one of the boys » david dobrik au

twenty one

"Hey, bitch," Alejandro nudged me as I entered the kitchen, bag slung over my shoulder. David followed closely behind me, practically on my heels, like a baby duck. I could tell he was a little more nervous than he let on. Hell, I would be. The only parents I ever had to meet once I was grown up enough to understand how weird it was were Brandon's and a girl named Gabbie Hanna from my history class sophomore year.

We worked on a project together, and I went over to her house one afternoon to complete it. I didn't live in the worst town, so it was usually safe for me to mention having two moms without being judged. Gabbie's dad was the exception to that rule. He looked at me like I was the scum of the earth, checked on us every five minutes (probably to ensure I wasn't turning his kid), and stared harshly into our car when Angie picked me up.

After that day, we always worked on the project at the library. And I didn't meet any more parents.

"Glad you're here," I told him honestly, because I couldn't picture him stuck at his dad's at a time like this. He had never been a part of our Thanksgiving traditions, but seeing him in my kitchen eating Doritos just felt right. "This is David. Be nice."

"I'm always nice," he bit back with a fire that said otherwise. "David. Hmm."

"Nice," I repeated, giggling as David awkwardly smiled and waved at him. Alejandro was one of those people who could scare you if you didn't know him. He was a little mean at times and a very loud person. I could see why someone would find him intimidating, but when I first met him, he was four and very shy. He'd never really scare me.

"Sorry. I just wasn't expecting another boyfriend," he spoke. "Let's just hope you're better than the last one."

David said I am at the same time that I said he's not my boyfriend.

"But yes," I added after we fell silent. "David is most definitely more likeable than Brandon. Never bring him up again."

Alejandro rolled his eyes and turned to David. "How do you deal with her? Does she sanitize you when you walk in the door?"

"Basically," David laughed in response, eyeing me to gauge my reaction. I glared at him. "She's kind of crazy about everything being clean, but then she's got clothes all over her bedroom. Makes no sense."

"She's batshit insane," my lovely cousin nodded. "I'm surprised you haven't killed her."

"I've come close," David smirked, and I knew he wasn't talking about what Alejandro was talking about. I just hoped Alejandro didn't pick up on that fact. That'd be a bad way to start our vacation.

"Let's go put our bags in my room," I instructed David, just to get us out of that situation. I hoped he wouldn't feel weird about sharing a bed with me. There were many times that we'd fallen asleep on the couch together, but the only times we'd ever laid in a bed together were when we were both wide awake, usually watching a movie or telling each other stories.

David followed me to the basement, where my room was. I used to live in the now guest bedroom, which was right next to my parents, but when they finished the basement and added a bedroom down there, I practically begged to move. This was mainly so I could have alone time with my boyfriend, but the basement was also dark and cold and the best place to sleep. No sunlight to force you awake in the morning. Just silence.

"Don't judge my room," I warned him as I cracked open the door. It was exactly how I'd left it and exactly how it'd looked since sophomore year of high school. There were fake plants scattered around the room to brighten it up and old posters on the walls.

"Who the hell listens to Coldplay?" he laughed at the first poster he saw, which was pretty embarrassing.

"I told you not to judge me," I whined. "I listened to them in high school. They were, like, my favorite band."

"I've never heard of anyone whose favorite band is Coldplay," he chuckled. "You were seriously boring as shit in high school, huh?"

"Kind of," I chucked my bag onto the floor and climbed into my bed. The best thing about this room was the bed. The mattress topper paired with the fluffy, huge white comforter made it so comfy to sleep in. "Maybe that's why I had no friends."

"I just can't believe you are the person I know, and you used to be this person."

"What do you mean?" I asked, and he climbed in the bed next to me, kicking his shoes off before he put his feet on my blankets.

"You now would be bored to death listening to fucking Coldplay in the library," he explained. "I genuinely can't imagine you acting the way you did in high school now. I mean, were you even happy?"

"Sometimes," I admitted with a sigh. "I know I always talk shit about Brandon, but he was the kind of person that could make you feel special that he was actually talking to you. He was always so pretentious and aloof, I guess, so when you had his attention, it felt good. He always thought he was better than everyone, so when it felt like I was an equal, even though he never really treated me like an equal... I liked it. Looking back on it now, I really hate who I was back then. I just let myself get walked all over because I wanted to do what he wanted. I wish it wasn't like that."

"He sounds fucking annoying. It blows my mind that you fell for that."

"Mine too," I softly smiled at him, the words coming out a lot sadder than I intended. "What's done is done, though. I try not to dwell on my past mistakes too much."

"It's not your fault."

"I know. I should've known, though. And everyone told me he was horrible. My moms and Alejandro and my grandma all told me. I even had this friend freshman year. Her name was Madison, and she was so sweet. When I first started dating Brandon, she told me that she thought he was holding me back," I explained. "I didn't really know what she meant by that, because I was a freshman with no plans in life, but she was insistent that I should break up with him. I didn't, obviously, and we eventually just stopped talking. It still makes me sad that I basically made no friends in high school because I was so far up Brandon's ass."

"Don't be sad about something like that. Look at where you are now," he said. "There's probably a hundred people within ten miles of campus that know and love you. Everyone loves you. And high school fucking sucks anyways."

"We should go," I sat up. "Before they think we're fucking down here."

"Oh no," David's sarcasm oozed out of his voice. "What a horrible thought."

Listened to my friends love song playlist tonight on our drive and now im lonely and miserable lmaooo
Xoxo abby