Undefined

Chapter 3

Okay, maybe I lied.

I have Brooklyn. She's my friend.

But honestly, one friend? In the whole month I've been here, I have one friend?

These are my thoughts as I plop down at my lunch table, which consists of me and Brooklyn.

Except that now our party of two has been interrupted by someone in particular.

Take a wild guess. Did you guess Ethan? Of course you did.

"Hey, do you girls mind if I sit here?" he asks.

"Of course not," Brooklyn says and she grins in his direction.

"I'm going to get some food. Do you want anything?" he asks.

"Uh..no thanks," I answer, my cheeks heating up.

He walks away confidently and I can help but smile.

Brooklyn squeals and starts laughing and I am forced to join her, our laughter traveling through the cafeteria. By now he has caught many people's attention, and most girls are starting to stare. I frown and can't help but feel a twinge of jealousy, watching all those girls staring at him. But all of these feelings are wiped away when he rejoins us at our table, setting his food tray down in front of him.

My phone pings and I look down to check it.

Noah: Hey B. I got sent home, sick. The twins are going home with the Frees family. Do you think you can find a ride home?

I groan and silently curse my mother for not letting me bring my own car to school.

"Brooklyn, can you give me a ride home after school? Noah is sick," I ask pleadingly.

"Sorry Bry, I have basketball practice after school," Brooklyn replies, with sympathy in her voice.

"I can take you," Ethan says suddenly.

"Um, okay thanks," I send him a nervous smile and he returns a warmer one.

*************

I walk out of fourth period, and someone grabs my forearm, making my pulse go haywire. I whip around to find two cool blue eyes staring back into mine.

"You still need a ride?" he says smiling.

I nod my head, not trusting myself to speak. I follow him to his car, a shiny black jeep.
Settling into the passenger seat, I pull out my makeup bag. Ethan starts driving in silence, stealing glances over at me while I re-apply my eyeliner.

"Why do you do that?" he asks suddenly, causing me to jump.

"Do what?" I ask a confused look on my face.

"Put all of that....." he pauses searching for the right word, "...stuff on your face?"

"Um..that 'stuff' is called makeup and we put it on to cover up our actual face."

I laugh at the fact that I am actually holding a normal conversation with Ethan Sims.

"I know what makeup is, you idiot." He scoffs, pretending to be offended. "But you don't need it. You look pretty without it," he finishes.

Wait? Did he just call me pretty?

Damn it, I was doing great right until then.

I am truly at a loss for words, even by this simple compliment. I blush and I look down at my hands which are fiddling nervously. I try my best to come out with something to say in response to this. "Uh..thanks" I stutter and we drive along in silence, a cloud of awkwardness spreading though the space of the car.

But instead of taking a right on Mayfare, Ethan took a left.

"Where are we going?" I ask, curiosity woven into my voice.

"You'll see," he said as a smirk appeared on his face, making my lips curl into a smile.

***********

I'm honestly surprised, not knowing what I would have expected.

"What are we doing at a record shop?" I question and turn to face him, finding his eyes staring back at me. He just smiled, not answering me, but grabbing my hand, making my pulse go crazy, he pulled me into the store.

Just when I thought this couldn't get any weirder, I find myself staring back at two familiar faces: Linsey and Bella.

Wait.

I stood paralyzed, gaping at the sight I saw in front of me. The two erupted into laughter, and Ethan stood by a rack of records, his perfect set of teeth forming a smile on his lips.

I cock my head, "What.....are you guys doing..here?" I laugh, taking them in in a lung smashing hug.

"It's our fall break, but it was all Ethan's idea," says Bella, nodding over to where Ethan has been standing, searching though the records, but he snaps up at the sound of this name, blushing.

"It's true," he states boastfully, and sighs, walking casually up to us. I stifle a laugh and smile, god he's so hot.

"He planned the whole thing, even payed for our tickets," Linsey adds.

I flick both eyebrows up and stare at him, studying his face. He tries to play it off nonchalantly, but I can tell that he put in a lot of work into this. This had been his first day at school, which would have meant that he had planned the whole thing since last Friday, giving him only two days to plan the whole thing before putting it into action.

"Ethan, seriously, I need to pay you back for at least some part of the tickets. It must of cost you a fortune," I insist, reaching for my wallet.

But all he does is fold his arms under one another, refusing to accept anything that I could have offered him.

Without thinking, I throw my arms around his neck, engulfing him in a hug. He tenses up when I touch him, but then he gently wraps his arms around by shoulders, returning the hug. I pull back awkwardly, thanking him over and over.

But then I overthink the hug. Did I do the right thing? Yeah, it was just a friendly hug, he didn't actually like me, like me.

He guides the three of us next door, to a diner where offers to pay, but I insist that I do, as he's already done so much for me today.

I return with our meals, settling down in the booth next to Ethan when I see that Bella and Linsey have taken over the other side, wiggling their eyebrows at us, which causes us both to blush.

We enjoy our meal, and for a while, everything is at ease. We are just four friends, talking. No awkwardness, no drama, no stress.

I don't know what changed in him during the move, but whatever it is, I like it.

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HELLLLOOOO PEOPLE OF THE INTERNET!

Woah.

Was that action enough for you?

I just want to say I really love this chapter for some reason and it just made me really happy to write it.

If any of you guys think the story is moving too fast, keep in mind that the characters knew each other before they moved.

Did anyone realize the new cover?

I want to thank bibliophilebabe (AGAIN) for the cover! I love it so much! Go check out her books, because not only does she make stunning covers, she also writes awesome books! Go check them out!

Thank you all to the people that are reading this book since it is my first one, it makes it very special.

Love you all!

:) alexstearns