Reaching Out

Ch. 3

"Hey, we can take Kaitlyn in our car if you wanr? We'll take her to drop off all of her things since she lives in the same building as us," Grayson says.

"Sure man, that's cool. Text me when you figure out where you want to go to eat," Dylan says, turning away from me and the twins.

I awkwardly smile at Ethan as he takes two of my shopping bags from me, kicking Grayson's leg to get his attention so he can carry one.

"So school starts soon?" Ethan asks.

"Yeah," I reply, "a couple of weeks, actually. What school do you and Grayson go to?" I question. 

"We do school online," Grayson interjects.

"Oh, that must give you guys a lot of liberty and free time," I chuckle.

"Yeah, it's still a lot of work, though. We're trying to graduate early so we can focus on our passion," Ethan smiles.

"What's your passion?" I ask.

"Film making, entertainment, all that stuff," Grayson says.

"That's so cool. I'm actually taking a film making class at school this semester," I confess.

We finally reach the car, and Ethan opens the trunk with the keys he fished out of his pocket. We all put in the grocery bags and I wait awkwardly as he unlocks the door.

"I'll sit in the back with you so you're not lonely, Kaitlyn," Grayson jokes.

"Sure," I reply, feeling my heart beat pick up. Why am I nervous?

Ethan turns on the radio once the car starts up and we're all in our seats and the belts are buckled. The song "Shape of You" comes on the radio and I perk up at the sound of the familiar base line.

"You like this song?" I hear Grayson say from next to me.

"Yeah, Ed Sheeran is one of my favourite artists," I gush, bobbing my head to the best of the song.

"Cool," he trails off.

I look towards the window and try to remember where we're going. I should think about getting a car at some point so I can get around the city without having to hitch a ride from a complete stranger.

We stay in silence for a few seconds, and I look out of my window. I was going to ask them a place I could go to look for a car, and I turn to Grayson to ask him to already find him looking at me.

A red flush climbs up his neck and his cheeks redden.

"I, uh, was just wondering if there was a place I uh, could find a car? I don't want to have to ask people for a ride every time I want to go out," I stutter.

Grayson clears his throat, "uhm, there's a few nice car lots a half hour out from the neighbourhood. It's where we got this bad boy," he shyly smiles.

I find it adorable the way he seems to shy away.

"Yeah, we can take you there tomorrow if you'd like. You can invite Dylan along with you if you want to. He's a good old friend of ours," Ethan offers.

"I'll see. I think he's got a shift tomorrow, but I can text him," I say.

"Awesome. Gray and I will give you our numbers when we get out of the car if you want?" Ethan proposes.

"Sure," I reply, smiling.

Making friends hasn't been a total nightmare so far. Maybe it will be the same in school?

-

"We'll wait for you outside, Kaitlyn," Grayson says.

I nod as I fish my key out of my bulky purse. I unlock the door and it shuts behind me as I walk to the kitchen and place my belongings on the small island in the middle.

I go to the bathroom and decide to freshen up a little bit, washing my face, pulling my hair up into a semi-messy bun, put some mascara on, and a bold red lipstick. I don't normally put makeup on, but why not?

I grab my purse from the kitchen again and check my phone for the first time since I left the apartment and see a couple of missed calls from my best friend, Quinn, from back home, and a few texts from my sister. I smile as I look at the cute messages with emojis and "miss you!" written every two texts. I miss my family back home.

As I walk to the door, I hear Ethan and Grayson's muffled voices, the door making it hard to hear exactly what they're saying.

"Bro, you've got a girlfriend," I hear one of them say. I can't exactly tell the difference between the two of them from their voices, but I sure as hell didn't know why they were talking about girlfriends behind my door.

"Eth, I know. I never said I was going to make a move on her. I just think she's gorgeous," Grayson says, since he was addressing Ethan while speaking.

"Aren't you, like, in love with Alexandra?" Ethan, I'm assuming again, asks.

"I mean, not exactly. I really like her I just don't think "love" is the right way to put it," Grayson sighs.

I decide to stop eavesdropping and noisily turn the doorknob so they know I'm coming outside.

I plaster a smile on my face as I see Ethan and Grayson turn around to face me. Ethan smiles back to me and Grayson gives me a little head nod in my direction.

"Up for sushi?" He asks.

"Always," I reply.

They are insanely attractive, my mind wanders off.

It's not good to think, especially since I swore off boys upon coming to LA.

But something about Grayson caused me to feel light butterflies in my stomach whenever I caught him looking at me.

Snap out of it, Kaitlyn, I think, he has a girlfriend.

We get back into the car, this time Ethan sits in the back and Grayson drives.

"This sushi place we're taking you to is insane. It was the first place we went out to eat to a couple of years ago when we moved to LA. It's an oldie but a goldie. It never disappoints," Ethan rambles.

"Might as well date the place, E," Grayson snorts.

I burst out giggling, and Grayson looks over at me, smiling as I do.

"If I could, I would," Ethan says, lifting his hands off the steering wheel in defence.

"Both hands on the wheel E!" Grayson shouts.

I giggle again, for a completely unknown reason, and I see a small smirk form on Grayson's features again as he turns to look out his window.

I do the same, resting my head on the frame as I fiddle with my fingers in my lap.

(sorry that this chapter isn't as long, but i really hope you all are enjoying the story! i'm going to be putting up a photo soon for quinn's character because she's going to be important. xx)