For 12 years, Ethan Fletcher has been the annoying, chaotic boy next door and brother to Kira's best friend... and she hated him... at least, she thought she did.
This story is about becoming friends and falling in love one fond memory at a time...
"Hey!" I shout. "How are you?!" Just to stay in keeping with the repeat of history. She was the first person I ran into after Ethan asked me to be his tutor girlfriend; it's probably perfect that she is the last person I see just before I stop being his tutor girlfriend.
"Stil not deaf," she grunts, turning off my moon lamp and placing it back on its stand on my bedside table to pick up my phone instead and turn it on. "Did you break up with my brother?" she asks, glaring at me where I'm still hovering at my bedroom door, not brave enough to go near her. I'm keeping an eye out for my slippers.
"No," I tell her since it's easier to say what I mean when I'm speaking to Dell, and by negating the thing that is apparently causing her to glare at me, I'm probably avoiding another hiding... I hope...
"Then what the hell kind of message did you send him?" she asks, unlocking my phone and opening the message application.
"I didn't send him anything; my phone died before I could answer," I tell her, walking into my room and taking the phone when she holds it out to me. There, in answer to Ethan's question, is a GIF of a freaky-looking, grey-skinned man with terrible teeth tossing a kiss and waving goodbye. It feels like the kiss of death.
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"Yikes!"
"Yikes, indeed," Delia laughs, and I finally dare to sit down on the bed next to her.
"I've been trying to tell him that I love him since yesterday, but it's just not working. Today, the words didn't come out right at all, and to tell you the truth, Dell, I'm starting to think that I shouldn't tell him. I think I should just let our experiment end, let things get back to normal and maybe then, if he could want me, specifically, we could start dating for real. I can't be his substitute girl for when the right one comes along... I need him to want me..."
I trail off when I see the appalled look on Delia's face, and I wisely cover my forehead with my hands, wincing in anticipation of her attack, which doesn't come. Instead, Delia sags, her face, her hair, her entire body crumbling in on itself and now I'm scared. Why is she looking so devastated?
"Ethan?!" Did she hit her head? Maybe she's the one suffering from sunstroke!
"Yes," she sighs, lowering her head, hiding her misery from me, her fingers toying with the frayed edge of her cut-off jeans. I don't like seeing her like this. I prefer the feisty, slipper-wielding Delia to this sad one. "He came home just now wearing only one shoe. Dad is so angry because they are his new shoes. Personally, I feel that Dad should cut him some slack. I mean, Ethan wears his shoes until they rot off his feet, so he lost one; it's not-."
"He lost a shoe? Where? How?"
"Dunno," she shrugs. "My point is, he got into this big fight with Dad again."
