Work Text
Tap Tap Tap Tap-
“Bradley baby. Knock it off” A hand quickly grabs at the tapping fingers of a seemingly very stressed Bradley. With a huff the brunette pulls his hand away before slamming his book shut.
“Tank, I don’t know how you’re even doing this homework, much less in a sane manner.”
“It’s not that bad. We’ve had worse” Tank replied with a laugh.
Huffing, Bradley slams his head on the table in front of him. They had been in the Gammas’ common area for hours now and he felt as though he hadn’t gotten any of his math homework complete. Curse whoever said that math was a requirement in college. He was a writing major for Christ's sake! What would trigonometry do to help him? As he sits there brooding his life away, Tank stares at him for a moment before asking a question he definitely knew the answer to.
“Well since you’re so stressed…. You wanna go to a club Friday night? Get loose and have fun?” The question caused Bradley to make a sour face before replying.
“Do I look like I want to go to a dark hole in the wall with drunk nasty sweaty bodies dancing up on each other like circus monkeys? I thought you knew me better than that Tank.” After an over exaggerated eye roll, Tank grabs his hand.
“Come on Baby, It’ll be fun! We’ve been studying and worrying about school for weeks now and-”
“We’re in college, Tank. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing.” he interrupts while using his free hand to play with a loose string on his sweater.
“As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted. I think it would be good to go out and have fun, I mean we’ve skipped out on Gammas parties because you’re so worried about being perfect in school. One night of schooless fun and I’ll never ask again!” The look Tank gave Bradley was so similar to an abandoned puppy, how could he just say no?
“Fine. One night but if I hate it I'm leaving and you can find your drunk ass a way home.” he huffed out causing Tank to fist bump the air in excitement.
“Hell yeah! It’ll be fun. I know a place and they have live music every night. I think you’ll like it!” With a wink, Tank stands up and grabs his things before running off leaving Bradley alone. He grumpily sits back in his seat looking up at the ceiling.
“I hope I don’t regret this.”
….
The week came by agonizingly slow and stressful. Bradely hated to admit it but he started looking forward to doing something other than studying his life away, even if it meant going to some stupid club. Tank talked about it nonstop throughout the week and the more he did, it made him super anxious. Sure he's been to a couple Gamma parties but he always stayed to himself in a corner or after an hour, would head up to his room. Also drinking was off the table due to his father’s strict ‘no embarrassing the family’ shtick so he would be doing this whole thing sober.
Club. Loud music. Sweaty bodies close together. Sober . Bradley's thoughts began to spiral, what if he loses Tank in the crowd, or someone tries hitting on him? He wouldn’t know what he’d do.
He could feel his heart rate spiking as he stared at his closet in front of him. Maybe he could lie? Say he’s sick! Or that he’s got a paper due-
Knock knock
HIs thoughts halting as he slowly turned towards the door. Tank was here. He was sure it was him, no one else in the dorm talked to him much due to his rude attitude and studious nature. He held his breath, trying to be as quiet as a mouse, hoping Tank would think he’s gone and leave. After a moment of silence Bradley was hopeful that his wish was granted but of course the universe didn’t favor him enough.
“Bradley I know you’re there, open up.” This causes him to throw his head back in with a whine. He made his way to the door, opening it to see Tank standing there with an excited grin on his face.
“You excited baby? I know I am”
“Um well actually, I’m not feeling well so I don't think I should-” He stumbles back a bit as Tank pushes him out of the way of the door, walking into the room. He glances around noticing clothes thrown about the floor and bed.
“Struggling to pick an outfit? I can help you look.” He glances back at the very shocked brunette, still standing next to the door, “You think I’m gonna let you get out of this that easily? Well baby, then you don’t know me like I thought you did.”
Bradley’s cheeks turn a bright red and he rolls his eyes. Of course he wouldn’t let him out of it! Tank would carry him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes while he was kicking and screaming before he’d let Bradley go back on his word. Reminder: Never agree to anything ever again.
