Smile - CrankGameplays

23. Endlessly

Ethan stared at her in utter disbelief. A look of confusion painted across his face that soon changed into pure happiness.

"You came." His eyes were hopeful, wide and full of color.

"Of course I did." Reese was shocked at her response but it was the first thing that came to mind. It didn't feel forced, it was natural, authentic.

And his eyes lit up more than she ever thought they would. They were a bright blue, speckles of green dotting throughout, a pool of beautiful colors that entangled so well with one another. She felt as if she lost her words, as if they packed up and left, but it didn't matter, because everything she wanted to say had already been said. The coy smile and the flicker in her brown eyes did enough talking.

He locked his eyes with hers and she felt a skip in her chest as she stared back at him, afraid to blink, afraid to miss the moment.

"Alright," Tyler's voice echoed from the hallway as he approached the living room, "You ready to get your ass kicked at Mario Kart?"

And in that moment, Ethan wanted to strangle Tyler.

"Reese, I didn't know you were here," Tyler said, offering a small simper, "I'm sure Ethan's happy to see you."

Ethan coughed, the atmosphere rolling in heavy for a split second. He scratched at his chin, looking away and trying to look the least bit irritated.

"Yeah, I was just leav-" Reese stopped midway through her sentence, staring down at her feet and wishing she would have the guts to say what she wanted to say. "Can we go to your room?"

Tyler pursed his lips and waited for his friend to answer.

The blue boy cleared his throat and nodded, "Yeah, sure... it's, uh, down the hall. You know where it is."

Reese's cheeks felt hot at his comment but started walking, "Bye, Tyler."

"Bye." He grinned, allowing for her to walk right past him. "You got what you wanted, yeah?"

Ethan shook his head vigorously, "What is going on...?"

The muscular man raised a brow, "Don't do anything stupid, Ethan. I mean it."

Ethan's face darkened in color, "I would never."

"Good luck." Tyler gave him a thumbs up before heading farther into the living room, finding a spot on the couch.

Ethan walked over to his bedroom, the door pushed open as Reese stood in the middle of the room. She was looking around, possibly for something to do. He felt the urge to reach out and touch her, shake her by the arms. Ask what she was doing here, why she was constantly toying around with his emotions.

But, fuck, all it took was her to smile and he didn't need anything else.

Ethan made his appearance known by quietly shutting the door behind him, "Hey."

Reese cocked her head to the side without fully facing him, "Hi..."

"Am I allowed to ask why you're here?" his voice came out harsher than expected, "Believe me, I love your company. I just... I'm confused."

"I know," she sounded comforting as she stepped towards him, "I don't know why I'm like this."

"Like what?"

"Pulling you in, pushing you away."

Ethan swallowed, "Oh. I know you're happy with Tucker, I don't think anything of it."

Reese closed her eyes, "I should be, right?"

"Yes," Ethan challenged, "He's your boyfriend."

Reese found the strength to agree, "Yes, you're right. I should be happy with the guy, despite him being an ass sometimes."