little white lies | grayson dolan

𝒻𝒾𝓋𝑒

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"I still don't get it." Ethan lets out a frustrated groan as he runs a hand through his hair.

"It's okay, you still have a week until the test." I let out a small sigh as I look down at the math equation. I have been sitting at the kitchen table with him for two hours, trying to help him with his textbook homework.

"I feel so fucking stupid." He shakes his head while twirling his pencil in his hand.

"You aren't stupid, linear equations can be tough." I let out a sigh while pressing a few numbers into my calculator.

"How are you boys doing?" My mother's voice suddenly fills the room.

"Horrible." Ethan groans while shaking his head.

"Fine." I shrug while looking back at my twin. "You got this, E. Just focus."

"Can we take a break? Please?" He begs while groaning. "I need to go on my phone."

"We put all electronic devices away while doing homework." I sternly remind him.

"Grayson, I think somebody was trying to contact you. I heard your phone go off a couple times." My mother says while turning the stove on to prepare dinner.

"Me?" My heart races as I look at her. "It was probably coming from Ethan's phone."

Ethan furrows his eyebrows while glancing at me.

"Go check." My mother shrugs.

I look back at my brother, and that's when realization hits me. Holy shit, the dating app. I made it last night and never checked it. I never really go on my phone, it usually sits in my room while I read or do homework.

"Uh, y-yeah. I'll be right back." I quickly stand up and rush over to the stairs. My feet practically jump up them as I run into my bedroom. I pick up my phone on the nightstand and gasp. I have twenty seven UChicago Match notifications.

"Holy crap." I stutter while unlocking the device.

Congratulations, Ethan! You have 18 matches and 9 messages.

My stomach turns with nerves as I click on the messages. If I want to match back with any of these girls, I have to hit their red heart. The first message I see is from a girl named Natalie.

natalie:
heyyy sexy😍

Her profile picture is her in her bra. I immediately delete the message and click the red arrow. The next message is from somebody named Kaylee.

kaylee:
punch me daddy ;)

I furrow my eyebrows while cringing. Why the hell would anybody want me to punch them? That message is definitely getting deleted. I scroll down to see more messages until my heart stops beating. My jaw hangs low as I click on the third profile. No way, it's her.

Hanna Thompson, my dream girl, sent me a message. Her profile picture is gorgeous, even though it's just her sitting in the car. I notice that her description is from The Great Gatsby, another classic. I quickly hit the red heart, not even taking time to overthink it.

You have a mutual match with Hanna!

Her message suddenly pops up, causing my anxiety to rise even higher.

hanna:
love the quote in your description, catcher in the rye is such a classic

Is this real? Hanna Thompson loves my description. What do I say now? My thumb types over the keyboard as I slowly start to write my reply.