“I just don’t have anything to wear to this sort of thing and being surrounded by all those drunk people make me nervous. What if something happens?” Tank steps closer to the shorter man, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“The only thing that’ll happen is you’ll have fun, I’m sure of it. If for whatever reason you don’t and want to leave, we’ll leave. You can’t go your whole college life being bored and lame, you have the whole rest of your life for that!” The last bit causes another eye roll out of the brunette. Honestly, nobody who knew him would be surprised if his eyes rolled out of his head, it's such a common occurrence.
“Wow! My worries are cured! I think I’ll go to a strip club next!” He exclaims sarcastically. Tank tightens his grip slightly on Bradley’s shoulder, giving him a serious look.
“I’m serious, baby. You say the word and we’ll dip. This is to let loose! Now, let’s find something to wear!”
…..
If you would’ve told Bradley that standing in a line with already extremely drunk weirdos was a big part of the club experience, he would’ve fought tooth and nail to stay home. He hadn’t made it inside the club yet and he already wanted to leave but of course Tank insisted he toughed it out long enough to experience the inside of the club. While waiting, he notices a girl in front of him, clearly already very drunk, rocking back and forth against her friend. She was practically yelling about the band playing tonight.
“They’re so good! And hot! The lead singer is gorg, Black hair, big brown eyes and don't even get me started on the piercings and tattoos!” She practically had hearts in her eyes as she gushed. He had never seen anyone ‘swoon’ in real life but he assumed that’s what was happening.
Her friend giggled.
“I do like them tatted up. You think we could get backstage and get their number?”
“With that butt? For sure!”
As they finished up their… interesting conversation, they made their way to the bouncer who checked their IDs before sending them in. Bradley watches as the swaying girl practically trips on air before her friend grabs her and they walk in bumping against each other. After they're in, he looks up seeing Tank hand his ID to the grumpy looking man guarding the door. He grabs his quickly out of his pocket before also handing it over. The man looks him up and down, almost in a judgy way causing Bradley to shrink in himself even more. Sure he didn’t look club material, a white-T tucked in his jeans, a maroon short sleeve button down thrown over, but people have definitely looked worse.
Once they finally make it inside, Bradley glances around the giant warehouse they were standing in. It was pretty dark due to the looming red light covering the place, a bar was next to the entrance and there he saw the girls from in the line. Hopefully the bartender doesn’t add to their already incoming hangover tomorrow morning. As he looks forward he sees the giant stage, currently empty. In front of the stage was a big dance floor already filled with dancing patrons, rock music was blaring loudly out of the speakers. Oh boy.
He feels a tap on his shoulder causing him to look up at Tank, who nods over to a table off to the side. They make their way over and Tank motions for him to sit in the booth, which he gladly does. He sits down as Tank continues to stand next to him, causing Bradley to give him a weird look. He replies with a smile before speaking.
“You want a drink baby?! I’ll get you one!” Bradley could barely hear him because of the loud ass music.
“No I don’t think I should!” he replied loud enough for the bigger man to hear him.
“Well, I’m getting you one!”
Before Bradley could deny, Tank rushed off to the bar leaving him sitting awkwardly alone. Just when he thought tonight couldn’t be worse, he was going to look like a lonely weirdo. While he waited, he sat his head in his hand glancing around the club. People were grinding up on each other as Move Your Body by My Darkest Days played through the club. Bradley only knew the song because of Tank’s obscure music taste, the man would listen to anything as long as he could ‘groove’ to it as he puts it. Bradley on the other hand only listened to calming music, like Jazz and maybe the occasional Bruno Mars (as embarrassing it was to admit). Even more of a reason why he didn’t understand why Tank insisted he come here tonight.
As he continues to wait for his friend, he notices the girl from the line, still stumbling and swaying but instead of her friend, some guy was guiding her away. Now, this wasn’t Bradley’s scene but he knew when something looked a little too fishy. Without another thought he stands up quickly, going after the two. He pushed through the drunken partiers, some not taking too kindly to his shoves of urgency.
He sees the man, whispering in her ear, leading her through a door. He quickly follows behind and once through the door he notices he’s in a long hallway with a couple of bathrooms and he sees them in the middle of the hallway. The man had her pushed up against a wall, she was barely able to keep her eyes open as he kissed up her neck. Without thinking Bradley rushed up to them, pushing the guy off her.
