when the sun came up

i.

The funny thing, Emma mused in hindsight, was that it had all originally been Grayson's idea.

"Come on, Emma!" Gray had wheedled, that uneventful Tuesday morning. "You need a place to live, my brother needs a housemate, and all the people he's interviewed so far have been completely crazy. Like creepily-collect-antique-china-dolls or practice-taxidermy-in-their-spare-time kind of crazy. It's perfect!"

Emma had paused in her perusal of potential apartments online to frown quizzically at her friend. "I don't know, Gray. I mean, I barely even know him. Wouldn't it be kind of... weird?"

Grayson gave Emma the kind of look that somehow managed to encompass an eye roll and a light punch to the shoulder all at once. What could she say, the man had an expressive face. "No, it wouldn't. That makes it even more perfect, don't you see? You should never actually be good friends with anyone you live with, not to start with anyway."

Emma must have looked sceptical, because Grayson did roll his eyes then. "It's true! All you end up doing is squabbling over stupid household admin and picking on each other's bad habits, and then the friendship's ruined. Just trust me on this one."

He jumped off the couch in Emma's living room to join her at the kitchen table, swivelling the laptop around to face him and ignoring Emma's protesting 'hey!'. "Have you even found any good prospects? I know the rent thing's not an issue, obviously, but what about location? Rooms? Non-psycho housemates?"

Gray's smile was playful with only a hint of a smirk, which was how Emma knew not to take offense at the jibe about rent money. They met at university, Emma had been quiet, clever and hard-working, fresh from one of the most prestigious private high schools in the country, her noticeably privileged upbringing sticking out like a sore thumb.

Grayson, for his part, had also stood out, though for different reasons. With his sharp tongue, stunning good looks and slight air of unpredictability, as well as a mysterious past he kept firmly under wraps, boys and girls alike had been infatuated with him.

Emma hadn't been sure then they'd remain close. She had barely seen Gray outside in the real world that first year of college. But he had surprised her in sophomore year, keeping in close touch with her and demanding weekly coffee and drinks dates to make up for their lack of class time together. As it turned out, he was a fiercely loyal friend, and once he cared about you, nothing stopped him from involving himself inextricably in your life.

"I haven't found many options," Emma admitted, to answer Grayson's question. Being subjected to Gray's Serious Stare meant there was no room for lying or evasion. "But it's early days. Amanda only just told me her cousin's moving in a few days ago, so there's still time."

Grayson raised an eyebrow. "Isn't the cousin coming in like two weeks though? Bit rude of her not to let you know earlier, to be honest."

Emma shrugged. It had irritated her too, but it was Amanda's apartment after all, so what could she do about it? "Yeah, I don't know – it was a family emergency or something, so I didn't want to ask." She hauled a convincing smile onto her face. "It'll be fine! I'm sure something will pop up."

Grayson looked as if he didn't believe it, but was nicely refraining from saying so. "Okay, Emma. But if you don't find anything in a week will you please consider checking out Ethan's place? It's so close to campus, and besides, it's an amazing apartment. I really think you'd like it, and I'm not just saying that because it'll be ideal for me to be able to visit you both at the same time."

Emma had to laugh at Grayson's cheeky grin. "Alright, alright. I'm not making any promises but if I get desperate, I'll think about it. But," she shot Grayson a meaningful look, "only if you don't bug me about it every two seconds until then. Okay?"

Grayson jumped up from her kitchen stool, hands clapping. "Of course! My lips are sealed. Now can we please go? I'm starving and those avocado toasts have my name written all over them." He picked up his phone and headed towards the front door, head cocked back towards Emma. "Coming?"

Emma nodded, pausing only to cast her eye quickly over the list of numbers and addresses on her laptop screen. She really hadn't been kidding earlier; the few apartment prospects she did have were abysmal. Emma didn't consider herself a particularly high-maintenance girl, but considering how intense her studies were this year and how much of a haven her bedroom represented, one of the things she absolutely refused to compromise on was her living space.

Unfortunately, most of the apartments currently available in the vicinity of the college were nightmare-inducing, housemates aside. Emma thought darkly her options were depressingly low. Which meant that, as awkward as it would inevitably be, she really might have to take Gray up on his offer to look into the elder Dolan's apartment.

Emma sighed, then closed her laptop screen and followed Grayson out the door, resolving to worry further about the situation only after inhaling a double helping of food.

heyyyy im extremely bored and i wanted to read a enemies to lovers trope ethma style soo here it is... let me know what u think🥺