THIS LOVE | shayne topp

1.23

   ELEANORE KNOCKED ON AALIYAH'S door, Angela opening it almost immediately. She stood there with a large smile, already ready to go. Her hair was styled naturally in its waves, with light makeup on, accenting her already amazing features. The dress she wore hugged her body perfectly, not being too tight on her.

   "You look gorgeous, Ang. Oh my god." Eleanore grabbed Angela by the arm softly, walking into the house as the short haired girl closed the front door behind her.

   Angela scoffed, "Says you!" She put a hand out, signalling to Eleanore's own outfit. She had decided on a red corset top that hugged her torso, with bell sleeves. She wore black sheer tights with a black mini skirt and mary jane heeled shoes.

   The two brunettes continued to walk into the home, into the kitchen where two wine glasses sat, almost empty. Angela grabbed a third glass and the bottle, pouring into two out of the three that sat. They continued to talk, waiting for the blonde.

   "Please stop flirting in my own home!" Aaliyah shouted down the stairs while she walked down them gracefully.

   Eleanore didn't understand how someone so perfect existed. Aaliyah was wearing a red dress with a leather jacket on top, and heeled Dr Martens. Her blonde hair was long and curled, falling just below her waist line. She could see even from this far that her smoked out eyeliner was done perfectly like usual.

   She blinked away her thoughts, before making eye contact with the blonde. "I may start flirting with you if you keep dressing like that, my god."

   Aaliyah laughed, grabbing her bag off the kitchen counter. Angela followed, before holding the door open for the other two. "We all ready to go?"

   Eleanore nodded, following Aaliyah out the door. Angela locked the front door of the house, and rushed to open the drivers door for her blonde girlfriend who always drove. She smiled at the couple while climbing into the backseat, setting her purse to her left of her, in the center seat.

   Even though she was Shayne's date for the party, plans had to change a little bit since he got stuck at the office earlier and had to ride with them instead. She didn't mind, since she was still going to be Shayne's date anyway.

   The ride there was short, the whole time Eleanore insisting they play Taylor Swift, which everyone was fine with in the long run. She was a little nervous, as she was just brought as a plus one and still wasn't too close with that many people at Smosh.

   Aaliyah had to reassure her many times that it was fine and that everyone loved her. As much as Eleanore wanted to believe it, she just couldn't. There was still a looming fear in the back of her mind that she wasn't enough.

   The party was being held at the Smosh office this year, just the main lounge area being cleared of its tables and chairs and instead holding a large table with food and drinks for everyone.

   A small bar was in the kitchen, just self serve style. Aaliyah and Angela had immediately started to greet their fellow employees and friends, while Eleanore just stood close to the entrance, clutching her bag close to her stomach.

   A hand grabbed her arm softly, soon revealing that it was Shayne as he came around with a smile, letting his hand linger for a second, before dropping it and putting it in his pocket.

   "Hey, you look gorgeous." Shayne said with a smile. He then gestured to her arm latched to her stomach. "Why don't you put your bag down?"

   "Oh, I didn't know where to put it. Aaliyah and Angela kind of ran off and they were my safety for tonight." Eleanore laughed lightly, moving her gaze to look around.

   He laughed with her, "They just left you? Here." Shayne grabbed the bag gently. "Sorry about the plan changes. I tried to leave earlier but couldn't. Damien should be getting here soon, too."

   Eleanore nodded, following behind him like a lost puppy. Only some people noticed her as they walked by, smiling lightly or waving as they continued in their conversations. "That's fine, I don't mind."

   Holiday music was playing softly throughout the building, and a lot of their usual furniture was moved and the spaces were redecorated for the party. It looked really nice and not like the usual office that Eleanore had grown to know and love.

   "Eleanore! Hey!"

   Eleanore turned around to see Emmeline walking over to her. She guessed Anthony had brought her as his plus one to the party. Shayne was still standing by her side, smiling over at Emmeline.

   "Hey Shayne." She said with a smile while Anthony walked in behind her, over to the three. "Eleanore, wanna go grab a drink with me?"

   Eleanore nodded. "Sure."

   They left the two guys to talk as they walked over to the kitchen that was surprisingly empty. Emmeline made drinks for both of them, handing Eleanore one of the cups.

   "Do you know if Damien is bringing Dakota?" Emmeline asked while leaning back onto the kitchen counter and taking a sip from her cup.

   Eleanore nodded, also taking a sip of her drink. "Yeah. They mentioned it when we were in Georgia for Thanksgiving. Damien is so in love with her its cute. He's brought her to like every event he's been invited to."

   The two girls laughed, sitting in the kitchen for a few minutes longer keeping small talk. Damien and Dakota finally arrived, Dakota immediately joining the duo for the rest of the night.

   The three of them just stuck together, since they were the only people who didn't actually work at Smosh and were just plus ones. Which all of them were fine with, especially because they grew such a tight knit bond throughout the last two months since Angela's birthday party.

   Aaliyah walked over to them, greeting Emmeline and Dakota. She leaned over onto Eleanore, cutting off their conversation. "Hey, me and Angela are leaving. Is Shayne still taking you home?"

   "Oh, yeah he is. Is everything okay?" Eleanore asked, but she hadn't realized it had been almost three hours since they arrived at the party.

   Aaliyah nodded. "Yeah, it's just late. I'm flying back to Arizona for Christmas since this was our last shoot week before the holidays and Shayne isn't coming until Monday."

   "Ok. I'll go find Shayne in a little bit, then. Thanks." Eleanore said, turning back to Emmeline and Dakota.

   "Yeah. It was nice seeing you two!" Aaliyah directed at the other two girls, waving before finding Angela and heading out. They both gave her a goodbye, before going back to their conversation.

   Eventually people started leaving slowly, finally Shayne coming over to her with her bag that he had set down earlier. "Hey, you ready to go?"

   "Yeah, I am."