All Brand New {BoyxBoy}

All Brand New {4}

Chaos.

Pillows and blankets are all over the ground, sheets are pulled over couches to build forts, and a collection of plushies are flying through the air as I stand still, unable to move. This is a war zone.

So this is what they get up to when Bellamy's out.

"Uh . . . Ven, you stay here for a second," Arran says, taking my bags from me and walking through the battlefield. A brave soul.

Pierce looks far too excited and all but skips around the corner to see what's going on. He quickly finds Jack in the mess and aims a Hello Kitty plushie at his torso. Erin rolls his eyes but follows after them, giving me a quick look to stay put.

So I do.

I wait patiently for someone to give the all-clear but it never comes.

"Get off the fucking table, we eat there!" I hear Arran yell.

Oh, okay. This is fine. I just spend all my savings from last year to come to a peaceful art retreat to end up in the middle of a plushie war. This makes total sense to me. I think I might just sleep in the garage after all.

Just as I am about to turn around Arran comes rushing around the corner, halting in front of me.

"I am so, so sorry, Ven, I swear it's not usually like this here."

I'm unconvinced. "It might just be me, but I feel like we've already had this conversation before," I say. The boys here seem to get each other into trouble daily, Arran apologising for their actions, afraid that they'll scare me off and I'll catch the next flight home. If nothing else, I find it entertaining.

Arran awkwardly rubs the back of his neck and nods. "Yeah, you're right." Arran sighs.

Erin comes back over to us, a lollypop in his mouth and one earphone hanging out so he can talk to us. "Clear," he says and walks away.

"You want to help put the groceries away?" Arran asks.

Uh, not really.

"Sure."

It only takes a couple of minutes, even if I struggle to find where everything was supposed to go. Erin orders the perpetrators to clean up their fun. Red and Jack clean up the pillows and plushies while Elliot fixes up the couch to the best of his abilities with the help of Felix, Dylan and Pierce.

When I have nothing left to do I go back up to my room, knocking at my own door when I see it's closed. No way am I walking in on anyone again. Red may be downstairs but I wouldn't put it past Ollie to have someone else up here. Everything feels casual between one another. Subtle enough that the kids who keep to themselves and work on their art don't seem to notice. Obvious enough to people like me, who look a little longer than necessary. Maybe I'll ask Niamh about it.

"It's open!" Ollie calls from the other side. I open the door and look at Ollie with his pink hair mostly covered by a beanie. He's sitting cross-legged on his bed watching something on his laptop. "Hey, Ven," he sniffles.

"Hey." I sit on my own bed and pull my laptop out, opening it up and setting it to the side. Next, I pull out my book. The book is full of blank pages and lines for me to write on. I write down my thoughts, feelings, and story ideas. I start by flipping to a new page and writing down yesterday's and today's events up until this afternoon, then put it beside my laptop and open up a document to start writing in. I'm not sure what I wanted to write about but I find myself describing the sound of birds. Their song, their wings, the way leaves rustle when they fly into the branches of their home. I feel a little more grounded and have a sense of achievement for doing something I consider both creative and productive.