Love Is Real | Sarah x Ethan

Chapter 8 Sarah's P.O.V

     I stand in front of the mirror in the bathroom, watching as Tori examines her face, looking for any sign that she had been crying just a few moments before. Well, it was a panic attack, but Cameron and Kendall don't need to know that.
     She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, sighing, and turning towards me.
     "You ready to go back?" I ask.
     She doesn't give a verbal response. Instead, she just nods her head.
     I open the bathroom door, letting Tori walk out before me. We walk towards Kendall's room, an awkward silence between us.
     We get to Kendall's door and we stop for a moment. Tori lets out a sigh before opening the door carefully. I head in after her, shutting the door behind me. I return to the spot I had been sitting at before I went to check on Tori, but this time Tori sits next to me. It's almost as if she's more comfortable, maybe more trusting around me now.
     "Where did you guys go?" Kendall asks.
     I look over to Tori and she freezes. I can tell she's panicking internally, although she's trying to hide it to the best of her ability.
     "Tori was getting a little claustrophobic, so she stepped out to get some air. I went to look for her when she didn't come back. Everything's fine now though," I say, obviously not telling the truth, but Cameron and Kendall seem to buy it.
     "Is Greyson almost here? I thought she'd be here by now," Tori says, changing the subject.
     "She texted me while you guys were gone. She said she's on her way, so she should be here soon," Kendall explains.
     Tori just gives a simple hum in response as everyone goes back on their phones.
     Eventually the doorbell rings, signaling Greyson has most likely arrived. Kendall gets up, opens her bedroom door, and walks out, most likely to answer the front door and let Greyson in.
     She comes back a few minutes later, Greyson following close behind and closing the door behind her.
     "Hey guys," Greyson says.
     "Hi," we say.
     We all move back into the circle we had been in previously, making room for Greyson this time. Kendall then looks at us, a small, but evil, smile on her face.
     Cameron must see it too because she says, "Kendall? Why are you smiling like that?"
     Kendall just keeps smiling, but eventually she replies with, "We're gonna play some truth or dare. There's some theories I have about you guys and I want to see if they're true."
     We all kinda glance wearily at each other, all of us probably having secrets we would prefer for the others not to know. Kendall then looks at me with that same devilish smile.
     "I'll start with you," she begins. "Sarah, truth or dare?"
     I think for a moment, sighing before answering with, "Dare."
     Kendall seems to ponder for a moment, looking around the room. She makes eye contact with both Greyson and Cameron before looking back at me.
     "I dare you to snap that cute guy in our math class. Ethan was his name, right?" she says.
     I sigh, taking my phone out of my back pocket. I take a moment and just stare at it.
     "Sarah. Do I have to remind you what happened before we got here?" Cameron asks, giggling.
     "Shut up!" I say, my facing getting redder.
     I look back at Kendall and sigh.
     "You have to do it, Sarah. It's a dare," Kendall says.
     "Yeah, yeah," I reply, rolling my eyes.
     As I put in my password and the girls all crowd around me, I go into snapchat and pull up Ethan's name. My fingers hover over the keyboard, thinking about what to say to him. Eventually I just give a simple "Hey," and get it over with.
     "Alright. I did it. Do I get to ask someone now or what?"
     She just nods and leans back against her bed.
     "Okay. Tori, truth or dare?" I ask.
     "Um, truth," she answers.
     She gives me this look that almost looks as if she's begging me not to ask her about the events prior to Greyson's arrival, although I already told her I wouldn't say anything.
     "Is it true that you still have a huge crush on Tyler Bell?" I ask, genuinely curious. I mean, she hasn't talked about him in a while, but you never know. Him and Maddie broke up just before freshman year started, but even when they broke up she still didn't talk about him very much.
     "I, um, yeah," she replies, her face turning bright red.
     "Okay then," I say.
     "Oh my gosh!!" Cameron exclaims, out of nowhere. It kinda scared me a little to be honest. 
     "What happened?!" Greyson asks.
     "Yeah, you scared the crap out of me," I say.
     "Guess who just asked me out!" Cameron says, still sounding very excited.
     "Hmm, let me think. Oh, is it the guy you like that I tried to force you to tell us, even though you refused multiple times?" Tori asks, with fake enthusiasm.
     Cameron just laughs and says, "Yes!"
     "Well, can you finally tell us who it is? Since he asked you out and all," Kendall asks.
     "Oh, well. It's, um, it's Josh," Cameron says, her face turning a little red.
     Everyone kinda freaks out a little, saying things like, "What?!" or "I called it!"
     I just shrug and say, "I already knew."
     "What?! Cameron! You told Sarah, but you didn't tell me?!" Kendall exclaims.
     "Hey! Sarah and Josh are basically brother and sister, so I thought she had the right to know that I like him." Cameron says, in her defense.
     "She isn't wrong," Tori remarks.
     "Anyway! What should I say? His exact words were, 'Hey, Cameron. I just wanted to say that I really like you and I wanted to know if you'd like to go out with me sometime.' Ugh, he's so cute," Cameron says, and it honestly makes me feel a little weird, Josh being my best friend and all.
     "Well, you like him, so you might as well say yes," I say.
     "Are you okay with that?" Cameron asks.
     "Dude, he may be my best friend, but you like him and it really isn't my decision. If you guys like each other then go for it," I reply.
     "Really?! Thanks, Sarah!" Cameron says, giving me a quick hug before grabbing her phone again. "But, seriously guys. How do I word this?"
     "Say, 'Sure, sounds great.' or something like that," Tori suggests.
     Cameron begins typing, most likely taking Tori's suggestion. I look over at Cameron's phone, seeing as she's seated right next to me.
     I see that his response is, "Great, how about Sunday around 7:00 PM? Does that work for you?"
     Cameron continues to read their conversation out loud to everyone else, but I just read it over her shoulder as she types.
     She then tells him, "That sounds great. I'll see you then."
     "Okay, bye," he says, ending their conversation.
     Everyone just kinda sits there for a second, probably just thinking about the fact that Cameron is about to go on a date with Josh Stansel. I mean, I guess he's cute, or whatever. I just don't really see him like that.
     "Okay, let's get back to truth or dare. Tori, it's your turn to ask someone," Kendall says, drawing us back into the game.
     I think Tori asks Cameron something after that, but by the time she starts talking, I'm not paying attention. My phone buzzes in my lap and I see that Ethan has responded to my snap, and all I can do is look down at the notification and smile, even though I haven't even read it yet.