escape | ethan dolan

return • 11

I'm just leaving Ethan's bedroom when I spot Grayson rubbing his eyes tiredly in the hallway. I'm not sure what to do, so I awkwardly ponder around until he notices me standing there. When he does, he gives me a light smile (surprisingly) and comes over across the corridor.

"Morning," He greets. Wow, he's in a good mood this morning- that is until he hears that Ethan left.

"Uh, good morning," I return the smile and cross my arms. I don't even know how to bring the topic up. Should we talk about how we almost kissed? Maybe I should just blurt out the fact that Ethan went back to L.A and run to my room? Well, that's not really the best option. I don't want to seem rude.

"Is Ethan still asleep?" Grayson asks, yawning. He looks extra tired today for some reason. I don't think he's been getting enough sleep.

"About that..." I begin, trying to ease into the conversation. "He said he was going back to Los Angeles this morning."

"Wait, what?" He suddenly becomes much more alert. With his eyes wide, he runs his hands roughly through through his hair. Confusion posses his face. "What do you mean?"

"He left with your Mom for the airport a few minutes ago."

"No! He wouldn't," Grayson chuckles. "That would be the dumbest thing ever."

"Uh..." I feel like I'm not totally understanding the whole thing. Grayson seems as though he's trying to sort everything out himself. "Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah. I'll just call him," He quickly jogs back into his room and closes the door.

"What the hell just happened?" I murmur under my breath. I sigh and trudge back down the hall.

Even though today has started off rough, I'm going to try and stay positive. No matter what the drama is going on between me, Ethan, or Grayson, I'm just glad I have a place to stay (for now). I do feel intrusive, though. Many of times the thought has crossed my mind that I'm just a burden to them, but I try not to think about it too much.

Once I'm changed, I step into the hallway as quietly as I can, hoping to catch a listen at Grayson's conversation on the phone with Ethan. Luckily, I'm able to hear some words here and there, and as I make my way closer to his room I can process more and more of it.

"Finally, dude. I thought you were never gonna pick up!" I hear Grayson sigh, exasperated. My ear is up against the door now. Following that, a few muffled noises come out of the phone. I can't make sense of them.

"I know, I said I was sorry. Please come home." Gray sounds so hurt, it honestly makes my heart ache.

"Bro, I get that. But what if our fans see you there alone? What are they gonna think? You can't just walk in the airport by yourself. People will start all kinds of drama." Fans? What does he mean?

"Come back, E. Please." Grayson huffs, and I wait. Finally, the click of the phone lets me know he's hung up. Panic rushes through me when I realize he's heading over to the door. The footsteps get closer and I try as quick as I can to run away from the door- but I'm too slow.

"Harlowe?"  Grayson opens the door and sees me in mid-run. Shit.

"Uh," Is all I can think to say. "Yes?" I wince and turn around.

"Were you spying on me?" Gray asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Psh, no way," I say a little too obvious. "No, I wasn't," I sturdy my tone and straighten my face. He can tell I'm lying.

"How much did you hear?" He huffs.

"Well," I start. "I heard you say something about "fans"?" I half ask, half tell. Grayson clenches his jaw, but looks slightly uneasy. I'm almost nervous to see what he has to say.

"Oh," He swallows. "I'll tell you when Ethan gets back."

"He's coming back?" I question, astonished. I was not expecting that.

"Yeah, I convinced him to come home. Him and my mom will be here in a few. Let's go get some breakfast," Grayson smiles and leads me down the hall. Things just took an unexpected turn.

We make it into the kitchen and Grayson leads me over to the long marble counter. He scrambles through the cupboard and pulls out various bags and boxes of ingredients.

"You up for pancakes?" He flashes a grin and winks. Grayson lays out the multiple food items and looks and me. I give him a shy smile. Our relationship is so up and down, it's messing with my head. One minute he hates me and the next we're almost kissing. Now, we're just acting as if everything is normal between us. Ugh.

"Yeah, sure."

"Great. You can help me make them," Grayson turns and looks back to me with a smirk on his face.

"I remember making pancakes with my dad..." I say in a low voice so that he doesn't hear. When I was younger, me and my father made pancakes together every Sunday. He would always make them into silly shapes and put chocolate chips in them. One time he even-

"Harlowe?" Grayson mocks and waves a hand in front of my face. "You there?"

"Um, oh! Yeah, I'm here, sorry. Just lost in thought I guess." I bite my lip and shake my head. I probably look like a total idiot.

"Alright," He chuckles uncomfortably. "Can you get the flour?"

For the next few minutes, we whip through the ingredients and mix them all together. When we're done, we pour the batter on the grill and wait. The pancakes are done just in time; Ethan and Lisa walk back through the door with bags of luggage secure in their hands.

Ethan shoots me and Grayson a side glance. "Um, I'll be in my room," He announces and walks away. Clearly, he's still upset.

"I should go talk to him," Grayson mutters and steps away from the counter. "You'll be okay for a few minutes?"

"Yeah, of course," I nod slightly. He smiles at me for multiple seconds. The butterflies come alive in my stomach once again. Oh God.  I'm starting to feel anxious. Eventually, he clears his throat and exits the kitchen.

I barely even notice when Lisa comes up behind me and taps my shoulder. It startles me so much that I drop the pitcher of pancake batter that's in my hands.

"No!" I exclaim in distress. A lock of hair falls in front of my face and I attempt to brush it out of the way. "I'm so sorry, Lisa."

"It's okay, dear. We can clean it up later. I just need to talk to you about something, if that's alright?"

Oh no, this can't be good.

~~~

Hey guys! I know that chapter was a bit shorter, but trust me- good stuff is coming up! :) I hope you all enjoyed reading. I'm going to start trying to updating faster but I've been really busy recently with cheer practice and school starting soon. Anyways, stay tuned for more chapters coming!