Work Text:
“I thought your house would be much bigger."
Brooklynn stared at Darius. "Why?"
"I dunno… I just thought someone with so many online followers would have a bigger house." He shrugged, eyes flittering all around him.
"I don’t really care about the size of my house, and I don’t need a big one anyways.”
Her house was medium-sized, and to be fair, Darius loved it. It was cozy but spacy. Sunlight poured in from the abundance of windows all around them. There were pots of all kinds of plants and succulents lining windows and tables.
Darius smiled. Brooklynn vibes were radiating from the environment.
She led him to the bathroom connected to her room after showing him around. Slipping her jacket off, she threw it off to the side, leaving her in her orange t-shirt. Then they got to work.
-
"Why do you dye your hair, anyway?" Darius asked as he dipped the wet brush into the bowl, ready to work on the next section of her hair.
Brooklynn stayed silent for a moment, hesitating.
He recoiled, pulling his hands away from her hair. "Sorry-- sorry, I shouldn’t have--"
"No, no, it's ok. I don’t… really know?” She looked into the mirror in front of her with a hard gaze, but then quickly looked away when her eyes met Darius’s through the mirror. “I guess I just want to look nice and stand out to get people to like me because no one would notice me if I looked boring."
She ignored his quizzical look and took a deep sigh, continuing. There was no going back now, she might as well. Darius was her best friend, she’d trust him with her life.
She thought back to the memories of her childhood. Not something she liked to think about, but she knew she would have to face it one way or another. "I never had a good relationship with my parents. They never approved of anything I did. No matter what, they were never proud of me. I guess me starting my channel was the last straw, and our relationship had never been the same since. And not in a good way. I just want people to like me. But no one knows the real me. And I’ve never had anyone close enough to let in.”
He continued to work on her hair in silence, carefully pulling the brush along the roots and on the top of her head. Was he going to say something? Maybe he wasn’t listening to what she said. What if he thought she was stupid? She mentally groaned. Why did she say anything in the first place? Opening up was a mistake.
She played with the hem of her orange t-shirt, head beginning to fill up.
Finally, he spoke up. "I’m sorry about your parents, it’s always difficult having a bad relationship with the people you have to be around the most."
Not helping, Darius, she thought.
"But I, for one, don't think you're boring at all. You can spend all the time you want with me and the others to get away from your parents."
He continued to work on Brooklynn’s hair as her mind raced, trying to process what he was saying.
It didn't take too long for him to complete his work. She stared at herself in the mirror again. He didn't do that bad of a job. He did pretty decently, actually. All the spots that needed work seemed to be covered. He peeled off the large cloth laying on her and threw it aside, then placed down the tools he was holding on a nearby counter and twisted her chair so that she was looking right at him.
"You don't look boring to me at all," He lay a hand on her shoulder, slightly bending down and leaning closer to tuck a runaway strand of hair behind her ear, eyes moving to the hair he was pulling away from her face. He was ignoring her gaze, but his face was so close to hers. She didn't realize how pretty his eyes were. Pretty brown eyes. "In fact, you're very pretty. And I bet you'll look amazing with your natural hair. I saw the color when the roots were growing back in. It's a pretty color." She could feel his warm breath on her face and her own face began to feel warm.
“Just... remember that you're worth it. You're pretty cool, Superstar."
Then he leaned even closer, closed his eyes, and left a soft, lingering peck on her forehead.
He pulled away, getting ready to leave. He looked back at her for a second, giving her the warmest smile she had ever seen. "Hurry up and shower so we can watch a movie and make popcorn." And at that, he left the bathroom, pulling the towel along with him so it could get washed.
Brooklynn sat there, mouth open wide. She could still feel the ghost of his lips on her forehead. That did not just happen.
-
She washed up and walked back to her room, where she spotted Darius sitting on the floor trying to pick a movie to watch on her tv.
She wrapped a towel around her head and slipped on her pink spotted pajamas, taking a seat beside Darius.
He continued scrolling through the movie selections for a few moments, clearly indecisive. Brooklynn let him do his thing as she took out her phone.
A loud booming sound echoed through the room. She groaned. “Darius.”
He threw his hands up in defense. “Listen! I just think the Jurassic World movies are neat.”
“You’re obsessed. But I’ll let you go this time.”
As a thank you for helping her with her hair. Or maybe it was something more that she felt blossoming. But she decided to ignore her feelings.
She left to grab a big bowl of popcorn that Darius began devouring the moment she handed it to him. She let out a giggle.
Brooklynn wasn’t interested in the movie. It was lame. And he probably knew she thought that.
She sat back down, but this time laid her head on Darius’ lap, looking up at him as he stared right back down.
“Watch your movie, Dinonerd.” She teased, gently poking his nose.
He playfully rolled his eyes but looked down at her and did the same thing he did earlier. He brushed the hair that was on her face away behind her ear, laughing at her flustered angry face. “Sure thing, Superstar.”