She begins to lose her balance causing Bradley to quickly grab her and slowly lower her to the ground. Once she was safely propped up on the wall, he felt something slam into him and before he knew it he was underneath the man. Said man looked pissed, and punched his fist next to Bradley’s head on the ground.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing asshole?!” Usually Bradley liked to keep to himself when it came to being confrontational but this asshole was an exception.
“She’s fucking drunk you idiot. What are you doing?!”
“I’m gonna punch your face in is what I’m doing!” Bradley clenched his eyes shut waiting for the punch to come but before anything else could happen, he could feel the heavy weight lifted off of him.
“Hey dumbass! You got an issue? I’ll gladly deal with it.” Bradley opened his eyes, looking up and seeing that cretin slammed against the wall by another man he didn’t recognize. The guy was a blubbering mess under him. Bradley then remembers the girl currently passed out on the wall and rushes to her as the man starts punching in on the creep. He begins checking her for any bruises, she’s seemingly fine and tries to lightly pat her face, causing her to stir awake, still slightly out of it, she looks at Bradley confused.
“Wha-”
“You okay? Do you know where your friend is?” Bradley asks, receiving no answer from the still very drunk girl. He sighs slightly annoyed, not her fault but geez! Tonight is supposed to be his ‘let loose’ night and here he is trying to wake up a drunk girl.
He remembers the two men behind him and quickly looks their way. The asshole was on the ground also very out of it, probably has something to do with the nasty bruise growing on his face.
The guy who stepped in turns around and the sight of him makes Bradley’s heart stop for a moment. He was a bit shorter than Bradley was but slightly muscular, which he could easily see from his black tank top. His black jeans were a loose grungy look. His skin was beautiful, dark brown skin with different patches of whiter skin weaving through, with different scattered tattoos. HIs face was just as gorgeous, big brown eyes staring him down with slight concern. Piercing littered his face like stars in the sky, glittering under the light. Suddenly he realizes he needs to be way more concerned with this poor girl instead of how hot this guy was. He quickly whips around to continue to check on the girl
“What happened? What do you need me to do?” the stranger asks. Even his voice is other worldly. His face heats up a bit before he shakes his head of the thought.
“I don’t know her, she was in line in front of me with her friend already pretty drunk. Next time I see her she’s being taken away by that creep. I’m not sure where her friend is.” just as quick as he finishes his sentence, the man pulls out his phone, dialing something then he hears someone answer.
“Hey, we got an issue here, can you send security this way? Yeah I’m in the bathrooms,” someone answers on the other end before he hangs up, turning his attention back on Bradley and the poor girl that he was still trying to wake up. “Someone's on the way.”
Bradley gives a nod before the door to the hallway swings open, the girl’s friend runs in. She quickly runs up to Bradley, slightly pushing him out of the way and to check on her friend. She strokes the girl's cheek before looking at the two men slightly angry and slightly questioning.
“What happened? If you don’t spill I’m gonna beat the shit out of you.” she threatens with venom in her voice. Before Bradley can give an answer the man pipes up.
“This asshole dragged her in here and luckily this guy here stepped in, and I was walking by so I knocked him out. We’ve got security on the way.” He says pointing at the creep knocked out and the girl sighs quietly out of relief. She hugs her friend closely before smiling at the two.
“Thank you so much. It-it’s her birthday and she wanted to see the band playing here tonight and we thought it would be fun to drink before and things were going well but when I went to get water she was gone.” The girl stirs awake looking at the three conscious people staring at her causing the other girl to gasp, “Viv! Hey everything's okay, someone’s on the way."
As soon as she says that two buff guys burst into the hallway. They ask the situation, and the unnamed man catches them up, soon following up to one of them leading the girls to safety and the other to deal with the guy still passed out on the floor. Dang he knocked him out good.
After everything calmed down it left Bradley and Mr. Hot Guy. It was quiet, almost too quiet and it caused Bradley to become anxious. He made a move towards the door before the other man stopped him.
