hem of his shirt as I pulled it towards me.

I meant for it to create some distance, so I wouldn't have to actually touch him when cleaning his shirt, but for some reason he only got closer. I scrubbed at the peach coloured stains, going as rough as I could in a feeble attempt to piss him off. But of course, thanks to his stupid abs, he probably couldn't feel a thing, and was laughing at me.

Yes, laughing! After getting me in trouble, he has the audacity, the nerve, to laugh at me!

"I bet you're really enjoying this" I groaned as I scrubbed even harder. I'm surprised his shirt was still intact and I hadn't burnt a hole through it at the rate I was going.

"What, you aggressively rubbing my body?" he chuckled.

"You're seriously one stupid remark away from a slap" I warned.

"You know.." he whispered, towering over me as he leaned closer. "Maybe its not me who's sexually frustrated.."

Realising what he was insinuating, my eyebrows knitted together in annoyance, and my mouth flung open to protest but nothing came out. It's like my words were stuck in my throat, and I suddenly felt all hot and flustered. Is he actually suggesting that I... that I'm the one who's... wow, he really is full of it.

What is he doing?! And more importantly, why is it making me feel like... this - whatever the hell this is.

My brain was rushing with a million absurd thoughts right now because of the lack of distance between us. I could feel his hot breath blowing against my neck, and boy, was it was doing things to me, evoking the memory of that one strange encounter we had at his party. I mean, his husky voice saying those words almost makes him seem-

No! No way, I'm not giving into that, not even if hell freezes over! Snap out of it Stel. Remember, you're supposed to be mad at him right now.

"I could help you with that Sunshine" he murmured suggestively, his lips grazing my ear, sending chills down my spine.

My entire body stiffened as my mind registered his words and my heart was racing like crazy.

What did he mean by that? Surely he isn't saying.. what I think he's saying.

I mean why would he even go there, he likes Alison, right? Why would he be...

He's just messing with me, I will not succumb to his stupid little mind games. Whatever he's playing at, two can play at this game.

Loosening the grip I had on the bottom of his shirt, I traced my fingers up, agonisingly slowly across his torso, before tightening my hand at the collar. My fingers ghosted over the soft skin on his neck as I took a fistful of the fabric, pulling him down to meet my eyes. He mindlessly complied, leaning in further until our faces were inches apart, and our breaths were entangled.

"Do you wanna know what I think?" I mumbled breathlessly, my eyes lowering to his lips, which he was biting. Probably to prevent him from laughing.. jerk.

I know I'm not supposed to be caving into it but.. god, he looks so good.

Suppressing the urge to kiss him right now is-

Oh my god. Hold up, I did not just think that. What has gotten into me?!

Okay sure, I can admit he's attractive, but I have never fantasised about doing something like that! ... At least, I think so?

Fine, once or twice maybe, I've let my mind stray to that far corner of my subconscious, remembering that one night he had basically hit on me, and pondering about what would've happened if I hadn't run off. And after we became friends, I buried all of those weird thoughts. But every time we'd get super close, or he'd do something like.. this, they'd all just come rushing up, erupting like a volcano and setting my brain on fire.

"What?" he whispered, bringing me back to reality.

Okay, ignore whatever you're feeling right now Stel, and give him a taste of his own medicine!

"I think..." I began, reaching for the cloth on the counter behind him with my free hand, "That you are a...", slowly getting closer and closer, until I grabbed it.

"Narcissistic, infuriating, conceited, insufferable, smug asshole!" I exclaimed, smacking his chest with the wet cloth simultaneously to every word.

"Ouch Sunshine, you're such a tease" he pouted, clutching his chest with pretend hurt.

Oh, yeah, I'm the tease now? He was snapping at me like Regina George all night and then suddenly acts all.. charming, and yet I'm the tease? I will never understand the way the male brain functions.

"I though you were mad at me, did I miss something when you were in the kitchen alone?" I asked, moving to the sink to start washing up.

It's better I keep our proximity at a safe distance for now, and distract myself before I start to overthink everything again.

"I was, until I realised what this thing with Tristan really is" he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It's adorable really. You're jealous" he smirked.

Jealous? He's gotta be kidding right?

"Of what, your irrational mood swings? Because I can assure you, I'm all too familiar with them, little thing we call PMS" I said.

