|| BRAD ||

Noah and his friends rode along with him in his own vehicle leading the direction to his house. Zack is on the wheel of his car while Davey is sat in the passenger seat next to him. Me, Jackson, and Taylor were are at the back seats while Liam is in the very behind with the beer cans he tried to smuggle with him. He already popped one open and started drinking it. I'd be pissed if he trashed Noah's home in a crazy drunken state. "Stay close to me or Ethan, okay?" Zack said to Davey while keeping his eyes on the road.

"Yes big bro," Davey said obediently. I somewhat found their interaction together wholesome. Sometimes a wish for a little sibling, or just someone small in general to love and protect. Jackson leaned in closer to me and whisper close my ear, "man, 'my' brother is such a dick compared to Davey."

"How so?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"There was this one time when him and I were fighting over the tv remote. I won, and he got mad about it. He made such a villainous like statement, saying that I should watch my back, which I should have taken seriously. Next thing that happened after waking up from a Sunday morning, I got blasted by a handmade canon of Coke and Mentos," Jackson shivered as he recalled that memory of his. I burst into laughter and held my stomach. Suddenly, we rumbled a little bit, must have hit a pothole or something on the road. "Oh fuck!" We heard Liam on the back. Taylor, Jackson, and I turned to see that he had spilled beer on his red shirt, staining it dark on the spot. We howled like hyenas as Liam yelled at us like an angry kid who dropped his ice cream.

-

We arrived moments later. Bewildered, all of us guys stared in awe at the monumental so-called house in front of us. "Holy shit!" Liam cussed out loud, obviously surprised by the impressive architecture. Three stories, large scale parking lot/ front yard with a decorative fountain and plant life, and they own quite a massive land. Noah and his friends exited his car and motioned us to follow them. Still in shock, we got out of Zack's car and slowly made our way to them, Liam far back behind because he had to take along his beer. "This is surreal," I mumbled silently, but Noah managed to hear.

"I get that. That's something that they said the first time they laid eyes upon my home," Noah gestured over at Ethan and Annabel. We all stood in front of two massive doors and waited for Noah to unlock them with his keys. As he inserts it into the keyhole, he pushes forward, revealing the grand interior of his palace. A living room, the size as big as an entire average house, a chandelier hanging at the very center of the main area's ceiling, and large windows beaming with golden dusk rays giving the white furniture, walls, and marble floor a tint of orange. Our mouths, excluding Noah, Ethan, and Annabel, dropped wide open that we could have dislocated our jaw bone.

"Dude, Noah's a fucking prince!" Taylor whispered close to my ear to which I barely registered because I was too mesmerized.

"Mowery?" Noah said with his hands cupped around his mouth. I raised an eyebrow in confusion as I watched him walk towards a pair of sliding glass doors. A figure appeared behind and the entrance glided to the side revealing a young-looking guy. "Who's this?" I said with suspicion with arms crossed as I walked to Noah's side.

"Oh, this is chef Mowery. He's our kitchen worker," Noah introduced. Mowery gave me a glance with a small grin and a wave. With a sigh of relief, I released the pent up tension in my body. Not a competitor, which I am glad for. "Mowery, could you prepare us some food, please? Snacks like chips and soda are good," Noah asked politely. Mowery nodded his head as he returned back into the room which I now noticed is the kitchen. Turning around to look at me and the others, Noah spoke, "you guys can walk around and stuff, but please don't go crazy," he said.

"Yeah Liam, don't go crazy," I sneered at him who was already mindlessly strolling around the corners of the place.

-

At the moment, all of us were playing video games on Noah's awesome cinematic screen up on the wall with a great audio system making the room sound more atmospheric. Mowery returned with a few bags of chips and glasses of juice and pop. Liam and Jackson were drinking a few cans of beer, while Zack made sure that he and Davey stood away from them as far as possible. Liam signaled Noah if he wanted to have a sip, which he declined, "sorry, I know I'm part German, but I don't and will never drink," he said.

"Aww... what a party pooper," Liam sluggishly groaned. The effects of alcohol are probably starting to get to him. Liam looked at me with a grin and asked if I wanted some. I shook my head and tried pushing it away from him. "Come on man... don't be a pussy..." he smirked. I growled in annoyance and rolled my eyes. He continued to pester me for about three minutes, unlike Noah where he gave up immediately. With patience growing thin, I just snatched a can from his hand with a malevolent look towards him. "Yeah!!!" He cheered with success. I shook my head and began to chug down about half of its contents.

It's not like I'll get drunk easily.

From the corners of my eyes, I saw Noah looking at me with a disappointed look. I frowned, had I upset him? I didn't want to make a bad impression. I turned away from him to hide my frustration. Shit, I hope he doesn't think of me badly.