“Hey. You okay?” The question catches him off guard and he slowly looks at the guy confused.
“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. I’m not the one he almost hurt.” He replies, crossing his arms, standing awkwardly.
“Yeah but he almost punched you and from the looks of it, you were gonna let him.” He said, staring at Bradley intensely. His stare made his skin burn from the intensity, no one has ever looked at him that way. It made him so squirmy and embarrassed almost.
“I wasn’t gonna let him!” He snapped back defensively .
“Suuure. I believe you.” He smirks with that, causing Bradley to roll his eyes.
“Oh bug off. Believe me, don’t believe me I don’t care.” he huffed out. Without a word the stranger swiftly closes in on Bradley causing his eyes to widen from shock. He could smell his cologne, he was so close. An earthy wood scent filled his nose and his face burned from the close proximity.
“Hm. Feisty…You have a name?” He asks, the whisper of his breath ghosting over Bradley’s face.
“B-Bradley. You?” Before he could get an answer, a man pops his head into the hallway.
“Ayo Dude, It's time to head on.” Without another word the man pulls back and heads to the door, before leaving he looks back to Bradley with a wink.
“See ya around Doll. ” and with that he was gone, leaving Bradley alone with a red face and thumping heart.
Doll?!
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The minute Bradley took to recuperate took way longer than he’d like to commit, but by the time he made it out to the table, Tank looked like a worried mother goose. Without a word he plops down next to his friend, who is still staring at him with concern.
“I was worried about you? Where were you?” He asked while passing a drink to Bradley. He was answered with a huff.
“It’s a long story that I don't wish to repeat right now.” He takes a big gulp of his drink and as Tank goes to speak, the lights dim darker and the music stops, causing all the drunk partiers to groan in disappointment. Their groans were silenced and replaced with cheers once it was announced that the band was
finally
making their appearance.
“NOW FOR WHAT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR….. VISION X.” As the announcer introduces them, the band makes their way out onto the stage.
First the bassist, a short skinny guy, with buzzed orange hair walks out, his shit eating grin looking smug as he winks at some screaming girls in the front row. The action causes Bradley to give the biggest eye roll. Next the drummer comes out, He’s on the bigger side, but his face was very handsome, but like in a cute baby seal kind of way. He shoots a nervous smile to the crown before taking a seat. Bradley begins to lose interest in the band, if they look like that, he doesn't wanna know what the lead would look like. Probably a dork like the other two. But boy does he eat his words, or rather spit out his drink when he sees the lead singer.
It's him.
Mr. Hot Guy was the lead singer! How did he not notice before, the orange haired idiot was the one to pop his head out to tell him to head out. He didn’t think he meant on stage! Bradley stared at the band, mouth so widely opened, flies could have flown in easily. The cheers and yells of the club fizzle out in his head as he watches the man on stage in front of him. He was smug while looking out at the blubbering fans beneath him before his eyes landed on the brunette now cowering back into his seat.
They stared at one another, it felt like forever. With a flash of a smile and a wink in his direction, he begins to play the guitar. The band was good but Bradley couldn’t concentrate on anything other than the man in the lead. His face was sizzling from the heat of the club and his embarrassment as brown eyes stared him down with that intensity again. If humans could melt, Bradley was sure he’d be a puddle on the floor, instead he was just a limp body in a dirty booth, being stared down by the definition of a
hot
man.
Tank glanced at the quiet blob next to him before looking at the band and back again. From his point of view, it looked as though Bradley was into the band and boy he wasn’t wrong but not in the way he thought. He places a hand on his shoulder.
“Baby! You good?” Bradley almost doesn’t hear the question and looks at his best friend next to him who was looking at him puzzled.
“Y-Yeah! Yeah! Just hot” He fanned his face with that statement, but could still feel the predator-like gaze locked in on him. “I-I I think I’m ready to go!”
Tank stared at him for a moment, then nodded slowly and began getting his stuff together. The two stood up and as they walked towards the exit, he glanced back at the devilish gaze behind him. Their eye contact causes him to see the singer stick out his tongue, once again sending him a wink. With that he whipped around, rushing quickly behind his friend.
