Preference #2 - Your First Kiss
Brandon: https://portersprincess.tumblr.com/post/169004369588/preference-2-your-first-kiss-brandon-its
Edwin: https://portersprincess.tumblr.com/post/170502130373/preference-2-your-first-kiss
Zion part 1: https://portersprincess.tumblr.com/post/168483208448/preference-2-your-first-kiss
Everything was too bright. You could barely open your eyes without feeling as if your brain was about to explode inside your skull. You had no clue where you were, nor how you got there, but it felt as if you had been through one of the roughest nights of your life. And you were so nauseous. You desperately tried to remember the night before, but you could only remember small fragments of separate occasions.
Your stupid Vans with your little black dress.
It seemed strange to you that one kiss had managed to turn a whole evening around like that. Zion leaving you behind right after you had told him to slow down, left you feeling used. Sad, even. You had no clue why, for every single time you and Zion saw each other before this party, it seemed as if you were pissing each other off to see who was best at it. You knew it was unfair of you to think that it was Zion who despised you for no reason. Your head filled with the image of the first time you met.
Brandon had taken you back to his gigantic house for the first time on a warm summer afternoon. For some reason you were overly confident that day, causing it to annoy you when Zion asked what exactly it was you were doing with your life. Later on, you realised that his tone was inquiring rather than patronising, but seeing as he zoned out most of the afternoon and did not give you much attention, you had made the decision to provoke him.
"Making yours worse, if you're not careful," you had told him. Maybe you were trying to flirt, you could not remember. Maybe you were trying to seem more interesting than you actually were. Nevertheless, the situation turned out in the worst way imaginable.
"I don't even know you," Zion had replied, frowning at you. "Yet I know what you are. Conceited. The type of toxic people I tend to stay away from. You think you're quite something, huh?"
Up until this day, you had no clue how you had managed to get out of a situation as painfully awkward as that one. But you were positive you and Zion got off on the wrong foot. From day one, the connection between you two was hostile, which is why the kiss had been such a weird experience. It had felt as if he meant it, as if you meant it. Thinking about why it happened hurt your head even more.
Brandon said Zion was conflicted about you, Austin said the situation couldn't continue like this. Could it be that this was all some conspiracy to make things turn from hostile to awkward so that the other boys were not in the middle of a problem they had not created? You expected it from Austin. You knew he was always positive and that drama stressed him out a lot. The others, though? Definitely not Brandon. While you figured Zion was like a brother to him, you, too, were too close to him for him to do you wrong in that way. Besides, he knew how much you cared about only kissing people you were actually romantically interested in, due to some horrible experiences in the past. You did not want to hurt anyone in the way you had been hurt.
Thinking about that, you realised Brandon might have talked about that with Edwin. Maybe Zion had overheard some stories and thought up this plan with Austin as one last fuck you to settle the score. His victory. Your diminished pride. The kiss of an enemy to bring you down for good, simply because it would hurt.
No matter the reason, it hurt. Remembering Zion walking away from you had resulted in you feeling disgusted, unwanted, used and finding refuge from your feelings in alcohol. You felt bitter thinking that you had vowed that you would never find a poison to numb yourself. Yet here you were. And there was no gain either, the next morning, both your body and soul were in pain.
From the moment you grabbed the bottle and left, it was all a big blur. And you still didn't know where you were.
"I think she's waking up..." You heard a soft voice say. Edwin? Nick?
You tried to speak, but your throat was too dry.
You urgently needed water.
"Shhh..." Someone hissed. "If you continue to talk, you will indeed wake her up!" Brandon?
Your senses were starting to work slowly, for you heard a door open and close, causing you to smell food somewhere. It quite literally hit you with another wave of nausea.
You tried to open your eyes and sit up, but you felt someone pushing you back. "Y/N... Easy..."
"Toilet," you repeated, this time out loud, feeling like you could throw up any minute.
"Take some deep breaths, yeah?" You finally opened your eyes and saw Brandon looking at you with big, worried eyes. "Come on, Y/N."
"B-Brandon," you managed to get out, shivers running down your spine. "I w-will s-s-se-seriously thr-"
Before you could finish your sentence, you felt your stomach turn and threw up. Luckily, Brandon was just in time to push a bucket under your mouth, trying not to be disgusted.
"What did you do to yourself, Y/N..." He sighed, shaking his head as tears rolled down your cheeks. "Edwin!" He called, looking away from you. "We need another bucket!"
"Did she... Oh," Edwin walked in a couple of seconds later, carrying another bucket. He looked at you with a discomforted look on his face. "That's gross. Sorry, Y/N."
"No, I'm sorry... I..." You threw up again, hoping it would be over soon. So it was a hangover. Guess you should've seen that coming.
"Calm," Brandon said, handing you a towel when you were finished. "How are you feeling?"
"How am I feeling?" You asked unbelievingly, chuckling at the fact he actually asked that. He shrugged as Edwin sat down at the corner of the bed. "Fantastic," you groaned. "No, I actually feel like shit. How did I get here?"
"Well..." Edwin looked over at Brandon awkwardly, both of them not knowing what to say.