"Of Alison. You don't like the fact that you're the not the only girl I'm hanging around anymore. Liam must've told you about what he set up before you went to meet Rivers, it's the only rational excuse for you to go fraternising with someone like him. All make sense now" he shrugged.

I can't distinguish where the ego ends and the delusions begin.. what on earth is he even saying?

"First of all, Liam didn't tell me jack shit, okay? If you hadn't been dodging my calls the past few days, I probably would've told you that Tristan and I talked before the SATs and he was just being polite. Then afterwards he offered to grab a bite with me, because.. uh, oh yeah, my ride was nowhere to be seen. So ultimately, if you're looking for someone to blame, look in the mirror because if you hadn't ditched me, I wouldn't have been speaking to him in the first place" I explained. "Now, I know your ego is the size of Jupiter so it may be difficult for you to comprehend this, but me talking to him has absolutely nothing to do with you"

"Oh, so you just happen to suddenly be so close to my number one enemy? That's just a coincidence?" he asked.

"Wait, I thought I was your number one enemy? Well, former enemy" I said.

"No, aside from you. I can't stand the guy and everyone knows it, so you really expect me to believe you guys are buddies, when you've never spoken to him before?" he asked.

"I swear I didn't know! And yeah, maybe we haven't spoken but we have some... history" I said. "I've watched him play, and technically I have spoken to him! I insulted him and he seemed to remember it"

"Sorry to break it to you, but drooling at sweaty guys on a field isn't exactly what I'd call history" he chuckled.

"Whatever. Second, what do I even have to be jealous about? I mean you and Ali have barely been on one date" I scoffed.

"Ugh, you played video games with her! And not me!" he mimicked, attempting his terrible impression of me. Really, it's way off, he makes me seem like some spoilt brat from the valley, and it's so nasally and ugh. If you're gonna ridicule me at least do it right, ya know?

"Hey! I don't sound like that" I whined, throwing a dishcloth at his face. "Since you so kindly made a mess of dinner, help me clean up"

"Fine. You wash, I dry" He said, joining me at the sink as he pushed me aside with his shoulder, practically shoving me out the way.

"Okay but seriously. What happened between you and Tristan, and why have you never told me I had some competition in being your sworn nemesis?" I joked.

"Trust me, there is nothing you could say or do that would make me hate you as much as I do him. And that's saying something, because you're legit the most annoying person I've ever met"

"Excuse me! And here I was thinking we were friends" I huffed.

"Of course we are Sunshine, which is why you have no reason to be jealous of Alison" he teased, looping his arm around my shoulder.

"Ugh I told you, I'm not!" I groaned, pushing him off. "But now that you mention it, is she a better player than me?"

"See, you totally are jealous!" he laughed, elbowing me. "Don't worry, I was a gentleman and went easy on her"

"I hope we're still talking about video games here.." I snickered.

"Ugh get your head out of the gutter Stel" he said, getting all red.

"Awww, is someone blushing" I said, poking his cheek before erupting into a fit of giggles. "Don't worry, I won't spill your secret"

"Well you already did, not that there is anything to spill. Thanks a lot for that, by the way." he said sarcastically. "My mom is never gonna stop pestering me after tonight"

"You're welcome" I laughed, handing him a plate. We continued in a comfortable silence for a bit, until he spoke up.

"Stella"

"Mhm?"

"Sorry about ignoring you the last couple days, and being in a mood all night, and calling you a dumb blonde, and-"

"Stop, I get it. It's fine" I interrupted.

"No, it's not. You don't deserve that" he sighed. "I should've talked to you about it before, you know.. reverting back to our old way of communicating. It's just, when I saw you with Tristan, of all people, I just got so angry"

"Yeah, I figured" I said, turning the sink off as I moved to face him. "you looked like you wanted to run him over"

"I'm sorry for making you think I was mad at you. I'm not, I swear. I should've just asked you without jumping to conclusions like that. It's him I'm mad at" he said.

"You've never mentioned him the whole time I've been here, I had no idea you guys even knew each other till now" I said.

"That's because I've managed to avoid him this past year. Mostly due to luck, since we have no classes in common, so it's been easy to pretend he doesn't exist. But now suddenly he's managed to weasel his way into your life" he complained.

"Your mom said that you guys were friends before. What happened?" I asked. He looked at me hesitantly, before exhaling.

"Look, there's a lot of fucked up history between us, and I don't want to involve you in that mess. He's just not someone you can trust. I know you probably won't listen to me so I'm not gonna tell you what to do, but Stella just.. be careful. Please?" he asked earnestly.

