Home Sweet Home? (fK&C fanfic)

Chapter 8 - The Party

37 Days Since We Left Home:

Brooke's POV:

     "How's it going?" Luke asked Joel, pulling him into a hug, then Moriah. "Good, man, good," Joel replied. Luke turned to the three of us and said, "Hello! You guys must be Joel's new neighbors! I'm Luke, his brother." The whole time I was pinching Kyle and whispering, don't say anything. don't say anything. 

    "What's your name?" Luke asked, reaching out to shake Kyle' hand. "Kyle." He then shook James' hand. "James." He looked over Jame's shoulder and smiled at me. "And you?" James took a step to the side, revealing me. I tried to melt into the ground but, unfortunately, that's not humanly possible. 

    "Bro-Brooke." I stuttered and Luke grasped my hand. He noticed my hoodie and immediately seemed to understand. "Wow, that must have seemed like some pretty good luck - a neighbor to half of for KING & COUNTRY?" I then wondered if running away would be an excellent idea. Joel seemed to notice and put a hand on my shoulder.

    Joel laughed and said, "He's joking, Brooke." I turned to him and just nodded, eyes on the ground. Luke also laughed, "It's okay to be shy, but I'm sure you'll feel welcome soon enough." He turned around and lead us into his house. 

    "If you had fainted, that would have made my day," James said (LOUDLY) to me. I tripped over the sidewalk, losing concentration at his comment. "James..." Moriah chided gently. James dipped his head and kept walking. I mouthed 'thank you' to Moriah and she laughed. I started walking again and hurried to catch up with the rest of our group. I stepped inside the house and could instantly recognize a lot of the people in the room. 

    David Smallbone was here, along with all his children and their own families. All of the guys from for KING & COUNTRY were here with families. Joel nudged me farther inside the room, surprising me since I hadn't realized I had been standing inside the doorway. I tripped over the carpet and barely caught myself in time. Kyle was fighting hard not to laugh and I just walked over to where he and James were standing. 

    "You guys are jerks," I muttered to them both. James grinned and replied, "We're your brothers - we're supposed to embarrass you or laugh when you embarrass yourself." I groaned and said, "I should not have worn this hoodie today." James shrugged and said, "I told you so." I scowled at him, ignoring the fact that he had indeed. Moriah had walked over to Courtney while Joel had gone into the crowd of people, giving hugs here and there. 

     Moriah noticed my lost look because she beckoned me over. "See you suckers." I mouthed to James and Kyle. "What!? Don't leave us alone, we don't know anyone here-" Kyle protested but I hurried away.

    "Courtney, this is our neighbor's daughter, Brooke. Brooke, this is Courtney." Moriah explained. "Hi." I said shyly. Courtney smiled and said, "I'm glad you guys could come! Moriah told me how she and Joel are watching you guys for a few days." I nodded in agreement and added, "Making sure the house doesn't get set on fire and that my brothers don't kill each other." We all laughed and continued chatting, sometimes me just listening in to their conversation. 

    "Brooke!" someone called. I whirled around to see Joel waving me over to where he was. I turned back to Moriah and she nodded, releasing me. I hurried over to Joel, keeping close to the wall to avoid most people. However, someone unexpectedly backed into me, and I got slammed into the wall. "Oh, shoot! You okay?" they said. I picked myself up to see someone looking back down at me. I couldn't seem to remember their name but I believed they were the photographer for for KING & COUNTRY. 

    "Yeah, this is the second time it's happened today," I admitted. The guy looked confused, then saw my hoodie, and looked completely lost. "I don't recognize you - have we met before?" he asked suspiciously. Crap, he must think I'm some sort of lunatic fan that found where Luke lived. I should not have worn this hoodie. 

    "Mitch, it's okay, Brooke is our new neighbor," Joel said as he stepped beside me. Mitch's confusion vanished and he smiled saying, "Oh! Sorry, I hadn't met you before so I couldn't be sure why you were here. It's nice to meet you!" I nodded in understanding and followed Joel back to where he used to be. I was soon standing by Joel's dad, his oldest sister, and another of his siblings - David, Rebecca, and Ben Smallbone.

     "Guys, this is Brooke, our neighbor, " Joel explained. I dipped my head to the three of them and they all introduced themselves to me. Joel's family is very kind and sweet apparently. Afterward, Joel leaned down to my ear and whispered, "You are very good at acting like you haven't heard of any of them before." I flushed and replied, "Well, it doesn't help that I'm wearing a for KING & COUNTRY hoodie..." Joel grinned and said, "It's good to see someone showing off our merch." 

    SCORE! I didn't mess up. I noticed James in the corner and located Kyle hanging out with some of the kids, all of them younger than him, but it didn't seem like he cared. I beckoned James over and he walked over. I pointed out each person in the room, some I had been introduced to and some I didn't, and told James who they were.

    "Wow, you're a big fan of for KING & COUNTRY, huh? You know practically everyone in this room!" came a voice from behind me. I whirled around to see Luke with amusement glittering in his eyes. 

    Perhaps I did mess up. 

A/N: I'm sorry these chapters are so long. 😰 I can't seem to control myself, lol. There's so much I need to say and WattPad makes it seem longer than it actually is! Also, I must seem like an idiot because I said (JUST LAST CHAPTER) that I would start updating on Monday but that chapter had been posted on Sunday and I didn't have enough time to finish this last night so I've already broken that promise! Sorry, but perhaps next week I will do better, lol.

Until we meet again. 🐨