Only Ever Best Friends

⍟ 7 ⍟

Friday couldn't come soon enough. Thoughts of what may happen at Erica's party constantly bombarded my brain:

Could something finally happen between me and Noah?

Would Ethan kiss anyone?

Would Sophie?

Would I?

The possibilities were endless and the wait was driving me insane.

Thursday was all the same for the most part.
Ethan and I received a new assignment in photography: landscapes, which was kind of perfect considering that Gray and I would be headed to the shore for the weekend to collect samples for the chem project, and now E was going to tag along.

My Saturday and Sunday plans now consisted of going to the beach with my two best friends, which, correct me if I'm wrong, sounds pretty damn good. Especially since we didn't really see each other a lot over the summer.

• • •

It's finally Friday, aka: the first party of the year.

It seemed like the school-day went on for an eternity, and when the dismissal bell rang, the boys and I were out the door and in the car even faster than usual.

I had 2 hours to finish my homework and 1 hour to get ready for Erica's party, and I made the most of my time.

I put on a tight fitting romper - not scandalous enough for my mother to prevent me leaving the house - and some light makeup, which was abnormal for me because I'm just too lazy for that shit.

I heard E's car horn and sprinted out the door, phone and house keys in hand. The window rolled down.
It was Grayson.

"E's sick," he said.

"Poor dude," I said climbing into the passenger seat.

His jaw dropped but he quickly closed it, hoping I hadn't noticed it being ajar.

"Ellie, what are you wearing?" he said in suppressed shock.

"What's wrong with it?" I asked, looking over at his white t shirt and Adidas shorts.

"Nothing," he gulped.

"O-kay," I laughed.

I was so bummed that E was sick, this party wouldn't be as fun without him. He's the funny one. Grayson's the cute one. But not like that... not for me... we're all just friends.

"Wasn't he fine 5 hours ago?" I ask, changing the subject.

"Yeah... I dunno what happened but he has a fever and he's acting like an even bigger asshole than usual, so,"

"Damn...how's football going?"

"Pretty good, E's the new running-back,"

"I have no idea what that means,"

"Come to our games and you'll find out," he said winking.

"Now there's a proposition."

• • •