"Okay. I will, promise" I smiled. "So, are we good now? Or are you gonna randomly gonna start bitching at me out of nowhere"

"We're good" he nodded. "As long as you don't make anymore snarky comments about my sex life"

"Uh, you mean lack thereof?" I giggled, but halted my laughter as soon as I saw the mischievous look painted across his face.

Before I could say or do anything else, I was smothered in bubbly dish soap foam. Like seriously, he kinda just threw it at my face but it was seeping down my neck and all over my dress.

So much for keeping it clean, I knew wearing white was a terrible idea.

"You did not just-"

"Hey, I'm playing fair, only doing what you did to me" he interjected.

"But I didn't pour the iced tea on you, you dropped it on yourself! How is that my fault?" I pouted, attempting to wipe it off. "You can't blame me for your lack of self control"

A cheeky grin tugged at his lips as he took a step forward.

Oh no.. should I be scared?

He slowly approached closer, and I kept stepping back until my back hit the wall and I was trapped.

"You asked for this, Stel" he said, his eyes glinting with amusement, as his arms reached out.

Realisation hit me, and my eyes went wide as instant regret washed over me.

"No no no Brandon you can't!" I sputtered. "I'm sorry, I won't tease you ever again I promi-"

My words were cut short by sudden shrieks of uncontrollable laughter, as his hands travelled down my sides, tickling me relentlessly.

FYI, I'm extremely ticklish. I made the very idiotic mistake of telling him that once, and now it's back to bite me in the ass.

"Brandon!" I yelped, squirming in his hold, desperately trying to escape, but it was no use. I could hear him laughing too, probably at how I was literally under his control with a single touch.

Not like that! I didn't mean to make it sound as dirty it did...

"You're! So! Mean!" I squeaked through giggled, trying to slither out of his grasp. His fingers brushed up against the sensitive skin on my neck, making me cry out hysterically.

"Looks like someone isn't as tough as they seem?"

"Okay you win! Let go!" I begged, banging my fists against his chest in attempt to push him away.

"What's the magic word" he asked.

Seriously? I'm out here on the brink of death and he's asking for a magic word?

"Brandon!" I whined.

"Nope, try again"

"Please?"

"Only because you asked so nicely" he said, finally retreating from his merciless attack as he withdrew his hands.

"You.." I panted, out of breath from laughter. "are.. evil!"

"Now we're equal" he grinned.

"I need to get going or I'll be late for work, but thanks again for helping out, Stella" Isabel said, grabbing her keys from the table.

"Of course, anytime" I assured. It was the next morning, and Brandon and I were in the kitchen saying goodbye to Isabel.

"I'll be home pretty late so just order something to eat, I left some money on the counter. Bye!" she said, rushing out.

"So, we should probably get started" I said.

"Just warning you, it's really messy" he said, walking towards the door as he twisted the key in.

"I'm sure it's fine, I mean how bad could it be?" I asked, entering after him. Upon switching on the light, I immediately took back my words.

Never mind, he was right...

There were boxes of stuff everywhere, piles of unopened packages and some old furniture. I don't think I can even see where the room ends.

"You were saying?" he chuckled, closing the door behind him.

"Um.. how did it-"

"Get this bad?" he finished. "Long story short, my parents started using it as a storage space when we had a leak in the attic a couple years ago. They never really bothered to put it all back since it was fine here, but after Liam moved in his parents moved some stuff here too. It's gotten really cluttered the last few months and we've been putting it off for so long"

"Well, we better get to work because this is gonna take all day" I sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

"How about you go through those boxes on the far left and just organise them into piles of whatever is in there" he said.

I nodded, moving to that side of the room and sitting on the floor in the middle of all the boxes. I pulled one down, opening it and began to sort through them. Most of them were just full of old toys and stuff.

Reaching under a pile of action figures, I found a dusty old book and pulled it out, blowing the dust off. Opening the front cover, I realised it was a photo album, and started to look through it.

I couldn't hold back the smile that spread on my face as I flicked through the pages, seeing pictures of young couple with a tiny little brunette boy.

"Aww, is this you?" I gushed, holding up the album to Brandon, who was now standing in front of me.

"Where did you find that?" he asked, sitting down next to me.

"With your old toys, I guess you accidentally packed it in there" I said. "You were such a cute baby!"