…..
Usually working at the library was an okay job. You don’t do much but help students find books or catch up on studies but Bradley was still studied out. He was currently reorganizing books that students misplaced the past week, not many students come on Saturday mornings due to their parties they attend and since he didn’t actually stay out that late last night, he still managed to come in.
Last night.
Memories flooded back to him as he paused his current activity staring at the cart in front of him. He learned from Tank that the creep was arrested by the front door while he was waiting for him to return. He hadn’t heard anything about the girls yet and he wondered if they were okay. His thoughts slowly drifted to the part of the night he really didn’t wanna think about. A certain band member that still makes Bradley’s knees weak just thinking about how he stared him down. Deep in thought, he didn’t notice the figure standing next to him.
“Well, if it ain't Doll Face. Didn’t expect you to be a sexy librarian.”
The unexpected voice made Bradley jump, causing him to knock a couple of books off the cart. He quickly squats down to pick them up, after gathering them, he looks up to see a familiar smug looking grin. His face became slightly flustered at the sight of the man before him. He was wearing just a normal Black-t with a guy on a skateboard, black skinny jeans and red converse, His mullet was pulled back into a messy bun. If he wasn’t already on the floor, he’d be flopping onto it like a fish after seeing this man. He suddenly acknowledges what he said with a scrunched up face.
“Don’t call me Doll Face. My name is Bradley.” He snaps before standing up, setting the books back on the cart. “Also band nerd, you never told me
your
name.”
“Well Doll,” he replies with a chuckle, “If I tell you my name, would you go on a date with me?”
Bradley’s face was similar to a chili pepper due to the redness that broke out in his cheeks. He slaps the man in front of him on the chest before pushing the cart of books down the aisle, hastily. Hot Guy followed him closely, almost like a little puppy.
“You do know I’m a guy, right? And why are you here? Didn’t you party hard last night or something?”
He says this as he slips the books into their spots while they travel through the bookcases.
“I do, a pretty cute one actually. Also, I have a paper due in a few weeks so I stopped by to get a book now since I have another gig later. Speaking of, you should definitely come.” Bradley swears he can almost hear the thump of a tail wagging from this guy. With a huff he turns around, shoving a finger in the shorter guy’s chest.
“I am not
cute
for one and two, why would I wanna go to another gig of yours?” he asks bitterly.
“Because I want you to Doll. You didn’t stay last night, so make it up to me tonight?” As he says this, he grabs the hand in front of his chest and brings it to his mouth, giving it a gentle kiss. The action causes the taller of the two to shiver as he feels his lip piercing slightly tickle his skin.
“I- I have no reason to make anything up to you! Now if you would please get lost I have to get back to work” Bradley rips his hand away from him rushing away, leaving the very gorgeous man alone.
….
Bradley thought that day was the last time he would see him but boy was he wrong. Everyday since that day in the library he comes in and sits at a table near the desk where Bradley spends his time. He would bother Bradley to ask him about coming to another gig and if not that, then just randomly asking him questions throughout the day when he worked, pretty much anything to talk to the grumpy brunette. Surprisingly, he still never learned his name; he knew how to keep it a secret and that bugged Bradley to no end! Usually referring to him as ‘hey you’ or ‘band nerd’. Weirdo also never called him by his name either, settling with ‘Doll’ ‘Doll Face’ ‘Princess’ and many other odd nicknames.
Bradley looked up to see the pest looking actually concentrated on the work in front of him, he had actually been quiet today. That fact made Bradley more nervous than his constant teasing and flirting. He watched him for a moment before he heard someone clear their throat behind him.
He looked behind him to see a familiar face, The girl from Friday night! She seemed nervous as she stared back at him, next to her was another girl he recognized. The girl’s name was Mocha, if he recalled correctly they shared an english class. Staring at the two, he noticed how similar they looked, the only difference was Mocha’s with maroon hair compared and the other girl’s being a light brown similar to Bradley’s. Seemingly tired of the silence, Mocha spoke up.
