EJ in Love

Connor 

Edward was not the type of person who got angry entirely easily. In fact I think the few times he lost his cool was only on the pitch. Outside of that he was always calm. No matter how much we could bicker or argue I always had the strange suspicion that he was enjoying himself rather than getting nerfed. 

He was the type of person who could never give you a straight answer, always had to be scheming and when you thought you could finally have a serious moment with him, he would do something that would completely throw you off once again. 

Yet to see him lose his cool with Kyle speaking trash about his brother was surprising. We all knew he had a deep love for his family. He almost worshipped his older brother. Even when he pretended he did not care, I did not think he could ever speak ill of his brother to anyone. He loved him and by what I had heard from Ted, Demyan seemed to be the pinnacle child in the family. 

I was sure for Edward it put a lot of pressure on him to match up. At least in that regard him and I could relate. 

"Get your hands off me," he slapped my arms that were still wrapped around him. It was the first time I had him this close to me without us being on the pitch. Normally then he smelt like grass and sweaty bodies. I was pretty sure all of us did but without that he smelt surprisingly sweet. He smelt like a strange mix between bubblegum and a strawberry musk which had me deeply confused. 

"Why do you smell like a seven year old?" 

His anger quickly dissipated as a hot blush spread across his cheeks, "It's my sister's perfume. I ran out."

Even I could tell that was a lie. "Your older or younger sister?"

"Younger," he mumbled before wiggling his way out of my arms, "Why are you asking me personal questions! It's none of your business how I smell."

"Bubble gum is a weird one," I laughed, betraying myself on more than one occasion. "It smells nice like a sweet shop."

His eyes stared at mine with an emotion I could not place my finger on before he looked away, "Gives me more motivation to change it then. Wouldn't want you sniffing me about every few seconds during a game."

"Don't describe me like I'm a dog."

"You look like one," he glared, "With your wild hair. You should mind your own business Kyle deserved what he got for speaking trash about my brother."

The rare light moment between us quickly vanished, "You should know better as national captain to get involved in fist fights. The media will put a spin on this and say you were simply riling Kyle up because you won and we lost. We have a national game in a few days Edward. We can't afford any hostility in the team."

"Oh you're rich to talk," he spat, "Hostility should be your middle name."

"That's because you are the way you are," I barked, "You think you know everything."

"Oh and you're thirty and wise. If you were so wise you should learn to stay out of my way," he growled. 

"You're young and foolish," I poked his chest with my finger, "You're a spoiled brat."

"Don't pretend like you didn't have a red carpet laid out for you because of your daddy dear. At least my parents didn't know anything about rugby," he immediately spun on his heels to walk away from me, "Stay with your bum arse friends!"

With that he went back into the penthouse leaving me standing there and feeling as if a bus had run over me. There was not a single second where he and I could be on each other's nerves. That is what I got for trying to help him, always a big load of a shit basket. This was why I minded my own business but for once it seemed to have slipped out of the window. 

By the time I got back into the penthouse, the very two people who were throwing punches at each other were now pouring tequila down each other's throats. Kyle's eye was already bruised but that seemed to mean very little to him as he loudly cheered with Edward before they burst into song. 

The person they were fighting over, Demyan, was singing along with them as he had completely abandoned glasses and just drank straight from a vodka bottle. He did not even look drunk yet which made me wonder if he had the liver of steel. 

There was not a single thing I liked about him. Whenever the two brothers were together chaos ensued and each time I had to put out the fires. Most of the time I did not bother, Demyan was the definition of obnoxious. 

After all the first time I had met him he had said 'Do you know who my father is mate? We can't drink wine from your basic grocery store'. I had hated him ever since. 

"Let's go," I went over to Lottie who was dancing with her friends in a dress so short I was sure anyone could point out her anatomy without even having to be close. 

She wrapped her skinny arms around my neck. The smell of alcohol had long seeped into her skin as she giggled. "Let's stay. The party just got started."

She tried to kiss me but I avoided it when my eyes landed on Edward. The smile he wore a few seconds ago had vanished as he looked at Lottie who was flush against my body. Something about his gaze made me feel even more uncomfortable if that was possible and I found myself untangling from her spaghetti body. 

"Just make sure you get home," I did not bother for her to respond as I left, feeling like I was about to suffocate. I did not know for how much longer I could stomach this.