"I'm even cuter all grown up, huh?" he teased.

My eyes scanned over a picture of Brandon with another little boy, with huge glasses and a messy mop of hair a few shades lighter than his.

"Wait, is this Liam?" I asked, looking at him in surprise. "He.. um, he's a-"

"Total nerd?" he insisted.

"No!" I said, elbowing him. "He's adorable. He just looks really different"

"It's alright, you can say it. Not all of us are as blessed as I was at such a young age" Brandon chuckled.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure you were a real ladies man during elementary. I mean who wouldn't fall for a boys scout" I laughed, pointing to a picture of him when he was around 8, and he was head to toe decked out in scout gear, badges and all.

"T-That's nothing, just skip that!" he groaned, hastily shoving the pages forward.

"No, I wanna see!" I said, trying to swat his hands away.

"But it's embarrassing Stella" he whined.

"Well get over it, we all had an awkward phase. Mine was the entirety of middle school. Braces, terrible choice of clothing, and awful hair. The frizz was.. unimaginable" I shuddered.

"Do you have pictures? I need to see that" he said.

"What, so you can use them to blackmail me?" I asked.

"If you let me see them, I'll let you see mine" he said, clutching the album in his arms.

I rolled my eyes, reaching for my phone and searching for a collation of pictures my mom had sent me a while back, and then unwillingly handing it over to him as he passed me back the album.

"Damn, no one told me the Einstein look was in style" he laughed, swiping through the pics.

"Oh shut up, it was the humidity! Plus, I don't think you're in a position to make fun of anyone, Cub Scout"

"Stel" he said, his voice suddenly softening as he passed my phone back. "Is this.."

I looked at the picture he was on, and it was of me and my brother when we were really young. We were at the park, doing something dumb probably, but it was a really fun day as far as I remember.

"Luke" I grinned, nostalgia washing over me as I stare at the clumsy little blond boy with a dozen bandaids plastered on his face. "He was such a bubbly, high spirited person, especially when we were young. I remember that day, we were playing in the park and some older kid had pushed me off the swings. He was like a foot taller than us, but Luke, being the brave little idiot he was, stood up to him and evidently, he got his ass handed to him"

"Really?"

"Yeah, and he got lectured about fighting other kids at the playground, but he didn't care because as far as he knew, he was my hero" I laughed. "He would've loved it here, in California. He'd always talk about coming here.. when I was like 15, he tried to convince me that we should take a trip and I told him not to because we would've gotten into major trouble. But now, I kinda regret not doing it"

"You okay?" Brandon asked, looking at me with concern. I hummed in response. "You know can always talk to me, Stel. I-if you want, that is"

"I know. You too" I smiled, turning my face back to the album. I soon came across more recent pictures, presumably from freshman year, and there were a bunch of photos of Brandon with two other guys. One of them had dark raven hair, and I didn't recognise him. And the other...

"Tristan?" I said in confusion.

Why does Brandon have pictures of him with Tristan? I don't understand any of this, he claims they're enemies and won't tell me why, but they were clearly pretty good friends a few years ago..

"That's enough" he said, grabbing the album and slamming it closed.

"Are you seriously not gonna explain that? You have pictures with him, and it seems to me like you guys were pretty tight" I said.

"Stella, just drop it" he said, getting up and going back to what he was doing.

"No! Not until you tell me what happened between the two of you!" I demanded, trailing behind him.

"You really wanna know? Because I don't know what lies he's told you, but-"

"He hasn't told me anything, he didn't even tell me you guys were friends. I get that you don't wanna talk about it, but I can't go on like this if you freeze up every time I mention his name" I said.

"Fine.. fine" he sighed, opening the album back up to the page I was on.

"You see this guy next to us? His name is Zack, and he was one of my best friends. I thought Tristan was too, but it was a long time ago. I knew these guys before I met Riv, Sky and the others, and we were friends all throughout junior high. By Sophomore year, we were all on the team together and that came with it's fair share of popularity. We grew apart a little because we started hanging out with different crowds, and Zack and Tristan were the crowned jocks. But for the most part, it was still the 3 of us most of the time. That is, until Mitzi came along"

And there it was, the revelation. It makes so much more sense, of course Mitzi was involved in this.. no wonder he wouldn't talk about it.

"You remember that night, I told you that she.. she and one of my friends.." he said, his voice resonating in pain. I nodded, saving him from having to relive it, since he could barely even say it aloud.

