Back Flip Boy [ Ethan Nestor ]

31.

I hated LAX traffic.

I had driven in to pick up Ethan with Luna, simply because I didn't want him to pay for an uber to get to my place, and I needed to get out of the house anyway. But what I didn't account for, was how horrid the traffic was when you got to LAX. Why he flies into this airport, I'll never know, but it's better than a sketchy airport. I found a parking spot and grabbed Luna and my sign, making my way towards the baggage claim. His flight should have just landed, giving him about ten or so minutes before he made his way down here. I checked which claim he was going to be by and went over to it, holding Luna's leash tight in my hand as I adjusted the sign with the other. The sign was something quite simple, reading "COME GIB YOUR DAUGHTER KISS, ETHAN NESTOR!" and I just knew fans were going to be watching us reunite. Everyone knew by now that I got a dog, and she had started to show up in the back of my videos. People were asking about her so much that I had to put "this is pre-recorded, Luna is not in this video!!" in my description box.

I saw Ethan make his way down and towards his claim, smiling when he saw us. He rushed over to me, bringing me in for a suave kiss before bending down to say hi to Luna, who had gotten very squirmy since Ethan came over. I saw a few young girls with their cameras out and couldn't help but chuckle, smiling and waving at them. Ethan grabbed his suitcase and we made our way to the car, Luna situating herself in the backseat as we got inside. She put her two front paws on the little armrest thing between the two front seats, putting her head on Ethan's shoulder. I made sure to take at least ten pictures before we went, the two of us stopping by the In and Out to get some food before we made our way onto the 105 and back towards Los Angeles.

"So, now that you're here and you bought a one-way ticket, what's the plan?"

"Well, spending as much time as possible with you, of course." Ethan beamed. "We could maybe film a few co-op games together and maybe we could go downtown- oh, there's this cool museum out in Glendale that I wanna check out- um, what else..."

"We have all the time in the world, love, don't worry. We'll do everything you want to do while you're here."

"Can we take Luna on a walk too?"

"Oh, so many walks. Don't worry, she goes on two walks a day. Once in the morning, and once after dinner. Her vet recommended she get as much exercise as possible, since we don't know much about her past life."

"I love her to bits."

"She's technically your daughter too. I know it was just my name on the paperwork but-"

"I'd gladly be her father." He turned to Luna. "Do you have a daddy now? Yes you do!"

The rest of the ride was pretty swift, us making it back in a record thirty minutes. I pulled my car into the driveway, hopping out and grabbing Luna's leash before she got out of the car, staring at something in the distance. I looked in the direction she was staring in, but didn't see anything. Except a car that looked strangely like Kyle's. I shook it off, thinking it had to be a coincidence. There's no way Kyle would be out here. The afternoon was filled with a lot of cuddles and playtime, Ethan and Luna taking this time to bond while I could cook dinner. I decided to go with a homemade chicken teriyaki dish that I had found online, altering it slightly since I didn't like peppers. By the time dinner was ready, Luna was down for her afternoon nap, which left Ethan and I with the opportunity to spend some one on one time together and watch a movie while we ate. Luna woke up around six thirty, which meant it was time for her afternoon walk. We walked around the neighborhood for about an hour, letting her sniff everything and anything she could find, and say hello to some of the neighborhood dogs. She absolutely loved going on walks, and had even started to make friends with the other dogs in the neighborhood. It was nice to see her personality coming out, especially since she had gone from having a family to being in a shelter, and coming home with another human again. It must have been so traumatizing for her. But I didn't want to think about that- all I knew was that she was going to have a good life with me and Ethan, no matter what.

---

Ethan and I just got back from our walk with Luna, and were making our way up the drive when I felt a pair of eyes on me. Tensing up, I grabbed Ethan's hand and started walking as fast as I could in the opposite direction, absolutely scared for my life. I could tell Ethan was confused, but I didn't want to turn around. I didn't want to know who was staring at me, because it didn't feel like the stares of a fan. No, it felt like the stare of my ex-boyfriend. And I didn't want to talk to him, at all.

"Baby, it's been so long!"

I let out a sigh, turning around to see Kyle leaning up against the column of our deck, his arms crossed in front of him. He looked slightly different now- his arms were covered in tattoos and his hair was a bit longer than I remembered. His personality still reeked of fuck boy, which I wasn't surprised.

"You didn't tell me you moved out to LA!"

"Yeah well, I didn't want you to know."

"And who's this?" Kyle started walking towards us, and Ethan stepped in front of me instinctively. "Trying to protect the lady, I see."

"The lady has a name, and she happens to be my girlfriend of two years."

"Oh, you have a boyfriend? Pathetic, little Y/N, the one who barely even looked at me when we were dating, has a boyfriend?"

"Yes I do, and he treats me better than you ever did." I spat.

Kyle let out a dramatic gasp, putting a hand on his chest. "Are you accusing me of not treating you right?"

"Why are you here, dickwad?"

"Well, I'm here to get my girlfriend back, obviously."

"Kyle, are you high? We've been broken up for years." I grasped Luna's leash in my hand, pulling her closer to me. "I'm not your girlfriend."

"We'll see about that." he smirked, stepping closer to Ethan. "If you know what's best, you'll let her go."

Luna growled at him, and I swear her eyes turned black. Kyle let out a chuckle at her reaction, then started whistling and walking away with his hands in his pockets, acting as if nothing happened. I turned to Ethan, tears welling up inside my eyes.

"Can we go inside please?"

"Of course, love. Let's go."

We walked inside, and I took Luna's leash off when I spotted them. There was a vase of petunia's sitting on the table, with a note attached to it. I froze in my spot- I hadn't dared look at a petunia since we were together, since he ruined them for me. I felt my knees go weak and Ethan barely catching me as I fell to the ground, tears starting to freely fall from my eyes. He had gotten into the house. He was inside my house. The house that Ethan and I were supposed to live in together, make our own memories.

He had ruined a beautiful aspect of my life, once again.

Before I knew it, I was sitting on the couch with Luna curled up in my lap, nursing a cup of tea in my hand while Ethan was anxiously pacing. We were debating telling Mark what had happened, but we weren't sure how he'd react knowing that Kyle somehow found my house.

"How did he know where you live? You've been extra careful about not showing anything."

"I don't know."

"There's no way a fan would know either, right? They're smart enough to not leak our location."

"I don't know."

"I'm so- GAH" Ethan threw his fists in the air, barely missing the lamp next to him. "What in the actual fuck does he think he's doing? You're not his property! You'll never be his property! I'm-"

"I don't know."

Ethan looked over to me, realizing that I was stuck in some sort of trance. He came and sat on the couch next to me, pulling me into his arms.

"We'll get this figured out, okay? I promise."