Jersey

eleven

The next day, Ellie went to Grayson's house. She was honestly in a great mood.
Opening the door he smiled, "You're here early."
She shrugged, "I guess."
She walked in, and Grayson immediately questioned her.
"So, how was your night?" He asked.
She cheekily smiled, forming a small blush. Grayson raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"We- kissed." She blurt. She had no problem in trying to hide it. Why would he care? He doesn't like her, right?
His face instantly dropped, "He kissed you?"
She smiled, "Nope. I kissed him."
He now felt sick.
"I never knew you liked him."
"I didn't either but, last night was amazing. We just talked and teased- kind of like we do, but it felt so different and new. I saw the opportunity and I took it. Now this cheeky smile keeps coming when I think of him."
He didn't know what to say. He didn't have any word to describe how he felt.
"So, what? What happens now?" He asked.
She shrugged, still with a smile, "I don't know. We haven't talked today. I was thinking about going to see him later at the coffee shop. Then maybe see if he wants to do something. Like an official date. Is that too forward? What do you think?"
He wasn't a fan of the idea. The only thing going through his mind was Lily's thought of Ellie still being in love with him. Clearly, she was wrong. He was angry, sad, and confused all in one.
"Do whatever you want, Ellie." He said, trying to sound supportive.
"Since I'm stepping out of my comfort zone a little, why not?" She laughed.
He just falsely smiled, hearing her phone ring. She peered over to it and smiled, "Looks like he beat me to it."
"Date tonight?" He asked, with a dull expression. She didn't notice.
"Yeah. The carnival." She smiled.
Seeing how happy she was right now, with someone else hurt. Ellie was the one. And it sucked that it took him so long to figure that out. Now he's too late.

-

Ellie and Jackson started dating. They were official. Grayson hated it. He hated the thought and sight of seeing them together. The fact that she wasn't just his anymore. Weeks passed, Ellie rarely came over as much as she used to. She 'found time' for him. It gutted him. He was miserable, and she didn't even notice. Slowly, Ellie's feelings for Grayson started to disappear. She wrapped her head around the thought that he'd never see her as more than a friend. Things were different now. Grayson still wasn't back into the music business- so his days consisted of mostly nothing. He never went to the coffee shop anymore, he found a new one. It was farther, but to him it was better than seeing Jackson.
Ellie peaked her head through his door with a bright smile, "Guess where we're going."
"Give me a hint." He said, peeking up from his book.
"To see Ms. White. Guess what for." She jittered.
"Give me another hint." He joked.
She then jumped onto his bed, "To hear how much she loved the book."
"Oh what fun." He said, laughing a bit, "When are you going?"
"When are we going." She corrected, "And soon. So get ready. I'm gonna go back and get Jackson, then I'll be back for you."
His smile slowly faded, "Oh, he's coming too?"
"Yeah." She answered, "I need all the support I can get."
He let out a small sigh, "Okay."
Grayson got ready, then went outside as he heard a honk. Bracing himself for whatever he was going to encounter, he went outside, climbing into the backseat.
"Ready, boys?" Ellie asked excitedly.
"Absolutely." Jackson answered, turning back to look at Grayson, "What's going on, man?"
"Nothing." He answered with a small smile, "You doing good?"
"Great." He answered, turning back around, starting to talk quietly with Ellie in the front.
Grayson lightly huffed. He couldn't believe he was sitting in the backseat.