"Wait, w-was it Tristan?" I hesitated.

"No.. doesn't make him innocent, but no. You think I'd let him anywhere near you if it was?"

"So thats leaves Zack then.." I whispered, glancing back at the picture. He did mention that the guy left town, and since I didn't recognise him, it had to be him.

"Zack" he scoffed in disgust, his expression hardening.

I furrowed my brows in sympathy, looking at how happy they all seemed.

It's one thing to cheat on your boyfriend, but to do it do it with their best friend.. how could people be that heartless?

"Turns out it wasn't the first time, and the sad thing was I expected it from her, but not him. After realising how blindly in love I was with her, I saw the type of person she was. But Zack.. I grew up with that guy, I trusted him, and he did the worst thing I could ever imagine, and he didn't even think he was doing anything wrong. That.. that was the best part of it all" he chuckled coldly.

"I can't imagine how that must feel, the two people closest to you, betraying you like that" I said with sincerity.

My heart ached seeing him like that, still so dejected from the heartbreak not only his first love gave him, but also his best friend.

"Once I finally got to talk to Mitzi, she told me that she screwed Tristan too, and that our whole relationship was just her trying to prove that she could get all three of us, or something stupid like that. Tristan convinced me that it was a one night stand and happened before we got together, and I believed him. Now, I don't really know what to believe because all 3 of them were lying to me and saw the whole thing as one big game. Only, I was the idiot who caught feelings"

"Oh my god, that's sick. I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was that.. cruel. Both of them did to that to you?"

"Honestly, Zack was mostly to blame. Tristan wasn't seeing her while I was with her, if he was then Mitzi definitely would've rubbed that in my face. I hated him for not telling me about them before I got involved with her. But that's not the main reason I broke off all ties with him. He was the one that basically exposed them, and his only reason for doing it was to hurt me. He found out that they were secretly hooking up at some party and tagged me along, just so I could walk in on them" he explained.

"So.. Tristan was the one who exposed them. If all this happened, then why would he talk to me, why would he take that risk?" I asked.

"I don't think he knew about us being friends.. I mean, he probably thought he was safe since last everyone knew, we hated each other" he said. "Plus, you gotta understand, Tristan has literally convinced himself his lies are true. I stopped talking to him after Zack and Mitzi left town because he wouldn't stop denying everything. As bad as they were, at least they were brutally honest in the end, but Tristan denies that he did anything wrong. That's why he acted all civil to me the other day. I mean even if he did do it out of concern for me, he still did sleep with her and lie about it, so either way I could't trust him after that"

Woah... that's a lot to take in.

So, not only did both of his friends and his girlfriend stab him in the back, but Tristan knew about their secret relationship and purposely used it to hurt Brandon.

I honestly don't even know what to think right now. I was starting to actually.. possibly, like Tristan.

"Sorry, I know I probably messed everything up for you guys now"

"No, please don't apologise. I should've listened to you earlier, it's my fault really" I sighed. "I'm glad you told me.. I guess I'll have to find a way to shake him loose now"

"I could help you with that" he said, a roguish smile tugging at his lips.

"What, so you have an excuse to beat him up?" I laughed. "It's fine, I'll handle it"

"You probably think I'm a complete poser, right? Acting all tough and condescending when really I'm just-"

"Human? Brandon, you don't need to put a front, especially with me. It's okay to vulnerable.. which sounds completely ironic coming from the girl who hasn't even got the guts to tell her best friends she's got a dead brother" I said with a dry laugh, realising how hypocritical I was coming off to be.

"How do you do it, Stella? Cope with something as heavy as that and still be all, you know... Sunshine-like." he asked, leaning his head back on the wall.

"Oh, is that where that nickname came from?" I teased, nudging him. "Had no idea I came off so cheerful"

"Well you do, you practically radiate enthusiasm.. how do you do it?" he repeated. "It's barely been a year, right?"

"Yeah, wow.. time flies. I mean, the first couple months were rough. I kept myself distracted, surrendering to any highs I could find, really. From anxiety meds that doctors prescribed, to any dangerous insane activities that would spike my adrenaline. Experiencing that momentary euphoria, it makes you forget everything else, even for a split second. It was so intoxicating to be able to take the edge off, and suppress all the pain and regret I felt. But all highs come to an end.. and when mine did, it was excruciating. When I finally stopped running from it, and faced all the grief, I thought I'd lose my mind and go insane. I thought I'd never feel happy again, or feel anything for that matter and I felt so alone" I admitted.

