Pretend // Brandon Arreaga

19- Promise Me

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It was like a repeat of their first night together in LA. They sat on the couch eating their food and watching a Melissa McCarthy movie marathon. Brandon was watch Caroline laugh more than he was watching the movie. He loved how her whole body shook when she was in a fit of laughter and that more than often her laugh turned into ugly snorts. He had missed her laugh, it wasn't the same over the phone as it was in person.

"I need to go to bed. I have to get up early." Caroline yawned while stretching her arms.

"It's so early!" Brandon replied, looking at the time on his phone.

"I'll see you in the morning. Come to bed whenever you want." Caroline chirped, standing up from the couch.

"I'm aloud to sleep in the bed?" He smirked, raising his eyebrow.

"Or sleep on the couch." Caroline quipped.

"Goodnight! I love you." Brandon said, chuckling and throwing one of the throw pillows at her.

She giggled and walked into the bedroom. Brandon was a night owl and she knew he wouldn't be to bed anytime soon, so she spread out in the bed. As much as she wanted him next to her, she was glad to have the bed to herself for a while.

Caroline awoke to the aroma of pancakes and coffee. She never felt Brandon come to bed, so he probably hadn't been to bed. She wandered out the bedroom and into the living room where she could see Brandon slaving away in the tiny kitchen.

"Good morning." She said, walking up behind him and placing her arms around his waist.

"Good morning, I made you breakfast before you go to classes." Brandon said, the smile evident in his voice. He looked so tired, yet still energetic.

Caroline smiled and leaned her head against his back. She had missed him so much to the point she had forgot why she was even mad at him to begin with. She was just glad he was around for a short time.

"How long are you staying?" She asked, taking a plate of pancakes from him. She walked over to the counter and sat at a bar stool.

"I don't know. We aren't really doing anything right now, so I have time to stay. What days are you free?" He replied, sitting beside her.

"Well my classes are cancelled for tomorrow." She answered, smiling wide.

"Great, I'll find us something to do then." Brandon said, smiling even bigger than her.

"I'd like that, but I'm honestly good just sitting here with you. I've missed you a lot." She spoke, looking to her side at him.

Brandon places a hand on her thigh and smiled. "I've missed you too. Maybe when I go back to LA I can tell the guys we're dating officially."

Caroline cleared her throat and looked down at her plate. Could they make the long distance work for two years? He certainly found the time to fly out here when she got busy, so he could probably keep it up until they both got busy.

"I don't know, B. What is this we have? I mean it's like we're dating but we're afraid to touch." She replied, looking down at her plate.

"I don't know either. It's whatever you want it to be. I'm not going to dive into this too far, but I just wish you'd let us try us at dating and if it doesn't, we can pick up again in two years." Brandon said, grabbing her hand closest to him.

"You really still think we'd go back to whatever this is for two years? We wouldn't, we would not even be friends probably. I don't want to risk losing you completely again." Caroline explained, finally looking back up at him. "I really want to be with you, Brandon."

He sighed. The look in her eyes was enough to not push the topic any further. He'd still be waiting for her two years from now and that was okay with him. Neither one of them knew just how to label their relationship, but they knew they loved each other and wanted to be together. Caroline was just scared of losing him in the end.

"Caroline, no matter what happens you are not going to lose me ever again. We can take this slow as you need to, but I want you in my life romantically." Brandon said, rubbing his thumb over her hand.

"Okay. We'll take this super slow and if it doesn't work, promise me we can still manage to be friends." Caroline said, almost begging him with her eyes.

"I promise." He smiled.

"Well, I better go get ready for class. What are you going to be doing?" She asked, standing up from the counter.

"Probably sleep and mess around with some music on my laptop." Brandon said, shrugging. He really hadn't thought what he'd do when she wasn't around after he woke up.

"Okay. I'll call you when I'm on the way back home." She smiled before walking into her room to get ready.

Brandon smiled and looked down at his plate. He wasn't sure what the trip had in store for him, but he was glad with how it was going.

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