"We found you," Nick said, who had suddenly appeared in the doorway. "I don't know what you thought you were doing but you were pretty messed up. I don't know how anyone is physically capable of drinking so much booze in about 30 minutes, but I guess you set a record. Oh and-"
"Nick," Brandon hushed, cutting him off. "She just woke up and puked all over the place. Give her a break."
"She got herself this fucked up though?" Nick frowned but kept his mouth shut after you shot him a deadly glare. Sure he knew their little game inflicted this situation.
"What reason could you think up for me doing that, huh?" You sneered, causing both Edwin and Nick to leave the room.
"Shit, she gets hella grumpy when hungover..." You heard Edwin say to Nick as they left. It was just you and Brandon now.
While he was looking straight at you, you could barely face him. You felt incredibly embarrassed for your behaviour and guilty for putting him through the worry.
"Look," he finally said after a while. "They're not used to that. They think you left angrily and got yourself all messed up so it seemed as if Zion was taking advantage of you."
"They really think that?" You asked, sadly.
"Now Y/N, you must admit you and Zion have pulled shit like that before to make each other's lives terrible. You as much as he has."
"I know," you sighed. "But I would never go that far simply to achieve that. I don't even remember what happened after I took the first sip of that bottle, when I walked home. Or tried to. Because I am not home," you looked around. "Am I?"
"No, you're not," Brandon shook his head to give his words extra power. "Now I know you don't do stuff like this unless you're hurt. It was only a kiss, he was drunk, you were tipsy. No big deal, right?" He looked at you sternly and while you knew he was provoking you, you fell right into his trap.
"It wasn't just a kiss, Brandon," you said, angrily. "I felt like I got played by all of you. Do you know why Zion walked away? Because I stopped him. And do you know how that made me feel? Fucking terrible, used. He didn't give a fuck about me as a person, meanwhile, I felt like I couldn't breathe properly when we kissed because I was so flustered. That guy Sam who helps me study sometimes? Who I told you I have a crush on? What I felt when Zion and I kissed makes that closer to a firefly than a flame, Brandon. Don't smirk at me like that, I'm pissed off."
"I'm not making fun of you, sorry. It's just that you reveal so many secrets when I get you angry," he chuckled as he saw the realisation on your face, but turned serious as he saw you starting to cry. "Y/N... It's all a bit of a misunderstanding. I'm not exactly sure what happened. We all went to look for you because I knew something was off, but I couldn't find you and went to bed. I heard you were here about three hours ago..."
"But Nick said..." You frowned. "Brandon. How the fuck did I get here?"
"It's not my place to explain any of this," he answered, standing up. "Are you still nauseous?" You shook your head.
"Where are you going?" You demanded, reaching for his hand. "You can't leave me like this!"
"You won't be alone," he opened the door that Nick had shut only minutes ago. "Zion," he called out into the hallway. "I think she'll be able to have a conversation with you where none of you ends up killed," he winked at you as you rolled your eyes at him, sitting up a bit. Your heart was racing just thinking about having a conversation with Zion that would be longer than a couple of negative sentences. "She's angry, though," he said as Zion shuffled closer, avoiding your gaze. Brandon shut the door when he was finally inside and sat in a chair, far away from you.
"I don't really know what to say to you," Zion began after a long silence, a sentence which immediately prompted you to roll your eyes.
"So why did you come here then?" You asked sarcastically, wishing he would look at you.
"Can you stop playing around here, Y/N? I'm fucking tired of it," you got what you wanted. However, the first look after that kiss was nowhere near as loving as his lips had been. "I'm making an effort to set this right, but if you wanna keep playing then fuck you, too."
It took a while for you to realise that you had actually upset him to the extent he was moving towards the door again. "Zion," you looked down. "I-I'm sorry..."
He looked back at you with immense wonder, because neither of you had ever apologised to each other for your behaviour. You were surprised at it yourself, but you were happy it at least granted you the result you wanted: him to stay. Once he sat back in his chair, he seemed to think for a while before finally offering a solution. "How about we stop talking and start asking what we want to know? That way, it's direct and you can't twist my words. Just questions and answers. No comments. It's not the time for sarcasm, shit turned way too serious for that," he ran his large hands through his hair, looking at you rather lost. "Yeah? Say something."
"Right, okay. Ask," you finally decided as you heard the annoyance return in his voice.
"Why did you hate me immediately when we met?" He began, not looking at you.
"I didn't, you just pissed me off because I thought you were patronising me and ignoring me while the rest was all so welcoming. It made me feel like there was something wrong with me, but I have difficulty accepting things could be my fault... So I returned you the favour," you admitted. "Is that a good answer?"
"Yes. Your turn," he replied. You thought for a while and tried to make your words come out as neutral as possible, but as your lips started moving, you couldn't help but sound a bit bitter.
"Why do you almost always ignore me when I'm around?"
"Because," he smiled slightly, which you thought was strange. "I think you're a beautiful person until you start talking to me."
"What's that supposed to mean?" You frowned, offended, but he shook his head.
"No comments, and only one question at a time. I'm really not in the mood to start arguing, yeah? Especially not after a night as horrifying as the last one," he groaned, and you took it personally, thinking he was talking about your kiss. "Did you mean it when you said I am handsome but have a shit personality?"
