The Story of Us || g.d.

~34~

We walk into the house, tanned from the beach and full from the pizza. It's awfully quiet besides a few pots clanking in the kitchen. Ethan walks ahead of me, leaving me to close the door and we place the bags on the ground.

"Mom?" Ethan calls out.

"Kitchen." Lisa calls back.

I follow Ethan to the kitchen and see Lisa putting away some clean dishes. Grayson is nowhere to be seen and I certainly do not hear him.

"Where's Gray?" I sit at one of the stools at the counter.

"Oh, he's hanging out with some friends at the skate park. Should be home later. How was the beach?" Lisa smiles at me.

"Great." Ethan sits on the stool next to me and smirks. "Trin decided to make a sandcastle."

I smile proudly and nod. "It was quite fun."

"I'm glad you two are close friends despite everything." Mrs. Dolan grins.

I frown and look at Ethan. "What do you mean?"

"Just all the trouble Ethan has gone through with Grayson about you is all."

"Mom." E warns her.

"It's not mine to tell." She raises her hands up and checks her watch. "I have to go check the laundry. Don't make too much of a mess."

Once Lisa leaves the kitchen, I give Eth a questioning look.

"What? I have no idea what she is talking about." E stares blankly back at me.

"Yeah, okay." I roll my eyes.

"Look, a bear!" He shouts, causing me to turn my head and look out the window.

"Where? AH-" I scream as Ethan picks me up and starts running to the double doors.

"Say you love me and will forgive me." E stands next to the pool.

"For what? No." I squirm on his shoulder.

"I will drop you in if you don't."

"Please don't. I still have my clothes on." I slap his back furiously.

"Just say it and all will be well." He slaps my butt and starts to release his hold on my legs.

"Ethan Grant Dolan! Put me down!" I squirm furiously and shriek as he drops me into the pool. When I come back up, I wipe my face and glare. I'm ready to tell him off when I see Grayson with three people beside him.

There's a girl with long black hair that looks our age, a boy with dirty blonde hair, and the kid from the beach that Ethan and I ran into. They are all staring at me with a suspicious look.

Ethan notices I'm caught off guard and lifts me effortlessly out of the pool. I stand awkwardly beside him, dripping wet.

"I though you guys were going to the beach." Grayson raises his eyebrows between us.

"We did. It's been a couple hours." E hands me a towel that was on one of the chairs next to us.

I wrap myself in the towel and stare at Grayson, waiting for him to acknowledge me. I can't help but feel self conscious around these new people.

"Oh. I guess I lost track of time." Gray shrugs and pushes the boys towards the pool. "We're going swimming."

I feel an emptiness in my stomach when he doesn't say anything to me. I'm not trying to be an attention whore, but I thought this was for us to spend more time together.

"Grayson, are you going to introduce your friend?" The dirty blonde haired boy winks at me.

I shift closer to Ethan and give the boy a look.

"Dude, she's taken." The Lucas boy shoves him. "I don't know by who, but I'm assuming it's Ethan."

"No, she's my girlfriend." Grayson glares at Lucas.

"You're not acting like you guys are together." The girl speaks up.

"Whatever." G rolls his eyes and gestures to the people beside him. "Trinity, this is Rose, Brad, and Lucas. Rose, Brad, Lucas; this is Trinity."

I give a small wave as they scrutinize me. I feel exposed, so I decide to go inside. "I'm changing into dry clothes. I'll see you later."

"I hope so." Brad turns to watch me walk away and Grayson shoves him into the pool, laughing.

I bite my lip as I walk into the house, not knowing Ethan was following. When he touches my arm, I jump and swear. "Ethan, you scared me."

"Are you alright?" He ignores my expression and closes the backdoor behind us.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I avoid his eye contact and gesture to upstairs. "I should change before I get a cold."

"I'm here, okay? Don't worry about him. He gets this way around friends." E follows me up the stairs.

I sigh and keep walking. "He never was like this around Jack or Aaron."

"Jack and Aaron are like brothers to us. I guess you never really were around his friends." E shrugs as we reach Grayson's room. "Don't let it get to you. I don't want to see your relationship in jeopardy again."

"Are you calling me a drama queen?" I turn to face him now.

"Of course not!" He shakes his head. "I just know you guys. Communication is key to a strong relationship."

"Okay." I look out the window before looking back to Ethan. "Can I change now?"

"Yeah." He closes the door behind him, leaving me in silence.

I change into a dry sundress and braid my hair to the side, walking out to see Ethan still waiting for me.

"Can I help you?" I cross my arms.

"I'm not just letting you be alone after what happened not too long ago." He raises his eyebrows.

"How did you know about that?" I bite my lip, my demeanor completely changing.

He wraps me into a hug, rubbing his hand up and down my back. "Doesn't matter. Let's go back outside and show that you're alright."

"Okay." I follow Ethan down the stairs, seeing Lisa back in the kitchen.

"Can you guys ask Grayson if his friends are staying for dinner?" She hums as she gets out ingredients.

"Sure, Mom." Eth nods.

"Great." She grins and goes back to work.

As Ethan and I walk out, I notice Grayson tickling Rose and her head going back from the laughter erupting from her mouth. Lucas and Brad and laying beside the pool, sunglasses on and tanning.

Ethan clears his throat and raises his eyebrows at Gray, causing him to swim away from Rose. "Are your friends staying for dinner?"

"Yeah." He looks at me for a second before making eye contact with Ethan. "Why?"

"Mom wanted to know. I'm going to go tell her." Ethan gives my hand a squeeze before turning around back into the house.

I sit down on one of the chairs by the pool and look up at the clouds. I try to block out the shenanigans happening around me and not overthink every little thing. Next thing I know, there are water droplets on my legs. I turn my head to see Grayson staring down at me.

"Can we talk?" He scratches the back of his head.

I sit up now, alert. Is this the infamous breakup moment? I'm not sure what I have done wrong. Regardless, I nod and follow Grayson to a separate part of their backyard.

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A/N: yikesssss

-hailey