a long way from home ; g.d.

t e n

This morning I woke up feeling just as tired as when I went to sleep last night. My eyes were puffy, my throat was sore, and my pillowcase had light mascara stains on. As soon as my eyes had adjusted to the room, I propped myself up on my elbow and looked at the clock on the nightstand. 9:30 am. I sighed and laid back down on my back, rubbing my eyes.

The light from my window was blinding, but it helped me wake up a little. I pulled the blankets to the side and shivered as my feet hit the floor. I threw on a shirt and some athletic shorts. I stumbled over to the window and pulled the curtain aside, then slid open the balcony door. I stepped outside and walked up to the railing.

The sounds below me were what one could only describe as the sounds of New York City. Obnoxiously loud yet faint music coming from large billboards, clicking of heels, car horns, random chatter, etc.

I took in another large breath of fresh air and ran my hands through my hair before stepping back inside. After brushing my teeth and splashing my face with cold water, I walked over to my backpack and pulled out my phone. I flipped up the top half and saw I had two missed calls and one voicemail, and thank God, none of them were my mom. I recognized both of them as Grayson.

I hit play on the voicemail.
"Hey, Elle, uh, that's what we're all gonna call you from now on by the way, uh, I hope you slept well. How are you? Wait, that's stupid. Um, I'm excited to see you today! Wait, that's stupid too. Well, just, um, call me when you wake up, okay? See ya."

I clicked the cancel button instead of deleting it and put my phone on my nightstand. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face, then I dug through my Forever 21 bag that held my clothes I bought last night. I got dressed and ran my brush through my hair. As soon as I was done, I dialed Grayson's number. He answered after about two rings. "Elle! How's life?"

I giggled. "Life's good, Gray. How about yourself?"
I heard him giggle too. "I'm good now."
"So what's our agenda for today?"
"Well get over here first, what's the matter with you?"
I laughed. "Alright, on my way."

I hung up my phone and slid it into my pocket, then threw my backpack over my shoulder. I opened the door and stepped out into the hall, then closed and locked the door behind me.

I took the elevator up to their level, then found their room. I knocked three times and waited for a response. "Come in!" I heard James yell. I opened the door and walked in, shutting it behind me. He was sitting on the couch with his laptop, typing away. "And, just for future reference, you don't have to knock."

"I'll remember that."

He smiled at his computer. "The other three are in the bathroom?" I raised an eyebrow. "The bathroom?"
He sighed. "Yeah, Ethan's doing his hair, Grayson is showering, and Emma is doing her makeup," he looked up from his laptop and looked at me. "Grayson meant it when he said we don't do privacy or personal space."

Right after he said that, Grayson walked out of their bathroom with a towel around his waist. He was turned away from me and was walking towards a bag of clothes in the living room. His back muscles flexed and shifted as hewalked, and his lean figure looked like a renaissance sculpture. I could practically feel myself gawking. James looked at me and sighed. "You and me both, sis."

Grayson turned around, and caught a glimpse of me. "Oh, God, James why didn't you tell me she was here?!"
James smirked. "And let her miss out on seeing all of that?"
I laughed and shrugged. "He's not wrong."
Grayson groaned and walked back into the bathroom.
I walked over and sat down next to James on the couch and elbowed him. "You get it."

He laughed and sat down his laptop on the coffee table. "You know he was talking about you all night after you left?"
"Really?" I crossed my arms across chest and leaned back on the couch.

"Yeah, really. He went on and on, for like, hours. Okay, well, not really hours because we eventually made him shut up and go to bed."

I laughed again. "Well that's surprising, I didn't know I was that interesting."

"Well duh. But I guess today we'll find out how interesting you really are." He winked and stood up, grabbing his makeup bag from the table beside the couch. "Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, just not Emma's fruit smoothies. She'll kill you if she sees even one drop missing."

Just as he said her name, she walked out of the bathroom. She grabbed something out of their fridge then saw me sitting on the couch and gasped. "Hey, Elle!" She said with a smile.

I smiled back and readjusted myself on the couch. "Hey!"
She came over and sat down next to me, taking a drink of the thing she took from the fridge, which is one of her smoothies I'm guessing. "Grayson should be out any minute, he's just getting dressed and fixing his hair. He's going all out today since you're here."

I blushed. "He doesn't have to do that."
She sighed. "I know, but that's just Grayson."

Then suddenly, both Grayson and Ethan stepped out of the bathroom, both of them looking awesome. Ethan waved over Emma, and she immediately jumped up from the couch and skipped over to him. Grayson flashed me a smile, and I stood up to walk over to him. "Hey you."

He smiled down at me, which he definitely knows by now is my weakness. "Hey you."