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Hey guys! If you read chapter one, you probably know that I started writing this story many years ago and am only now getting back to it. I’ve been editing the old chapters and will be adding new ones soon. I hope you enjoy it!
ETHAN’S POV
Greyson and I had been texting constantly all week and I was starting to consider him to be my friend. We had continued playing the question game and I had learned a lot about him since. He lives with his two moms and his four-year-old brother, Nathan. He moved here about a couple weeks ago and was transferring to my school on Monday (it was currently Friday).
I walk along the beach near my house until I get to the part of the seawall where we had agreed to meet. I take a seat and check the time. It’s 3:24pm. We were supposed to meet at 3:30. Since I’m a bit early, I open the book I brought with me, The Fault in Our Stars, and continue reading it. This is the fourth time I’ve read the book, and I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t cry this time.
I had just finished chapter eight and was about to turn the page when someone shakes my shoulder and startles me. I jump, and when I sit back down, I’m shivering a bit. I hear a light chuckle and look up to find the face of an amused Greyson. “Not,” I take in a deep breath, “funny.” I playfully glare at him. “Sorry,” he laughs. “I didn’t think you would jump that much,” he teases. “Yeah, well…” I try defending myself and take in another deep breath, “It’s not like it’s my fault that I’m… a bit jumpy.” “What do you mean?” he questions. “Umm… Never mind. I’m sorry.” “No, what did you mean?” He takes a seat beside me. “I don’t know,” I lie. “I guess I just meant that I can’t help it.”
“Right,” he studies my face, “Well, what do you want to do?” He asks me. I pause a moment. Decisions make me panic. “Um… I don’t really care. Whatever you want to do,” I tell him. “Hmm…” He seems to be thinking, “Want to go get something to eat?” I look down. I don’t really like eating in front of people. “Nah… I’m not very hungry,” I tell him. “Okay, um, want to go to the arcade down the street? I haven’t gone there before.” I smile at this. I go there a lot to get my mind off of life. It’s also fun because nobody expects me to talk to anyone there. “Sure,” I say, “love to.” “Great,” he smiles. “Let’s go then.” “Okay”, I start walking.
As we walk, we continue the question game. “So, what kind of music are you into?” He asks me. “Well, I like a lot of stuff, but lately, I’ve been pretty into alternative/punk rock/punk pop kind of stuff. How about you?” I speak. He smiles at this. “Cool. I’m into a lot of that stuff, too. Maybe we can listen to some music together later,” he tells me. “Okay,” I smile. “Cool,” he says.
We arrive at the small arcade squeezed in between a convenience store and a pizza joint. I go to reach for the door, but Greyson reaches it first and holds it open for me. “What a gentleman,” I smirk.” Aren’t I just?” he chuckles. We each exchange some money for tokens and he asks me where I want to start. I looked around and smile at one of my favorite games: The Fast and The Furious Super Cars. I look to Greyson for approval and see him smiling as well. “Sure,” he says, “That works.”
After three rounds of racing (I beat him the first time, he won the second, and he won the tie-breaker), I was sulking like the child I am. “You totally cheated,” I pout. Greyson laughs at this, “I didn’t cheat, Ethan. I don’t even think I could cheat in this game.” “Yeah, okay,” I mumble. “Whatever.” “Don’t be such a sore sport, kiddo,” he teases. “Kiddo?” I laugh. “I’m only two months younger than you.” “Two months and…” He pauses a moment, “…and thirteen days.” “Oh, right, ’cause that clearly matters,” I press. “Exactly,” he smiles. “It does not,” I giggle. “Does too,” he laughs back. “Does not,” I nudge his shoulder. Greyson laughs, “Really? You’re gonna start this shoving match again?” I blush at the memory of how that had turned out and look down. “Hey,” he says softly. “Yeah?” I ask and look up. “Does too,” he shoves me back. I laugh at this. A genuine laugh. Something that seems unfamiliar to me.
My laughter is quickly stopped as I see a couple familiar faces in my peripheral vision. Oh shit. They’re kids from school. I fall completely silent and stare in their direction. They don’t see me, but I’m frozen in place. I hear a muffled mumble in my ears. “Ethan?” I distinguish what the mumble was. “Ethan!” Greyson shakes my shoulder and gives me a concerned look. “You alright?” He asks. I nod my head before reconsidering. I can trust Greyson enough to not pretend I’m fine right now. I shake my head. He looks over in the direction in which my eyes are fixed. “People from school?” He asks. I nod my head. “Good thing or bad thing?” He asks. I shake my head. “Bad thing,” he says in understanding. I nod my head. “Okay,” he says. “Let’s go.” I raise an eyebrow and point at our cup of arcade tokens. “It’s not a big deal,” he assures me. “You’re not comfortable. It’s not worth it.” He sends me a gentle smile before giving the cup of tokens to a child and who I assume was her mother. He grabs my hand and guides me towards the arcade exit. “Ethan?” I hear from behind me. I internally groan before turning both myself and Greyson around to face the person the voice had come from.
