XPLR | Colby Brock

~66~

"Do you really have to put on a whole face?" Colby whined as he sat behind me at his mirror on the ground.

"Colby, I'm just doing eye makeup," I said through a chuckle as I blended a red to an orange. "But you've been doing it for twenty minutes!" He whined as he laid back on his carpet. "I'm almost done!"

He was already ready. "Why couldn't you have started earlier?" He asked as he turned his phone on and I could tell he was scrolling through Instagram.

"It's not like we'll be late," I said as I leaned into the mirror and took another dab of red eyeshadow to blend the outer corner a little more. "I like you better without makeup," he said through a whine. I huff, "Hmph. If only your opinion were valid." My feminist side came out a bit. He held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I'm entitled to my opinion."

I rolled my eyes sarcastically and started on eyeliner. "You have to be quiet now," I told him as I started in the middle of my eyelid. He sat up, watching me.

"Wow," he said. I finished with the basic eyeliner and looked at him in the mirror. "What?" I asked. "Nothing. You're just so pretty," he said. He leaned in and kissed my cheek when his phone rang. I started to work on the wing as he answered. "Uh, hello?" He asked.

"Nah, Rose and I are going to a party at Brennen's tonight. I would though," he said.

"Well of course she would," he said. But that time he seemed a little confused.

"I'm just busy tonight. Sorry." He said, then hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" I asked with one wing as I looked over my shoulder at him and gave a slight chuckle. He looked at his phone for a moment longer then put it in his back pocket, "No one. Almost ready yet?" He asked he stood behind me and watched. I finished the last wing and put the cap back on. "Yep, I'm ready now."

He smiled as he came to me and put his arms around my waist. "Alright, gorgeous," he said as he pulled me closer, rocking me back and forth. "Are you ready?" He asked as I wrapped my arms around his neck, "Anything you want before we leave?" He asked.

I'm just putting on a brave face and going for it. If I need something... he'll tell me what to do. "And again. I'm not making you come," he said as he looked in my eyes. "If you don't want to go we can stay here. Watch a movie maybe. Get a pizza delivered," he said with a smile as his hand tightened a little on my shirt and pulled me closer.

"I'm okay. Let's go or we'll be late, wasn't that what you were whining about?" I asked. He smiled and kissed my cheek down to my neck. "Yes, but I also just wanted to kiss you for a minute or two. Or get kissed, who knows," he said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes sarcastically. "We should go so we aren't late," I said with a chuckle. He sighed and took my hand. "Fine."

I put my bag on my back and let him lead me down the hall and down the stairs. "I'm going to a party, I'll see you later tonight," he said. "Is that Rose?" I heard Aaron's voice call. I haven't talked to him in so long, not since Coachella.

"The one and only," I said with a chuckle as Colby gripped my hand a little tighter. "You and I need to a video together. I saw the one you did with Katrina, it was awesome," he complimented. I smiled and nodded.

Colby said goodbye to the guys and took me towards his car. "He totally had a crush on you after the prank on Corey way back when," he said with a chuckle. So did I.

The makeup prank on Corey feels like so long ago now. "Really?" I asked. "Yep. Too bad I already told everyone to lay off, cuz' I called dibs," he said through a chuckle. "Called dibs?" I asked rhetorically. "I told them to back off because I was going to make a move. And Brennen agreed with me, that I should before anyone else got to you."

I rolled my eyes and looked out the window as we drove down the crowded streets, watching people go by. "Did you ever want to move to LA?" He asked. I shrugged. "It was the plan the whole time," I said. He shook his head. "No, did you want to move to LA?"

I looked over at him. "I mean... I guess so and I guess not. I knew it's where I was gonna end up, so I never looked anywhere else," I said through a chuckle to lighten the mood. "Why?"

He thought for a minute, trying to put the words in the right sentence. "Because sometimes, when you don't know I'm watching, you look like your mind is in some faraway place."

I let those words sink into my skin, letting my mind absorb them. Like your mind is in a faraway place.

I don't know where my mind goes. Nor can I stop it.

We pulled up to the party, there were already a bunch of cars outside. I got out of the car and Colby came towards me, taking my hand. "How many parties have you been to?" He asked. He could probably sense that I'm nervous. Very nervous.

"Zero," I said, looking towards the door. You could almost feel music pulsating inside.

"Just stick next to me, Rose. It'll be alright," he said with a smile. I looked over to take in his smile, but then he leaned in and kissed me softly, passionate nonetheless.

He held it for a few beats, then pulled away. He smiled. "You ready?" He asked. I nodded. He took my hand and led me up the steps and inside.

A dozen people said hello to Colby. I got a few glances, are they confused? I don't think there's been any posts about me, and there for sure hasn't been a video... so why are they staring?

Because they've seen it a dozen times before. But I don't care.

But maybe you're just gullible. Colby will dump you in a few weeks for a prettier girl.

Shut up.

I looked around, when I heard a voice call out to me. I didn't know which direction it was coming from, but I felt a tap on my shoulder- and there she was.

Long, gorgeous, perfect blonde hair. Icy blue eyes that bring men to their knees. Clear skin. Shorts with the pockets showing, a crop top.

Elena at her finest.