"Yes," you said, shrugging. "The side of your personality you've revealed to me wasn't one I would describe as charming."
He rolled his eyes. "What comes around goes around."
"You were the one who didn't feel like arguing," you exclaimed, annoyed he was doing something he just told you not to do.
Again that word. It was strange to hear it after such a long time. It was such a tiny gesture, only a small move towards an improved situation, but at that moment, it seemed so large. "What did Austin mean when he said everyone is getting sick of the way things are between us?"
"Well, the easy answer is that he doesn't like it that we're forcing people to pick a side. Not explicitly of course," he looked at you as you waited for the more difficult answer, but he shook his head, indicating he wouldn't go down that road. "That reminds me..." he got up and opened the door, dragging Austin in, who looked extremely guilty and pale.
"Y/N... I just wanted to apologise for sticking my nose into business I should've stayed away from. I never intended for this to go so wrong," he pouted, looking lost.
"It's alright, Austin," you smiled, sitting up to give him a hug. "Not your fault."
"Now, out," Zion said, and pulled him away from you, not allowing him to say another word. He quickly shut the door again. "Right, sorry 'bout that," he shook his head once more. "I just want to get this over with. Why did you get so drunk? You drank a whole bottle of vodka, pretty sure. I found it beside you."
"Really..." You groaned, hating that question, but realising it would be best if you were honest. "Because I felt like you used me and didn't give a shit about how that kiss might have made me feel. You walking away hurt my feelings and I didn't know how to deal with it," you blushed in shame, but then realised what he said. "Wait, did you find me?"
"Yeah..." He smiled sheepishly. "I went looking for you after you left... I found you by the side of the road near a rather dense forest and I was worried about your state, so I took you back here."
"You were worried about my state, or about me?" You asked, looking at him and forgetting about the rules you had set.
"Both," he nodded. "You were really out of it. You cried, you screamed, called me all sorts of names and told me you loved me, but three seconds later you claimed you wanted me dead... So that wasn't too enjoyable... Confusing as hell."
"Sounds accurate enough," you suddenly said, your heart speaking before your brain. You quickly covered your mouth, your eyes widening. "I mean..."
"You don't have to explain," he chuckled. "I'm sorry to be so blunt, but drunk people talk a lot. You have already answered most of my questions, I just wanted to see how honest you are when sober. And I must say, you're doing better than expected."
You panicked. What had happened? What had you told him? He noticed you were feeling uncomfortable.
"When I found you, you told me that your feelings for me were killing you and that you hate and love me at the same time. Pretty sure you like Gnash, but you shouldn't pursue a singing career..."
"Zion. It's not funny to me," you pleaded. "Have some mercy, yeah?"
"Sorry. Okay," he took a deep breath. "Basically you told me you never realised you were pissing me off and provoking me to get my attention. I zone out a lot, so it's nothing personal, but you took it personally. You told me that when we kissed, you felt something you hadn't felt in a long while and that it left you angry because I wasn't allowed to make you feel that way. Anyone but you, I think that's what you said. You also told me some other guys have left you feeling shitty before and that me walking away when you stopped me from kissing you broke your heart because you thought I was only in it for pissing you off and getting something more out of it."
"Well, were you?" You raised your eyebrows.
"Trust me, I wasn't. When I began kissing you," he paused, frowning. "That sounded weird. But you get the drill. Anyway, I was pretty drunk. And when you told me to stop, I sobered up to the extent I realised I didn't want our first kiss to be like this. I was sad, I guess. But I thought you still hated me so I was embarrassed as well and I left."
"Wait..." You suddenly started to understand. "Are you saying the 'conflicted' situation Brandon was talking about is..." You couldn't say it. You had such an adrenaline rush.
"This is so awkward," Zion blushed, raising his eyes to the sky. "I didn't ask for it. Just kinda happened. The more you rejected me even as a person, the more I wanted you. It was killing me, and I liked the way it hurt. Don't look at me like that, it's sick, I know."
"Masochistic, really," you chuckled. "Both of us."
"Yeah," he nodded. "We actually had a pretty good conversation last night, in between your moments of extreme puke," he pulled a slightly disgusted face, while you sat up more.
"Of course. Who else? Everyone was asleep or doing other..." he thought of the right word to say. "Things."
"Thank you. You really didn't have to do that," you smiled, not expecting him to be so soft to you.
"Listen," he moved over from the chair to the bed. "I know the right thing to do after confessing feelings would be to ask you out, but I can't," he looked down. Your heart sank. "There's been a lot of hate, and I think us being together would result in too much arguing and confusion..."
"Right..." You looked away from him. "I guess so..." You didn't agree with him at all. There were underlying sentiments regarding the hateful behaviour, and you were positive it could change. You felt his hands on your cheeks as he moved closer.
"I'm sorry..." He sighed and pulled back as you tried to lean in for a kiss. "It's not a good idea," he opted to kiss your forehead and then got up, leaving you in tears as he left the room.
(I have had many people tell me this should be a fanfic, what do you guys think? Lemme know x)