Joshua is standing with Michael and Eric. I wish I could disappear. They’re nice enough guys, really. I just didn’t want to see them here. When I was in my safe zone. With Greyson. “What are you doing here?” Joshua asks in a surprised, yet pleasant tone of voice. I shrug my shoulders and point at the arcade games with a smirk. “Right… That was a stupid question, he smiles back. His eyes drift down to the side of me. My eyes follow. They land upon my right hand still entwined in Greyson’s. “Your boyfriend?” He asks. I shake my head no. Greyson keeps his left hand in mine and extends his right toward Josh. “I’m Greyson,” he speaks, “Ethan’s friend.” “Well it’s nice to meet you, Greyson,” Joshua shakes his hand. “I’m Josh. This is Eric”, he gestures towards his left, “and this is Mikey,” he nods his head to his right. “Well, it’s nice to meet you all,” Greyson says politely. “But Ethan and I were actually just on our way out, so we’ll see you around.” “Yeah, okay. Cool to meet you, Greyson. Nice seeing you, E-Man,” Josh responds.
Greyson and I exit the arcade and walk across the street to the beach. Neither of us says a word for a while, but neither of us lets go of the other’s hand, either. We reach a bit of seawall with a nice view and sit down. Greyson finally lets my hand go and I look up to meet his gaze. “So, what was that about?” He questions. “Are they, like, bullies or something?” I shake my head, ‘no.’ “Come on, Ethan. Talk to me,” he pleads. “You haven’t said a word since you saw those guys.” I can’t find anything to say, so I remain silent. It isn’t unfamiliar to me to be quiet for a stretch of time.
“E-Man? Seriously?” He breaks the silence and causes me to chuckle softly. “Yeah, I hate it too,” I laugh. “There’s that beautiful voice of yours,” he smiles down at me. I laugh softly at this and meet his eyes. “So, why do you let him call you that? If you hate it, I mean?” He asks me. “I don’t know,” I start, “I wouldn’t say I let him, so much as I’ve never stopped him from doing it,” I say. “So, you’ve never even told him you hate it?” He asks me. “Well, hate is a strong word,” I tell him. “I just don’t love it is all. It doesn’t bother me that much.” “You’re missing the point,” he begins, “You should stand up for yourself.” “You don’t understand. It isn’t that simple. And besides, it really isn’t that big of a deal,” I shrug. He gives me a sort of sad smile. “Okay,” he says, “Alright.” I breathe a sigh of relief, glad that he’s dropping it, even though he probably doesn’t want to.” “So, what do you like to be called?” He asks. “What do you mean?” I question. “I don’t know,” he starts, “Just like… Do you have a nickname you like or something?” I thought a moment. “I don’t really have any nicknames,” I tell him. “Can I give you one, then?” He asks. “Uh, sure?” I chuckle. “How about…” He appears to be thinking, “E?” He smiles like he’s proud of it. “E?” I ask and he nods. “Yeah,” I smile. “Sure, why not?”
“And what about you?” I ask him. “What?” He seems a bit confused. “Do you have any nicknames?” I ask. “Not really. My moms and my brother sometimes call me Grey because he used to not be able to pronounce my name right,” he says and to that I respond, “Well, can I give you one, too, then?” “Sure,” he says, “Like what?” “Like…” I start, “How about Greys?” (Pronounced “Grayce”) “Greys… Hm…” he ponders. “I like it,” he smiles. I smile, too. “So,” he starts, “How about we listen to some music now?” I smile, “Sure.”
After listening to each other’s favorite artists, we decide to walk home. It turns out that the house he moved into is only a few streets away from mine. “Well,” Greyson says, “This is my place. Text me when you get home?” “Sure,” I smile. I begin to walk away when I hear him call to me, “And Ethan?” “Yeah?” I turn around to see him. “Thanks for hanging out today. It was cool.” “Yeah,” I say. “No problem.”
I get into bed and pull the covers up to my chest. I plug my phone into its charger and scroll through Tumblr a bit. A notification appears on my screen. It’s a text from Greyson. “Hey E”, it reads. I smile at the use of my new nickname. “Hey Greys,” I type. I go back to scrolling through my dash until I get more messages from Greyson. “Hey, so,” another message, “thanks again,” another message, “for today, I mean.” I chuckle lightly at his multiple messages to say such a simple thing. “No problem,” I send, “I had a cool time, too”. “Cool,” he sends. I re-open Tumblr and read some funny posts and just after I finish reblogging something about Sherlock, Greys texts again. “Maybe we can chill again some time soon,” he sends. “Like maybe Sunday,” he sends just after. “Yeah,” I send, “That’d be cool.” “Cool,” he types. “Cool,” I mimic. “So, I should probably sleep at some point,” he sends. I glance at the time. It reads 11:58pm. “Yeah,” I send in agreement. “Goodnight Greys”, I send shortly after. “Night, E,” he answers. I place my phone on my bedside table and remove my glasses and place them there as well. I click off the lamp next to my bed and curl into my blankets. I replay my strangely positive day in my mind and fall asleep smiling.
So, what do you guys think? I know it wasn’t the most exciting chapter, but I do have a lot planned for this story. Fun fact: Ethan has a secret. Well, more than one. But one big one that none of you know yet. Can anyone guess what it is? I’ve given some hints. Anyways, please rate and comment. I would really appreciate it. Thanks 🙂
Eat your fruits and vegetables,
A.J.
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