Ellie was nervous. She knew Ms. White loved it, it was just all the adrenaline running through her.
Walking back to her office, she gripped Jackson's hand. Grayson saw and winced. They all entered the office and Ms. White looked around, "Oh. You brought another person."
"This is my boyfriend, Jackson." Ellie greeted. Grayson rolled his eyes, sitting down carelessly.
"Well, hi." Ms. White greeted.
Jackson waved.
She then cleared her throat, "Are you sure you want them in here? I was thinking we could do this one on one."
"Oh." Ellie said oddly, "They can stay. I trust them."
Grayson noticed a look in Ms. Whites eyes. He knew it wasn't a good one.
"Okay, well." She said, placing Ellie's book on the table, "Can i be blunt with you?"
Now Ellie noticed the vibe and turned to Jackson nervously, "Um, sure. Yeah."
Heavily sighing, Ms. White spoke again, "I hated it."
Ellie's smiled dropped, "What?"
"This book simply just- wasn't good."
Both Grayson and Jackson were stuck.
Ellie let go of his hand and inched closer to her desk, "No. My book was amazing, I'm not sure what you were reading."
She then plastered her finger directly on Ellie's name, below the cover, "It was definitely this book."
Ellie was confused.
"I re-read your short story. I loved it, it was well written and should definitely be on show for everyone else to see."
"If you loved the short story, how could you not love the book?" She asked, "It was literally a better, and longer version."
"It was lazy. You dragged it out, lacked detail, and failed to stick to a basic point. It was all over the place. I couldn't find a main conflict or conspiring theme. Half way through, I was confused as to what the book was primarily supposed to be about. Some parts were very boring and useless to the plot, the overall outline-"
"Okay." Ellie interrupted, "Just- shut up."
"Ellie." Grayson said, quietly. She ignored.
"Clearly you need to look harder." She spat.
Jackson tried whispering something to her but she waved him away.
"You've gotta be bullshitting me." She said in disbelief.
"I get that you're upset, and you felt very strongly about this, but you need more work. Did you even major in writing?" Ms. White asked, "Basic elements you walked over."
Ellie merely shrugged, "No, I-I didn't go to college."
Ms. White let out a heavy sigh, "Well, this was a complete waste of my time."
"A waste of your time?" Ellie nearly yelled, "You're not the one that spent a year of her life drowning in a  book."
"What did you expect Ellie?" Ms. White asked, "Writing a book takes time and dedication. Hard work, which you didn't put in. You didn't even go to college, Ellie, there's still so much you haven't learned."
Ellie was now angered, she slammed her fists on her desk, snatching her book away, "Screw you."
Grayson and Jackson both stood up following her out.
"Ellie-"
"Don't." She said, disappearing into the women's bathroom.
They both stood there, stunned at what just happened.
For about thirty minutes they waited outside. Ellie still hadn't come out. She was embarrassed and just wanted them to leave.
"I have to get to work." Jackson groaned.
"I'll stay here." Grayson said, "Make sure she's okay."
"Alright, Thanks." He said, going outside to call an Uber. Grayson slid down the wall next to the bathroom waiting a little while longer.
"I'm not going anywhere, so."
Ellie heard and lightly sighed, knowing he wasn't.
She still stayed put, leaning against the door.
"If you don't come out, I'll come in." He threatened.
Ellie sighed, "This is the women's bathroom Grayson."
"My wigs in the backseat of your car."
She lightly laughed. He vaguely heard and smiled, "Come on."
She opened the door, seeing him sat on the floor. She slid down next to him and heavily sighed, "I can't believe she didn't like it."
"She is an expert, Ellie. She probably just looked into it too much. Maybe overanalyzed it instead of enjoying it- like you're supposed to. Let me read it, my opinions more valued than hers anyway."
"Yeah, no." She said, looking down to her fingers, "I don't want anyone reading a failed book."
"It failed in the eyes of one person." He reminded, "You're a great writer. And I'm positive that if i read it, I'd love it."
She sighed, "Well yeah. You're my best friend you're supposed to say that."
"No I'm not." He argued, "I believe in you and I've seen how hard you worked for this. I'm not gonna let all of that time go to waste."
She looked over lightly smiling, "I was just really looking forward to this."
"She's not the only person who can publish your book. You can do it yourself."
She huffed, "How am I supposed to do that? I don't have the resources."
"You have the internet." He persuaded, "It might not be much but it's something. Someone out there's gonna love your book. Who cares if it's in a book store or not? There's E-books for a reason."
She let out a small laugh, "I guess you're right."
"I know I am. I'm Grayson Dolan." He joked.
She playfully hit his arm, bringing her knees to her face, "Jackson left?"
"He had to go to work."
"Oh, yeah." She answered, looking to her feet.
He nodded, "You gonna be okay?"
"Of course." She answered, "It's a big bump in the road but, I'm not gonna give up. Maybe i will go to college?"
"Really?" He asked.
