next door ↬ ethma

eight

It's been a few hours since Ethan came over and they've just been spending the day chatting about themselves and listening to music. Ethan wasn't lying when he said he wanted to know more about Emma. She was a intricate being whose laugh and words held such deep meaning. He was spiraling into the memories and stories of what made Emma herself.

They were sitting on the floor, leaning against the base of the couch, both facing towards each other. When Emma would speak, he would get lost in her words and the complexity of her eyes. His arm rested on the seats of the couch, propping up his arm and resting his chin in his hand.

Emma noticed how intently Ethan was listening to her. She could feel the warmth of Ethan's soul radiating onto her, this was a feeling she knew she always wanted to be basked in.

All the while, she began to learn a multitude of things about Ethan. She learned about the closeness of his relationship with his brother and how he didn't have too much luck with girls and how much his family meant to him. His voice inflected with excitement when he mentioned something that obviously meant a lot to him.

Emma gently grabbed Ethan's hand from his lap and held it with hers. Ethan momentarily stopped talking to look down at his hand in hers, smiled, and continued speaking. Emma knew that she liked him, she really liked him, but considering this was the first day she was getting to know him, she didn't want to start anything too soon. She did however, want to make it known to Ethan that she was interested in him and was open to anything in store for them.

When Emma mentioned that her self proclaimed career was a social media influencer, Ethan immediately wanted to know more. She pulled up her Instagram and handed her phone to him. Ethan began to scroll through photo by photo and his jaw lowered in amazement.

He began to bombard her with compliments, hardly being able to fathom the beauty she possessed. Emma held her cheeks in her hands and whined in bashfulness. Ethan handed her phone back and proceeded to pull out his own, following her profile.

"You're going to go far, I just know it." Ethan stated.

In response, Emma smiled and looked down. Her heart was so full, she wasn't sure how to contain it all. Not only was Ethan amazing with his words on paper, he was even better with his spoken ones. They made her feel invincible and a type of special no one else had made her feel.

"Do you want to go somewhere to eat?" He asks.

"Sure." Emma replies.

They head out of her apartment and walk through the hallways, down the stairs out of the lobby, and to the parking lot. Ethan unlocks his car and heads to the passenger side, opening the door for Emma to get in. She smiles.

Once on the road, he suggests going to Canes. Emma agrees. When they arrive at the drive through, he asks Emma what she wants.

"I'll have a three finger combo but instead of the chicken replace it with bread." She says.

"No chicken?" Ethan asks.

"Yeah, I'm vegan." Emma states nonchalantly.

Ethan shakes his head and smiles. He repeats the order to the employee and pays for their meals, parking his car in a spot outside of the restaurant. They stay inside and eat, rather than enter the busy atmosphere.

"Why didn't you tell me you were vegan? We could have gone somewhere else." Ethan says.

Emma shrugs, "Vegan places are expensive, and I'm okay with eating bread."

After eating, Ethan drives back to their apartment complex. On the walk back, Ethan grabs Emma's hand to intertwine them together. Both of them are feeling a thousand emotions at once.

When they reach Emma's front door, Ethan stares down at her. He's about to lean down to kiss her, when Emma notices and instead tickles Ethan. He jumps back and laughs, shaking his head in disbelief.

"What did I tell you?" Emma smirks.

Ethan settles for hugging her, wrapping his arms around her, but cautious in case she tries to tickle him again.

When they pull apart, Ethan reaches down and kisses her cheek, causing Emma to blush.

"Bye, Emma." Ethan says softly.

"Bye, Ethan." She says, blowing him a kiss as he heads to his door.

And with that, they return back to their homes with dopamine flowing through their veins.