January 6th, Wednesday
2021
12:23PM
The party begins at 6.
Landon wakes in a rather plush, comfortable bed. He scrambles for his glasses and before he can even check the time or call for his girlfriend, the bathroom door opens.
“Oh, good morning babe. Was gonna let you sleep in a bit for later.” She smiles softly as he stares at her, still gathering his thoughts and fully waking up.
Her hair was dripping wet, yet she was clothed and had a towel adorning her shoulders.
Landon snaps back into reality, “mhn—agh—The party, the party, yeah..”
“Well you are staying, aren’t you? You already drooled on my pillows.” She snarked.
Landon blinks at her, still not quite registering anything. Brielle rolls her eyes and smiles, returning to the bathroom. He plops his head back down on her pillows.
“I-I invited my friends. Told them to bring whoever. Is.. That’s okay, right?!” He shouts over to her.
From the bathroom, she responds, “Mm, we’ll see just what your friends do this time!”
He bit his tongue. He’d never thought about his friends roughhousing away—though, usually he was drunk and hollering about with them, so he’d never had to think about what they did.
Brielle hangs her towel and walks out towards the bed, sitting on the edge of it. She caresses Landon’s hand and smiles, looking through his eyes for a response of some sort. Landon looks down at his hand, then makes eye contact with his girlfriend and forces an awkward smile, yet it felt as though he was looking through her entirely. Her smile fades, as does his, while she sighs and turns her head to look at the wall.
“Just what are we gonna do with you…” She mumbles, just loud enough for him to hear.
He continues to stare at her, now with a somewhat confused expression, hesitating to say anything at all.
He stares at the blank ceiling. Brielle gets up and leaves her room, Landon stumbling up and following her slowly.
“So, I’m gonna go out, get some supplies…” she began, “If you could be a peach and clean up a bit while I’m gone…”
“Clean? Clean—yeah. I can do that.” he replies, turning and looking around at the interior.
Brielle’s home was relatively clean, aside from a few dishes and perhaps a bit of dust and dirt on the rug. As Landon examines and plans his steps, Brielle gives him a peck on the cheek and waves herself out the door.
2:42PM
Landon sits on the couch, watching one of the free channels on the TV. The house itself seemed relatively cleaner, spare for a few pieces of dust and perhaps a bit of crumbs. The door clicks open, revealing Brielle holding bags of groceries.
Breathless, she beckons him, “Hey, some help? Please?”
Landon rises to his feet and quickly runs to take the supplies from her. Bottles clink heavily and plastic rubs against itself as he places the bags onto the countertops.
“You took longer than usual,” he says, walking out with her to get the remaining bags.
She looks over to him, “Well, I dunno—I guess I just felt like, this one should be special. Hey, I got you something, too.”
Brielle runs through the bags and pulls out a wrapped bracelet made of red beads and adorned with a gem. She awaits his response, but instead he stares at her, dumbfounded and confused.
Her smile somewhat drops, “It—It’s a bracelet with garnet… cause—um.. You—you don’t have to wear it..”
“You remembered my birthday?” A switch clicks in his head.
“What? Of course I—What kind of question is that?!”
He gently takes the bracelet and examines it.
“I dont… I dunno, I figured since you threw a party today, you’d just kinda… forget it..?” He says.
“Of course not!” She elbows his arm, “What kind of person would I be if I forgot?
He continues to examine the bracelet.
Brielle repeats, “You don’t have to wear it—”
“What? No—I’ll wear it, I will.”
He slips the bracelet onto his wrist and smiles at her, but Brielle refocuses on the groceries, picking up and taking more bags inside with her. Landon follows her footsteps.
3:13PM
Groceries laid strewn out on the counter in a neat yet disorganized manner. Brielle sits on the couch and  her boyfriend over. As he sits down next to her, she cuddles up to him.
“We have time to kill. Watch a movie with me?” She begs, holding his arm gently and leaning her head on his shoulder. Landon caresses her side, thinking.
“Which one did you have in mind?” He asks.
She smiles and changes the channel. They both cuddle together for warmth, as still as a flame on a lighter. The friction drew them closer, as Landon looks down at Brielle. Her eyes were drawn to the TV, yet she could feel his gaze and turned her attention to him, to his eyes, then down to his somewhat chapped lips. Her hand moves from his shoulder up to his chin, scratching against his beard. Landon moves her hair from her face and leans in.
It didn’t feel like a scene in the movies. The warmth of their lips was a comfort they attained, yet it felt lost in some way. It felt like their love was unclicked. Hesitantly, Landon pulls away.
“I’m… Sorry.”
Brielle looks at him like he’s just said a joke.
“What’re you sorry for, silly?”
“I—I dunno. I just, I.. I don’t… know.”
She rests her head on his chest and continues looking through movies as Landon begins running his fingers through her hair.
“Mmh, help me prepare for the party after this movie, ‘kay?” She says, clicking the remote to select a movie.
“Yeah, of course.”
5:23PM
The couple’s position had hardly shifted, aside from Brielle slightly dozing off. Suddenly, she arises from her seat.
“I think it’s time…” She pauses to stretch, “… We got to work.”
She pulls Landon up by his sleeves and they walk over to the kitchen, where Brielle begins sorting the groceries out and putting them away. Landon stands beside her, removing the produce from the bags. They work in a type of system, in silent bliss.
“So, who’s coming? Just the typicals?” Brielle asks.
“Mm, as far as I know. I invited Carlos, pretty sure Liam’s coming too.”
Brielle scoffs, “Ugh, you and him are still friends?”
Landon’s mouth curls into a grin, “… Well, he’s my roommate—”
“You know who I meant.”
Landon chuckles while Brielle rolls her eyes.
“You’re lucky I love you.”
“Yeah? What would you have done if you didn’t love me?”
“Not watch a movie with you for two hours while cuddling, probably.”
They laugh heartily. Brielle gives him a peck on the cheek and continues her chore.
Just then, Landon resumes talking as if a light had gone off in his head.
“Oh, I have someone for you to meet, too.”
5:45PM.
“Oh? A party, huh?” Val asks.
“Mhm.. Could.. I take your car?”
“… Rodg’—”
Rodger hastily gets the rest of his thoughts across, “I’m not gonna drink, I don’t drink. I-I promise.”
“No—That’s fine. I wasn’t gonna ask you that, are you sure you wanna go to a party?”
Rodger doesn’t answer, but plays with the texture of his shirt. Val puts her hand on his wrist and he focuses his attention on her completely.
She speaks calmly, “That’s alright, I just wasn’t sure if you were prepared for that sorta thing. Maybe just.. try to be home at a reasonable time.”
Rodger nods.
“… Is this what’s been bothering you..?”
He hesitates, “A-a little. I think… um, I… I made a new friend. Part of making friends is-is spending time with them, isn’t it..?”
She smiles and asks, “Is this what you want?”
“Yes. I-I like him. He’s very nice. I…
I want to know more about him.”
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