"I don't know." She answered, "What if I'm just mediocre? I mean i really do only have high school experience. There probably is much more for me to learn."
Grayson nodded understandingly, "Where do you think you'll wanna go?"
"I don't wanna go far. Being away from Jersey by myself would be hard itself." She sighed, "Maybe online school? So i wouldn't have to leave home."
"Whatever you decide, i fully support it."
She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder, holding up her book, opening to the first page.
She started to read the first page as Grayson listened closely. One page turned into three chapters. They sat on the floor reading for hours. He truly did love the book, and he could tell even Ellie still had confidence in it. The book was great. And they were both sure that at least one person would enjoy it.
As they walked to the car after reading a fair portion of the book, Ellie turned to him, "Thank you."
"For?" He asked.
"Just being you, and being there."
"Well, I told Jackson I'd make sure you were okay." He answered, slightly squirming.
She looked to him with a small twinkle in her eyes, "Yeah, okay, but- you still stayed with me for a really long time and let me just read to you for hours. Not everyone would do that."
"Well I'm not everyone. I'm your best friend."
Ellie looked to him, feeling a strange feeling in her stomach. One she wanted to go away.
They both climbed into the car and Ellie started it up, "Wanna-"
Her sentence was cut short by the ringing of her phone. She looked down and saw Justin's caller ID before answering, "Hey."
"Hi, baby." He said through the phone, "You okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine. You off work?"
"Yeah. I'm gonna stop by your place on my way home. I'll pick up some wings."
Although Ellie was just about to invite Grayson over- she knew Jackson was worried.
"Alright sounds good. See you soon."
She ended the call and Grayson looked up, knowing if Jackson had called a little later he would've had more time with her.
He lightly sighed, "Things are going pretty good with you guys."
"Well it's still early, we'll see." She said, keeping her eyes on the road.
He knew asking wasn't good for him, but he couldn't help it, "Do you see him in your future?"
She shrugged, "I don't know, G. As i said, it's too early to tell."
"When we were first started dating I couldn't see my future without you."
Her face reddened, keeping a steady posture.
He didn't mean to make the vibe uncomfortable, but he just needed to say it.
"We were always friends." She commented back, "It's not like I was a stranger you mysteriously fell in love with."
"No." He corrected, "When I first saw you, I knew."
As she pulled up to a red light, she looked over to him, "I guess that's just how it works for some people."
"You're not gonna, say anything else?" He asked.
"What do you want me to say?" She asked confused.
He just let it go, "Nothing."
The light switched green and the aroma was awkward. It didn't feel good.
Pulling up to his house, Grayson took his seatbelt off before the car even stopped. When it did, he didn't even take a second to say goodbye.
"Hey." She called out, "What- what's happening?"
"Just me being an idiot."
Her face scrunched up, "What?"
He shook his head, stepping out, "Nothing."
Closing the door and walking towards his house, Ellie removed her seatbelt and followed, "Hey. You can't just drop a bomb like that and then walk away."
He turned around letting out a heavy sigh, "Just forget i said anything."
"Well I can't do that." She said, now standing in front of him, "What's up with you?"
"It's not important." He said turning away.
She pulled him back, "Stop. Tell me whats wrong, this isn't funny."
"Nothing you can control." He said helplessly, "Just leave it alone, please."
"No." She answered, "I'm not going anywhere."
He then angrily huffed, "I think your boyfriends waiting for you at home, maybe you should tend to that instead of grilling me. God knows, you don't wanna leave him hanging."
"Woah." Ellie said, now understanding, "You're jealous of Jackson?"
He didn't say a word.
"Wow. Jackson may be my boyfriend but you guys are literally incomparable. I get that I've been hanging out with him a lot and we don't get as much time together as we used to but I didn't think it'd be a problem."
"That's not what I'm worried about." He said.
She then flared her arms out, "Then what is it? If you're not jealous of my relationship with Jackson, then what?"
He huffed, "It just sucks knowing that after everything we've been through, all the moments we shared, and times we've had, you can still manage to look past me as nothing more than- a friend."
Her heart now stopped, "What?"
"Yeah." He said, not even caring anymore, "Surprise Ellie. I'm still in love with you."
Her face was stuck. She felt like she was unable to move. Grayson didn't even care enough to wait for her response, he already knew what it was.
"Goodnight, Ellie." He said, now leaving her on the doorstep, in awe and confusion

When Jackson came over, Ellie just wasn't into it. How could she be? She just found out that Grayson was in love with her.
"Ellie." Jackson snapped, "You've barely spoken to me or touched your food. What's going on with you? Is this about the book thing? We can talk about-"
"We need to break up."