By Chance (Dolan Twins)

The Zoo with U

" Where exactly are we going?" you ask as Bryant drives his SUV through the morning LA traffic.

" Yea that's a good question." Ethan laughs. Fantastic, what did you get yourself into, maybe staring at the ceiling crying for a few more hours wouldn't have hurt. No, no your going to be fine, you will have fun. You will forget about Grayson and his stupid side comments, his smug expression, his stupid laugh, his stupid cute smile, god you would give anything to see him smile. No, you will forget Grayson.

" I don't know." Bryant says interrupting your chain of thoughts, "What if we took pictures?"

" Sounds like a plan. Allison?" You loved how considerate Ethan had always been of you. If only Grayson thought about the effect his actions have on people as much as Ethan does.

"Yea! Sounds fun!" You say but suddenly think about how a photo shoot with Bryant and Ethan probably wouldn't go over well with the fans. You kept your mouth shut anyway not wanting to ruin the day they planed.

The road changed from nicely paved to a bumpy rocky path. The road was completely deserted and the list of unsettling things in the new scenery grew longer and longer as Bryant continued to drive down the path.

"So um, where are we going?" You nervously laugh in an attempt to hide your worry. Ethan shrugs and Bryant adjust the navigation settings going haywire on his GPS. No response, great. Why do you continuously put yourself in these situations. All you want to do is go home and play Mario kart. 

The car comes to a stop, the looks of the place amplifies whatever anxiety you were initially feeling. Two huge stone pillars towered over all of you and you couldn't help but scoot a little closer to Ethan as the three of you approached them. You followed closely behind Bryant as Ethan wondered around touching the pillars and old unreadable signs. You imagined them saying Beware and Turn back. 

"Where are we?" You ask Bryant as Ethan runs ahead.

"An abandoned zoo, I thought it would have a cool aesthetic for some pictures." He holds up his camera and you let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank god." You laugh a little

"What?" He smiles turning to you, "Thought I was going to kill you?" He laughs. His words bring back a memory of you and Grayson laughing at the campsite when you realized he actually was taking you camping and not trying to murder you. That dull ache in your chest slightly returns and you do your best to push it away, starting a conversation with Bryant about his favorite shoot. Literally the stupidest thing you could have brought up considering it was of course with Ethan and Grayson. He pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through a collage of snowy picturesque scenes with the twins. One in particular catching your eye was Grayson. Steam from the water rolled up his bare arms, and a landscape of white snowy trees all around him. You desperately wanted to speak to Grayson again. As much as he hurt you, you missed him, and you guys just needed to talk it out without screaming at each other. As if that's possible.

"Come on" Bryant says leading you and Ethan through a rock tunnel. You hand him his phone and turn your attention to the ground doing your best not to trip on all the rocks and gravel. Ethan was already miles ahead, but Bryant was more your speed as you carefully tip toed your way through the rocks. You thought it was a little strange Bryant didn't ask any questions about you, or how you ended up with the twins, but you assumed Ethan had probably briefed him on your current situation, which you were very grateful of. Ethan knew you hated explaining your circumstances, mostly because you knew as much as the stranger. 

When you reached the end of the tunnel, your eyes adjusted to the light and you saw a huge rocky wall, it was clearly an old animal habitat, for something very big. It gave you chills knowing that you were standing where some sort of giant animal lived once. You pondered what it could have been, a bear? or tiger? maybe a lion? Part of you didn't want to know.