The One That Got Away - Ethan Torchio Fanfic

Feels Like We Only Go Backwards

"You had a chance, and your game wasted it."

"I can't believe that we are spending our last year of college in Rome." Elle exclaimed, smiling from the backseat as my mother drove us on our way to find the perfect apartment.
It had been a month since the talk with Ethan, and after how it went, I had decided to keep a distance. We still saw each other, since we met with the band every now and then, specially now that Victoria and Elle had made their relationship official, but we always managed to stay away from each other.
"Now we just have to find a nice place for you girls to stay this year." I nodded at my mother's comment, looking out the window when I realized I knew the street we were heading to. "And this will be our first stop."
"Mom, not here." I quickly shook my head, glancing at her as she stopped the car. "Let's go to the next one on the list."
"Why, this looks like a nice neighborhood." She looked at me surprised as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "And you haven't even seen the building or the apartment."
"I don't want to live here, please." I shook my head again, biting down my bottom lip as I looked out again. "Ethan lives in this street."
"Oh, cherie." Sighing softly, she reached to cup my cheek gently before placing a soft kiss on my forehead. "I know it's hard, but this is the top one on the list because is the best we found and it's really close to the campus."
"Also, being neighbors with him might help you getting close to him again." Elle nodded, moving closer to us from the backseat.
"Or he will think that I'm stalking him." I turned to look at Elle, she was excited about this new adventure and, in that moment, I realized I was being selfish and somehow ruining the mood. "Alright, I guess we can take a look at least."

The apartment was even better than what I thought and also better than my apartment in Paris, it was a penthouse, with big windows that filled almost every room with natural light the whole day, and a big patio where we could spend the weekends and even host small parties.
"I don't know about you, but I'm in love." Elle walked outside, a big grin on her lips as she admired the views from the terrace. "Please, tell me you love it too."
"It is a great place." I nodded, sighing as I took a step closer, leaning over the railing to look at the street.
"But..." Elle walked closer to me, leaning against the railing as she looked at me.
"There're no buts." I shook my head, as much as I wanted to live on the opposite side of Rome there was no denying that the apartment was perfect, and it was already fully furnished and decorated so it was another headache that we could avoid. "We should take it."
"Are you sure you'll be okay living so close to him?" Elle raised her eyebrows, moving closer as she rested her chin on my shoulder.
"We will be busy on weekdays, and if I feel too overwhelmed, I can spend a weekend at my mom and Carlo's place." I nodded, still convincing myself that I would be fine.
"He still doesn't know that you are staying this year in Rome, no one from the band told him." Elle nodded, we broke the news to our friends two weeks ago, but we had decided it was best to not tell Ethan yet, at least not until we found a way to be civil with each other again.
"Now, let's focus on more important things." I turned to her, forcing a smile. "We have two weeks until our last university year starts, which means that we have a week to gather our things and bring them from Paris."

"And this is the last box." I nodded, closing a box full of vintage vinyls before placing the shipment label on it.
"I'll probably steal some of these records one day." Damiano chuckled, grabbing the box and taking it to the front door. "That will be the payment for helping you with the move."
As soon as we told the band, except Ethan, that he had to go back to Paris to get our things, both Damiano and Victoria offered to come on their free days to help us packing everything.
"I already agreed to pay you with a delicious French dinner." I glanced at him, sticking out my tongue before walking towards the window to admire the views from my now old apartment. "I'll miss these views."
"I think you can see Ethan's apartment from your patio, so you will forget about this views quite easily." Damiano laughed, standing just behind me as his gaze followed mine. "And hopefully he will realized the sacrifice you made to get him back."
"Do you truly believe that he will change his mind after what he said?" I raised my eyebrows, turning to look at him.
"I don't know." He shrugged lightly, running his fingers through his short hair. "But he won't be able to stay mad for that too long once he sees that you're not giving up on him."
"Well, let's hope it works." I nodded, glancing one more time out of the window. "And if he doesn't, I will still have my fabulous rock star friends with me."

"Are you going to invite Ethan to the housewarming?" Elle glanced at me as we tried to decided the party theme for the housewarming.
It had been a week since we had moved to our new penthouse, and I still hadn't broken the news to Ethan.
"I guess, I should." I nodded, looking between Hawaiian decorations. "It would be rude not to invite him."
"You know where he lives, so you can go and invite him." Elle walked next to me, holding what it looked like invitation templates. "Oh, and bring a peace offering, that might help."
"A peace offering?" I raised my eyebrows, glancing down at the invitations.
"Yeah, a gift or even better, cook him something, that will soften his heart." Elle nodded, winking at me as she turned to check the next aisle. "But first, we need to find a theme for our party."
"Wait! I have an idea!" I ran after Elle, clapping her hands. "Paris meets Rome! This party will represent us, Paris, starting a new life in Rome."
"Oh my god!" Elle turned to me, a wide grin appearing on her lips. "That's perfect!"

"Amélie, you can do it." I whispered to myself, taking a deep breath as I knocked on the door and waited for Ethan to open it while I held a box with just made crêpes and an invitation to the housewarming. What I didn't expect was the beautiful girl opening the door. "Um, hi! I'm looking for Ethan, is he at home?"
"No, he left to run some errands." She shook her head as she looked at me with curiosity. "Can I help you with something?"
"I just wanted to invite him to a party." Still in shock, I tried to find the words while I looked down at the box. "We are kind of friends."
"You could wait for him, but I'm not sure for how long he will be out." She shrugged slightly, leaning against the doorframe.
"No, it's okay." I quickly shook my head, handing her the box, all I wanted was to run away and hide in a hole. "Could you give him this? Just tell him it's from Amélie." She took the box from my hands, nodding lightly, but I could tell that the look on her face changed as soon as I mentioned my name.

"Oh, so you're Amélie."

•
•
•
•
•
So, who might be this mysterious girl?
Hope you like the chapter.
Love,
A