shine - grayson dolan

0.12 «Ethan Dolan»

[edited]

Surprise!!! E IS IN DA HOUSE!!!!

I woke up early Saturday morning with a certain feeling of determination. But it was rightfully felt. After all, this was the day I was going to get Addi.

I ran to the bathroom, grabbing a cup full of water. I then ran to Grayson's room, where I could hear his light snores. I tiptoed lightly to the side of his bed, getting close to his face.

I tipped the cup, and he jumped up once the cold liquid hit his face.

"What the hell, Ethan?" he yelled, rubbing his eyes.

"Dude, you gotta help me. Addi's meeting me today and I'm taking her to the old tree house, and that's where I'm gonna tell her, you know, that I like her."

He groans, "Bro, I'm happy for you. But couldn't you have just woke me up like a normal person."

I laugh, "No. Get up and get dressed. You have to help me, Gray," I beg.

"Fine. But, you have to make me breakfast," he grins.

I nod, and we both walk out of the room. Him to the bathroom, and me back to my own room. I got dressed casually so I could get everything ready, and then I would change into something more formal. I wore grey sweatpants, and my wrestling hoodie over a t-shirt. I grabbed Vans and ran to the kitchen, where I began making pancakes.

Grayson came down the stairs a few minutes later, dressed in sweats like me. He stared hesitantly for a minute at the pancakes I set down in front of him, as if debating whether or not they were poisoned, but then eventually gobbled them up, "Ok, E, what're we doing first?"

"First we gotta go and clean up the tree house. I went a few days ago, and it's a total mess."

"Right, let's go," he clapped his hands together readily.

We climbed into the car, and drove to a location only three people in the world knew about. It was our old secret hideout. Grayson, Addi, and I had discovered it when we were four, and always visited it when we were upset or just wanted to be somewhere private. We hadn't been since Addi moved away, but I had wanted to talk to her in a really special place, and this had come to mind. No other place made sense. 

When we arrived at the river, Grayson groaned, "I just remembered how hard it is to get to the tree house. It's like a really long hike!"

I laughed, "Suck it up, bro. This can be your workout for today."

We made our way through thick trees and loose branches on the ground. This part of the forest, near the riverbank, was extremely dense. It had a lot of overgrown trees since no one ever came near this part or cared for it like the rest of the forest.

We arrived at an almost cave-like area. In the middle stood the shortest tree, a steady, fat-looking oak. And in the top of that oak tree was our tree house. Oh God, how I missed this place. I couldn't wait to get back up there.

"Damn, what the hell happened here?" Grayson asked from beside me, looking up at the tree with a shocked look on his face.

He did have a point. Since we hadn't been here in a while, the layers of wood had started peeling, and branches from surrounding trees had crowded around the tree house, making it almost invisible if you didn't know what you were looking for.