“My sister has something she would like to say.” With that, she gave her a nudge in the side and the girl quickly blurted.
“Thank you for friday! My friend told me you stepped in and that she recognized that you worked in the library. I was meaning to talk to you but I honestly felt kinda bad and-” As she rambles, Bradley cringes a bit at the volume and interrupts her quietly.
“It was no problem and don’t feel bad, it's definitely not your fault. I’m just glad you're okay.” she nodded with a smile before walking off, leaving her sister behind. They stared at each other and she seemingly studied him for a moment before she spoke.
“Thank you again for helping my sister. I tell her all the time to be more alert and mindful of others' vibes but she never listens. I’m glad someone stepped in.” Bradley glanced at the man sitting a few seats away, still concentrating on his work.
“Yeah, but it wasn't just me. If it wasn’t for that guy over there, we both would have been in trouble.” The statement causes her to glance over at said man. She gave a small hum.
“He’s quite a hot lookin thing, he yours?” she asks quietly. The question causes Bradley to choke on his own spit, making some random students glance his way, including a certain brown eyed devil. He gives Bradley a smile and a wink before returning to his studies.
“He is not
mine
. He’s more of a pest that I can't get rid of.” He grumbles as he tries to make the blush on his cheeks disappear. “I don’t even know his name.”
With another hum, she walks over to his table and taps on his shoulder causing him to look up. Both boys stared at her questioningly.
“You got a name, Loverboy?” she asks with almost no emotion in her voice.
He stares at her for a moment before looking at Bradley with a grin. He looks back at her and wiggles his finger telling her to come closer. As she leans down, he whispers in her ear and afterwards she walks back to Bradley with a straight face, making him look at her in confusion.
“Did he tell you?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. She’s quiet, thinking for a moment before speaking.
“Hm. I’ll see you in class.” he watches as she walks away in the direction her sister wandered off, leaving him just as, if not more confused than he already was.
Of course she wasn’t gonna tell me, that’d be way too easy
. He thinks as he stares at the raven haired man, very annoyed. His angry gaze doesn’t go unnoticed and they once again make eye contact. With a smile he stands up, walking over to Bradley. Once he reaches him, he grabs him by the chin gently. Brown eyes stare into blue, neither talking until finally he opens his mouth to speak.
“I told you Doll, if you want my name, you gotta go out with me.” HIs voice was smug and that fact made Bradley huff annoyed.
“I’m not going on a date with you….. But I
will
go to a gig of yours. My only conditions are, you tell me your name now AND stop calling me weird nicknames." This causes him to chuckle, he answers.
“No promises on the nicknames but the name is Max and
I
will be seeing
you
tomorrow night at the same club as the other night. Bring a friend and dress cute for me Doll.” With that he grabs his things and heads out of the library.
Max. I didn’t expect that kind of name.
He thinks as he stares at the door the other man went through. If Friday is anything like the past few days, Bradley was going to need to drink this time around. With a sigh he bangs his head on the table, causing students to glance his way.
What am I doing?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The whole morning had been so slow and agonizing for Bradley in many ways, like the fact dwelling on him that he actually agreed to go to Max’s gig tonight. He spent his whole shift at the library staring off into space hoping that some excuse on why he couldn’t go would fall into his lap. When he finally came to terms with the fact that he was going, another worry came into his mind. What would he tell Tank? He originally planned to invite the big lug to go with him but settled against it.
If Tank went that means Bradley would have to tell him
why
he was going, and he didn’t really want to admit it just yet. Tank didn’t even know about the frequent visits from the sexy black-haired man. He wouldn’t even know where to begin to tell him about the situation. His best friend didn’t even know Bradley liked men in the first place. It was a secret the brunette kept to himself due to his father's beliefs on the matter. So telling him about Max would also be telling on himself which definitely isn’t ideal.
As he sat at his desk in the empty library, he tapped his fingers quietly on the wood while staring mindlessly at the book in front of him. He couldn’t even focus on this book that he had been wanting to read for months now. This pest problem is proving to be more trouble than it's worth the more he thinks about it. He really didn’t want to go to this party alone but who could he even ask?
