The Most Unlikely Of Friends Who: Mac and Brayden Where: Brayden's Hotel Suite When: Sunday Early Afternoon - May 23
Mac picked at her lunch which had been delivered by room service along with a meal for Brayden. The guy seemed, though, to enjoy his more then she appeared to be enjoying hers. Mac had showed up at Brayden's hotel room just after noon that day visibly distraught about something, something that the teen had yet to share with her friend. The night before after she had returned to her cousin's house, Mac learned that he planned on moving back to England. And while she understood his reasons, and that the move would have Mac in a safer and more secure environment as she would be surrounded by family, Mac wasn't exactly thrilled about the prospect. So it was a natural act that she turned to the person who had become her closest friend. Only trouble at this point was that Mac was having a hard of a time now with saying what was on her mind as she had when she wanted to tell Brayden about the "gift" she possessed.
"Ok, so spill it already." He said, raising a brow toward her. "Seriously, after what we talked about last time? How can anything else have you this nervous? So talk, lest I tickle it outta you. Which could lead to making out." He grinned, winking playfully.
That got a flicker of a smile as Mac laid her fork down on the table. "My cousin's decided to move back to England." Mac finally said with a brief glance sent to Brayden.
This was the sign of Brayden's true, usually hidden kindness. The fact that he didn't even NEED to think before saying his next words: "...so when ya moving in?"
While she was not one to say all that much, Mac was actually caught speechless by what had come out of the mouth of Brayden Bale. It had been the last thing she would have thought he'd say. "I... I... I'm moving away." Mac managed to sputter out thinking maybe her friend was misunderstanding her. "Damien's the only family I have here." And with him moving back to England, well there simply seemed that Mac had no other choice but to go with him.
"Um... No." He said, that almost sweet sense of certainty there. "You're moving in with me. Your NEW family. So there. Come on, you KNOW trying to turn me down is futility at best. So why bother?"
"But my cousin... " And there it was the main obstacle to Mac's even considering Brayden's offer to stay and room with him. "I don't think he would approve of the living situation." Mac said as she resumed picked and poking at the food on her plate with her fork.
"So I talk to him. My family has a way of being... very persuasive. You don't want to leave." He said simply, "and I don't WANT you to leave. You're my best friend, Mac. I wanna take care of you."
"There are things in this world that are unattainable to the great Brayden Bale." Mac told her friend with a little bit of a sigh. She wasn't going to prevent Brayden from speaking with her cousin, nor was Mac going to get her hopes up as she knew her cousin all to well. In her mind Damien was too protective of his younger cousin to leave her welfare and safety in the hands of someone he didn't know.
"Would you LIKE to stay? Hell, I ain't gonna force anything on you... but if you want to stay in LA, and you don't mine livin' with me... trust me. I guarantee I'll convince him. Seriously. I guarantee it."
He gave her a look then, one that wasn't snarky or arrogant... just deadly serious.
"I really don't fancy losin' my best friend, you know?"
Mac searched his eyes to see if there was anything less then the seriousness he spoke with. The teen didn't relish the thought of losing her best friend either, but things over the past couple years had a way of turning against her for the worse. "I wish I could stay in L.A." Mac finally murmured with a saddened sigh as she let her head fall gently to rest on Brayden's shoulder. She knew Brayden had a way of getting what he wanted most of the time, but the dreamwalker didn't want to get her hopes up only to have them be crushed.
"Then consider it done. I promise you... without doing or saying anything mean or threatening, either, that I'll get him to agree to it. I'll stop by your place later this evening and talk to him."
One thing Ben had taught him growing up: everyone has a weakness. Whether it be monetary, emotional, or something else, everyone has some soft spot you can hit. Brayden might just have to work to find Damien's, that's all.
"Alright." Mac responded not really knowing what more to say then that. She knew she'd be on edge the remainder of the day, and most likely well into the night, until she found out the outcome of Brayden's talk with her cousin, Damien. She just hoped she wouldn't have to sit through a barrage of raised voices from the sanctuary of her bedroom until that time came.
He draped an arm around her shoulders, trying to ease her fears a bit. "C'mon, babe... it's ME. This will be a piece of cake. I promise you. And I never break a promise." He thought about it, then sighed, "Ok, except for that time I told the blonde twins I'd call them the next day. But other than that, I never break promises."
Mac huffed out a half laugh at that. "You can be pure evil sometimes." Leave it to Brayden to try and ease her fears with a mild joke that should be taken as offensive, but that was just the guy's way where most girls and women were concerned. Mac had long ago accepted Bray's flaws as the good she saw in him greatly outweigh the bad.
"Evil? Nah. I prefer perverted and sexually insatiable, myself. But hey... gotta love me, huh?" He said with a chuckle, finding this whole thing rather amusing. They really WERE about the most unlikely friends anyone could ever imagine. "Ain't nothing gonna separate us, kiddo. NOTHING."