Always

Brooklyn didn’t speak to anyone for the remainder of the weekend, getting fed up with her phone ringing and turning it off. She woke up early Monday morning and got ready for school, dreading the day ahead.

The hallways were already bustling by the time she arrived, making her way towards her locker and keeping her gaze on the ground.

“Brook,” came the comforting voice of her best friend, “I tried calling you Sunday, but your phone was off... everything okay?”

“I guess,” Brooklyn lied with a shrug.

“Hey,” Brandon said softly, grabbing her wrist and forcing her to stop, “What’s going on?”

“I’m always doing stuff for other people and this time... I thought I was doing what was best, but maybe I got it wrong.”

“What did you do?”

“It doesn’t matter now, it’s done... me and Axel are over,” Brooklyn added.

Without a word, Brandon pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her head as she broke down. The bell soon rang to signal the start of homeroom and Brooklyn took a deep breath, wiping her eyes as she followed Brandon to their classroom.

Lessons before lunch dragged, which meant that avoiding Axel and his friends was easier than expected. Lunch came around with a strong sense of foreboding and Brooklyn skipped getting food, heading straight out to the bleachers.

She had been watching the lacrosse team practice for nearly half an hour, when footsteps caught her attention and she looked up to see Nico approaching.

“Thought I might find you here,” he stated.

“Just leave me alone, Nico.”

“You knew that he would find out eventually.”

“Yet, he hasn’t found out about you...”

“He already knew,” Nico told her, causing Brooklyn to frown, “Felix needed some help and so, Axel sent me to do it.”

“Let me get this right,” Brooklyn snapped, “After saying that he wanted nothing to do with Felix or his business, he sends you to help him and then has the audacity to get angry at me.”

“He never wanted you involved... none of us did.”

“I’m his girlfriend, your friend, or I thought I was... just leave me alone, Nico and tell Axel to do the same,” Brooklyn ordered, standing up and walking away.

“Brook, don’t be like this,” Nico said, grabbing her shoulder and finding his path suddenly blocked by Brandon.

“She told you to leave her alone and I suggest you do as she asks,” Brandon warned angrily, watching as Nico left and turning to Brooklyn, “Are you okay?”

Not trusting her voice, Brooklyn nodded and followed Brandon back inside. School soon finished and Brooklyn walked home, needing time to clear her head. She was sat in her room listening to music later that night, when someone knocked on the door and she looked up to find Brandon watching her.

“I thought you were going to Lewis’ party tonight,” Brooklyn stated with a frown.

“Something more important came up.”

They were halfway through a movie, when Brooklyn’s phone chimed and she opened the new notification from Facebook. The picture that appeared was of her cuddled into Brandon’s side, accompanied by a caption that read You don’t even need to ask, I got you and she couldn’t help the smile that appeared on her face.

No matter how down she was, Brandon had always been there to pick up the pieces and she was forever grateful for his presence in her life. Without hesitation, she typed out a comment and pressed post.

Thank you for always helping me find my smile