“Why the bad vibes Bradley? Forget how to read?” The sudden voice caused him to look up and see the solution to his problem. A certain maroon haired angel standing right in front of him.
“Mocha. Go to the club with me tonight.” He said quickly as more of a statement than a question, causing her to look at him confused.
“Not to offend you but you aren’t really my type, Brad” She looks him up and down before speaking again,” and I don’t think I’m your type either.”
“Funny.” he replied grumpily. “But no, I mean, I got invited to go by the guy from yesterday and he told me to bring a friend so I was wondering if you will go with me?”
“Hm well luckily for you I’m not busy tonight, but I won’t be doing this for free.”
“Sure! Anything, just please go with me.” He practically begs the girl in front of him.
“Now I’m into men groveling at my feet but seeing you do it; it makes me cringe.” she states. “I’ll meet you at your dorm around 9.”
With that she walks away, leaving Bradley alone. With a ‘date’ secured, he just needed to figure out what to wear. He only hopes that tonight is 1000x better than his last visit to the club. Hopefully Max will go easy on him, whatever he has planned.
…
9 o'clock was rounding the corner and the brunette was once again overthinking his outfit for the night. This time though he felt like he was supposed to show out for a certain someone despite how open he is about his distaste for the man. His nerves felt like they were eating him whole as he stared at himself in his mirror. Why did it matter so much what Max thought of him? They weren’t dating or anything. This was totally an invitation from someone friend to friend. Right?
His thoughts are interrupted by a quiet knock on his door. He quickly runs over to open it to see Mocha standing there. She was wearing a long dark denim skirt with an off the shoulders loose black shirt and black shoes. Her signature beret completed the look perfectly. She was a pretty girl, even Bradley could admit it.
“I thought I was meeting you outside?” He asks, confused.
“Well, I was waiting, and I didn’t have your number, so I decided to just come up here. Seems like you need my help anyways.” She pushes past him into him, reminding him of a similar situation last Friday.
She looks around his room before heading to his closet, throwing his clothes around before settling on something. She turns around with a red, black, and white striped button up shirt and black jeans. She shoves the clothes into his hands.
“Try this hotshot. Don’t over think this stuff, you have a cute style and a cute face. Use them.” she says while staring him down.
“Okay. But uh, can you leave? I’m not sure I should- Hey!” she stops him by pulling at his shirt to get it off.
“Bradley, it's not a big deal, hurry so we can go!”
“Okay! Okay. Just let me go!” He pulls away from her, then begins undressing.
As He begins pulling up his jeans, the door swings open showing Tank looking at the two surprised. All 3 of them stare at each other as he’s half naked.
“Woah! Totally did not mean to barge in. Hope- hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.” Bradley’s face heats up before he screeches back.
“It’s not like that! We’re going to- a-” he freezes with his words, still not wanting to tell the taller man about his actual plans tonight. Mocha detecting the strange vibes, steps in.
“I asked him to be my plus one at this art gallery thing. My sister couldn’t come so I asked him.” She says nonchalantly.
“Yeah! I meant to tell you, but it honestly slipped my mind until she just showed up!” Tanks stares at them for a moment before nodding his head in understanding.
“Oh okay! Well, I hope you have fun; I was just coming to tell you I was going out to eat with some of the Gammas and wanted to invite you but you’re busy!” With that he waves bye to the two then leaves. Once he’s gone, Bradly pipes up.
“Thanks… for that”
“No problem, just hurry up and get dressed so we can go.”
…
The club was the exact same as it was the other night. Busy, Noisy, and filled with sweaty drunks jumping to music Bradley has never heard of. He glanced at the girl next to him, seeing she’s just as unamused as he feels. The more time he spends with her, the more it seems they have in common. The thought leaves him as she speaks.
“I'm going to go to the restroom, please order me a cherry coke and rum please.” With that, she wanders off leaving him alone.
He heads over to the bar and orders her drink and him a normal coke.