"Then, my parents got divorced and that was just the icing on the cake. That was it for me, I thought, great, it literally could not get any worse, so whatever the universe threw at me, I didn't even have the strength or energy to fight it. I was a different person - I was a total bitch, for one. I didn't talk to anyone, got in trouble at school, stopped putting effort into anything" I explained.

"What changed?"

"Believe it or not, Luke gave me a reality check. I was home alone one day, and was trying to watch a movie or something, and I left to make popcorn. And while I was in the kitchen I suddenly heard his voice, out of nowhere. Can you imagine, he was gone for a couple months by this point, and I'm just starting to accept it, and then I hear his voice? It scared the living shit right out of me" I laughed. "Seriously, for a second I thought I was crazy, then I thought I was being haunted"

"But you weren't..?" he questioned.

"Nope. It just was the TV it was on autoplay and an old video of his was playing. But still, hearing his voice like that was a complete shock, and I just sobbed for two hours straight, until finally turning it back on and watching it. It was a light hearted video that he made a couple months before he passed, but it was a weird coincidence because it was exactly what I needed to hear. It was just another one of his weird vlogs he'd film when he was bored. I was all upset over a boy or something, and I wouldn't let him into my room so he sent me that video instead, telling me that I should 'get off my ass and live my life like there was no tomorrow, because every day I spend moping around is just another one wasted'. I realised how much time I had wasted doing exactly that, being angry at myself, and him and my parents and the world, and after that night I focused on getting better and trying to actually live. That's what he would've wanted, right? He was my role model, even in death, so I'm just trying to live like he'd want me to. It still hurts, not having him with me, I miss him more than anything in the world.." I said, exhaling as I thought back to it.

Getting that off my chest felt so good, finally being able to talk to him to someone other than my parents, someone who had a different perspective and understood it, understood me. Never thought that person would be Brandon, but I guess people surprise you.

"He'd be proud of you, Stella. It takes a lot to be as strong as you are"

"Okay, you don't need to bullshit me out of pity" I laughed.

"I'm dead serious. You're a pretty incredible person, and you deserve to know that" he spoke, gazing intently at me.

God, when did he get so sweet? I mean, he's been nice ever since we agreed to put our feud on hold, but he's being so open and kind..

"Thank you.." I whispered, biting back a smile. "You too. You've changed a lot"

"How so?"

"Well, for one, look at us. I mean if someone told you the same klutz that bumped into you in the hallways was gonna be spilling her guts out to you in your garage, would you believe them?" I asked.

"I guess there was a bit of a plot twist. I'm really glad we're friends, Stel." he smiled.

"Me too, you make a better friend than an enemy, anyway." I joked. "Hey, what time is it?"

"Almost noon, why?" he asked, checking his phone.

"We've been here since the morning and have barely done anything, idiot!" I said, suddenly standing up and tugging on his arm. "Get up, come on! We need to get back to work. We have so much to do, and I promised your mom we'd get it done!"

"Aaand moments over" he sighed, getting up reluctantly.

"I can't believe we spent like over an hour talking!" I said, starting to clear some boxes.

"Technically that was your fault, you found the photo album" he shrugged, to which I shot him a serious look. "I'll shut up and get back to work"

Wow okay that was a rollercoaster of sexual tension, jealousy, angst and then emotional bonding ahaha I didn't expect to make this chapter so long, but I there's so much I have to fit into the next couple that I figured I could just squeeze this into one. So there's the truth about Tristan, but does that mean Stella's done with him?

Alsooo to reply to some reviews, yes I heard about the Fate series! Apparently Flora and Tecna won't be starring in it which sucks, but other than that it sounds pretty interesting, especially as a teen drama I think that's something that would have a lot of potential. The casting isn't too bad either (I'm really happy with Bloom, but the fact that Riven is a brunette and not a magenta head is a pretty sad haha) but I'm hoping that whenever this series is released it does them justice, and actually embodies the character's personalities without changing too much to fit the standards of shows these days. As far as writing any new stories go, rn I don't think so but we'll see, I just wanna focus on finishing this one for now.

Anyways, I hope you liked it! The next chapter will most likely have Brandon's POV too, and lemme just say there is a lot more jealousy to come. ;) Stay safe, ily all, and remember to review! ❤︎