As he waits for his drinks, he feels a pair of eyes on him. He scans the room for a moment before his eyes land on a certain dark-skinned man, watching him from across the club. They stare at one another for what feels like an eternity before Max leans over to his friend, that Bradley didn’t even notice before, then makes his way to said brunette. Bradley feels his heart rate pick up as the other man makes his way over. The feeling of melting into a puddle hits him again at full force. After a moment Max is standing next to him with a grin wide on his face.
“So, Doll face you made it. Alone too?” He asks as the bartender sets the ordered drinks down next to the two men.
“Not alone. My friend is just in the restroom. Also, I thought I told you no more nicknames.” He answers before taking a sip of his coke. Max laughs.
“Sorry doll I just love the face you make when I call you names. If you
really
don’t like it I’ll stop.” He gives Bradley a sincere smile that almost makes him melt.
Almost.
“I-I guess it’s fine.” His blush becomes bright on his cheeks at admitting this. “When are you performing? That's why I came, right?” He laughs.
God, that laugh
.
“In a few, I just thought I’d check and make sure you actually came. Speaking of, I should head off but you should totally join me backstage after.” With that he sends a wink Bradley’s way and walks off into the crowd.
After Max leaves his sight, the brunette slams his head onto the table causing bystanders to glance his way. What is he doing here? This was a mistake. He should be home listening to some jazz and relaxing but instead he’s in this club. Why? Just because a pretty boy asked him to? He must be going crazy. His self-loathing was interrupted by a small hand on his shoulder.
“Bradley, you good?’ Mocha asks as he slowly lifts up his head.
“Ohhh yeah. Just peachy” she just hums in response then grabs her drink next to him.
“Let’s find a table. I wanna have a good seat to watch these drunken buffoons dance like monkeys.”
After they find a decent table seated towards a back corner of the room, they sit down with their drinks. The two watch as some guy does shots at the table next to them. Poor guy was barely standing but insisted ‘one more!’ after each shot of whatever alcohol they were giving him. Another guy next to him looked like he was about to vomit all over the floor and after a moment ran for the bathroom, his buddies calling after him.
Watching the guy run, Bradley faces the stage and notices the band coming on to the stage, going unnoticed by the other patrons. He catches Max flashing him a smile while grabbing his guitar. The last time he was here, Bradley booked it before he could really hear the other sing. Something in him made him feel almost giddy to actually listen to the band, even if he won’t admit it out loud. He feels Mocha shift closer and whisper in his ear.
“Loverboy is looking good tonight. Don’t cream in your pants alright?” She grins while saying this, making Bradley scoff a laugh and roll his eyes.
“In his dreams maybe.” He settles his eyes back on the guy on stage.
Mocha wasn’t wrong, he did look really good, especially up close. God, Bradley could almost smell his cologne he was wearing. Remembering back to the times the black haired man took over his personal space made his chest tighten. He tries to force the feeling away as he notices Max grabbing the mic
as the music stops.
“You know us, so I doubt I need to do an introduction. So, let's party,
Baby!
” At the last bit, he gives another wink to Bradley then the band begins playing.
When he starts to sing, Brad’s breath gets caught in his throat. First, he’s hot
and
he has a good voice? Bradley might just explode on the spot. Watching the boys on stage almost made him feel bad for misjudging them the first time he saw them. Despite him still thinking they look like dorks; he can admit when someone has talent. They did, plenty of it actually.
Max seemed to glow on stage, the way he worked the guitar made Bradley’s mind wander to what else his hands were capable of. His cheeks burned at the thought as his eyes glued to the man. He drank in his every move, every muscle and mouth movement engraved into his mind. Why did he leave last time?
The song came to an end before they dove into another. Bradley hoped tonight would last forever, just so he could watch Max on stage. After two more songs, the band announces their departure for the night much to Brad’s and the rest of the crowd's dismay. The disappointment was quenched when the club started playing music again, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He felt the booth shift next to him causing him to look at the maroon haired girl next to him. She points to the door.
“I’m headed to smoke. I need a break from the crowd” she announces, causing him to stand up quickly with her.
“I’ll go with! I need some fresh air anyways.” She nods and heads for the door with the brunette in tow.